DocketNumber: Docket No. 13370-14.
Judges: ASHFORD
Filed Date: 1/17/2017
Status: Non-Precedential
Modified Date: 11/21/2020
Decision will be entered for respondent.
ASHFORD,
Some of the facts have been stipulated and are so found. The stipulation of facts and the attached exhibits are incorporated herein by this reference. Petitioners resided in California at the time the petition was filed with the Court.
Petitioners prepared and filed timely (without the assistance of a paid preparer) a joint Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, for the 2011 taxable year (joint return). On the joint return petitioners reported wages of $124,756 ($33,438 of wages paid to Mr. Oatman from his employment with Inglewood United as a teacher and $91,318 of wages paid to Mrs. Oatman from her employment with Coram Specialty Infusion Services, Inc., as a registered nurse). Petitioners attached to the joint return a Schedule A, a Schedule C, and a Schedule E. Petitioners claimed $50,474 of itemized deductions on their Schedule A, a $7,597 deduction for a net loss for a construction building contractor consulting business operated by Mr. Oatman on their Schedule C, and a $24,473 deduction for a rental real estate loss for certain property on their Schedule E.
As relevant here,*17 on their Schedule A petitioners claimed a deduction of $7,950 for charitable gifts by cash or check and a deduction of $8,964 for unreimbursed employee business expenses. The details of petitioners' unreimbursed employee business expenses were shown on a Form 2106,*20 Employee Business Expenses, also attached to the joint return, and those expenses consisted of $6,997 for vehicle expenses and $1,967 for meals and entertainment of Mrs. Oatman in connection with her job as a nurse.
On their Schedule C petitioners reported gross receipts of $1,180 and total expenses of $8,777. The expenses consisted of $1,240 for car and truck expenses; $1,381 for insurance; $814 for office expense; $1,680 for rent or lease of vehicles, machinery, and equipment; $1,744 for repairs and maintenance; $275 for supplies; $845 for travel; and $798 for utilities.
On their Schedule E petitioners reported $42,700 of rental income and $66,296 of total expenses for rental property in Los Angeles, California, and no rental income and $877 of total expenses for vacant lots in San Luis Obispo, California. Despite reporting that their adjusted gross income exceeded $100,000 (they reported adjusted gross income of $114,802),*18 petitioners did not limit their Schedule E rental real estate loss deduction under
Following an examination of the joint return, respondent determined that the Schedule A charitable cash contribution deduction and the Schedule E rental real estate loss deduction should be partially disallowed and that the entire Schedule A deduction for unreimbursed employee expenses and the entire Schedule C net loss*21 deduction should be disallowed. Respondent also determined that a In general, the Commissioner's determinations set forth in a notice of deficiency are presumed correct, and the taxpayer bears the burden of proving otherwise. But, when the Commissioner raises a new issue or an increase in the deficiency, he bears the burden of proof as to the new issue or the increased deficiency. A taxpayer may deduct all ordinary and necessary business expenses paid or incurred during the taxable year in carrying on a trade or business. Whether an expense is deductible under The Substantiation by adequate records requires the taxpayer to maintain (1) an account book, diary, log, statement of expense, trip sheets, or similar record*27 prepared contemporaneously with the expenditure and (2) documentary evidence, such as receipts or paid bills, which together prove each element of an expenditure. On the Schedule A attached to the joint return petitioners claimed an unreimbursed employee business expense*23 deduction for vehicle expenses of $6,997 and meals and entertainment expenses of $1,967 of Mrs. Oatman in connection with her job as a nurse. These types of expenses cannot be estimated because they are subject to the strict substantiation rules of On the Schedule C attached to the joint return, petitioners claimed a deduction for the following expenses for a general building contractor consulting business operated by Mr. Oatman:*24 car and truck expenses of $1,240; insurance of $1,381; office expense of $814; rent or lease of vehicles, machinery, and equipment of $1,680; repairs and maintenance of $1,744; supplies of $275; travel of $845; and utilities of $798. As is the case with the unreimbursed employee business expenses, the car and truck expenses and the travel expenses cannot be estimated because they are subject to the strict substantiation rules of A taxpayer is allowed as a deduction any charitable contribution made during the taxable year. Petitioners claimed a deduction totaling $7,950 for gifts by cash or check to several charitable organizations. Respondent determined (and the parties later stipulated) that petitioners substantiated (and thus were entitled to a deduction for) charitable gifts to the Los Angeles Mission, Johnson C. Smith University, and the Eternal Promise Baptist Church totaling $3,660. Respondent determined that*31 petitioners were not entitled to a charitable contribution deduction for the remaining amount, $4,290, because of lack of substantiation. Mr. Oatman