Decision will be entered for respondent.
P failed to collect and remit employment taxes on behalf of a corporation that she controlled. This corporation's successor-in-interest, a second corporation, eventually entered ch. 11 bankruptcy and made several adequate protection payments to R. These payments were made by checks which indicated they were to be applied against P's personal liability for the trust fund recovery penalty. R, however, applied these checks against the corporation's tax debt and initiated this collection action against P. At P's collection due process hearing, the Appeals officer denied P currently not collectible (CNC) status. P appeals this determination under
GOEKE,
Petitioner incorporated Amber Construction in 1997 under the State law of Florida. At all times petitioner was the owner and president of Amber Construction. During its period of operation the company provided services to general contractors in and around Jacksonville, Florida. It also accrued substantial unpaid Federal employment taxes related2015 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 106">*107 to certain periods from December 2003 to December 2011.
In November 2011 respondent issued petitioner a proposed assessment regarding her personal liability for the trust fund recovery penalty based upon her status as a responsible officer of Amber Construction. In an attempt to collect the unpaid employment tax of Amber Construction after it was assessed, respondent also filed a lien against petitioner as the corporation's nominee in April 2012. This corporate nominee lien attached only to an office building on Columbia Park Drive (Columbia Park property).
Throughout this period petitioner continued to operate the contracting business. However, at some point she ceased using the entity Amber Construction and instead began using a new wholly owned corporation, Amber Rebar, Inc. (Amber Rebar). This second corporation filed a petition for chapter 11 bankruptcy on May 15, 2012. On its bankruptcy schedules, Amber Rebar listed numerous *101 articles of personal property but no interests in real property. In these proceedings the bankruptcy court permitted Amber Rebar to pay petitioner a salary of $2,18122015 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 106">*108 per week. The court eventually adjusted this amount to $1,095 per week.
In a separate proceeding before a District Court, respondent established that Amber Rebar was the successor-in-interest to Amber Construction's tax liabilities. Thus, in Amber Rebar's bankruptcy proceeding, respondent filed a proof of claim against the corporation for unpaid Federal employment taxes. Amber Rebar and respondent then entered into an adequate protection agreement that on October 3, 2012, was converted into an order by the bankruptcy court. Beginning on October 25, 2012, the agreement required Rebar to make monthly payments to respondent of $3,420. Amber Rebar complied with the order for seven months. Each check mailed by petitioner on behalf of Amber Rebar indicated that it was to be applied to petitioner's liability for the trust fund recovery penalty.
Eventually, respondent also initiated collection efforts against petitioner as an individual. On November 30, 2012, respondent issued a final notice of intent to levy on petitioner's personal assets. Subsequently, respondent filed a notice of Federal tax lien against petitioner. Petitioner then requested a collection due *102 process hearing, seeking review of respondent's efforts to collect the trust2015 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 106">*109 fund recovery penalty by levy.
Petitioner argued at the hearing that she was entitled to noncollectible or currently not collectible (CNC) status because she had no disposable income. Petitioner claimed the bankruptcy court determined the amount Amber Rebar could pay the IRS as adequate protection after determining the officer salary petitioner needed to pay her monthly expenses. Thus, she asserted, her salary as set and adjusted by the bankruptcy court left no disposable income to pay the trust fund penalty.
The Appeals officer, however, noted there was equity in several of petitioner's assets. First, petitioner is the sole owner of the Columbia Park property with $92,540 of equity. Second, petitioner owns a boat jointly with her husband with $45,398 of equity. Third, before December 30, 2012, petitioner had an interest as a joint tenant with a right of survivorship with her parents in a residence on Oliver Creek Drive (Oliver Creek property) with $317,540 of equity. On December 30, 2012, petitioner transferred this property solely to her parents by quitclaim deed. At no point did petitioner pay taxes on the Oliver Creek property or claim it as an asset on a loan application.
*103 Because2015 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 106">*110 of the equity in these assets that could be liquidated or borrowed against to pay the trust fund penalty, the Appeals officer concluded petitioner was not entitled to CNC status. No other collection alternatives were considered by the Appeals officer because none were requested by petitioner.
Petitioner has filed a petition with this Court seeking review of the Appeals officer's determination and respondent's allocation of the adequate protection payments. Throughout the administrative review process and at the time petitioner filed her petition with this Court, Amber Rebar had a pending bankruptcy case. The original bankruptcy case, filed on May 15, 2012, was dismissed on May 17, 2013. However, two days before, on May 15, 2013, petitioner filed a new bankruptcy petition. The second case did not close until September 30, 2014, well after petitioner's trust fund penalty case came before this Court in July 2013.
