You Have Mail From the IRS and You Cannot Deny It.

This case points out that a taxpayer simply cannot refuse to check their mail and successfully claim that notice of a tax deficiency was not received from the IRS.  Here, the IRS sent a notice of deficiency to the taxpayer on multiple occasions via certified mail, return receipt requested.  Finally, the U.S.P.S. ceased attempting delivery and returned it to the IRS.  The taxpayer claimed that he never got notice of the deficiency.  However, the Tax Court found that the taxpayer was able to get his mail and had multiple opportunities to check and retrieve it, and held that he could not simply refuse to get his mail and claim that he didn't have notice of the deficiency.  The court also determined that the taxpayer could not dispute the underlying tax deficiency related to the notice.  Onyango v. Comr., 142 T.C. No. 24 (2014).