- 23 -
joint investment. Respondent relies on Ellison v. Commissioner,
T.C. Memo. 2004-57, to support his position.
In Ellison, we held that the taxpayer failed to prove that
the understatement of tax was solely attributable to the
erroneous items of the nonrequesting spouse under section
6015(b)(1)(B) because the requesting spouse was a partner in the
Hoyt partnership and held the partnership units in joint tenancy
with her spouse. The taxpayer in Ellison also signed partnership
documents and checks payable to the Hoyt organization and used
funds from a joint account she held with her spouse to invest in
the partnership.
The material facts of Ellison are indistinguishable from
those in the present case and support the conclusion that the
erroneous items are not solely Mr. Capehart’s items. Petitioner
signed the required partnership documents confirming she was a
partner, and petitioner and Mr. Capehart invested in the Hoyt
partnerships using funds from their joint bank account.
Petitioner purchased cashier’s checks and wrote and signed all of
the personal checks that were payable to the various Hoyt
entities for their partnership interests. The Hoyt organization
issued certificates for partnership units in both of their names
and viewed petitioner and Mr. Capehart as joint investors.
Petitioner contends, however, that joint ownership of the
investment is not determinative of whether the erroneous item
Page: Previous 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 NextLast modified: May 25, 2011