- 34 -
interest. Petitioner agrees that she knew of the mortgage;
however, she claims that she was unaware of the amount of
interest paid or that it was incorrectly reported on the tax
return.
The evidence in the record demonstrates that petitioner
wrote the checks for the mortgage payments in 1987 and 1988.
However, there is no evidence that petitioner knew what portion
of the payments for 1987 constituted interest or the total amount
of interest paid in that year. The testimony of both petitioner
and Mr. Rowe indicates that petitioner was given only the first
two pages of the tax return when signing the return and she was
not afforded the opportunity to see or review any attachments,
schedules, or other documents pertaining to the return.
Therefore, respondent has failed to show that petitioner knew or
believed that the 1987 mortgage interest was overstated.
Accordingly, we hold that petitioner is entitled to relief from
joint liability under section 6015(c) for the portion of this
item allocable to Mr. Rowe.
ii. 1988 Mortgage Interest
Petitioners claimed a home mortgage interest deduction of
$97,341 in 1988. Petitioners substantiated $84,186 of the amount
claimed for the home mortgage interest deduction. The notice of
deficiency for 1987, 1988, and 1989, provided the following
Page: Previous 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 NextLast modified: May 25, 2011