*2 PURSUANT TO INTERNAL REVENUE CODE SECTION 7463(b), THIS OPINION MAY NOT BE TREATED AS PRECEDENT FOR ANY OTHER CASE.
PANUTHOS, Chief Special Trial Judge: This case was heard pursuant to the provisions of
Respondent determined a deficiency in petitioner's Federal income tax for the taxable year 1997 of $ 1,334. At some point before trial, petitioner conceded the adjustment in the notice of deficiency; however, each party made additional claims. The issues remaining for decision are: (1) Whether petitioner is entitled to the claimed dependency exemption deductions; (2) whether petitioner is entitled to head-of-household filing status; (3) whether*3 petitioner is entitled to the additional claimed alimony deduction; and (4) whether petitioner is entitled to the claimed Schedule C, Profit or Loss From Business, expense deductions.
Some of the facts have been stipulated, and they are so found. The stipulation of facts and the attached exhibits are incorporated herein by this reference.
Petitioner lived in Clearwater, Florida, at the time he filed his Tax Court petition.
Background
Petitioner was employed by an architectural firm as a licensed architect during 1997. Petitioner and his wife, Virginia Richards (Ms. Richards), had three children, Matthew, Brigid, and Shannon, who in 1997 were ages 17, 13, and 11, respectively. Petitioner, Ms. Richards, and their children lived together in the marital home until July 25, 1997, when petitioner and Matthew moved out. Although Matthew moved into a new residence with petitioner in July 1997, the record is unclear as to whether Matthew continued to live with petitioner for the remainder of 1997. Ms. Richards continued to live in the marital home with Brigid and Shannon for the remainder of the year.
Ms. Richards was awarded permanent custody of all three children. Petitioner and Ms. *4 Richards were divorced in August 1998. Effective August 1, 1997, petitioner was obligated to pay $ 784.62 biweekly in alimony and $ 346.84 biweekly in child support pursuant to the terms of the Report and Recommendation of General Master on Motion for Temporary Relief (the Report) and the Order of the Pinellas County Circuit Court (the Order). Petitioner did not pay the full amount of the alimony as scheduled. The records that petitioner submitted, including a Family Law Case History from Pinellas County, photocopies of petitioner's calendar with handwritten notes and calculations, photocopies of petitioner's handwritten checking account balance sheets, and Ms. Richards's handwritten notes with photocopies of canceled checks that respondent submitted indicate that petitioner made the following alimony and child support *5 payments:
Date | Alimony | Child Support |
8/4/97 | $ 253.16 | $ 346.84 |
8/17/97 | 437.78 | 346.84 |
8/30/97 | --- | 346.84 |
9/12/97 | --- | 346.84 |
9/14/97 | 346.84 | --- |
9/26/97 | --- | 346.84 |
10/6/97 | 253.16 | 346.84 |
10/24/97 | --- | 346.84 |
11/10/97 | 359.63 | 346.84 |
11/24/97 | 359.63 | 346.84 |
12/9/97 | 359.63 | 346.84 |
12/21/97 | 359.63 | 346.84 |
Total | 2,729.46 | 3,815.24 |
[7] In addition to*6 his employment with the architectural firm, petitioner performed architectural computer-aided design (CAD) drafting services in the evenings. During the period he resided at the marital home, petitioner performed the CAD drafting on his computer at a computer desk in a room in the marital home that he exclusively used as his home office. The square footage of the room in which petitioner performed the CAD drafting was 13 percent of the square footage of the marital home. After petitioner moved on July 25, 1997, he performed the CAD drafting in the kitchen area of each of the rental units in which he lived. Petitioner often drove from his residence to a client's office to deliver his completed work. Petitioner wanted to develop an Internet Web site to promote his CAD drafting business and to allow him to work from any location. This Web site was never completed.
Petitioner filed a 1997 Federal income tax return 1 in which he claimed, among other items, head-of-household filing status, dependency exemption deductions for his three children, and an alimony deduction of $ 2,515.
