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supra at 446-447. A taxpayer may claim married filing jointly
status if he and his spouse are legally eligible to file jointly
and in fact do file. See secs. 1(a), 6013; Columbus v.
Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1998-60, affd. without published opinion
162 F.3d 1172 (10th Cir. 1998).
Respondent contends that petitioner’s correct filing status
is that of married individual filing a separate return. See sec.
1(d). Petitioner testified at trial that he sent a joint Federal
tax return for taxable year 2000 to the Internal Revenue Service
in Atlanta, Georgia, in November of 2005. Petitioner, however,
failed to produce a signed copy of his return or a certified mail
receipt despite testifying that he had both. Respondent’s
transcripts of account contained no evidence of any 2000 tax
return for petitioner. Based on the record in the instant case,
we conclude that petitioner has failed to prove that his filing
status is not married filing separately.
Petitioner bears the burden of showing that he is entitled
to claim any additional exemptions. Rule 142(a); Welch v.
Helvering, supra; Columbus v. Commissioner, supra. A taxpayer
filing a separate return may claim an exemption for his spouse
“if the spouse, for the calendar year in which the taxable year
of the taxpayer begins, has no gross income and is not the
dependent of another taxpayer.” Sec. 151(b). A taxpayer also
may claim an additional exemption for each individual who is a
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