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legislative grace, and the taxpayer has the burden to prove he or
she is entitled to any deduction claimed. Rule 142(a); Deputy v.
du Pont, 308 U.S. 488, 493 (1940); New Colonial Ice Co. v.
Helvering, 292 U.S. 435, 440 (1934); Welch v. Helvering, supra.
This includes the burden of substantiation. Hradesky v.
Commissioner, 65 T.C. 87, 90 (1975), affd. per curiam 540 F.2d
821 (5th Cir. 1976).
A taxpayer must substantiate amounts claimed as deductions
by maintaining the records necessary to establish he or she is
entitled to the deductions. Sec. 6001; Hradesky v. Commissioner,
supra. The taxpayer shall keep such permanent records or books
of account as are sufficient to establish the amounts of
deductions claimed on the return. Sec. 6001; sec. 1.6001-1(a),
(e), Income Tax Regs. The Court need not accept a taxpayer’s
self-serving testimony when the taxpayer fails to present
corroborative evidence. Beam v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1990-
304 (citing Tokarski v. Commissioner, 87 T.C. 74, 77 (1986)),
affd. without published opinion 956 F.2d 1166 (9th Cir. 1992).
Unreimbursed Employee Business Expenses
We shall now consider whether petitioners are entitled to
deduct the claimed expenses, beginning with the unreimbursed
employee business expenses petitioners claimed on Schedule A.
In general, all ordinary and necessary expenses paid or
incurred in carrying on a trade or business during the taxable
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