- 30 - sec. 6664(c); Freytag v. Commissioner, 89 T.C. 849, 888 (1987), affd. 904 F.2d 1011 (5th Cir. 1990), affd. 501 U.S. 868 (1991); sec. 1.6664-4(b)(1), Income Tax Regs. Such reliance is not an absolute defense to negligence but merely a factor to be considered. See Freytag v. Commissioner, supra. When a taxpayer claims reliance on an accountant, the taxpayer must establish that correct information was provided to the accountant and that the item was incorrectly claimed as a result of the accountant's error. See id.; Ma-Tran Corp. v. Commis- sioner, 70 T.C. 158, 173 (1978); Pessin v. Commissioner, 59 T.C. 473, 489 (1972). Petitioners bear the burden of proving that their reliance on professional advice was reasonable. See Rule 142(a); Freytag v. Commissioner, supra. In this case, the record shows that petitioners' returns for 1990 and 1991 were prepared by the accounting firm of Glen & Graf. However, neither Mr. Glen nor any member of Glen & Graf testified at trial. PetitionersPage: Previous 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 Next
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