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testified that at the family dinner he was acting as an attorney,
not as a family member.
For purposes of section 274, “entertainment” includes an
activity that satisfies personal, living or family needs, such as
providing food and beverages. See sec. 1.274-2(b)(1)(i), Income
Tax Regs. Generally, no deduction for entertainment expenses is
allowable unless the taxpayer establishes that the expenditure was
directly related to the active conduct of the taxpayer’s trade or
business, or in the case of an expenditure directly preceding or
following a substantial and bona fide business discussion, that
the expenditure was associated with the active conduct of the
taxpayer’s trade or business. See sec. 274(a)(1)(A); sec. 1.274-
2(a)(1), Income Tax Regs. The requirements for deductibility are
in addition to the substantiation requirements of section 274(d).
Petitioner has not shown that he is authorized to practice
law in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Nor has petitioner shown how
his payment for a family meal in Virginia is directly related to
or associated with the conduct of his law practice in Illinois,
which consisted primarily of real estate closings, not matters
related to decedents’ estates.
On the basis of the record, we find that petitioner’s “family
meal” expenditure was primarily a personal rather than a business
expense, and that petitioner has not met the section 274
substantiation requirements for the balance of his meals and
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