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years in issue because his assignment there was temporary.
See Horton v. Commissioner, 86 T.C. 589, 593-595 (1986); Mitchell
v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1999-283. Respondent, relying upon
the above-quoted language of section 162(a), contends that
petitioner’s assignment to Guam cannot be considered temporary.
Respondent points out that petitioner’s assignment to Guam was
for an initial period of 2 years and
that petitioner actually spent 3 years there. According to
respondent, petitioner’s tax home was Guam during the period
that he was assigned and lived there. Respondent argues that the
meals and lodging expenses incurred by petitioner during his Guam
assignment are nondeductible personal expenses because the
expenses were not incurred while petitioner was traveling away
from his tax home. See sec. 262(a). For the following reasons,
we agree with respondent.
As an NCIS special agent, petitioner was required to
relocate, and did so, regularly during his career. Given his
employment history, we can understand why petitioner might
consider all of his assignments to be temporary, as that word is
commonly used and understood. Nevertheless, because petitioner’s
assignment to Guam was for a period that exceeded 1 year, it
cannot be treated as a temporary assignment for Federal income
tax purposes. Consequently, when he was transferred from
Virginia Beach to Guam, Guam became his regular place of business
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