Tax Legal Services · Primary-source case analysis

Brown v. Commissioner: Returning an Offer in Compromise Stopped the Deemed-Acceptance Clock

By Aneeta Mishra and Timothy Chan

Published April 21, 2026

Brown analyzes which IRS action ends section 7122(f)’s 24-month period when an offer in compromise is submitted during a collection-due-process proceeding.

An offer accompanied a lien hearing

Michael Brown requested a collection-due-process hearing and submitted an offer to compromise unpaid liabilities. Appeals referred the offer to the Collection Division, which returned it as nonprocessable within seven months; Appeals sustained the lien more than two years later.

The lead opinion treated the return as dispositive

The lead opinion concluded that the Collection Division could return the offer and that this action prevented deemed acceptance, even though the Appeals Office did not complete the CDP determination within 24 months.

The panel divided three ways

A concurrence agreed with the judgment on a different understanding of the statute. A dissent concluded the Appeals officer had to act within the period and emphasized that no single rationale commanded a majority, limiting the decision’s precedential force beyond the judgment.

Disposition

The panel affirmed the Tax Court’s lien determination. Practitioners should read all three opinions and avoid overstating a fractured panel’s rationale as a unified holding.

Key takeaways

• Record when an offer is submitted, returned, rejected, or withdrawn.
• Distinguish a processability return from a merits rejection.
• Read fractured opinions by votes and shared propositions.
• Do not assume a pending CDP hearing leaves an offer open for section 7122(f).