Email: brian@asburygardner.com
Phone: (404) 382-9942
Fax: (404) 565-1103

Partner

Brian Gardner,
J.D., LL.M.

Brian Gardner is a partner at Asbury Gardner, Tax Counsel. Brian focuses his practice on tax controversy and litigation matters. Brian is among the most active tax litigators in the Southeast. Under the age of 40, he has already participated in over a dozen tax trials in the U.S. Tax Court (including as lead counsel), four cases in the U.S. Courts of Appeals, and numerous pre-trial motion briefs in U.S. District Court. He is a 2023-2024 John S. Nolan fellow. He is also the co-author of two chapters of the ABA publication, Effectively Representing Your Client before the IRS.

Brian has litigated cases in a variety of domestic and international tax issues including tax credit syndications, employee retention credits, valuation disputes, economic substance challenges, accounting methods, foreign tax credits, debt-equity characterization, promoter penalties, tax preparer penalties, self-employment tax issues, and estate taxes.

Brian regularly speaks and writes on tax controversy topics. He has presented at local and national tax conferences, led webinars, and appeared on panels on topics ranging from litigating employment tax controversies to dealing with international tax noncompliance.

Prior to joining Asbury Gardner, Brian practiced at an AmLaw 100 firm and a mid-sized firm in Atlanta, Georgia. He has represented clients in civil and criminal tax proceedings in U.S. District Courts, the U.S. Tax Court, and U.S. Courts of Appeals.

Brian is recognized among his peers as a tax expert. He is consistently ranked by Chambers USA as a leading tax practitioner in Georgia. He has also been selected to Georgia Super Lawyers, Rising Stars and Best Lawyers in America’s Ones to Watch.

Brian attended Villanova University School of Law as a Dean’s Merit Scholar. While there, he worked in the Villanova Federal Tax Clinic and was awarded the Federal Tax Clinic Award as the top student in the Clinic. Brian received his LL.M in Taxation from Georgetown University.

Representative Matters

  • Champions Retreat Golf Founders, LLC, Riverwood Land, LLC, Tax Matters Partners v. Commissioner, 959 F.3d 1033 (11th Cir. 2020). Secured precedent-setting victory in 11th Circuit case reversing the Tax Court in a conservation easement case.

  • Mill Road 36 Henry LLC v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo 2023-129. Successfully defended taxpayer in nine of eleven legal issues raised by the IRS including the civil fraud penalty, partnership issues, and qualified appraiser/qualified appraisal issues.

  • David Walters v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2022-17. Taxpayer victory in Section 183 hobby loss case.

  • Deborah Wood v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2021-103. Successfully defended military veteran’s claimed foreign earned income exclusion.

  • Jevon Kearse v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2019-53. Won Tax Court case involving over $1 million theft loss deduction.

  • Secured numerous settlements with the Office of Appeals in coordinated issue transactions.  

  • Negotiated $250,000 refund in Tax Court case where IRS originally proposed over $1.5 million in tax and penalties.

  • Successfully represented taxpayers in case of first impression regarding method of accounting issue.

  • Received full abatement of over $1 million in foreign noncompliance penalties through collection due process procedures.

Honors

Associations

  • Chair, Tax Law Section, Atlanta Bar Association

  • Edgar Murdock Inn of Court at the U.S. Tax Court

  • Section of Taxation, American Bar Association

  • Taxation Law Section, State Bar of Georgia

Court Admissions

  • Supreme Court of Georgia
  • U.S. Tax Court
  • U.S. Court of Federal Claims
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia
  • U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia
  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia

Bar Admissions

  • Georgia

Education

  • Furman University, B.A. 2010
  • Villanova University, J.D. 2013
  • Georgetown University Law Center, LL.M. in Taxation, 2018