- 24 -
payment of income.13 See Ross v. Commissioner, 169 F.2d 483, 490
(1st Cir. 1948), revg. and remanding on another issue a Memorandum
Opinion of this Court; Martin v. Commissioner, 96 T.C. 814, 823
(1991); Amend v. Commissioner, 13 T.C. 178, 185 (1949). Under
that doctrine, a taxpayer may not deliberately turn his back on
income otherwise available. See Martin v. Commissioner, supra at
823; Young Door Co., E. Div. v. Commissioner, 40 T.C. 890, 894
(1963); Basila v. Commissioner, 36 T.C. 111, 116 (1961). In order
to trigger application of the constructive-receipt doctrine, there
generally must be an amount that is due and owing which the
obligor is ready, willing, and able to pay. See Childs v. Commis-
sioner, 103 T.C. 634, 654 (1994), affd. without published opinion
89 F.3d 856 (11th Cir. 1996). If a taxpayer has an absolute and
unconditional right to receive income in the year earned, the
constructive-receipt doctrine requires the taxpayer to report such
income for that year. See Childs v. Commissioner, supra at 655;
Basila v. Commissioner, supra at 115.
If a taxpayer has entered into a binding contract or agree-
ment to defer income before it is due, the taxpayer is not re-
quired to report such income until it is actually received. See
Oates v. Commissioner, 18 T.C. 570 (1952), affd. 207 F.2d 711 (7th
Cir. 1953). Similarly, if the income under such a contract or
13Hereinafter, our discussion is limited to taxpayers, like
petitioners, who are on the cash method of accounting and who
therefore are subject to the constructive-receipt doctrine.
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