126 T.C. No. 15
UNITED STATES TAX COURT
L.S. VINES, Petitioner v.
COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent
Docket No. 12763-04. Filed May 11, 2006.
P, a lawyer for over 34 years, settled a class
action law suit during 1999 and received compensation
for his legal services. P received approximately half
of the compensation in taxable year 1999 and half in
taxable year 2000 and reported it as ordinary income
for the respective taxable years. P decided to leave
the practice of law and begin a business of trading
securities. After P failed to cover a margin call, P’s
brokerage accounts were liquidated on Apr. 14, 2000,
resulting in a short-term capital loss. Throughout his
career, P relied on accountants for tax advice. When P
filed for an extension of time to file his 1999 tax
return on Apr. 17, 2000, P did not elect the mark-to-
market method of accounting pursuant to sec. 475(f),
I.R.C., because P’s accountant was not aware of the
mark-to-market election for securities traders or any
related revenue procedure. In June 2000, P learned of
the mark-to-market election for securities traders from
a friend, obtained the citation of sec. 475(f), I.R.C.,
and learned that Rev. Proc. 99-17, 1999-1 C.B. 503,
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