*7 Petitioner filed an amended 1997 Federal income tax return dated May 15, 2000, in which he increased the amount of his alimony deduction to $ 4,991. With his amended return petitioner included a Schedule C relating to his drafting activity on which he reported gross income of $ 3,840 and a net loss of $ 1,548. Petitioner deducted the following expenses on his *8 Schedule C:
Expense | Amount |
Car and truck | 1 $186 |
Depreciation and sec. 179 expense | 3,485 |
Office expense | 57 |
Rent or lease—vehicles, machinery, and equipment | 189 |
Rent or lease—other business property | 401 |
Repairs and maintenance | 30 |
Supplies | 181 |
Taxes and licenses | 90 |
Utilities | 289 |
Other expenses (books) | 16 |
Expenses from business use of house | 464 |
Total | 5,388 |
Ms. Richards filed a separate income tax return for*9 the 1997 tax year. On Schedule A, Itemized Deductions, attached to her return, she claimed deductions for both mortgage interest and real estate taxes. Ms. Richards initially claimed dependency exemption deductions on her 1997 return for Brigid and Shannon, but she did not claim dependency exemption deductions on her amended return.
After trial, respondent filed (1) a motion to file an answer to conform the pleadings to the proof, which the Court granted, and (2) an answer to amended petition.
Discussion
As a preliminary matter, we note that petitioner conceded the adjustment determined in the notice of deficiency. After the issuance of the notice of deficiency, in the amended petition and at trial, petitioner raised the issues concerning his Schedule C expenses and his increased alimony deduction; accordingly, petitioner bears the burden of proof on those issues. 2 Rule 142(a)(1).
*10 In his answer to amended petition, respondent denied the allegations in the amended petition and made affirmative allegations that petitioner was not entitled to dependency exemption deductions and head-of-household filing status. These are new matters for which respondent bears the burden of proof. Id.
Issue 1. Dependency Exemption Deductions
A dependent is defined as an individual, such as a son or daughter of the taxpayer, over half of whose support for the calendar year was received from the taxpayer.
Support includes food, shelter, clothing, medical and dental care, education, and the like.
In the case of a child who receives over half of his support from parents who are divorced or legally separated under a decree of divorce or separate maintenance under
*12 The custodial parent is the parent who has custody of a child for the greater portion of the year. Id. The noncustodial parent may claim the dependency exemption deduction, and a dependent may be treated as having received over one-half of his support from the noncustodial parent, if the custodial parent signs a written statement that she will not claim the child as a dependent for the taxable year, under
Respondent argues (and has the burden of proving) that petitioner is not entitled to the dependency exemption deductions claimed for his three children. Respondent has not argued that petitioner and Ms. Richards were not legally separated under
Respondent did not*13 present evidence that Matthew did not live with petitioner for a greater portion of the year and, therefore, has not met his burden of proof. Accordingly, petitioner was the custodial parent for Matthew in 1997 under
Ms. Richards was the custodial parent for Shannon and Brigid in 1997. As previously indicated, petitioner, as the noncustodial parent, would be entitled to the dependency exemption deductions for Shannon and Brigid only if he attached the proper waiver signed by Ms. Richards to his return. Respondent neither asserted nor presented evidence that petitioner failed to attach a waiver signed by Ms. Richards to his return as required by
*15 Accordingly, petitioner is allowed the claimed dependency exemption deductions.
Issue 2. Head-of-Household Filing Status
For a taxpayer to qualify for head-of-household filing status, he must satisfy the requirements of
An individual who is married shall not be considered married if he is legally separated from his spouse under a decree of divorce or of separate maintenance.
Petitioner claimed head-of-household filing status on his 1997 return. Respondent has argued (and has the burden of proving) that petitioner is not entitled to the claimed head-of-household filing status.
