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