- 16 - 1986), affg. T.C. Memo. 1984-601. Because petitioner has not established that any portion of the underpayment is not attributable to fraud, we hold that she is liable for the fraud penalty on the entire amount of the underpayment. Negligence For 1991 and 1992 Should the Court determine that petitioner is not liable for the addition to tax for fraud, respondent alleges that she is liable for the accuracy-related penalty for negligence for the years 1991 and 1992. Section 6662(a) imposes a penalty equal to 20 percent of the portion of the underpayment of tax shown to be attributable to negligence or intentional disregard of rules or regulations. Negligence includes "any failure to reasonably attempt to comply with the tax code, including the lack of due care or the failure to do what a reasonable or ordinarily prudent person would do under the circumstances." Chamberlain v. Commissioner, 66 F.3d 729, 732 (5th Cir. 1995), affg. in part and revg. in part T.C. Memo. 1994-228. Generally, courts look both to the underlying investment and to the taxpayer's position taken on the return in evaluating whether a taxpayer was negligent. Sacks v. Commissioner, 82 F.3d 918, 920 (9th Cir. 1996), affg. T.C. Memo. 1994-217. Under some circumstances, however, a taxpayer may avoid liability for the accuracy-related penalty for negligence ifPage: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011