T .C . Memo . 2008-23 8

T .C . Memo . 2008-23 8

UNITED STATES TAX COUR T

KE NETH DAVIS, Petitioner v .

COMMISSION R OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Responden t

Docket No . 1654 0 -08 .

Filed October 27, 2008 .

On Jan . 24, 2008, .R sent P's employer a "Lock-in

Letter" requirin g a prospective adjustment .to P' s

withholding . On June 23, 2008, R sent P a notice of

deficiency for 2 004 . On July 7, 2008, P filed, inter

alia, a motion t o restrain assessment and collection .

Held : In t he absence of any ass'essment .or

collection for 2 004, there is nothing to restrain as t o

that year .

Held , further, R's "Lock-in Letter " is not a

collection actio n within the meaning of secs . 6320 an d

6330, I .R .C .

Held , furt er, P's motion to restrain shall be

denied .

Kenneth Da~ is, pro se .

Mark Cottrell and Shannon E . Loechel ,

for respondent .

SERVED OCT 2 7 2000

MEMORANDUM OPINIO N

ARMEN,

Special Trial Judge : This case is before'the Cour t

on petitioner's Motion To Restrain Assessment Or Collection An d

To Order Refund Of Amount Collected, filed July 7, 2008 . As

explained" in greater detail below, we shall deny petitioner's

motion .

Background

The facts necessary to a resolution of the motion before us

may be summarized as follows :

By notice of deficiency dated June 23, 2008, respondent

determined a deficiency in petitioner's Federal income tax for

2004 of $6,074, together with additions to tax under sections

6651 (a) (1) , 6651 (a) (2) , and 6654 (a) . 1

The deficiency in tax is based principally on respondent's

determination that petitioner, an employee of the United States

Postal Service, failed to report on an income tax return for 200 4

wages received in that year of $45,219 .2 The addition to tax

under section 6651(a)(1) is based on respondent's determination

that petitioner failed to file an income tax return for 2004 .

1 Unless otherwise indicated, all section references are to

the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended ; all Rule

references are to the Tax Court Rules of Practice and Procedure .

2 The deficiency is also based on respondent's, .

determination that petitioner failed to report interest income of

$80 paid to him in 2004 by the Atlanta Postal Credit Union .

The addition to tax u der section 6651(a)(2) and the addition to

tax under section 6654(a) are based on . respondent's

determinations that petitioner failed to pay income tax and

estimated tax, respectively, except for .$284-of .tax withheld from

his wages by his employer . 3

On July 7, 2008, petitioner filed a petition with this

Court .4 Petitioner a tached only one document to his petition as

an exhibit, namely, a complete copy of the June 23, .2008 notice

of deficiency However,' petitioner did not check the b,ox•

indicating that he was-disputing the notice, of deficiency .

Rather, petitioner ch cked the box indicating that he was

disputing an IRS noti e of determination concerning collectio n

action . In that rega d, petitioner referenced (but did not

attach) an IRS notice dated January 24, 2008 . Petitioner then .

alleged in paragraphs 5 and 6, the sole substantive paragraphs of

the petition, as foll ws :

5 . Respondent has issued a withholding order against

Petitioner witho t first sending Petitioner a-Final,

Notice of Intent to Levy and Notice of Your Right to a

Hearing '("Final N tice) Petitioner is forced to

petition this Ta Court to restrain this unlawful

collection . No ox was .available for [sic] this for m

.3

In the notice of deficiency, respondent credited

petitioner for the amount withheld from his wages insofar as his

ultimate tax liability is concerned . . However, we note that the

determination of a .s atutory deficiency does not take such

withheld amount into account . See sec : 6211(b)(1) .

4 At the time hat the petition was filed, petitioner

resided in the State of Georgia . r

for me to check for IRS failure to issue a Final

Notice, so Petitioner had no choice but to check the

box that is most closely identifiable with this curren t

`case . Respondent did not provide Petitioner with no

[sic] other remedy to resolve this matter .

