Bannon v. Commissioner

99 T.C. No. 3, 99 T.C. 59, 1992 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 56
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedJuly 20, 1992
DocketDocket No. 26900-90
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 99 T.C. No. 3 (Bannon v. Commissioner) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Tax Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bannon v. Commissioner, 99 T.C. No. 3, 99 T.C. 59, 1992 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 56 (tax 1992).

Opinion

Hamblen, Chief Judge:

This case was assigned to Special Trial Judge Helen A. Buckley pursuant to section 7443A(b)(3) and Rules 180, 181, and 182.1 The Court agrees with and adopts the opinion of the Special Trial Judge, which is set forth below.

OPINION OF THE SPECIAL TRIAL JUDGE

Buckley, Special Trial Judge:

Respondent determined a deficiency in petitioner’s 1986 Federal income tax in the amount of $807. After concessions,2 the sole issue for decision is whether the amount of $5,789 received by petitioner during 1986 under the California Department of Social Services’ (cdss) in-home supportive services program is excludable from petitioner’s income.

FINDINGS OF i ACT

Upon joint motion of the parties, this matter was submitted fully stipulated. The stipulation of facts and attached exhibits are incorporated herein by reference. Petitioner resided at Lodi, California, at the time of the filing of her petition.

During all of 1986, petitioner’s 37-year old mentally retarded daughter, Carol, resided with petitioner in her home. Carol is physically handicapped and confined to a wheelchair. Her mental and physical disabilities required around-the-clock total care, including dressing, bathing, grooming, feeding, and ambulation. Other than 20 hours per month when Carol was cared for by an unrelated third party, all of her personal nonmedical needs were attended to by petitioner.

For a number of years prior to 1985, Carol had been a ward of the State of California and received institutional care. Sometime in late 1985, Carol was released into the custody of petitioner upon petitioner’s request. The San Joaquin County Human Services Agency, a local welfare agency under the jurisdiction of the CDSS, determined that Carol required 160.3 hours per month of nonmedical in-home supportive services. Thus Carol was entitled to receive State assistance to pay for 160.3 hours per month of nonmedical personal care. Under California law, Carol was considered a “recipient” and the persons providing her with care were “providers”.

The State of California acts as a payroll agent to the providers and to Carol. Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code sec. 12302.2. (West 1991 & Supp. 1992.) Due to Carol’s incompetence, petitioner had authority to act on her behalf in selecting the care providers. Petitioner selected an unrelated third party to care for Carol for about 20 hours per month, and she provided care to Carol for the remainder of the allotted time. Petitioner also provided many hours of care for Carol for which she was not compensated.

Providers were required by CDSS to submit monthly time sheets certifying the number of hours of approved care provided to Carol. Accordingly, petitioner and the individual she hired submitted monthly time sheets. The CDSS acted as the disbursing agent for Carol. For the period January through May of 1986, petitioner, on behalf of Carol, requested that funds be disbursed under an advance payment method. Under this method, monthly checks were advanced to Carol at the beginning of each month in an amount that assumed 160.3 hours of in-home supportive care. Though unclear, petitioner evidently cashed the checks on behalf of Carol and paid herself as well as the other provider. During this period, the time sheets submitted at the end of each month were verified by the local welfare agency to insure the propriety of amounts advanced.

For the period June through December of 1986, petitioner, acting on Carol’s behalf, requested that the payment method be changed so that checks were disbursed directly to, and in the names of, petitioner and the other provider. Under this payment method, checks were disbursed only after the month-end submission of time sheets. Regardless of the payment method, the CDSS considered Carol as recipient of the benefits and as employer of the personal care service providers.

The CDSS issued petitioner a Form W-2 for 1986 on behalf of Carol. The W-2 lists Carol as the employer and petitioner as the employee. It indicates compensation paid to petitioner in the amount of $5,789.70. Petitioner did not include this amount in income on her 1986 Federal income tax return. By notice of deficiency, respondent determined that petitioner was taxable on $5,789,3 asserting it to be income under section 61.

