Limiting the Attorney Negligence Excuse for Late Returns: United States v. Boyle

• Published in: The Tax lawyer 1986-01, Vol.39 (2), p.333-338
• Main Author: Reynolds, Sharon P.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Attorneys; Deadlines; Estate taxes; Federal court decisions; Federal taxes; Fines; Fines & penalties; Late; Liability; Negligence; Reasonable care; Reasonable time; State court decisions; Supreme Court decisions; SUPREME COURT DECISIONS IN TAXATION: 1984 TERM; Tax attorneys; Tax law; Tax preparation; Tax returns; Taxation; Taxpayers; Taxpaying
• ISSN: 0040-005X; 2329-6089

In US versus Boyle (1985), the US Supreme Court held that mere reliance on an attorney is not reasonable cause for late filing of a tax return because the Internal Revenue Code imposes a personal, nondelegable duty on the taxpayer, rather than on the taxpayer's agent or employee, to ensure prompt filing. In distinguishing Boyle from cases in which counsel is sought on a technical matter of tax law, the Court found that reliance on counsel will not substitute for timely filing when a statute imposes an unambiguous deadline. The result is harsh, but necessary, since allowing a taxpayer to escape penalty might signal tax attorneys that filing deadlines need not be met so long as the taxpayer is not informed of them. The ruling ensures that both attorney and taxpayer have an incentive to guarantee timeliness by imposing a standard penalty for late filing on the taxpayer, presumedly leaving the taxpayer free to proceed against the attorney to recover it. However, the Court has still failed to specify what additional steps, if any, the taxpayer can take to escape the penalty.