~,

Petitioner will be filing a Motion to Restrain

Collection concurrently with this Petition .

6 . On January 2 [sic], 2008, the IRS sent a levy to

Petitioner's employer, United States Postal Service

without first issuing a Final Notice to Petitioner,

which would have afforded Petitioner the opportunity t o

request for [sic] a Collection Due Process .(CDP)

Hearing . Respondent NEVER sent Petitioner a Final

Notice, which would have provided Petitioner the

opportunity to request for [sic] a Collection Due

Process Hearing . There is no regulation found in the

Internal Revenue Code authorizing this unlawful .

collection action . This collection action is in direct

violation of Section 6330 and 6331 of the Internal

Revenue Code . [Emphasis in the original . ]

Concurrently with the filing of petition on July 7, 2008,

petitioner filed the Motion To Restrain Assessment Or Collection

And To Order Refund Of Amount Collected presently pending befor e

us .

We shall describe-petitioner's motion and what lies behind

it, but first we must observe that respondent has not, at any

time,

made an assessment against petitioner for either the

deficiency in tax or any of the additions to tax determined in

the June 23, 2008 notice of deficiency .' Indeed, petitioner's

account balance plus accruals for 2004, signifying his liabilit y

' Cf . sec . 68.61 ( permitting jeopardy assessments of income

tax notwithstanding the provisions of sec . 6213 ( a)) . Lest there

Respondent has made no assessment against

be doubt, we repeat :

petitioner for 2004 .

i:I

for that year as refl cted on respondent's records, is zero .6'=

Thus, in the absence 4f any account balance or accruals .for 2004 ,

respondent has had . no reason to attempt, and has not attempted,

.to collect any liab'i'l ' ty for that year

as no such liability ' has

arisen to date . -Simi arly, in the absence, of any account-balance

or accruals for 2004, respondent has had no reason to file, and

has not filed, a notice of Federal tax lien for that year . In

short, respondent has taken-no collection action~whatsoever .in

respect of whatever p tential liability petitioner may ultimately

have for 2004 as dete mined by respondent in the notice o f

deficiency .

Returning now to petitioner's motion to restrain, we observ e

.that petitioner's motion is solely focused on a letter dated

January 24, 2008, that was sent by respondent to petitioner's

employer . The letter directed the employer to henceforth

disregard the information on petitioner's Form W-4, Employee'-s

Withholding Allowance Certificate, and instead withhold income

tax on the basis of a specified martial status and a specified

number of withholding allowances . This type of letter i s

popularly known-either as .a "Lock-in Letter" or (reflecting : its

form number) as Letter 2800C .

6 Respondent has placed a "520" code on petitioner's

account for 2004 . This code serves both as an alert to

respondent ' s personnel of petitioner ' s pending Tax, Court case and

as a bar to a prematu e,assessment of .the determined deficiency

and additions to tax .

- 6 Although petitioner's motion purports to include as an

exhibit a copy of the January 24, 2008 Lock-in Letter, the motion

does not include any such exhibit, and a copy of the Lock-in

Letter is not otherwise part of the record . However,,,the Lock-in

Letter would have included paragraphs such as the following :

Dear

WHY ARE WE WRITING TO YOU? ,

Our records show that your employee, named above, is

not entitled to claim a complete exemption from

-withholding or more than a specified number, of

withholding allowances .

WHAT ACTIONS DO YOU NEED TO TAKE ?

Please disregard the information on this employee's

Form W-4, Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate,

and withhold income tax based on the following marital

status and withholding allowances :

Marital Status :

Withholding Allowances :

Do'not honor any new Form W-4 from your employee that

,results in less income tax withholding than at th e

status and allowances shown above .

Please give the attached Employee's Copy [Letter 2801C]

of this letter [Letter 2800C] to the employee named

above within ten business days from the date of this

letter . * * *

WHEN DO YOU ADJUST YOUR EMPLOYEE'S WITHHOLDING?

