- 13 - D. Whether Petitioner May Deduct Charitable Contributions for 1998 Petitioner contends that he may deduct charitable contributions of $2,141 for 1998. More specifically, petitioner testified that he made weekly donations of $20 to a church, that his wife made similar weekly contributions, and that his son and daughter each made weekly contributions of $1. Respondent contends that he may not deduct any of those amounts. We agree because petitioner has not substantiated the contributions as required. See sec. 170(a)(1) (taxpayer must verify claimed contribution under regulations prescribed by the Secretary). The Court gave petitioner every opportunity at trial to offer evidence of his contributions and held the record open for 4 months to receive evidence, but he provided no evidence of them. Petitioner did not identify the church to which contributions were made. See id. Under Cohan v. Commissioner, 39 F.2d 540, 543-544 (2d Cir. 1930), we may estimate the amount of a deductible expense if a taxpayer establishes that he or she paid the expense but cannot substantiate the precise amount. Petitioner’s uncorroborated testimony is the only evidence supporting his claim. He did not give us an adequate basis to estimate the amount of his contributions under Cohan. More than half of the charitable contributions petitioner claims were attributable to family members and thus are not deductible byPage: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Next
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