1970 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 106">*106
Petitioner's employer erroneously withheld Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) taxes from his wages for the period Jan. 1, 1965, to Oct. 1, 1965. When respondent issued a notice of deficiency to petitioner for the taxable year 1965 with respect to other items in controversy, petitioner did not dispute the deficiency but pleaded that he was entitled to credit the amount of erroneously withheld FICA taxes against the deficiency. Respondent filed a motion to strike those paragraphs of the petition dealing with FICA taxes.
54 T.C. 1402">*1402 OPINION
The respondent determined a deficiency in the income tax of petitioner for the year 1965 in the amount of $ 269.69.
Petitioner's employer, A. D. Little, Inc., erroneously withheld FICA taxes from petitioner's wages for the quarters prior to October 1, 1965. When respondent issued a notice of deficiency to petitioner in the amount of $ 269.69 for the taxable year 1965, petitioner did not dispute the deficiency but pleaded that he was entitled to credit the amount of erroneously withheld FICA taxes in the amount of $ 174 54 T.C. 1402">*1403 against the deficiency. Respondent timely filed a motion to strike those paragraphs of the petition dealing with the subject matter of erroneously withheld FICA taxes on the ground that the Tax Court lacks jurisdiction over the FICA tax subject matter raised in the petition.
Arun K. Chatterji, hereinafter called petitioner, maintained his legal residence1970 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 106">*111 at the time he filed the petition herein at Webster, N.Y. He filed his Federal income tax return for the taxable year 1965 with the district director of internal revenue, Buffalo, N.Y.
Petitioner was a nonresident alien as that term is defined under section 101(a)(15)(F) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended,
During the taxable year 1965, petitioner was an employee of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Arthur D. Little, Inc., and Xerox Corp., respectively. A schedule of wages paid, Federal income tax withheld, and FICA employee tax withheld is as follows:
Federal | FICA | ||
Employer | Wages paid | income tax | employee tax |
withheld | withheld | ||
U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (1/1/65 to | |||
6/1/65) | $ 4,705.60 | $ 615.14 | |
Arthur D. Little, Inc. (6/1/65 to | |||
11/19/65) | 5,538.48 | 732.00 | $ 174.00 |
Xerox Corp. (11/19/65 to 12/31/65) | 660.32 | 92.44 | 23.94 |
10,904.40 | 1,439.58 | 197.94 |
Petitioner claimed the standard deduction and the benefits of income averaging on his 1965 Federal income tax return.
The return was audited and a statutory notice was issued1970 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 106">*112 to petitioner based on the following adjustments: (a) Since petitioner failed to establish that he qualified for income averaging, his tax was recomputed using the normal-tax rates for a single person. (b) Petitioner was given a credit of $ 23.94 for excess FICA taxes withheld from his wages due to his having worked for more than one employer during the taxable year.
The deficiency for the taxable year 1965 was computed as follows:
Taxable income shown on return | $ 9,304.40 |
Corrected taxable income | 9,304.40 |
Tax (with one allowable exemption) | 1,995.23 |
Total tax shown on return | 1,701.60 |
293.63 | |
Credit for excess of FICA taxes | 23.94 |
Additional tax due | 269.69 |
54 T.C. 1402">*1404 Respondent asserted a claim for increased deficiency in the amount of $ 316.12 based on the disallowance to petitioner of the standard deduction in his "Motion to Strike and Limit Issues for Trial, 1970 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 106">*113 and Claim for Increased Deficiency" filed with the Court on November 15, 1968.
At the trial, the parties agreed that petitioner is entitled to the standard deduction but is not entitled to the benefits of income averaging.
Also, the parties agreed that petitioner is not liable for Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) taxes for the period January 1, 1965, to October 1, 1965, because he was present in the United States as a nonresident alien under section 101(a)(15)(F) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended,
The statute of limitations for either the petitioner's employer, Arthur D. Little, Inc., or petitioner to file a claim for refund or credit other than with respect to the instant Tax Court proceeding based on the erroneous withholding of FICA taxes from the petitioner prior to October 1, 1965, has expired under the provisions of sections 6511 and 6513(c) of the Code.
