Lorenzo Battle - Page 17

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               In order for a taxpayer to establish use on a “regular”                
          basis, the business use must be more than occasional or                     
          incidental.  Irwin v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1996-490, affd.              
          without published opinion 131 F.3d 146 (9th Cir. 1997); Hefti v.            
          Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1993-128.  A taxpayer “exclusively” uses           
          a portion of his dwelling in a trade or business if the portion             
          in question is not used for other than business purposes.  Irwin            
          v. Commissioner, supra; Hefti v. Commissioner, supra.  The use of           
          a portion of a dwelling unit both for personal purposes and for             
          the carrying on of a trade or business does not meet the                    
          exclusive use test.  See Sengpiehl v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo.              
          1998-23; Hefti v. Commissioner, supra.                                      
               Petitioner claimed deductions of $4,030 for home office                
          expenses paid in connection with Zomans Productions.  Petitioner            
          provided a diagram of his apartment in which he designated one              
          room as a “studio area” and another as an “office” for his movie            
          production business.  In order to access the living room, the               
          bedroom, or the bathroom, petitioner must go through one of the             
          designated areas.  It is well established that the Court is not             
          required to accept a taxpayer’s self-serving testimony in the               
          absence of corroborating evidence.  See Niedringhaus v.                     
          Commissioner, 99 T.C. 202, 219 (1992); Tokarski v. Commissioner,            
          87 T.C. 74, 77 (1986).  Other than petitioner’s testimony, there            







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