Jerome Frank Harris v. United States

Summary

In Harris v. United States, the Court of Federal Claims dismissed a pro se taxpayer’s refund suit for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The court held that under the Flora full-payment rule, a taxpayer must pay the full assessed tax before suing for a refund, and the IRS Certificate of Assessments and Payments is presumptive proof of a valid assessment. The court also held that 26 U.S.C. § 7422 requires filing an administrative refund claim with the IRS before bringing suit, and plaintiff failed to do so for certain years.

Holdings

1. A taxpayer must pay the full amount of all assessed tax before challenging its correctness by a suit for refund; failure to do so deprives the court of jurisdiction.
2. Section 7422 requires that a claim for refund be duly filed with the IRS before maintaining a suit for refund; failure to do so deprives the court of jurisdiction.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the court has subject matter jurisdiction over the 1985-1992 tax years given plaintiff's failure to pay the full assessed tax.
2. Whether the court has subject matter jurisdiction over the 1983, 1984, and 1993 tax years where plaintiff did not file a refund claim with the IRS.

Disposition

dismissed