Preliminarily, it is expedient to point out that while the self-employment tax provided in sections 1401 to 1403 of the Code of 1954 is collected together with the income tax and is a tax over which 1970 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 106">*114 this Court has jurisdiction,
Petitioner's contention that he should be allowed as a credit on his income taxes for 1965 the amount of FICA tax erroneously withheld by his employer must be denied. It is well settled that the statutory requirements conferring jurisdiction upon this Court must be strictly construed. See
1970 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 106">*116
The Tax Court's jurisdiction is generally limited by
1970 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 106">*117 We are mindful, of course, that section 6512(b) gives us authority to determine an "overpayment" in income, estate, or gift taxes for the same year in respect of which the Secretary or his delegate determined a deficiency. However, in determining an overpayment of FICA taxes, the Court's jurisdiction is expressly limited by
We find no merit in petitioner's argument that the FICA tax is an "income tax" within the ambit of
Petitioner acknowledges that the Tax Court does not have jurisdiction over self-employment taxes, but he urges that under
In support of his position, petitioner relies,
In the light of the foregoing, we must conclude that the Tax Court does not have jurisdiction to direct a credit against the undisputed deficiency involved herein. Accordingly, the motion pertaining to the credit is granted.
With respect to respondent's claim for an increased deficiency in the amount of $ 316.12 for the taxable year 1965, asserted on the ground that petitioner is not entitled to the standard deduction in the amount of $ 1,000 because of his status as a nonresident alien during part of the taxable year, we note that respondent stipulated at the trial that petitioner is in fact entitled to the standard deduction. Accordingly, respondent's motion for an increased deficiency is denied.
Because the petitioner concedes the deficiency herein,
1. Unless otherwise indicated, all references are to the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as amended.↩
2.
(a) In General. -- For purposes of this title in the case of income, estate, gift, and excise taxes, imposed by subtitles A and B, and chapter 42, the term "deficiency" means the amount by which the tax imposed by subtitle A or B or chapter 42 exceeds the excess of -- (1) the sum of (A) the amount shown as the tax by the taxpayer upon his return, if a return was made by the taxpayer and an amount was shown as the tax by the taxpayer thereon, plus (B) the amounts previously assessed (or collected without assessment) as a deficiency, over -- (2) the amount of rebates, as defined in subsection (b)(2), made.
(a) Jurisdiction as to Increase of Deficiency, Additional Amounts, or Additions to the Tax. -- [Effective before Dec. 30, 1970] The Tax Court shall have jurisdiction to redetermine the correct amount of the deficiency even if the amount so redetermined is greater than the amount of the deficiency, notice of which has been mailed to the taxpayer, and to determine whether any additional amount, or addition to the tax should be assessed, if claim therefor is asserted by the Secretary or his delegate at or before the hearing or a rehearing.
The Tax Court and its divisions shall have such jurisdiction as is conferred on them by this title, by chapters 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1939, by title II and title III of the Revenue Act of 1926 (44 Stat. 10-87), or by laws enacted subsequent to February 26, 1926.↩
3.
(a) General Rule. -- No deduction shall be allowed for the following taxes: (1) Federal income taxes, including -- (A) the tax imposed by section 3101 (relating to the tax on employees under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act);
(a) The taxes imposed by section 3101 of chapter 21, and by sections 3201 and 3211 of chapter 22 shall not be allowed as a deduction to the taxpayer in computing taxable income under subtitle A.↩
4.
(b) Credit for Special Refunds of Social Security Tax. -- (1) In general. -- The Secretary or his delegate may prescribe regulations providing for the crediting against the tax imposed by this subtitle of the amount determined by the taxpayer or the Secretary (or his delegate) to be allowable under (2) Year of credit. -- Any amount to which paragraph (1) applies shall be allowed as a credit for the taxable year beginning in the calendar year during which the wages were received. If more than one taxable year begins in the calendar year, such amount shall be allowed as a credit for the last taxable year so beginning.↩
5. In view of our discussion,
6.
Any tax paid under chapter 21 or 22 by a taxpayer with respect to any period with respect to which he is not liable to tax under such chapter shall be credited against the tax, if any, imposed by such other chapter upon the taxpayer, and the balance, if any, shall be refunded.↩