- 15 -
Moreover, on the basis of the entire record and petitioner’s
enjoyment of benefits stemming from the distribution, we cannot
conclude that it would be inequitable to hold petitioner liable
for the deficiency in tax at issue in this case. Petitioner is
not entitled to relief under section 6015(b).
C. Section 6015(c) Analysis
Section 6015(c) grants relief from joint and several tax
liability for electing individuals who filed a joint return and
are no longer married, are legally separated, or are living
apart. Congress intended that such relief from liability be
available for tax attributable to items of which the electing
spouse had no knowledge. S. Rept. 105-174, at 55 (1998), 1998-3
C.B. 537, 591. Generally, this type of relief treats spouses,
for purposes of determining tax liability, as if separate returns
had been filed. Sec. 6015(d)(3)(A); Grossman v. Commissioner,
182 F.3d 275, 278 (4th Cir. 1999), affg. T.C. Memo. 1996-452;
Charlton v. Commissioner, 114 T.C. 333, 342 (2000); Rowe v.
Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2001-325. The allocation, however, is
not permitted if the Secretary shows by a preponderance of the
evidence that the electing individual had “actual knowledge, at
the time such individual signed the return, of any item giving
rise to a deficiency (or portion thereof) which is not allocable
to such individual”. Sec. 6015(c)(3)(C); Culver v. Commissioner,
Page: Previous 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 NextLast modified: May 25, 2011