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Three New Changes at the Tax Court Impacting the Queen City

Kim, a white woman with shoulder-length brown hair, wears a pin and orange dress and blue blazer with a small off-white flower pin. She is seated in her office.
Kimberly B. Tyson

Many know that the U.S. Tax Court is a court of national jurisdiction that travels to cities across the country. To file a petition in Tax Court, taxpayers are not required to pay the tax in advance, and therefore, approximately 80% of the petitions filed in Tax Court are by pro se litigants. This week, Chief Judge Urda announced three improvements to the court that result from the court’s ability to analyze case data from its filing system, DAWSON.

1. Charlotte is a new trial location.

Most impactful for Charlotteans is the addition of the Queen City as one of five new trial locations. Charlotte will be added in addition to existing nearby locations in Winston-Salem and Columbia, South Carolina. The other new locations are Austin, Texas; Newark, New Jersey; Orlando, Florida; and Sacramento, California.

As announced previously, the NCBA Tax Section operates a bar-sponsored program recognized by the U.S. Tax Court through which attorneys volunteer to provide pro bono assistance to unrepresented taxpayers during the call of the calendar. The NCBA Calendar Call program currently serves at the Tax Court sessions in Columbia and Winston-Salem, and has added Charlotte, consistent with the court’s announcement.

2. Certain Cities Are No Longer Restricted to Hear Only “S” Cases.

The second change is the expansion of the types of cases heard at each trial session. Previously, certain trial locations were restricted to hear only small cases with an “S” designation. An “S” case follows a small tax case procedure under I.R.C. § 7463 and Tax Court Rule 173(a)(1) applicable to cases with generally less than $50,000 at issue. The case is heard under less formal procedures, with a more relaxed evidentiary standard, and no right of appeal.

Beginning September 8, 2026, taxpayers may request to have their cases heard in any place of trial, regardless of the case designation.

3. Pilot: Reporting Calendars

Next fall, the Tax Court may assign cases to a reporting calendar, rather than a trial calendar. The process for a trial calendar is similar in that both have an assigned judge and pretrial schedule, but a reporting calendar will not assign a trial date. Instead, the presiding judge will schedule trial dates. The court’s use of a reporting calendar is a pilot program to evaluate whether the court’s operational efficiency can be improved, presumably by eliminating continuances.

The next scheduled calendar calls serviced by the NCBA Calendar Call Program are (1) on September 14 in Columbia, South Carolina, with Judge James Halpern presiding, and (2) on November 30 in Winston-Salem, with Judge Ashford presiding. If you are interested in volunteering or want general information about the NCBA Calendar Call Program, please contact Kim Tyson, its organizer and inaugural administrator.

Kimberly B. Tyson is an attorney with K. Tyson Law in Charlotte.