** FIRST PAY PERIOD ENDING ON OR AFTER [date]

* *

You must begin withholding income tax at the marital

status and specified number of withholding allowances

shown above starting with the first pay period ending

on or after 60 days from the date of this letter, AND

NOT BEFORE . This time period will provide your ;

employee with an opportunity to dispute our

HOW DOES THE LAW

Internal Revenue

employers to wit

section 31 .3402(

Employment Tax R

notify you that

a complete'exemp

than the maximum

above .

Code (IRC) Section- .3402 requires

hold federal. income tax . Unde r

(2) -1T (g) (2) of the Temporary

gulations, we may issue .this letter to

our employee is not entitled to claim

ion from withholding or claim mor e

number of withholding allowances show n

Internal Revenue Man u 1 (IRM) Exhibit 5 .19 .11-2 (May_ .l,

emphasis in the origi

200-6) ;

al . "

As applicable t o petitioner, the commencement of .initial

withholding, or the c mmencement of increased withholding ,

pursuant to the Janua y 24, 2008 .Lock-in Letter would necessarily

have begun in 2008 .

t the earliest, .. the . withholding woul d

necessarily have been in respect of potential liability for the

taxable year- .2008 an d not forany prior taxable year .

Petitioner's accoun t

alance plus accruals .for 2008, as reflected

on respondent's reco r s, is'zero . This is not surprising, given .

The regulato r

citation appearing in the last paragraph

of IRM Exhibit 5 .19 .1 -2 (May 1, 2006) as quoted above has not

been .updated to refle t,the final regulation, namely, sec .

31 .3402(f) (2)-1(g), E ployment Tax Regs . The final regulation is

generally effective- . A r . 14, 2005, except that certain parts

thereof (which do not appear to be relevant to the instant case )

apply on Oct . 11, 200

Sec . 31 .3402 (f) (2) -1 (g) (5) , Employment

Tax Regs . The final

egulation continues to authorize th e

Commissioner to issue a Lock-in Letter to an employer notifying

the employer that-the employee is not entitled to claim a

complete exemption fr m withholding or claim more than a

specified . maximum num er of withholding allowances .

the fact that the taxable year 2008 is still open and yet t o

close . Moreover, respondent has not made any terminatio n

assessment against petitioner for any part of 2008 .

See secs .

441, 6851 .

Nevertheless, petitioner contends that respondent's January

24, 2008 Lock-in Letter constitutes a collection action because

it subjects him to income tax withholding by his employer .

Petitioner contends further that because the Lock-in Letter was

not preceded by a final notice of intent to levy offering him an

administrative hearing and judicial . review, he was denied the

protections afforded by sections 6320 and 6330 . Accordingly, in

petitioner's view, injunctive relief is warranted . Not

surprisingly, respondent takes a different view .

Discussion

As is plainly apparent, petitioner has no assessed liability

(and no liability for unassessed accruals) for either . 2004 o r

2008

( or for any part of 2008 ) .

subject to income tax withholding

But petitioner has been made

( or increased withholding)

through respondent ' s action in serving petitioner's employer with

the January 24,

2,008 Lock - in Letter .

Essentially , then,

we must

decide whether respondent's action constitutes a prohibited

collection action that should be (or can be )

Court .

enjoined by this

Tax Withholdiln a

In 1943, Congres

required the withholding-of income taxes

at the source on wages , .see Current Tax Payment Act of 1943, ch .

120, 57 Stat . 126, a n

this pay-as-you-go system for employees

has been in place eve r since . Withholding alleviates the .-burden

on wage earners of ha ing,to make large payments of tax at one

time, and it benefits the Government not only . by providing a mor e

constant . stream of rec ipts but also by protecting "against

deaths, disappearances

and insolvencies, and to .catch,the

itinerants who were mo ring from place to place with income s

taxable in the aggrega e but with whom the Treasury could,not

keep pace ." 13 Merten

47A .02, at 47A-8

.Law of Federal Income Taxation, sec .

