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the house, apartment, etc. where one lives or is living
temporarily; living quarters”.12
A similar definition, identifying a “home” as a place where
the taxpayer resides, has been used by courts (including this
Court) to interpret the meaning of one's home as used elsewhere
in the Code. For example, “head of household” filing status--
currently provided for in section 2(b)--is available to an
unmarried individual who “maintains as his home a household which
constitutes * * * the principal place of abode” of certain
specified relatives or dependents. Sec. 2(b)(1)(A) (emphasis
added). A great deal of litigation has arisen under the head-of-
household provisions where:
1. The taxpayer ordinarily lives at location 1;
2. The taxpayer's relatives or dependents ordinarily
live at location 2 (often as the result of a divorce);
and
3. The taxpayer owns location 2, or otherwise pays the
expenses of maintaining his relatives or dependents at
location 2.
12 We note that the cited dictionaries also include among
their definitions of "home": "an establishment providing
residence and care for people with special needs"; and "an
institution for the care of orphans, people who are old and
helpless, etc.". Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary 577
(1990); Webster's New World Dictionary 645 (3d College ed. 1988).
However, we believe that in everyday speech a nursing home or
similar facility would not be referred to as "someone's home",
unless that someone actually lived in that facility.
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Last modified: May 25, 2011