Although petitioner was married in 1997, he will not be treated as married for purposes of
The facts of the case indicate that petitioner furnished over one-half of the costs of maintaining the household at the marital home (e. g., he paid the mortgage, real estate taxes, and utilities). Petitioner's marital home constituted a household that was the principal place of abode for at least one-half of the year for all three of his children, for whom he is entitled to dependency exemption deductions under
Issue 3. Alimony
A taxpayer is allowed as a deduction an amount equal to the amount paid that constitutes "alimony"5 or a "separate*17 maintenance [payment]" paid during his taxable year under
Respondent does not dispute that petitioner was responsible for paying alimony to Ms. Richards, and we are satisfied that the payments constitute alimony for purposes of
Payments that constitute support of minor children are not included in the definition of alimony and are not deductible.
Pursuant to the terms of the Report and the Order, petitioner was directed to*18 make biweekly payments to Ms. Richards of $ 784.62. Petitioner produced documents indicating that he paid Ms. Richards alimony of $ 2,729.466 in 1997; therefore, petitioner is allowed a deduction for alimony in that amount.
Issue 4. Schedule C Expense Deductions
Deductions are a matter of legislative grace, and a taxpayer must establish his right to the deductions claimed.
Under
Generally, a taxpayer is required to substantiate deductions by maintaining books and records sufficient to establish the amount of his deductions.
Respondent does not dispute and we conclude that petitioner was in the trade or business of performing architectural CAD drafting services in 1997. Respondent argues that petitioner failed to substantiate the expenses for which he claimed deductions on his Schedule C. We shall discuss each claimed expense below.
A. Car and Truck ExpensesPetitioner*20 claimed a deduction of $ 186 on his Schedule C for car and truck expenses. It is not clear from his Schedule C or the attached Form 4562, Depreciation and Amortization, whether the claimed amount represents depreciation for his Nissan Altima automobile, a standard mileage allowance, or actual expenses such as gasoline and tolls.
To deduct expenses, such as depreciation, with respect to "listed property" under
A self-employed individual may deduct a mileage allowance under
Actual allowable expenses such as gasoline and tolls are deductible if incurred in a trade or business and if*22 they do not constitute personal commuting expenses.
Petitioner's Nissan Altima qualifies as "listed property" under
Petitioner produced a handwritten list approximating his miles driven and tolls paid. This list provides no assistance as to whether petitioner has claimed as a deduction a standard mileage rate or actual expenses. To the extent that this list reflects mileage, it does not appear to be a contemporaneous log. See
To the extent that petitioner's handwritten list reflects actual expenses associated with the automobile, petitioner has not substantiated any expenses except for tolls of $ 24, which we allow as a deductible*23 expense.
Accordingly, except with respect to the $ 24 deduction for tolls, petitioner has failed to substantiate these deductions, and they are denied.
B. Depreciation andA taxpayer may elect to deduct as a current expense the cost of any "
Computer equipment is "listed property" under
Petitioner indicated on Form 4562 attached to his Schedule C that he elected to deduct computer equipment as a current expense under
Petitioner's computer equipment is not listed property under
Although petitioner produced many receipts reflecting purchases of computer equipment, all receipts except one reflect a subsequent tax year and cannot be used to substantiate purchases of property for 1997. The one receipt from 1997 indicates a purchase of computer equipment of $ 32.09.
Petitioner failed to maintain records reflecting the cost of the computers, the use of the property, the date of the use, the business purpose of the property, from whom the equipment was acquired, and when the computer equipment was placed in service, as required by
Petitioner deducted depreciation of the marital home, a casualty loss, mortgage interest, real estate taxes, insurance, and utilities in connection with the business use of his home on Form 8829, Expenses for Business Use of Your Home, attached to his return.
Deductions for expenses attributable to the taxpayer's business use of his home are disallowed unless they fit within the exceptions under
Deductions for expenses related to the business use of a taxpayer's home are further limited by
As the facts indicate, during the period from January 1 through July 25, 1997, petitioner used a room in the marital home exclusively as his work space for his drafting activity. Petitioner also used the room as such on a regular basis throughout this period.
