McCabe v. Commissioner

76 T.C. 876, 1981 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 119
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedJune 3, 1981
DocketDocket No. 1536-78
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 76 T.C. 876 (McCabe 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
McCabe v. Commissioner, 76 T.C. 876, 1981 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 119 (tax 1981).

Opinions

OPINION

Raum, Judge:

The Commissioner determined a $908 deficiency in petitioner’s 1976 income tax. The only remaining issue is whether petitioner is entitled to deduct some portion of his automobile expenses in transporting himself and his service revolver to and from his place of employment as a police officer. The case was submitted on the basis of a stipulation of facts.

During 1976, and at the time he filed his petition herein, petitioner resided in Suffern, N.Y. Suffern is a relatively remote suburb west of the Hudson River and is immediately adjacent to the State of New Jersey. In 1976, he was employed as a New York City police officer assigned exclusively to the 28th Precinct at 2271 Eighth Avenue, New York, N.Y. Petitioner’s tour of duty during 1976 consisted of working 248 weekdays from 8 a.m until 4 p.m. only.

The regulations of the New York City Police Department require police officers to be armed at all times when in the city of New York, unless otherwise directed. However, New Jersey, through which petitioner would travel if he commuted to work by driving over the most direct route or taking a bus, permits officers employed by governmental agencies outside the State of New Jersey to carry weapons in New Jersey only while engaged in official duties and upon prior notification to local police authorities. See N.J. Stat. Ann. sec. 2A:151-43s (West 1969) (repealed 1979) (current version at N.J. Stat. Ann. sec. 2C:39-6(b)(1) (West 1980)). New York City police officers carrying a service revolver through New Jersey by either public or private conveyance would be in violation of the New Jersey law if they did not have a New Jersey gun permit. Generally, New Jersey authorities issue gun permits only to those persons with job requirements necessitating that they be armed in that State or to persons who can establish other urgent need. Applications for gun permits are evaluated on their own merits.

During 1976, petitioner used his personal automobile as his exclusive means of commuting to and from his post of duty at the 28th Precinct. Petitioner did not use his own automobile during his work day. When petitioner commuted to his job by automobile, he carried his service revolver on his person and did not modify his automobile in any way in order to carry the revolver. Petitioner incurred no added expense in the cost of operating his vehicle by carrying his revolver above that which he would have incurred if he had commuted to his job by automobile without the revolver. In traveling by automobile to and from the 28th Precinct from his home, petitioner traveled approximately 40 miles each way via New York highways. His route generally took 75 minutes to drive; toll costs were $2 per day. If petitioner had driven through New Jersey in commuting to work, his toll costs would have been $1.50 per day, the distance would have been approximately 25 miles one way, and travel time would have been approximately 45 minutes.

During 1976, a bus service provided by the Shortline bus company traveled from Suffern, N.Y., to the Port Authority Bus Depot in New York City. However, this bus traveled through New Jersey. If petitioner had taken the bus to New York City, he would have boarded the bus at a stop located 2 blocks from his home in Suffern. Between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m., weekday departures from Suffern for New York City occurred at least as frequently as every 15 minutes; in the evening, between 4 and 6:10 p.m., weekday departures from New York City for Suffern occurred at least as frequently as every 20 minutes. Travel time by bus from petitioner’s home to the Port Authority Bus Terminal was approximately 1 hour. The one-way fare between Suffern and the bus terminal in Manhattan was $2.70; however, a 50-trip bus ticket cost $76.60 from January 1 through October 27,1976, and $82.75 for the remainder of 1976. From the Port Authority Bus Depot, petitioner would have to have taken an approximately 15-minute subway ride to the 28th Precinct. During 1976, petitioner could have ridden the subway without charge due to his police officer status.

Petitioner could also have used public transportation that did not pass through New Jersey. Petitioner could have driven 16 miles to Tarrytown, N.Y., on the east side of the Hudson River, and taken the Hudson line of Conrail to Grand Central Station in New York City. The drive to Tarrytown would have required approximately 30 minutes; round trip tolls between Suffern and Tarrytown would have been $1.50 per day, and parking at the Tarrytown train station would have cost $90 per year. The time from Tarrytown to Grand Central Station ranged from 38 to 54 minutes, depending upon which train was utilized. A monthly commuting ticket cost $58.75. The route that petitioner actually took in driving his automobile from Suffern to his post of duty in New York City passed through Tarrytown.

On his 1976 income tax return, petitioner claimed $2,950 in automobile expenses as a deduction on Form 2106, Employee Business Expenses. This deduction represented the commuting costs for 17,60o1 miles, plus bridge and thruway tolls, by virtue of petitioner’s use of an automobile rather than a bus or train to travel between his home in Suffern, N.Y., and his job in New York City. The Commissioner disallowed the entire deduction.

It is well settled that a taxpayer’s cost of commuting between his residence and his place of employment is a nondeductible personal expense. Secs. 1.162-2(e), 1.262-l(b)(5), Income Tax Regs.; see, e.g., Fausner v. Commissioner, 413 U.S. 838, 839 (1973); Commissioner v. Flowers, 326 U.S. 465, 473 (1946); Donnelly v. Commissioner, 262 F.2d 411, 412 (2d Cir. 1959); Feistman v. Commissioner, 63 T.C. 129, 134 (1974), appeal dismissed 587 F.2d 941 (9th Cir. 1978); Anderson v. Commissioner, 60 T.C. 834, 835 (1973). However, an exception to this rule has been recognized with respect to employees who are required by their employer to transport job related tools to and from work and thereby incur expenses in addition to the ordinary commuting costs they otherwise would incur. See Fausner v. Commissioner, 413 U.S. at 839; Kallander v. United States, 208 Ct. Cl. 557, 570, 526 F.2d 1131, 1136 (1975); Coker v. Commissioner, 487 F.2d 593, 594 (2d Cir. 1973), cert. denied 414 U.S. 1130 (1974); Feistman v. Commissioner, 63 T.C. at 135; Gilberg v. Commissioner, 55 T.C. 611, 618-619 (1971); Hitt v. Commissioner, 55 T.C. 628, 632-633 (1971). If such additional expenses are incurred, they are deductible as “ordinary and necessary” business expenses pursuant to section 162(a), I.R.C. 1954.

Petitioner claims that, but for the necessity of carrying his gun, he would have taken the bus and subway to work, and thereby avoided the greater expense incurred in driving to work. Although petitioner’s return claimed a deduction for his entire expenses2

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McCabe v. Commissioner
76 T.C. 876 (U.S. Tax Court, 1981)

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Bluebook (online)
76 T.C. 876, 1981 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 119, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mccabe-v-commissioner-tax-1981.