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not a surviving spouse and who “maintains as his home a household
which constitutes for more than one-half of * * * [the] taxable
year the principal place of abode, as a member of such household,
of * * * a * * * daughter”. Petitioner’s eligibility for head of
household filing status depends upon whether her home in Irvine,
California, was Melissa’s principal place of abode, as a member
of petitioner’s household, for more than one-half of 1999.
Petitioner paid 7 months of rent for the Hollywood premises.
That payment, totaling $3,850, was stipulated to be for “office
space” and was listed on Schedule C of the 1999 amended return as
rent paid for “other business property”. Petitioner testified,
however, that those premises also served as a place of abode for
Melissa so that she would “be able to stay up in Los Angeles
during the times that she was not able to return to Irvine.”
Section 1.2-2(c)(1), Income Tax Regs., allows for “temporary
absences from the household due to special circumstances.” That
regulation, in pertinent part, provides that “[a] nonpermanent
failure to occupy the common abode by reason of * * * education
[or] business * * * shall be considered temporary * * * due to
special circumstances.”
Petitioner’s evidence indicates that Melissa occupied the
Hollywood premises for up to 7 months during 1999 in order to
pursue a singing career in Los Angeles clubs and attend
screenwriting, acting and modeling classes. Melissa testified
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