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reasonable requests for witnesses, documents, and other
information. Petitioner has not met the requirements of section
7491(a) because he has not met the substantiation requirements or
introduced credible evidence regarding the deductions at issue.
1. Charitable Deductions
Deductions are strictly a matter of legislative grace and
the taxpayer bears the burden of proving entitlement to the
claimed deduction. Rule 142(a); INDOPCO, Inc. v. Commissioner,
503 U.S. 79, 84 (1992); New Colonial Ice Co. v. Helvering, 292
U.S. 435, 440 (1934). Section 170(a) allows as a deduction any
charitable contribution the payment of which is made within the
taxable year. Deductions for charitable contributions are
allowable only if verified under regulations prescribed by the
Secretary. Sec. 170(a)(1). In general, the regulations require
a taxpayer to maintain for each contribution one of the
following: (1) A canceled check; (2) a receipt from the donee;4
or, in the absence of a check or receipt, (3) other reliable
written records. Sec. 1.170A-13(a)(1), Income Tax Regs. Section
1.170A-13(a)(2)(i), Income Tax Regs., provides special rules to
determine the reliability of records on the basis of all the
facts and circumstances of the particular case and further
provides factors to consider in making this determination,
4 A receipt is required to contain the name of the donee,
the date of the contribution, and the amount of the contribution.
Sec. 1.170A-13(a)(1), Income Tax Regs.
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Last modified: May 25, 2011