After petitioner moved from the marital home, he performed his drafting in the kitchen of each of his subsequent apartments. Because petitioner did not use a portion of each rental unit exclusively for his drafting activity, petitioner is not allowed a deduction after July 25, 1997.
Petitioner and respondent agreed that petitioner is allowed a deduction for home mortgage interest and real estate taxes of $ 2,555 and $ 683, respectively, for 1997. Accordingly, the portions of the mortgage interest and real estate taxes that are allocable to the portion of petitioner's marital home devoted to his home office during the period from January 1 through July 25, 1997, are expenses in connection with the business use of his home and deductible on Schedule C.8
*28 Petitioner claimed a deduction for utilities as part of his deduction for the business use of his home and also as a separate expense on the Schedule C. Petitioner failed to explain why he deducted the same item twice or that the items are not, in fact, duplications. The deduction for utilities is allowed as an expense with respect to the home office only.
Petitioner has not substantiated his basis in the marital home, the casualty loss, or the insurance. Accordingly, the home office expense deduction with respect to these items is disallowed.
D. Office Expense, Supplies, Taxes and Licenses, Utilities, and Other Expenses
[58] We are satisfied that petitioner has provided credible evidence relating to the following CAD drafting expenses: Office expenses of $ 57; supplies of $ 181; taxes and licenses of $ 90; utilities of $ 289; and books of $ 16. These amounts are deductible under
Petitioner provided evidence concerning the attempted creation of his Web site. Because petitioner primarily intended for the Web site to promote his CAD drafting services, it is a deductible advertising expense under
Petitioner has*29 failed to provide any facts concerning the expenses relating to the following claimed deductions: Rent or lease of vehicles, machinery, and equipment; rent or lease of other business property; and repairs or maintenance. Accordingly, these expenses are disallowed.
Reviewed and adopted as the report of the Small Tax Case Division.
To reflect the foregoing,
Decision will be entered under Rule 155.
Footnotes
1. The return was electronically filed. This is relevant with respect to the issue of whether a waiver was attached to the return, as will be discussed infra .
Sec. 152(e)(2)(B)↩ .1. The exact amount of this expense is unclear from the copy of the Schedule C but has been derived using the total.↩
2. Sec. 7491 does not apply to shift the burden of proof to respondent on these issues because petitioner has neither alleged that sec. 7491 is applicable nor established that he complied with the requirements of sec. 7491(a)(2)(A) and (B) to substantiate items, maintain required records, and fully cooperate with respondent's reasonable requests.↩
3.
Sec. 152(e)(1)(A)(iii)↩ concerns parents living apart at all times during the last 6 months of the taxable year. This section is not applicable because petitioner was not living apart from Ms. Richards at all times during the last 6 months of 1997.4. Respondent asserts in his answer to amended petition that Ms. Richards initially claimed two children as dependents; accordingly, respondent concluded that she did not sign a waiver. We note that while Ms. Richards initially claimed her two daughters as dependents on her separate income tax return, she did not claim the children as dependents on her amended return for the 1997 tax year and she testified at trial that she was not entitled to. Ms. Richards's treatment of the dependency exemption deductions on her original and amended returns does not affect the outcome of this issue as to petitioner. Nevertheless, allowing petitioner the dependency exemption deductions does not create a result inconsistent with Ms. Richards's treatment of this item.↩
5. The Order refers to the payments as "alimony".↩
6. We have credited petitioner with a payment of alimony of $ 346.84 on Sept. 14, 1997. While it may appear that this payment was child support, petitioner met his child support obligation for September 1997 and was not otherwise in arrears. Moreover, petitioner did not designate the payment as child support as he had done with the payments on Sept. 12 and 26, 1997.↩
7.
Sec. 1245 property is defined insec. 1245(a)(3) as property subject to the allowance for depreciation undersec. 167↩ , including personal property.8. The remaining portion of the mortgage interest and real estate taxes may be deductible by petitioner under sec. 163(h)(3) and sec. 164(a)(1), respectively.↩