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deficiency arising from deduction of these personal expenses.
The Court concludes that petitioner is not entitled to relief
under section 6015(b).
The Court next addresses whether petitioner is entitled to
relief under section 6015(c). Section 6015(c) provides relief
from joint liability for spouses either no longer married,
legally separated, or living separate and apart. Generally, this
avenue of relief allows a spouse to elect to be treated as if a
separate return had been filed. Rowe v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo.
2001-325. Section 6015(c)(2) places the burden of proof with
respect to establishing the portion of the deficiency allocable
to the electing spouse upon such spouse. An election is not
valid if the Commissioner demonstrates that the electing spouse
had actual knowledge of an item giving rise to the deficiency.
Sec. 6015(c)(3)(B).
As noted earlier, the disallowed expenses in this case
related to nonbusiness travel and entertainment expenses, some of
which benefited petitioner personally. Thus, if petitioner had
filed a separate return, she could not have claimed a deduction
for such expenses because they were not incurred in a trade or
business and were personal. The Court is satisfied from the
record that respondent demonstrated that petitioner had actual
knowledge that the expenses claimed as deductions on the joint
return were personal in nature and were not deductible. Sec.
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