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that Derrell and Travis resided with him for the majority of
either of those years. Moreover, petitioner testified that he
did not even claim to know whether his sons spent the majority of
either of the years at issue with him or with their mother.
Based upon this record, we find that petitioner has failed to
demonstrate that he had physical custody of the children for the
greater portion of either of the years in issue. Moreover,
petitioner has not provided evidence that Ms. Baker released her
claim to the exemptions for Derrell and Travis. On the contrary,
the record indicates that Ms. Baker claimed the exemptions for
Derrell and Travis on her tax returns for 1995 and 1996.
Therefore, we hold that petitioner is not entitled to dependency
exemptions for Derrell and Travis for the years 1995 and 1996.
2. Head of Household Filing Status
Petitioner claimed head of household filing status on his
1995 and 1996 Federal income tax returns and listed his sons as
qualifying persons. Respondent has determined that petitioner's
proper filing status for 1995 and 1996 is single. Section 2(b)
provides that a taxpayer may be considered a head of household if
the taxpayer is not married at the close of the taxable year and
maintains as his or her home a household that constitutes the
principal place of abode for more than half of the taxable year
for a child of the taxpayer. See sec. 2(b)(1)(A)(i).
As we discussed above, petitioner failed to demonstrate that
Derrell and Travis resided in his home for the greater portion of
either of the years in issue. Accordingly, we hold that
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