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the taxpayer to provide the amount of the expense and the time,
place, and business purpose of such travel). An employee who
does not make an "adequate accounting" must report as income any
travel reimbursements and will be entitled to deductions only to
the extent that the employee can substantiate the expenditure.
Sec. 1.274-5(e)(2), Income Tax Regs. If, however, the taxpayer
establishes that the failure to produce adequate records is due
to the loss of such records through circumstances beyond the
taxpayer's control, the taxpayer shall have the right to
substantiate a deduction by reasonable reconstruction of the
expenses. See sec. 1.274-5(c)(5), Income Tax Regs.
We hold that to the extent petitioners did not make an
adequate accounting they substantiated the related deductions.
Petitioners presented credible testimony relating to this issue
and adequately substantiated and reconstructed their travel
expenses. Respondent took possession of, and limited
petitioners' access to, their records. Consequently,
petitioners' failure to produce more adequate records is due to
circumstances beyond their control.
FOL, in 1986, purchased ECU football season tickets for Jim,
Ray, and Larry, and, in 1986 and 1987, made scholarship pledges
to ECU on behalf of Ray and Larry. A third party's payment of a
taxpayer's personal expenses is income to the taxpayer. See sec.
61; Coors v. Commissioner, 60 T.C. 368, 407-409 (1973), affd. 519
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