- 17 - submitted mileage logs which list the monthly total of miles driven. Petitioner failed to meet the stringent requirements of section 274(d). The mileage log does not contain the date of each trip, nor does the log describe the business place or purpose of each trip. Petitioner also did not establish the total use and business use of each vehicle. The log merely describes the monthly odometer readings. The log does not appear to be contemporaneously created, thus reducing its reliability. The mileage log also conflicts with petitioner’s testimony and his mileage statements on his Federal income tax returns for the years at issue. On his Federal income tax returns, petitioner attributed a business use for the vehicles of 71.12 percent for 1996 and 63.74 percent for 1997. We do not find petitioner’s unsupported self-serving testimony to be credible. See Niedringhaus v. Commissioner, 99 T.C. 202, 219-220 (1992); Tokarski v. Commissioner, 87 T.C. 74, 77 (1986). Therefore, petitioner is not entitled to deductions for the car and truck expenses. B. Section 179 Petitioner deducted $10,000 in 1997 under section 179 for the purchase of his Ford Mustang. Section 179(a) provides that a taxpayer may elect to currently deduct the cost of tangible personal property purchased during the taxable year for use inPage: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Next
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