- 20 - and not willful neglect. Sec. 6651(a). If a taxpayer exercised ordinary business care and prudence and was nonetheless unable to file the return within the date prescribed by law, then reasonable cause exists. Sec. 301.6651-1(c)(1), Proced. & Admin. Regs. “Willful neglect” means a “conscious, intentional failure or reckless indifference.” United States v. Boyle, 469 U.S. 241, 245 (1985). At trial, Mr. Nunn testified that petitioners’ 1993 Federal income tax return was not filed timely because he “procrastinated * * * and never got to it.” Additionally, Mr. Nunn claimed that he misunderstood the tax laws to allow for a late filing if the taxpayer was to receive a refund. Petitioners’ procrastination in filing a timely tax return is certainly not reasonable cause. Petitioners failed to exercise ordinary care and willfully neglected to file their 1993 Federal tax return timely. “As a general rule, taxpayers are charged with knowledge of the law.” Niedringhaus v. Commissioner, 99 T.C. 202, 222 (1992). A taxpayer need not be an expert in tax law to know that tax returns have fixed filing dates. United States v. Boyle, supra at 251. Petitioners’ mistaken belief that they could file their tax return late because they were due a refund is not reasonable cause for failure to timely file a return. See Linseman v.Page: Previous 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011