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Later, on cross-examination, the following colloquy took
place between respondent’s counsel and petitioner, which further
illuminates the inadequacies of the log:
COUNSEL: Turning your attention to the mileage
for the automobile, how was the total mileage
calculated?
PETITIONER: It was an estimate. It was an
estimate. Actually, when I go to the place where I
was--okay, I try to remember the mileage at the
beginning because I didn’t complete this here, so I
didn’t have an accurate--so it was an estimate.
COUNSEL: And the mileage did not pertain to your
work at Hughes Television Network?
PETITIONER: No. I mean some of those would have
been part of it. You know, what I did was I just
looked at the--try to remember my mileage at the
beginning of the year and the end of the year. So some
of it probably, you know, I might not have taken into
account my drive to work.
As previously discussed, no deduction under section 274(d)
is allowable for expenses incurred in respect of a passenger
automobile on the basis of any approximation or the unsupported
testimony of the taxpayer. E.g., Golden v. Commissioner, T.C.
Memo. 1993-602. In addition, it is clear that, as a matter of
law, a taxpayer’s cost of commuting between the taxpayer’s
personal residence and place of employment is a nondeductible
personal expense. Commissioner v. Flowers, 326 U.S. 465, 473-474
(1946); secs. 1.162-2(e), 1.262-1(b)(5), Income Tax Regs.
In contrast to commuting expenses, expenses incurred in
traveling between two places of business are deductible, Heuer v.
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