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Personal Representation to Ensure Justice: Emily Chad
NEGOTIATING WITH THE TAX DEPARTMENTS
Fighting tax issues is never easy, and it can be especially difficult to navigate without an advocate. The following are stories of how having an advocate on your side can help determine a positive outcome.
Emily Chad
Fredrikson’s real estate team met with a woman in need of pro bono housing assistance and realized that her housing problems included a time-sensitive tax issue. Emily Chad stepped in to file an appeal with the U.S. Tax Court with only a few days before the deadline passed.
The case highlighted the hidden impacts of domestic abuse. In 2012, the client and her minor daughter were forced out of their home in a mobile home park after incurring severe harassment and threats from an abusive former partner. Fearing for her life, the client, who was disabled due to an auto accident, notified the park manager and the mortgage company that she was vacating the premises and that they could take possession of the home. The client then faced years of collection threats from the mortgage company. To make matters worse, in March 2019, the client received a notice of a $3,000 tax deficiency from the IRS. The deficiency notice was based on the mortgage company’s form 1099 filed with the IRS, which reported debt forgiveness income for tax year 2017. The additional income resulted in the loss of numerous credits and deductions the client had claimed for 2017. The client had not received the form 1099, which had been sent to the wrong address.
After reviewing the information, Emily determined that the client qualified for an exception to the tax because the canceled debt was associated with the client’s primary residence. Emily attended an administrative law hearing where she presented the facts of the situation and persuaded the IRS appeals officer to dismiss the case. The client was extremely appreciative of Emily’s efforts advocating on her behalf.
