Sherry P. Aude - Page 15

                                       - 15 -                                         
          Commissioner, 72 T.C. 1164, 1170-1172 (1979).  A taxpayer has               
          reason to know of a substantial understatement of tax if a                  
          reasonably prudent taxpayer under the circumstances of the spouse           
          at the time of signing the return could be expected to know that            
          the tax liability stated was erroneous or that further                      
          investigation was warranted.  Stevens v. Commissioner, supra at             
          1505.  We must place the reasonably prudent person in the                   
          particular circumstances of the taxpayer.  Pietromonaco v.                  
          Commissioner, 3 F.3d 1342, 1345 (9th Cir. 1993), revg. T.C. Memo.           
          1991-472.  "[T]he more a spouse knows about a transaction,                  
          ceteris paribus, the more likely it is that she will know or have           
          reason to know that the deduction arising from that transaction             
          may not be valid."  Price v. Commissioner, 887 F.2d at 963, n.9.            
               When deciding whether an alleged innocent spouse had reason            
          to know of a substantial understatement in both omission and                
          deduction cases, the following factors are considered: (a) The              
          spouse's level of education; (b) the spouse's involvement in the            
          family's business and financial affairs; (c) the presence of                
          expenditures that appear lavish or unusual when compared to the             
          family's past levels of income, standard of living, and spending            
          patterns; and (d) the culpable spouse's evasiveness and deceit              
          concerning the couple's finances.  Price v. Commissioner, supra             
          at 965; see also Stevens v. Commissioner, 872 F.2d 1499, 1505               
          (11th Cir. 1989).  In making our determination, we must consider            
          the interplay or balance of the factors, instead of merely                  




Page:  Previous  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18  19  20  21  22  23  24  Next

Last modified: May 25, 2011