UNITED STATES TAX COURT
Washington, D.C. 20217
DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE FOR REMOTE PROCEEDINGS
Documentary evidence that is provided during a U.S. Tax Court proceeding is
referred to as an “exhibit.”
Stipulation of Facts
To narrow the issues for trial, the Court requires petitioners and IRS
representatives to meet before trial and agree (stipulate) to facts and documents not
in dispute. The parties must prepare a Stipulation of Facts with all stipulated
(agreed) documents attached as exhibits, numbered sequentially, starting with 1-J
(indicating joint submission by petitioner(s) and respondent). The Stipulation of
Facts must be filed no later than 14 days before the first day of the trial session and
should be submitted electronically (e-Filed).
Some of the things that the parties should be able to agree to are:
1. a copy of the relevant tax return(s);
2. a copy of the relevant IRS notice(s);
3. copies of agreements or contracts (if any) relating to the items in dispute;
and
4. copies of receipts, proof of payments, or invoices (if any) relating to the
items in dispute.
Proposed Trial Exhibits
Parties must mark disputed documents or materials that are expected to be
presented at trial (except impeachment documents or materials) with an exhibit
number. These disputed documents must be filed, preferably electronically, as
Proposed Trial Exhibits. The Court may refuse to receive in evidence any
document or material that is not filed as a Proposed Trial Exhibit no later than 14
days before the first day of the trial session.
Proposed Trial Exhibits should be sequentially numbered, and include a “P” for
petitioner(s)’ proposed exhibits and “R” for respondent’s proposed exhibits. The
parties can file these Proposed Trial Exhibits as one document or as separate
documents. They should coordinate sequential numbering, if possible, following
the last numbered joint exhibit (e.g., 24-J, 25-P, 26-P, 27-R, 28-R, etc.).
Alternatively, if the parties cannot coordinate numbering, petitioner(s) should
number Proposed Trial Exhibits sequentially starting with 500-P and respondent
should number Proposed Trial Exhibits starting with 1,000-R.
Exhibits During Hearing or Trial
During a hearing or trial, the Judge may permit submission of additional exhibits
not previously submitted, including exhibits used for the purpose of impeachment
or to refresh the memory of a witness. The Judge will provide direction about how
to submit the exhibit electronically during the proceeding. If you are registered for
eAccess, you should have your log-in information available so that you are
prepared to eFile the document if the Judge directs you to do so. The Judge may
also ask for you to submit the document electronically through email or another
electronic transmission method, and may ask for you to share your screen to
display the document during the proceeding.
Format and File Size
• Documents should be submitted in PDF format.
• Each document should have a file size no larger than 50 MB.
• If the document exceeds 500 pages, file multiple documents (i.e., Proposed
Trial Exhibits Part I, Proposed Trial Exhibits Part II, etc.).
• Pages within each exhibit should include the exhibit number and should be
uniquely numbered for the Court and parties to identify specific pages within
documents easily.
Effective August 6, 2020