(2005 rev .) .

The Commissioner ias described -income tax withholding a s

other than a tax in 'i t elf ., . Rev . Rul . 60-220 ; 1960-1 C .B . 399 ; 8

see sec . 3402 ; sec . 3 1 ~3402(a)-1, Employment Tax Regs . Durin g

8 More fully, th

Commissioner has described the

withholding system as follows :

The system

f withholding income tax from wages

was adopted as a means of collecting income tax on a

pay-as-you-go bas is . I.ts object is to collec t

currently the-app roximate tax liability on wages by

requiring the em loyer to withhold a specified amount

or percentage fro

each'wage payment . Such amount i s

to be paid over t o the Federal Government for the

employee's income tax account . -Thus, income ta x

withholding is a system or method of tax collection and

not a tax in itse lf . --[Rev . Rul . 60-220, 1960-1 C .B .

399 .]

- 10 the taxable year, a taxpayer's liability is inchoate and not

precisely determinable . After the close of the year, however,

the taxpayer determines his or her liability, reports it on a

return, and offsets the tax withheld against that liability . If

there is excess withholding, it may be claimed as an overpayment,

and in most instances it is promptly refunded to the .taxpayer .

There are those who may seek to avoid withholding by

claiming to be exempt therefrom or by overstating thei r

withholding allowances on Form W-4 . The Commissioner'''s

Withholding Compliance Program is designed to deal with such

situations :

The mission of the Withholding Compliance Program

is to ensure that taxpayers who have serious underwithholding problems are brought .into compliance with

federal income tax withholding . requirements . The

program .uses Form W-2 Wage and Tax Statement (W-,,2

)information identfy axpyerswith nsuficent

withholding . The goal is to correct withholding to

ensure that taxpayers have enough income tax withheld

to meet their tax obligations . [IRM 5 .19 .11 .1(1) (Ma y

1, 2006) . ]

Integral to the Withholding Compliance Program is the "Lockin Letter" :

Letters 2800C . and 2801C, mailed to the employer and the

taxpayer, respectively, are commonly known as the

"lock-in letters" . Letter 2800C instructs the employer

to disregard the Form W-4 submitted by the taxpayer and

withhold at the marital status and the number of

allowances determined by the Service . Letter 2801C

advises the taxpayer that the employer has been

instructed to disregard the Form W-4 submitted,by the

taxpayer and withhold at the rate specified in„Letter

2800C .

[IRM 5 .19 .11 .3 .2(1) (May 1, 2006) .]

11 Internal Revenue Manual provisions contemplate taxpayer

responses to "Lock-in Letters" and provide for redeterminations,

specifically includin a' release of the "lock-in" . E .g ., IRM

5 .19 .11 .3 .9 (May 1,

2006) ;

IRM 5 .19 .11 .3 .10 (May 1, 2006) . These

provisions are based n authority granted by-regulations . See

sec . 31 .3402(f) (2) -1 ( ) , Employment .Tax Regs . 9

9 A taxpayer's contention with regard- to the alleged

invalidity of the regulation has been held to be without merit .

Bennett v . United States, 361 F .Supp .2d 510, 516 (W .D . . Va . 2005),

affd . in part ,and dismissed in part by unpublished per curiam

order 155 Fed .Appx . 716 (4th Cir . 2005) . In discussing the

mattes,, the District Court stated tha t

the administration and enforcement of the Internal

Revenue Code is delegated by statute to the Secretary

of the Treasury who may prescribe regulations in

See 26 U .S .C .

furtherance of the purposes of the Code .