testified that all of his charitable endeavors with the Los Angeles Mission were documented and that he and Mrs. Oatman "make a lot of cash contributions all over town, all throughout the year". Mr. Oatman also acknowledged that much of his involvement with and support of Johnson C. Smith University*27 and the Eternal Promise Baptist Church, where he serves in several officer positions, is "not reflected on paper", but he stated that he believed the On a number of occasions, this Court has used the Although the parties stipulated that petitioners substantiated a portion of their reported charitable cash contributions for the 2011 taxable year, petitioners have merely provided testimony and not any additional documentation to substantiate the remaining charitable contributions. This testimony is insufficient*28 to allow an additional charitable contribution deduction beyond what respondent has already allowed. We sustain respondent's determination that petitioners are allowed a Schedule A charitable contribution deduction of $3,660. In addition to being allowed deductions for all the ordinary and necessary expenses paid or incurred during the taxable year in carrying on a trade or business under As relevant here, one exception to the The parties stipulated that petitioners actively participated in their rental real estate activity during 2011.*30 In his amended answer respondent asserted (and the parties later stipulated) that petitioners' adjusted gross income was $138,452 (and not $114,802 as reported on the joint return). As a result, petitioners' claimed deduction for a rental real estate loss of $24,473 on their Schedule E should be limited to $5,774, representing the application of the phaseout of the loss limitation under Finally, we consider whether petitioners are liable for the Various grounds for the imposition of this penalty are set forth in the notice of deficiency although only one accuracy-related penalty may*31 be applied with respect to any given portion of an underpayment, even if that portion is subject to the penalty on more than one ground. At trial petitioners did not offer any evidence as to the application of the accuracy-related penalty, including that they had reasonable cause and acted in*37 good faith. Moreover, because petitioners did not challenge the accuracy-related penalty by assigning error to it in their petition, we deem this issue conceded. We have considered all of the arguments made by the parties and, to the extent they are not addressed herein, we find them to be moot, irrelevant, or without merit. To reflect the foregoing,
1. Unless otherwise indicated, all section references are to the Internal Revenue Code in effect for the year at issue, and all Rule references are to the Tax Court Rules of Practice and Procedure. Some monetary amounts are rounded to the nearest dollar.↩
2. The parties stipulated that petitioners substantiated cash contributions in the following amounts to the following charitable organizations: (1) $485 to Los Angeles Mission; (2) $500 to Johnson C. Smith University; and (3) $2,675 to Eternal Promise Baptist Church.↩
3. Subsequently, in his amended answer respondent corrected the computation of the allowable deduction for Schedule E passive activity losses, reducing the amount to $5,774. He also asserted that petitioners are liable for self-employment tax in the increased amount of $145, not $32 as determined in the notice of deficiency and that they are not entitled to the child and dependent care credit of $6 also determined in the notice of deficiency. The parties stipulate that petitioners' modified adjusted gross income for the 2011 taxable year was $138,452, not $114,802, which in turn results in the reduced amount of the allowable deduction for Schedule E passive activity losses. The parties also stipulate that petitioners did not report any amounts for child and dependent care on the joint return and that they are not entitled to a child and dependent care credit for the 2011 taxable year. In computing Mr. Oatman's self-employment tax, the notice of deficiency indicates that both petitioners' Social Security wages and tips from Forms W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, were erroneously taken into account. Respondent's amended answer reflects the removal of Mrs. Oatman's Form W-2 Social Security wages and tips, which results in the increased amount of self-employment tax.↩
4. In their petition, in addition to disputing the determinations for the 2011 taxable year, petitioners disputed determinations for the 2012 taxable year. On July 11, 2014, the Court granted respondent's motion to dismiss this case for lack of jurisdiction insofar as it relates to the 2012 taxable year on the ground that no statutory notice of deficiency, as authorized by
5. Petitioners do not otherwise contend that the burden of proof should shift to respondent under
6. It may be that petitioners' expenses for rent or lease of vehicles, machinery, and equipment are also subject to the strict substantiation rules of
7.
8.
9. The asserted deductible amount of $5,774 was calculated by subtracting $19,226 (multiplying 50% by the difference between $138,452 and $100,000) from $25,000 (the
10. Respondent also demonstrated that petitioners acted negligently for 2011 because the record before us clearly shows,
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