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in the course of delivering various items to his employer’s
customers.
In general, a taxpayer is entitled to deductions for
ordinary and necessary trade or business expenses. Sec. 162(a).
Trade or business expense deductions are allowed to those
taxpayers who are self-employed as well as those taxpayers who
are engaged in the trade or business of being an employee.
Primuth v. Commissioner, 54 T.C. 374, 377 (1970); Christensen v.
Commissioner, 17 T.C. 1456 (1952).
During 1996, Mr. Lemos was an employee of Cintas. However,
nothing in the record suggests that, as a condition of that
employment, Mr. Lemos was required or expected to use his own car
for delivery purposes. That being so, the expenses, even if
incurred, are not deductible. Schmidlapp v. Commissioner, 96
F.2d 680 (2d Cir. 1938); Eder v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1981-
408. Respondent’s determination disallowing the deduction for
employee business expenses is, therefore, sustained.1
1 The disallowance of this itemized deduction in and of
itself reduces the total of other itemized deductions to an
amount below the standard deduction applicable to married
individuals who elect to file a joint return. Consequently,
respondent computed the deficiency here in dispute by disallowing
all itemized deductions and allowing the appropriate standard
deduction. Because we have sustained respondent’s disallowance
of the employee business expense deduction, it is unnecessary to
address the dispute between the parties with respect to the
proper amount of petitioners’ medical expense deduction.
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Last modified: May 25, 2011