Estate of Leonard A. Wood, Deceased, J.M. Loonan, Personal Representative v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue

I respectfully dissent. The majority determines that the timely filing requirement of I.R.C. § 7502 (1988) is satisfied by secondary evidence of a postmark. I submit that the majority’s holding ignores the plain language of the statute and violates basic principles of statutory construction.

The majority concludes that direct proof of a postmark satisfies the requirements of I.R.C. § 7502(a), even where the Commissioner asserts the document was not actually received. The plain language of the statute does not support this result. I.R.C. § 7502 reads as follows:(a) General rule.(1) Date of…