- 5 - the term "disregard" includes any careless, reckless, or intentional disregard. Sec. 6662(c). The accuracy-related penalty will not apply if petitioner demonstrates that there was reasonable cause for the underpayment and that she acted in good faith with respect to the underpayment. See sec. 6664(c). Whether a taxpayer acted with reasonable cause and good faith depends on the pertinent facts and circumstances. See McCallson v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1993-528; sec. 1.6664-4(b)(1), Income Tax Regs. Neither petitioner nor respondent argued or produced any evidence indicating that petitioner had knowledge of the overpayments prior to filing her 1999 Federal tax return. During trial the Court asked petitioner why she did not report the Social Security benefits. Petitioner's response provided no legally significant reason; she claimed that she did not know she needed to report Social Security benefits as income and that she was "naive". She concluded by stating that "I'm definitely at fault for that." The Court finds that petitioner failed to make a reasonable attempt to determine whether she should report any portion of the Social Security benefits she received in 1999. Further, petitioner failed to produce any evidence to show that she acted with reasonable cause and good faith for the year at issue. ThePage: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011