§ 7801 (a) (1) Furthermore, all persons' liable for any

tax or the collection of any tax under the terms of the

Internal-Revenue Code are required to :comply with the

rules and regulations prescribed by the Secretary .. 26

One of those requirements is that an

U .S .C . § 6001 .

employer must deduct and withhold from-its employees'

wages the tax d termined in accordance with the

provisions of the Code . 26 U .S .C . § 3402 . In fact,

the employer .-it elf can be liable . .to the government for

the amount of the tax that must be withheld in

accordance with the Code . 26 U .S .C . § 3403 .

In furtherance of these purposes, regulations

specify that thE IRS may find that a withholding

exemption certificate is defective and may instruct the

employer to withhold taxes from the-employee on the

basis of instructions from the IRS rather than in

accordance with the W-4 furnished by the employee . 26

[The citation is to a

C .F .R . § 31 .3402(f)(2)- .1(g)(5) .

version of the egulation earlier than the one,

currently in effect .] Courts have noted that an

employer is obligated tocomply with the . instructions

of the IRS in withholding sums from the paychecks o f

(continued .

12 B .

Jurisdiction to Enjoin : Deficiency Actio n

In the context of an action for redetermination of

deficiency, this Court's authority to restrain assessment or

collection is found in the penultimate sentence of section

6213(a) :

The Tax Court shall have no jurisdiction to enjoin any

action or proceeding or order any refund under this

subsection unless a timely petition for a .

redetermination of the deficiency has been filed and

then only in respect of the deficiency that is the

subject of such petition .

In the present case, it is not clear that petitioner

intended to commence an action for redetermination of,the 2004

deficiency . After all, there are no assignments of error nor

allegations of fact, as required by Rule 34(b)(4) and (5), i n

respect of respondent's deficiency determination ; rather, the

petition is styled as a collection action, and the substantive

allegations found in paragraphs 5 . and 6 focus,exclusi,vely on

respondent's January 24, 2008 Lock-in Letter and matters related

thereto . If petitioner did not commence an action fo r

'( . . .continued)

its employees, even when those directions conflict with

the information provided by the employee on his

withholding certificate, because the employer is simply

complying with applicable IRS code sections and

See,e .g ., Chandler

regulations governing withholding .

,

520

F .Supp . 1152,

.

Perini

Power

Constructors,

Inc

.

v

.

Bechtel

Petroleum,

1153 (D .C .N .H . 1981) ; McFarland v

Inc . , 586 F .Supp . 907, 910 (N .D .Cal . 1984) .

I

13 ck jurisdiction to enjoin assessment or

on 6213(a) .

Assuming arguendc that petitioner did intend to commence a n

action for redetermination of deficiency,%section 6213(a) makes

plain that we may only enjoin "in respect of the deficiency that . .

is the subject of such petition ." The only deficiency that could

be the subject of :the petit ion,is the deficiency for 2004 . But

for that year there is no assessed liability°(nor'unasse .ssed

accruals), and the record is clear that respondent is taking, and

has taken, no collection action whatsoever with regard to

respondent's deficiency determination for that year . Indeed,

even petitioner has no argued to the contrary, for his soles

focus is on`the January24 ; 2008 Lock-in Letter, which letter

concerns only current ithholding and has no effect on 2004 .

In short,-if the resent action ..represents (in whole or in

part) an-action for re etermination of deficiency, there is no

basis upon which we mi ht grant petitioner's motion to enjoin .

assessment and collection' . Sec . 6213(a) ;-see Dover Corp .-v . ,Commissioner s T . C . Mem

. 1997-339, affd . 1,48 F . 3d 70 (2d Cit .

1998) .

C . Jurisdiction o En'oin Collection Actio n

In the context of a lien or`levy, action (collection action),

this Court's authority to restrain assessment or collection is

found in the last sent nce of section 6330(e)(1) :

- 14 The Tax Court shall have no jurisdiction under this

paragraph to enjoin any action or proceeding unless a

timely appeal has been filed under subsection (d),,(1)

and then only in respect of the unpaid tax or proposed

levy to which the determination . being appealed relates .

