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4T(a), Temporary Income Tax Regs, supra.4 The determinations by
the Commissioner in a notice of deficiency are presumed correct,
and the burden of proof is on the taxpayer to prove that the
determinations are in error. Rule 142(a); Welch v. Helvering,
290 U.S. 111, 115 (1933).
Petitioners do not contest failing to attach a valid Form
8332 or an equivalent written declaration to their 2003 joint
return. They have made considerable efforts to locate a copy of
the 1995 Form 8332, but have succeeded only in verifying its one
time existence by eliciting Mrs. Norris’s 2006 confirmatory
letter. Petitioners now ask us to retroactively apply this
missing Form 8332 to their 2003 joint return. This we cannot do.
Failure to attach a valid Form 8332, or an equivalent
written declaration disqualifies a noncustodial taxpayer from
claiming a dependency exemption for the child of a previous
marriage. Paulson v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1996-560; Peck v.
Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1996-33; see also Brissett v.
Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2003-310 (compliance with terms of
separation agreement not sufficient to authorize dependency
exemption without attaching valid Form 8332 or equivalent); Neal
v. Commissioner, supra (affixing unsigned Forms 8332 to
taxpayer’s returns resulted in disallowance of dependency
4Temporary regulations have binding effect and are entitled
to the same weight as final regulations. Peterson Marital Trust
v. Commissioner, 102 T.C. 790, 797 (1994), affd. 78 F.3d 795 (2d
Cir. 1996).
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