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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.
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