This Court must first decide whether it has jurisdiction to review the Appeals officer's determination. If a bankruptcy stay was in place when the petition was filed, the petition would be invalid and we would lack jurisdiction. There are two relevant Bankruptcy2015 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 106">*111 Code provisions under which a stay may arise. Title
Title
The company in
In its analysis, the court noted that "
In the present case, Amber Rebar is not the "real party defendant." The parties have presented no evidence or argument to show that petitioner will be indemnified by the corporation if she is forced to pay the trust fund recovery penalty. Furthermore, the2015 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 106">*113 Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has held that an individual's liability for the trust fund recovery penalty is "separate and *106 distinct" from the payroll tax obligations imposed on employers.
Petitioner has also failed to consider our holding in
This Court rejected the taxpayer's claims in
Likewise, in Amber Rebar's bankruptcy, the court did not issue a stay under
Petitioner claims the IRS Appeals officer erred by failing to designate her liability for the trust fund recovery penalty currently not collectible. Since this issue does not relate to petitioner's underlying liability, we will review the Appeals officer's denial of CNC status for abuse of discretion.
CNC status, which suspends IRS collection efforts, "is a 'collection alternative' that the taxpayer may propose and that the Office of Appeals must take into consideration."
Petitioner claims that she was unable to sell or use any of her assets as collateral for a loan because of respondent's liens. Therefore, because she was unable to use the equity in these assets to pay her penalty liability, petitioner argues that the Appeals officer's denial of CNC status constituted an abuse of discretion.
Relying on the Internal Revenue Manual (IRM), respondent claims that an IRS lien does not reduce a taxpayer's collection potential. Respondent asserts that collection potential and eligibility for collection alternatives should be based on the net realizable equity (NRE) in petitioner's assets. NRE is measured by the extent to which an asset's quick sale value exceeds all liens with priority over a *109 Federal tax lien.2015 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 106">*116
Our decision in
In the present case, petitioner also has substantial equity in a number of assets.3 Petitioner has $92,540 of equity in the Columbia Park property. Petitioner also has a joint ownership interest in a boat with $45,398 of equity. *110 Despite this substantial equity in several assets, however, petitioner argues that her account should be designated currently not collectible because she lacks sufficient income to pay the trust fund recovery penalty. In Amber Rebar's initial bankruptcy case, petitioner's salary2015 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 106">*117 was set at $2,181 per week. The court eventually adjusted this amount to $1,095 per week, which petitioner claims was less than half of her typical yearly salary.
We addressed a similar claim in
Even if not entitled to CNC status, petitioner claims she is still entitled to a different collection alternative.
At her collection due process hearing, petitioner sought only to have her account placed in CNC status.4 Because petitioner did not raise the issue of other collection alternatives, we will not consider them on appeal.
The last issue for the Court to address is the impact of Amber Rebar's adequate protection payments. Respondent applied these payments to reduce Amber Rebar's tax debt, yet petitioner claims these payments should have been applied to reduce her personal liability for the trust fund recovery penalty.
If we determined that respondent's settlement officer made a legal error, we would not sustain the collection action regardless of the standard of review.
In
*113 However, each check petitioner mailed on behalf of Amber Rebar indicated it was "for" the trust fund recovery penalty. By the IRS' own policy, if a taxpayer "voluntarily tenders a partial payment that is accepted by the Service and the taxpayer provides specific written directions as to the application of the payment, the Service will apply the payment in accordance with those directions."
The adequate protection payments were directed by the bankruptcy court, and those payments were made with respect to Amber Rebar's liabilities, not petitioner's. Therefore, neither petitioner nor Amber Rebar, without permission from the bankruptcy court, would have the2015 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 106">*121 right to allocate the payments between Amber Rebar's tax liability and any residual liability she had individually for the trust fund recovery penalty.5 Consequently, we hold that respondent had authority *114 to apply the seven months of adequate protection payments as respondent saw fit.
Accordingly,
1. All section references are to the Internal Revenue Code in effect at all relevant times, unless otherwise indicated.↩
2. All amounts are rounded to the nearest dollar.
3. Petitioner disputes that the Oliver Creek property should be considered in determining whether she is eligible for CNC status. Though she was listed on the deed as holding a joint interest in the property with her parents, petitioner claims this was for estate planning purposes and that she never truly owned the property. Because of petitioner's equity in the Columbia Park property and the boat, we do not reach the question of whether it was proper to also consider petitioner's share of the equity in the Oliver Creek property. Equity in the Columbia Park property and the boat is a sufficient reason to deny petitioner CNC status.↩
4. Petitioner's collection due process request stated: "We are requesting that Ms. Riggs' personal account be designated as Currently Not Collectible ('CNC') / '53'd' or otherwise cross-referenced to reflect the monthly payments made via Amber Rebar, Inc.'s Chapter 11 Bankruptcy case."↩
5.