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check the $150,000 ordered in the divorce judgment. On April 1,
1998, petitioner paid Ms. Bougas’s $10,000 attorney’s fee by
check made payable to Frank Louis. By checks dated April 19 and
20, 1998, petitioner paid the various credit card companies for
the debts incurred by Ms. Bougas. All the checks mentioned above
were drawn against petitioner’s personal checking account at RNB.
No funds were transferred from petitioner’s IRA directly to Ms.
Bougas or any other party to satisfy the terms of the divorce
judgment.
On his 1998 Federal income tax return, petitioner reported
the $250,000 distribution from his IRA as income. However,
petitioner did not report an additional tax of 10 percent of the
total distribution for the early withdrawal from the IRA.
Respondent determined in the notice of deficiency that petitioner
is liable for the additional tax on an early distribution from a
qualified retirement plan. Although admitting that a QDRO was
never issued, petitioner asserts he is not liable for the
additional tax on the early distribution because the divorce
judgment and his actions meet the criteria of a QDRO within the
spirit of the law.
OPINION
We decide the deficiency issue in this case on the basis of
the preponderance of the evidence in the record without regard to
the burden of proof. Accordingly, we need not decide whether
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