United States Ninth Circuit

In an action brought by a trustee of a revocable trust seeking a refund of a penalty imposed by the Internal Revenue Service for late payment of an estate tax, summary judgment to the government is affirmed where: 1) the substantial compliance doctrine does not excuse plaintiff's failure to strictly comply with the regulations governing requests for extension of time to pay estate taxes; 2) the doctrine of equitable estoppel does not bar the IRS from imposing a late payment penalty and assessing interest; and 3) the district court properly granted summary judgment to the U.S. on the issue of whether the late payment penalty should be abated on the grounds of reasonable cause.

Appellate Information

• Decided 02/16/2011
• Published 02/16/2011

Judges

• BURGESS

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel