John Paul Massa - Page 8




                                        - 8 -                                         
          interest ($794), dividends ($723), and taxable individual                   
          retirement account distributions ($29,935).  Petitioner                     
          erroneously believed that his claimed Schedule C business expense           
          deductions and his alleged net operating carryover losses from              
          1990 and 1991 reduced his reported gross income for 1992 below              
          $5,900.  These amounts reduce "taxable income" under section                
          63(a), but do not reduce "gross income" under section 61(a).                
          See, e.g., sec. 61(a)(2); sec. 1.61-3(a), Income Tax Regs. (gross           
          income derived from business determined "without subtraction of             
          selling expenses, losses or other items not ordinarily used in              
          computing costs of goods sold").  Thus, petitioner's reported               
          gross income for 1992 exceeded the section 6012(a)(1)(A)(i)                 
          threshold for filing a return.3                                             
               Petitioner's return for his 1992 taxable year was due on               
          April 15, 1993.  Sec. 6072(a).  Respondent received petitioner's            
          1992 return at his Ogden, Utah, service center on August 10,                
          1994.  In light of the fact that he is a certified public                   
          accountant, we find that petitioner's failure to understand the             
          basic term "gross income" does not constitute reasonable cause              
          for not timely filing his return.  Accordingly, we hold that                
          petitioner is liable for the section 6651(a)(1) addition to tax.            





          3         We note that petitioner's actual gross income for 1992            
          is greater than his reported gross income as a result of the                
          computational adjustment to the taxable amount of his Social                
          Security benefits under sec. 86.                                            


Page:  Previous  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  Next

Last modified: May 25, 2011