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transportation.5 Housing standards are established for each
county within a State. Transportation standards include not only
ownership costs based on nationwide figures for loan or lease
payments but also operating costs determined by census region and
metropolitan area. IRM pt. 5.15.1.7(4) (2004). A taxpayer
seeking a deviation from the expense standards must substantiate
that he has necessary expenses exceeding the standards and that
those expenses are reasonable. IRM pt. 5.8.5.5.1.2 (2005).
Petitioner failed to document or otherwise substantiate that he
has such reasonable and necessary expenses in excess of the
standards. We hold that his generalized assertion is
insufficient to require a deviation.6
5 National standards combine five necessary expenses: Four
from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey,
namely food, housekeeping supplies, apparel and services, and
personal care products and services; and a discretionary amount,
categorized as miscellaneous, established by the Internal Revenue
Service. IRM pt. 5.15.1.7(3) (2004).
6 Petitioner explains that his unemployment was the major
cause of his unpaid taxes. However, the Court notes that the
only period of unemployment reflected in the record occurred
between approximately August 2001 and April 2002; yet most of
petitioner’s tax liability, more than 70 percent, results from
unpaid taxes for tax years 1998, 1999, and 2000. See Table 1,
supra p. 4. Petitioner has also not indicated that he
anticipates future unemployment. Petitioner is an engineer
working in the high-tech industry, as opposed to a seasonal
worker subject to regular lay-offs, for example. On the record
before the Court, we conclude that petitioner has not
demonstrated a history of unemployment sufficient to require a
deviation from the reasonable collection potential formula.
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