Jesse Alvarado & Estate of Maria De Lourdes Velasquez, Jesse Alvarado, Special Administrator

CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedJanuary 3, 2024
Docket15059-18
StatusUnpublished

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Jesse Alvarado & Estate of Maria De Lourdes Velasquez, Jesse Alvarado, Special Administrator, (tax 2024).

Opinion

United States Tax Court

T.C. Memo. 2024-1

JESSE ALVARADO AND ESTATE OF MARIA DE LOURDES VELASQUEZ, DECEASED, JESSE ALVARADO, SPECIAL ADMINISTRATOR, Petitioners

v.

COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent

__________

Docket No. 15059-18. Filed January 3, 2024.

Jesse Alvarado and Estate of Maria de Lourdes Velasquez, Deceased, Jesse Alvarado, Special Administrator, pro sese.

Paulmikell A. Fabian and Sarah A. Herson, for respondent.

MEMORANDUM FINDINGS OF FACT AND OPINION

COPELAND, Judge: The Commissioner of Internal Revenue (Commissioner) determined that Petitioners, Jesse Alvarado and Maria de Lourdes Velasquez, have federal income tax deficiencies of $892,461 and $746,337 for 2011 and 2012 (years in issue), respectively. 1 These deficiencies stem primarily from alleged unreported gross receipts and overstated costs of goods sold at Mr. Alvarado’s used car sales business. The Commissioner further determined late-filing additions to tax under section 6651(a)(1)2 of $222,014 and $186,514 for 2011 and 2012,

1 Ms. Velasquez passed away in August 2021 after this case went to trial. Because all the relevant events occurred while she was alive, we continue to refer to Mr. Alvarado and Ms. Velasquez together as “Petitioners.” 2 Unless otherwise indicated, statutory references are to the Internal Revenue

Code, Title 26 U.S.C. (I.R.C. or Code), in effect at all relevant times, regulation

Served 01/03/24 2

[*2] respectively. For Mr. Alvarado only, the Commissioner determined civil fraud penalties under section 6663 of $669,346 and $559,753 for 2011 and 2012, respectively. In the event that the fraud penalties for Mr. Alvarado are not upheld for either or both years in issue, the Commissioner has determined as an alternative accuracy-related penalties. See I.R.C. § 6662(a). The Commissioner conveyed his deficiency and penalty determinations in two separate notices of deficiency, one with a salutation addressing only Mr. Alvarado and one with a salutation addressing only Ms. Velasquez. 3 Both notices were dated April 27, 2018.

After concessions by the parties (detailed below), 4 the issues for decision are as follows:

1. Whether Petitioners had unreported gross receipts of $1,223,387 and $24,294 for 2011 and 2012, respectively;

2. Whether Petitioners overreported costs of goods sold by $514,583 and $1,200,242 for 2011 and 2012, respectively;

3. Whether Petitioners overreported various expenses on Schedules C, Profit or Loss from Business (Sole Proprietorship), in the aggregate amounts of $37,052 and $103,705 for 2011 and 2012, respectively;

4. Whether Petitioners are liable for the section 6651(a)(1) late-filing additions to tax for one or both of the years in issue; and

references are to the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 26 (Treas. Reg.), in effect at all relevant times, and Rule references are to the Tax Court Rules of Practice and Procedure. Some dollar amounts are rounded. 3 While it is clear from the context of the notice of deficiency containing the

civil fraud penalties and alternative accuracy-related penalties that it was intended only for Mr. Alvarado, his notice was sent by certified mail to “Jesse Alvarado and Maria de Lourdes Velasquez a.k.a. Marylou Velasquez” and contained a continuation sheet and worksheets titled in both Petitioners’ names. Similarly, the notice of deficiency intended only for Ms. Velasquez, which determined late-filing additions to tax but no penalties, was sent by certified mail to “Jesse Alvarado & Maria de Lourdes Velasquez a.k.a. Marylou Velasquez” with worksheets titled in both their names. 4 Before trial the parties agreed that Ms. Velasquez qualifies under section

6015(b) for “innocent spouse” relief from joint and several liability for the tax deficiencies at issue and the section 6651(a)(1) additions to tax. 3

[*3] 5. Whether Mr. Alvarado is liable for the section 6663 civil fraud penalties or, alternatively, the section 6662 accuracy- related penalties for one or both of the years in issue.

FINDINGS OF FACT

Some of the facts have been stipulated and are so found. By this reference we incorporate the parties’ First Stipulation of Facts and the accompanying Supplements and Exhibits. Mr. Alvarado and Ms. Velasquez resided in California when they timely filed their Petition.

I. South Bay Autos and Alvarado Tax Service

Mr. Alvarado worked as a commercial lender at Comerica Bank for approximately 25 years before opening a used car sales business, South Bay Autos (South Bay), which he operated as a sole proprietorship from 2008 to 2014. Mr. Alvarado rented premises in Hawthorne, California, to sell used cars and (as a side business) to prepare tax returns. He held a preparer tax identification number (PTIN) from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) from 2009 through at least 2012, and he prepared several dozen tax returns during the years in issue under the business name Alvarado Tax Service. His tax return clients were primarily South Bay customers, whom he charged in the range of $60– $200 for the additional service.

Mr. Alvarado’s business model at South Bay relied heavily on credit, both for his own inventory purchases and for his customers’. Mr. Alvarado bought much of his inventory at used car auctions using loan proceeds from Dealer Services Corp. (DSC). DSC merged with another company sometime in 2013 to form NextGear Capital (NextGear). Mr. Alvarado would need to pay back these purchase loans within 45 days or otherwise face high interest charges from DSC (and, later, NextGear).

Mr. Alvarado therefore wanted to sell his inventory quickly; yet his potential customers from the Hawthorne area often had limited income. To address this problem, Mr. Alvarado contracted with Topaz Financial Services (Topaz), and later with Premier Auto Credit (Premier), to provide credit to his customers. In a typical sale, Mr. Alvarado and the customer would sign a sales contract, with the customer making a small downpayment; then Mr. Alvarado would assign the contract to Topaz (or later to Premier) in exchange for advance payment as further detailed below. The customer would make all subsequent payments directly to the financer. 4

[*4] For his part, Mr. Alvarado took the used car sale contracts periodically (and typically in batches) to the financers, who would pay him the face value of the contracts less (1) a reserve amount, which Mr. Alvarado would receive only once the customer fully paid the loan balance, and (2) the outstanding value of any previous contracts that had become uncollectible in the meantime. The financers deducted the latter amount pursuant to Mr. Alvarado’s agreement to fully guarantee each customer’s loan. This business model eventually became financially unsustainable, and Mr. Alvarado closed South Bay in or around 2014, after drawing on his pensions and personal savings.

II. Tax Returns

Mr. Alvarado prepared and filed his and Ms. Velasquez’s joint federal income tax returns for tax years 2009 through 2012, all of which were filed late. The 2011 return was due on April 17, 2012, but was not filed until February 4, 2013. The 2012 return was due on April 15, 2013, but was not filed until June 27, 2014. Mr. Alvarado and Ms. Velasquez neither filed for nor received an extension of time to file their returns for either of the years in issue.

The 2011 and 2012 joint returns did not separately identify income from Alvarado Tax Service, although such income was minimal. Those returns likewise did not report the income Petitioners earned from subleasing real estate for a few months in 2012. Other than these small amounts, Petitioners’ only taxable income (and the only income reported on their returns) came from South Bay used car sales.

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