The question presented is one not heretofore decided: Whether payments made under California’s in-home supportive services program are taxable to a parent who receives the payments as a provider of care to her disabled adult child. We now consider it. Our decision will impact a significant number of similarly situated taxpayers.

OPINION

Petitioner bears the burden of proving respondent’s determination is incorrect. Rule 142(a); Welch v. Helvering, 290 U.S. 111 (1933). That the case was submitted fully stipulated has no effect on the burden of proof. See Rule 122(b); Meunier v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1991-446.

Generally, “all income from whatever source derived” is subject to taxation unless excluded by law. Sec. 61(a); Commissioner v. Glenshaw Glass Co., 348 U.S. 426 (1955). Specifically included within the statutory definition of gross income is: “Compensation for services”. Sec. 61(a)(1). Respondent argues that the income at issue was received by petitioner as compensation for the nonmedical care she provided her daughter, and, since there is no Code provision to exempt it, the income is subject to tax. Petitioner, on the other hand, contends that the income received was in the nature of a government welfare benefit or subsidy and is therefore nontaxable.

Though no statutory exclusion for a welfare benefit appears in the Internal Revenue Code, and there is a dearth of case law on the subject, respondent has consistently taken the position, in a number of Revenue Rulings, that Government disbursements promoting the general welfare are not taxable. See, e.g., Rev. Rui. 78-170, 1978-1 C.B. 24 (Government payments to assist low-income persons with utility costs are not income); Rev. Rul. 76-395, 1976-2 C.B. 16, 17 (Government grants to assist low-income city inhabitants to refurbish homes are not income); Rey. Rui. 76-144, 1976-1 C.B. 17 (Government grants to persons eligible for relief under the Disaster Relief Act of 1974 are not income); Rev. Rui. 74-153, 1974-1 C.B. 20 (Government payments to assist adoptive parents with support and maintenance of adoptive children are not income); Rev. Rui. 57-102, 1957-1 C.B. 26 (Government benefits paid to blind persons are not income). This Court has acknowledged the existence of the “general welfare doctrine” of income exclusion. Bailey v. Commissioner, 88 T.C. 1293, 1299-1301 (1987); Graff v. Commissioner, 74 T.C. 743, 753-754 (1980), affd. per curiam 673 F.2d 784 (5th Cir. 1982). The Supreme Court, referring to a New York State low-income housing subsidy, has said: “In a real sense, it no more embodies the attributes of income or profits than do welfare benefits, food stamps, or other government subsidies.” United Housing Foundation, Inc. v.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Sean Patrick Canavan
U.S. Tax Court, 2023
Mary K. Feigh & Edward M. Feigh v. Commissioner
152 T.C. No. 15 (U.S. Tax Court, 2019)
Dupigny v. Tyson
66 V.I. 434 (Supreme Court of The Virgin Islands, 2017)
Guthrie Washaurwa Chibanguza v. Comm'r
2016 T.C. Summary Opinion 84 (U.S. Tax Court, 2016)
Harper v. Comm'r
2011 T.C. Summary Opinion 56 (U.S. Tax Court, 2011)
VOGT v. COMMISSIONER
2005 T.C. Summary Opinion 107 (U.S. Tax Court, 2005)
Baldwin v. Commissioner
2000 T.C. Memo. 306 (U.S. Tax Court, 2000)
Foust v. Commissioner
1997 T.C. Memo. 446 (U.S. Tax Court, 1997)
May v. Commissioner
1993 T.C. Memo. 86 (U.S. Tax Court, 1993)
Cato v. Commissioner
99 T.C. No. 33 (U.S. Tax Court, 1992)
Bannon v. Commissioner
99 T.C. No. 3 (U.S. Tax Court, 1992)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
99 T.C. No. 3, 99 T.C. 59, 1992 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 56, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bannon-v-commissioner-tax-1992.