.Thus ,

section 6330 ( e)(1) contemplates . that we first have

plenary jurisdiction in .a lien or levy action before we can

enjoin "any action or proceeding "

and then only " in respect of

the unpaid tax or proposed levy to which the determination being

appealed relates ."

Accordingly ,

we must consider the'conditions

to be satisfied before we' have plenary jurisdiction in a lien or

levy action .

In a lien or levy action

6320 and 6330 ,

( collection action )

under sections

this . Court ' s jurisdiction depends on (1) the

issuance of a notice of determination by the Co mmissioner's

Office of Appeals after the taxpayer has requested an

administrative hearing following the issuance by the'

Commissioner's collection division of either a final , notice of

intent to levy ,

see sec .

Federal tax lien ,

6330 ( a), or a notice of filing of

see sec .

a petition by the taxpayer ,

122, 125 ( 2001 ) ;

(2001 ) ;

6320 ( a), and

( 2) the timely filing of

see Sarrell v . Commissioner , 117 T .C .

Moorhous v . Co mm issioner ,

Offiler v .

Commissioner ,

116 T . C . 263, 269

114 T . C . 492, 498 (2000) ; see

also Rule 330 (b) .1 0

10 We note that this Court is a court of limited

jurisdiction . See sec . 7442 . . Accordingly, we may exercise

jurisdiction only to the extent expressly authorized by statute .

(continued . . .)

- 15 the instant case, respondent's Appeals Office has no t

issued any notice of cetermination for 2004 . Indeed, as we have

already discussed, petitioner has no outstanding (i .e .,•assessed

but unpaid) liability for that year . Likewise ; respondent's .

Appeals Office has not issued'any notice of determination for

2008,. as that year is still open and has yet to close .,'

Petitioner .might say that respondent's January 24, 2008 Lock-in

Letter constitutes a notice of determination within the meaning

of sections

6320

and 330, but it does not .

Ballard v .

Commissioner , T .C . Me o .12007-159 . Thus, lacking any notice o f

determination, we are left without jurisdiction to enjoin

anything .

Ignoring the foregoing, and relying heavily on

Buffano v .

Commissioner , T .C . Memo . 2007-32, petitioner argues that

respondent's January 24, 2008 Lock-in Letter constitutes a

species of collection action and that "ALL collection activity is

governed under IRC §6330 ." We disagree .

We begin with Bu fano v . Commissioner,

supra . That case was

a levy action involving the Commissioner's-efforts'to collect a

taxpayer's outstandin (i .e .-,-assessed but unpaid) liabilities

for 2000 and 2001 . The only motion before us there was th e

Commissioner's motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction .

that regard, the Commissioner argued that the case should b e

I ` ( . . continued),

Breman v . Commissioner,

66 T .C . 61, 66

(1976)

- 16 dismissed on the ground that no notice of determination had been

issued to the taxpayer because the taxpayer had not requested an

administrative hearing following the issuance of a final notice

of intent to levy . In contrast, the taxpayer argued . that the

final notice of intent to levy had not been mailed to him at his

last known address (and had not been received), thereby depriving

him of the opportunity of pre-levy review . The Court agreed with

the taxpayer, held that the final notice was invalid, and denied

the Commissioner's motion ; the Court then dismissed the case on

the alternative ground that the final notice was invalid . . In

short, petitioner's reliance on Buffano v . Commissioner ,

supra ,

is misplaced ; that case is simply irrelevant to the matter befor e

us .

We also flatly reject petitioner's contention that

respondent's January 24, 2008 Lock-in Letter is a collection

action within the meaning of sections 6320 and 6330 ., As we said

in Ballard v . Commissioner , su ra :

There is nothing in the legislative history of the

Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act

of 1998, . Pub . L . 105-206, 112 Stat . 685, that would

indicate that Congress intended to include withholding

of income tax as the type of collection action for

which a hearing must be offered to the taxpayer .

