§7447A — Title 26 Internal Revenue Code | U.S. Code

Summary

Special trial judges of the Tax Court can retire once they reach a sliding scale of age and service: age 65 with 15 years of service, age 66 with 14 years, and so on down to age 70 with 10 years. All their time serving as a special trial judge counts, even if it was not continuous. A special trial judge who becomes permanently disabled must retire. After retiring, a judge can be called back by the chief judge for up to 90 days of judicial duties per calendar year, unless the judge agrees to more, and is excused during illness or disability. A judge who elects retired pay receives a share of the current special trial judge salary based on years served divided by 15. A judge who retires for disability gets the full salary rate with at least 10 years of service, or half that rate with fewer than 10 years. Pay starts the day after the regular salary stops and continues for life. The election to receive retired pay can generally be made only while serving (or within 60 days after leaving office if not reappointed), must be filed in writing with the chief judge, and once made cannot be changed.

Title 26, §7447A

Internal Revenue Code — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)Any special trial judge appointed pursuant to section 7443A may retire from service as a special trial judge if the individual meets the age and service requirements set forth in the following table: If the special trial judge has attained age:And the years of service as a special trial judge are at least: 6515 6614 6713 6812 6911 7010

(2)In making any determination of length of service as a special trial judge there shall be included all periods (whether or not consecutive) during which an individual served as a special trial judge

(b)Any special trial judge appointed pursuant to section 7443A who becomes permanently disabled from performing such individual’s duties shall retire from service as a special trial judge.

(c)Any individual who has retired pursuant to subsection (a) may be called upon by the chief judge to perform such judicial duties with the Tax Court as may be requested of such individual for a period or periods specified by the chief judge, except that in the case of any such individual—

(1)the aggregate of such periods in any 1 calendar year shall not (without the consent of such individual) exceed 90 calendar days, and

(2)such individual shall be relieved of performing such duties during any period in which illness or disability precludes the performance of such duties.

(d)(1)Any individual who retires pursuant to subsection (a) and elects under subsection (e) to receive retired pay under this subsection shall receive retired pay during any period of retirement from service as a special trial judge at a rate which bears the same ratio to the rate of the salary payable to a special trial judge during such period as—

(A)the number of years such individual has served as special trial judge bears to,

(B)15,

(2)Any individual who retires pursuant to subsection (b) and elects under subsection (e) to receive retired pay under this subsection shall receive retired pay during any period of retirement from service as a special trial judge—

(A)at a rate equal to the rate of the salary payable to a special trial judge during such period, if the individual had at least 10 years of service as a special trial judge before retirement, and

(B)at a rate equal to ½ the rate described in subparagraph (A), if the individual had fewer than 10 years of service as a special trial judge before retirement.

(3)Retired pay under this subsection shall begin to accrue on the day following the date on which the individual’s salary as a special trial judge ceases to accrue, and shall continue to accrue during the remainder of such individual’s life. Retired pay under this subsection shall be paid in the same manner as the salary of a special trial judge.

(4)In computing the rate of the retired pay for an individual to whom paragraph (1) applies, any portion of the aggregate number of years such individual has served as a special trial judge which is a fractional part of 1 year shall be eliminated if it is less than 6 months, or shall be counted as a full year if it is 6 months or more.

(5)In computing the rate of the retired pay for an individual to whom paragraph (1) applies, any period during which such individual performs services under subsection (c) on a substantially full-time basis shall be treated as a period during which such individual has served as a special trial judge.

(e)Any special trial judge may elect to receive retired pay under subsection (d). Such an election—

(1)may be made only while an individual is a special trial judge (except that in the case of an individual who fails to be reappointed as a special trial judge, such election may be made within 60 days after such individual leaves office as a special trial judge),

(2)once made, shall be irrevocable, and

(3)shall be made by filing notice thereof in writing with the chief judge.

(f)The rules of subsections (f), (g), (h)(2), (i), and (j), and the first sentence of subsection (h)(1), of section 7447 shall apply to a special trial judge in the same manner as a judge of the Tax Court. For purposes of the preceding sentence, any reference to the President in such subsections shall be applied as if it were a reference to the chief judge.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Pub. L. 117–328, div. T, title VII, § 702(d), Dec. 29, 2022, 136 Stat. 5404, provided that: “The

Amendments

made by this section [enacting this section and amending section 3121 and 7448 of this title and section 410 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare] shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 29, 2022], except that section 7447A(e) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (as added by this section) shall take effect on the date that is 180 days after such date of enactment. Special trial judges retiring on or after the date of the enactment of this Act, and before the date that is 180 days after the date of such enactment, may file an election under such section not later than 60 days after such date.”

§7447A Retirement for Special Trial Judges