- 17 - Consequently, petitioner is entitled to an award in this matter of $3,640 for reasonable attorney’s fees (26 hours x $140 per hour). 2. Pro Se Expenses/Opportunity Costs Petitioner is not entitled to recover costs for the value of his pro se services. We have held that a pro se attorney may not recover fees for the value of his own services because lost opportunity costs are not fees paid or incurred for the services of an attorney within the meaning of section 7430. Frisch v. Commissioner, 87 T.C. 838, 844-846 (1986). Thus, the $40,800 that petitioner claims for the value of the time that he spent representing himself in this matter constitutes “opportunity costs” which are not costs which may be awarded under section 7430. 3. Travel Expenses Mileage and parking fees incurred while traveling to and from the various hearings in this matter are not expenses which fall within the purview of section 7430. See Mason v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1998-400. Accordingly, petitioner is not entitled to an award for travel expenses. 4. Miscellaneous Expenses Although telephone, copying, and office supply expenses may be reimbursable administrative or litigation costs under section 7430, see Schaefer v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1991-426,Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011