Thus, respondent' s issuance of a Lock-in Letter need not b e

preceded by the issuance of a final notice offering the taxpayer

- 17 an administrative hearing followed by-judicial review .

:,Stated

otherwise, - a Lock-in etter:is not a levy .' 1

Petitioner's ass rtion that "ALL`collection activity is

governed under IRC §6330" is also wrong . Here we need only

mention the common-la right,of "offset" or "set-off", codified

in section 6402(a), t tat permits the .Commissi'oner'to credit an

overpayment for'one taxable year against a .taxpayer's liability

for another taxable y ar . In that regard, .this Court has

expressly held that ar offset, made pursuant to-section 6402(a),

does not constitute a levy and is therefore .not subject to the

provisions of section 6330 .

Bullock v . Commissioner , .T C Memo .

2003-5-, affd . without published opinion 206 Fed .Appx . 164•(3rd

.

Cir . 2006) ; accord Bo d v . Comm issioner, 451'F .3d 8 (1st Cir .

2006), affg . 124 . T'. C . 296 .(2005) .

Finally, petitioner baldly asserts, without . citation of

authority, . that "It is a fundamental principle of law that there

is always a remedy ." But, there is no "fundamental principle o f

law" that the "remedy"I to a Lock-in Letter . is necessarily foun d

in section 6330 .12 A n

. 11

. Petitioner' s

F .Supp .2d 510 (W .D .Va

by unpublished per c u

2005), is misplaced .

taxpayer under sec' . 7

even cite, much less

authority to enjoin a

12

See,

e .g .,'

further, there are both administrativ e

eliance on Bennett v . United States , 361

2005), affd . in part and dismissed in par t

iam order 155 Fed .Appx . 716 (4th Cir .

That case involved an action brought by the

33 . The District Court's opinion did .not

iscuss, sec . 6330 or the Tax Court's

sessment and collection. '

B4llock v . Commissioner ,

supra ,, (holdin g

(co .ntinued . . .)

18 and judicial remedies available to a taxpayer who feels put-upon

by the Commissioner's Withholding Compliance Program . Thus, by

its very terms, a Lock-in Letter does not contemplatei,that an

employer immediately adjust the employee's withholding, but

rather wait a stipulated period of time in order to permit the

employee an opportunity to substantiate his or her withholding .

See, e .g ., IRM 5 .19 .11 .3 .10 (May 1, 2006) ; see also sec .

31 .3402(f) (2) -1 (g) (2) (v) , Employment Tax Regs . ; . sec .

31 .3402(f)(2)-1(g)(4), Example 5, Employment Tax Regs . Further,

an employee still not satisfied may (and should) file a return,

claim the amount withheld as a credit against his orher tax

liability, and request a refund . 13

That approach failing, the

employee may institute a refund suit pursuant to section 7422

with either the appropriate United States District~Court or the

United States Court of Federal Claims . See McCormick v .

Commissioner , 55 T .C . 138 ., 142 n .5 (1970) .

12( . . .continued)

that an offset made pursuant to sec . 6402(a) does not constitute

a levy and is therefore not subject to the provisions of sec .

6330) .

13 .See Bennett v . United States , supra at 517, . wherein the

District Court stated that the taxpaye r

does have a,legal remedy to reclaim any excess . amount

of income tax withheld . He can simply file his income

tax return for the year and receive a full refund of

any overpayment .

- 19 D.

Conclusio n

If the instant action'is viewed as an action fo r

redetermination, then our jurisdiction to enjoin is limited to

the deficiency that i the subject of the action . Sec . 6213(a) .

The deficiency that i arguably the subject of the instant action

involves only 2004 . But, to date, respondent has not assessed

and is not attempting to collect anything for-that year . Thus,_

there is nothing to restrain . In this context, petitioner's

motion is without merit and must be denied .

