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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 in
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