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liable for the addition to tax. See id. at 447. Petitioner’s
2003 income tax return was due on October 15, 2004, but was not
filed until January 3, 2005. We find that respondent has met his
burden of production.
“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. Generally, factors that constitute “reasonable cause”
include unavoidable postal delays, death or serious illness of
the taxpayer or a member of his immediate family, or reliance on
the mistaken legal opinion of a competent tax adviser, lawyer, or
accountant that it was not necessary to file a return. McMahan
v. Commissioner, supra at 369.
Petitioner contends that she had reasonable cause for filing
late, and that the late filing of her return is because of her
responsibility to care for her brother after he was released from
the hospital in December 2003. Petitioner argues that it took
more than 5 months to secure reliable caregivers, and that her
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