If the instant action is viewed as one for collection

review, then our jurisdiction to enjoin is subject to section

6330\(e)(1) . However, the only "collection" action identified by

petitioner is respondent's January 24, 2008 Lock-in Letter . But

because that letter is not a collection action within the meaning

of the collection revi w provisions of sections 6320 and 6330,

respondent'' ;s Appeals Office had no occasion to, and did not,

issue a notice of dete mination . Absent a notice of

determination and a timely appeal in respect thereof, this Court

lacks jurisdiction to njoin . In this context, petitioner's

motion must therefore e denied .

To give effect to the foregoing ,

An appropriate order will b e

entered .

UNITED~TATES TAX- COURT

www .ustaxcourt .gov

Kenneth Davis

Petitioner(s)

Docket No .'}D - 0

6

V.

COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE,

Respondent

REQUEST FOR PLACE OF TRIAL

Place an "X" in only one box to request your place of trial . A city marked with an asterisk i *) 1 ~,;

may be requested onl if you elected on Form 2 that your case be conducted as a small tax cage -°i tr y'a' `~"`

any other city may be requested for any case, including a small tax case .

ALABAMA

❑ Birmingham

❑ Mobil e

ALASKA

❑ Anchorage

ARIZONA

❑ Phoenix

ARKANSAS

❑ Little Rock

CALIFORNIA

❑ Fresno *

❑ Los Angeles

❑ San Dieg o

❑ San Francisco

COLORADO

❑ Denver

CONNECTICUT

❑ Hartford

DISTRICT OF

COLUMBIA

❑ Washington

FLORIDA

❑ Jacksonville

❑ Miami

❑ Tallahassee*

❑ Tampa

GEORGIA

)a( Atlanta

HAWAII

❑ Honolul u

IDAHO

❑ Boise

❑ Pocatello*

ILLINOIS

❑ Chicago

❑ Peoria *

INDIANA

❑ Indianapolis

IOW A

❑ Des Moines

KANSAS

❑ Wichita *

KENTUCKY

❑ Louisville

LOUISIAN A

❑ New Orleans

❑ Shreveport*

MAINE

❑ Portland*

MARYLAND

❑ Baltimore

MASSACHUSETTS

❑ Boston

MICHIGAN

❑ Detroit

MINNESOTA

❑ St . Paul

MISSISSIPPI

❑ Jackson

MISSOURI

❑ Kansas City

❑ St . Louis

MONTANA

❑ Billings*

❑ Helena

NEBRASKA

❑ Omaha

NEVADA

❑ Las Vegas

❑ Reno

NEW MEXICO

❑ Albuquerque

NEW YORK

❑ Albany*

❑ Buffal o

❑ New York City

❑ Syracuse*

NORTH CAROLINA

❑ Winston-Salem

NORTH DAKOTA

❑ Bismarck*

SIGNATURE OF PETITIONER(S) OR COUNSEL

OHIO

❑ Cincinnati

❑ Cleveland

❑ Columbu s

OKLAHOMA

❑ Oklahoma City

OREGON

❑ Portland

PENNSYLVANIA

❑ Philadelphia

❑ Pittsburgh

SOUTH CAROLINA

❑ Columbia

SOUTH DAKOTA

❑ Aberdeen*

TENNESSEE

❑ Knoxville

❑ Memphis

❑ Nashville

TEXAS

❑ Dallas

❑ El Paso

❑ Houston

❑ Lubbock

❑ San Antonio

UTAH

❑ Salt Lake City

VERMONT

❑ Burlington*

VIRGINIA

❑ Richmond

❑ Roanoke*

WASHINGTON

❑ Seattle

❑ Spokane

WEST VIRGINIA

❑ Charleston

WISCONSIN

❑ Milwaukee

WYOMING

❑ Cheyenne*

DATE

T .C . FORM 5 (REV. 01/08)