- 7 -
Simply put, petitioner was fully aware of all aspects of the
couple’s business activity in 2001. Accordingly, because
petitioner knew and had reason to know of all of the claimed
business expenses and income related to the Schedule C activity
for the year in issue, we hold that he is not entitled to relief
under section 6015(b).
The second avenue for relief from joint and several
liability lies in section 6015(c). Section 6015(c) affords
proportionate relief to the requesting spouse through allocation
to the responsible party. Generally, this avenue of relief
allows a spouse to elect to be treated as if a separate return
had been filed. Rowe v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2001-325. To
be eligible for relief under section 6015(c), the requesting
spouse must no longer be married to, or must be legally separated
from, the individual with whom the tax return was filed and must
have elected the applicability of section 6015(c) not later than
2 years after the date on which collection activity began. Sec.
6015(c)(3). Furthermore, and perhaps most important to the
present facts, relief under section 6015(c) is not available to a
taxpayer if it is shown that the taxpayer had actual knowledge
when signing the return of any “item” giving rise to the
deficiency. Sec. 6015(c)(3)(C).
Petitioner is now divorced from Ms. Payton, and the divorce
decree was finalized before petitioner filed a petition with this
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Next
Last modified: November 10, 2007