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Commissioner, 118 T.C. 358, 363 (2002); Higbee v. Commissioner,
116 T.C. 438 (2001). Respondent has met his burden.
1. Late Filing
Section 6651(a)(1) imposes an addition to tax for failure to
file a return by its due date. The addition equals 5 percent for
each month or fraction thereof that the return is late, not to
exceed 25 percent. Sec. 6651(a)(1).
In the absence of an extension, the last date for petitioner
to file his Federal income tax return for taxable year 2002 was
April 15, 2003. Secs. 6072(b), 7503. Petitioner’s 2002 return
was not filed, however, until July 14, 2004.
“A failure to file a tax return on the date prescribed leads
to a mandatory penalty unless the taxpayer shows that such
failure was due to reasonable cause and not due to willful
neglect.” McMahan v. Commissioner, 114 F.3d 366, 368 (2d Cir.
1997), affg. T.C. Memo. 1995-547. A showing of reasonable cause
requires taxpayers to demonstrate they exercised “ordinary
business care and prudence” but were nevertheless unable to file
the return within the prescribed time. United States v. Boyle,
469 U.S. 241, 246 (1985); sec. 301.6651-1(c)(1), Proced. & Admin.
Regs.
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