- 5 -
Helvering, 290 U.S. 111, 115 (1933).2
Third, a taxpayer is required to maintain records sufficient
to substantiate deductions claimed by the taxpayer on his or her
return. Sec. 6001; sec. 1.6001-1(a), (e), Income Tax Regs.
Fourth, the fact that a taxpayer reports a deduction on the
taxpayer’s income tax return is not sufficient to substantiate
the deduction claimed on the return. Wilkinson v. Commissioner,
71 T.C. 633, 639 (1979); Roberts v. Commissioner, 62 T.C. 834,
837 (1974). A tax return is merely a statement of the taxpayer’s
claim; the return is not presumed to be correct. Wilkinson v.
Commissioner, supra at 639; Roberts v. Commissioner, supra at
837; see also Seaboard Commercial Corp. v. Commissioner, 28 T.C.
1034, 1051 (1957) (a taxpayer's income tax return is a
self-serving declaration that may not be accepted as proof for
the deduction or exclusion claimed by the taxpayer); Halle v.
Commissioner, 7 T.C. 245 (1946) (a taxpayer’s return is not self-
proving as to the truth of its contents), affd. 175 F.2d 500 (2d
Cir. 1949).
At trial, petitioner did not introduce a single piece of
documentary evidence in support of any of the deductions in
issue. Likewise, petitioner did not offer testimony in support
2 We note that sec. 7491(a) does not affect the burden of
proof where a taxpayer fails to substantiate a deduction. Higbee
v. Commissioner, 116 T.C. 438 (2001); Caralan Trust v.
Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2001-241.
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