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refund of any tax, whether the taxing authority be
Federal, State, or municipal, and whether the tax be
income, estate, gift, property, or any other tax, are
deductible. Thus, expenses paid or incurred by a
taxpayer for tax counsel or expenses paid or incurred
in connection with the preparation of his tax returns
or in connection with any proceedings involved in
determining the extent of tax liability or in
contesting his tax liability are deductible. [Sec.
1.212-1(l), Income Tax Regs.]
We find that all of the disputed mileage was an ordinary and
necessary expense paid by petitioner during 1998 in connection
with the determination of his Federal and State income taxes.2
We conclude on the basis of this finding that the mileage is
properly deductible as a miscellaneous itemized deduction under
section 212(3). Whereas we agree with respondent that section
262 generally precludes any deduction for personal expenses, and
that this mileage is all attributable to petitioner’s personal
income taxes, we also observe that the exception in section
212(3) for expenses of contesting tax liabilities was prescribed
specifically by the Congress to allow taxpayers to deduct a
2 Although the 165.5 miles which petitioner claims to have
driven for the copying and filing of his personal income tax
returns appear to be high considering that petitioner lived in a
large metropolis, the parties have stipulated that petitioner
incurred all of these miles for the “copying and filing of his
personal federal and state income tax returns”. Respondent does
not claim that the amount of these miles is excessive.
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Last modified: May 25, 2011