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to 50 percent of the interest payable with respect to the portion
of the underpayment that is attributable to negligence or
disregard of rules or regulations. Sec. 6653(a)(2) (for
petitioners’ taxable year ended June 30, 1985), sec.
6653(a)(1)(B) (for petitioners’ taxable years ended June 30, 1986
through June 30, 1988), sec. 6653(a)(2) (for petitioners’ taxable
year ended June 30, 1989).
Respondent's determination that petitioners were negligent
is presumed correct, and petitioners bear the burden of proving
that they were not negligent. Rule 142(a); Bixby v.
Commissioner, 58 T.C. 757, 791-92 (1972). Pursuant to section
6653(a), negligence is defined as a failure to exercise the due
care that a reasonable and ordinarily prudent person would
exercise under the circumstances. Antonides v. Commissioner, 91
T.C. 686, 699 (1988) (citing Marcello v. Commissioner, 380 F.2d
499, 506 (5th Cir. 1967), affg. in part and remanding in part 43
T.C. 168 (1964)), affd. 893 F.2d 656 (4th Cir. 1990); Neely v.
Commissioner, 85 T.C. 934, 947 (1985). A taxpayer's failure to
file a timely tax return is a prima facie case of negligence.
Emmons v. Commissioner, 92 T.C. 342, 349 (1989), affd. 898 F.2d
50 (5th Cir. 1990).
Reliance on a return preparer, however, may relieve a
taxpayer from the addition to tax for negligence where the
taxpayer's reliance is reasonable. Freytag v. Commissioner, 89
T.C. 849, 888 (1987), affd. 904 F.2d 1011 (5th Cir. 1990), affd.
501 U.S. 868 (1991). A taxpayer, however, is not relieved from
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