- 15 - of his support. Furthermore, given that petitioner’s brother earned $7,789 during 2000, a sum in excess of the limitation amount of section 151, he does not qualify as a dependent for whom she is entitled to a deduction under section 151, and thus, petitioner would not be entitled to file as a head of household even if she could substantiate the aforementioned requirements. Accordingly, we hold that petitioner is not entitled to claim head-of-household status and the dependency exemption. C. Penalties Section 6662 imposes a penalty of 20 percent of the portion of the underpayment which is attributable to negligence or disregard of rules or regulations. See sec. 6662(a) and (b). Negligence is the “lack of due care or failure to do what a reasonable and ordinarily prudent person would do under the circumstances.” Neely v. Commissioner, 85 T.C. 934, 947 (1985). “Negligence” includes the failure to make a reasonable attempt to comply with provisions of the Internal Revenue Code, as well as any failure by the taxpayer to keep adequate books and records or to substantiate items properly. See sec. 1.6662-3(b)(1), Income Tax Regs. The term “disregard” includes any careless, reckless, or intentional disregard. See sec. 6662(c). Nevertheless, a taxpayer may avoid the imposition of a penalty if she is able to show that there was a reasonable cause for, and that she acted in good faith with respect to, the underpayment. See sec. 6664(c). The determination of whether the taxpayer acted with reasonable cause and in good faith isPage: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011