- 9 -
Thus, petitioner had “sufficient knowledge of the facts
underlying the claimed deductions such that a reasonably prudent
person in the taxpayer’s position would question seriously
whether the deductions were phony.” Resser v. Commissioner,
supra at 1536 (quoting Stevens v. Commissioner, supra at 1505).
Although petitioner had only a high school education and was not
involved in Mr. Elesh’s finances, we find that under the
circumstances of this case her education and involvement with the
finances would not have been a factor in concluding that the
large amount of cash charitable contributions reported on the
return had not been made.
Section 6015(c) Relief
Section 6015(c) provides proportionate relief through
allocation of a deficiency between individuals who filed a joint
return and who are no longer married, who are legally separated,
or who have been living apart for the preceding 12 months. Among
other limitations, relief under section 6015(c) with respect to
an item giving rise to a deficiency is not available to a
taxpayer who had actual knowledge of the relevant item giving
rise to the deficiency or portion thereof. Sec. 6015(c)(3)(C).
In the context of a disallowed deduction, actual knowledge is
present if the taxpayer had actual knowledge of the factual
circumstances which made the item unallowable as a deduction.
King v. Commissioner, 116 T.C. 198, 204 (2001). Knowledge of the
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011