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to live there without interruption of services or imposition of
property-tax liens.
Petitioners and respondent primarily disagree on whether
the house in Vallejo, California, is petitioners’ “tax home” and
consequently, whether petitioners’ expenses incurred while
working onsite for Sheehan are deductible under section 162(a)(2)
as expenses incurred in pursuit of a trade or business while away
from home.
Discussion4
A. Section 162(a)(2)
Generally, outlays for food and shelter are considered
personal expenses and are not deductible. Sec. 262. However,
section 162(a)(2) allows a deduction for traveling expenses,
including amounts expended for meals and lodging, if the expenses
are: (1) Ordinary and necessary, (2) incurred while “away from
home”, and (3) incurred in pursuit of a trade or business. See
Bochner v. Commissioner, 67 T.C. 824, 827 (1977). Respondent
contends that petitioners were not “away from home” when they
incurred the expenses, and thus that petitioners do not satisfy
4 Given the manner in which these issues were presented to
the Court, we make our decision as to both the deficiencies and
additions to tax without regard to the various burdens of proof
under sec. 7491.
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Last modified: November 10, 2007