T.C. Memo. 2000-172
UNITED STATES TAX COURT
SEAN E. BATSON, Petitioner v.
COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent
Docket No. 11063-98. Filed May 25, 2000.
James David Leckrone, for petitioner.
Rebecca Dance Harris, for respondent.
MEMORANDUM OPINION
COUVILLION, Special Trial Judge: Respondent determined a
deficiency of $2,100 in petitioner's Federal income tax for 1995.
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The sole issue for decision is whether petitioner is
entitled to dependency exemption deductions under section 151(c)1
for 1995.
Some of the facts were stipulated, and those facts, with the
annexed exhibits, are so found and are incorporated herein by
reference. Petitioner's legal residence at the time the petition
was filed was Old Hickory, Tennessee.
During 1995, petitioner was employed by the U.S. Postal
Service. Petitioner was married to Valencia Batson (Mrs.
Batson), and the couple had three children: Dominique, Brittney,
and Monique. Although petitioner and Mrs. Batson were married
throughout 1995, Mrs. Batson and the children moved out of the
family residence at some point in 1995 and went to live with Mrs.
Batson's mother.
Petitioner and Mrs. Batson filed separate Federal income tax
returns for 1995. Petitioner filed his Federal income tax return
as married filing separately. On his 1995 return, petitioner
claimed dependency exemption deductions for Dominique, Brittney,
and Monique. In the notice of deficiency, respondent disallowed
the dependency exemption deductions claimed by petitioner for the
three children.
1
Unless otherwise indicated, all section references are
to the Internal Revenue Code in effect for the year at issue.
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Section 151(c) allows taxpayers to deduct an annual
exemption amount for each dependent as defined in section 152.
Under section 152(a), the term "dependent" means certain
individuals over half of whose support was received from the
taxpayer during the taxable year in which such individuals are
claimed as dependents. Eligible individuals who may be claimed
as dependents include, among others, a son or daughter of the
taxpayer. See sec. 152(a)(1).
Section 1.152-1(a)(2)(i), Income Tax Regs., provides that,
in determining whether an individual received over half of his
support from the taxpayer, "there shall be taken into account the
amount of support received from the taxpayer as compared to the
entire amount of support which the individual received from all
sources, including support which the individual himself
supplied." In Blanco v. Commissioner, 56 T.C. 512, 514-515
(1971), this Court held that, in establishing that more than one-
half of a dependent's support has been provided, a prerequisite
to such a showing is the demonstration by competent evidence of
the total amount of the dependent's support from all sources for
that year. If the amount of total support is not established and
cannot be reasonably inferred from competent evidence available
to the Court, it is not possible to conclude that the taxpayer
claiming the exemption provided more than one-half of the support
of the claimed dependent.
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Respondent agrees that petitioner would be entitled to all
of the claimed dependency exemptions but for the fact that
petitioner did not establish that he provided over one-half of
the support for any of the claimed dependents during 1995 as
required by section 152. According to petitioner, Mrs. Batson
and the children lived in the family home during 1995 until they
moved out on November 30, 1995. Petitioner claims that, although
Mrs. Batson earned money as a substitute teacher during the first
4 months of 1995, none of the amounts Mrs. Batson earned was used
to support the children. Instead, petitioner claims he provided
all of the children's support for 1995 until they moved out in
November. Further, petitioner claims the children did not
receive support from any other sources during the first 11 months
of 1995. Importantly, petitioner was unable to describe with any
specificity the amounts he expended on the children's behalf
during 1995 and presented no documentary evidence to support his
vague testimony.
Mrs. Batson and her mother, Patricia Campbell (Ms.
Campbell), testified at trial with respect to the Batsons' living
arrangements during 1995. Both witnesses refuted petitioner's
testimony. Mrs. Batson and Ms. Campbell claim that Mrs. Batson
and the children moved out of the family home in June 1995. The
two testified that they provided the primary means of support to
the children while they lived in the family home and that
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petitioner provided little support during this period. Mrs.
Batson and Ms. Campbell further claim that Ms. Campbell provided
all of the children’s support once they moved into her home and
that petitioner provided no support to the children during that
period.
Petitioner's evidence as to the support he provided and the
total support provided to the three children during 1995 is
wholly inadequate to establish his case. Petitioner presented no
documentary evidence to support his claims, and his testimony
conflicts with that of two other witnesses. Although the Court
is satisfied that petitioner did contribute toward the support of
his three children during 1995, the record does not establish the
total amount expended for the children from all sources for 1995.
It is evident to the Court that the children received a
substantial portion of their support from Mrs. Batson and Ms.
Campbell. Moreover, the Court is unable to infer reasonably the
amount petitioner contributed because of the conflicting
evidence. The Court, on this record, concludes that petitioner
did not establish that he provided over one-half of the
children's support during 1995. See Blanco v. Commissioner,
supra. Accordingly, respondent determination is sustained.
Decision will be entered
for respondent.