Onderdonk v. Commissioner

1984 T.C. Memo. 241, 48 T.C.M. 23, 1984 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 428
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedMay 7, 1984
DocketDocket No. 12700-83.
StatusUnpublished

This text of 1984 T.C. Memo. 241 (Onderdonk 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
Onderdonk v. Commissioner, 1984 T.C. Memo. 241, 48 T.C.M. 23, 1984 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 428 (tax 1984).

Opinion

WILLIAM H. ONDERDONK, Petitioner v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent
Onderdonk v. Commissioner
Docket No. 12700-83.
United States Tax Court
T.C. Memo 1984-241; 1984 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 428; 48 T.C.M. (CCH) 23; T.C.M. (RIA) 84241;
May 7, 1984.

*428 Held, petitioner's claimed disability income exclusion is not allowable because his adjusted gross income exceeded $15,000 and under sec. 105(d)(3), I.R.C. 1954, the claimed exclusion is reduced to zero by income exceeding $15,000. Held further, petitioner is liable for the addition to tax for negligence under sec. 6653(a).

William H. Onderdonk, pro se.
Daniel J. Wiles, for the respondent.

STERRETT

MEMORANDUM OPINION

STERRETT, Judge: This case is before the Court on respondent's Motion for Summary Judgment filed on August 23, 1983, pursuant to Rule 121, Tax Court Rules of Practice and Procedure.1 A hearing with respect to said motion was held on February 13, 1984.

*429 In a notice of deficiency dated March 17, 1983, respondent determined a deficiency of $1,942.23 in petitioner's 1980 Federal income tax and an addition to tax of $97.11 pursuant to section 6653(a), I.R.C. 1954.

The issues to be decided in determining whether respondent is entitled to prevail on his motion are: (1) whether there is a deficiency in the amount determined by respondent; and (2) whether petitioner is liable for the addition to tax for negligence.

Petitioner, who resided in Towson, Maryland, at the time of the filing of his petition in this case, filed a timely 1980 Federal income tax return as a single individual with the appropriate office of the Internal Revenue Service.

Petitioner, an accountant and attorney, was retired from the United States Government on a disability pension in March 1970. In 1980 petitioner received $11,433 in disability payments. As of the end of 1980, petitioner was less than 65 years old. On his Federal income tax return for 1980, petitioner reported total income prior to any disability income exclusion of $31,625.35. Petitioner attached to his return a Form 2440, "Disability Income Exclusion," on which he claimed a disability income*430 exclusion of $5,200. As a result of the exclusion, petitioner reported adjusted gross income of $26,425.35.

Respondent, in his notice of deficiency, increased petitioner's income as reported by the $5,200 disability income exclusion and, having concluded that the resultant underpayment of tax was due to negligence or an intentional disregard of rules and regulations, imposed an addition to tax under section 6653(a) of $97.11.

Section 105(d)(1) and (2), as applicable to the year 1980, provides that a taxpayer who is retired on disability and has not attained the age of 65 before the close of the taxable year may exclude from gross income amounts which constitute wages or payments in lieu of wages for a period during which he is absent from work on account of permanent and total disability to the extent of $100 per week.

However, section 105(d)(3) provides for a phaseout of the exclusion if the taxpayer's adjusted gross income exceeds $15,000. If the taxpayer's adjusted gross income determined without regard to the exclusion provided for in section 105(d) exceeds $15,000, the amount of the exclusion otherwise allowable shall be reduced by the excess of the adjusted gross income*431 over $15,000.

Application of the mathematics of section 105(d)(3) to the facts of this case clearly demonstrates that petitioner's income in 1980 was more than sufficient to phase out the entire $5,200 exclusion claimed by petitioner. It appears from the record that petitioner does not seriously contest the effect of section 105(d)(3). Rather, he either denies the existence of that section or denies its applicability in his case.

In filling out Form 2440 for the 1980 year, petitioner ignored lines 4 through 8 thereon and the instructions thereto with respect to the adjusted gross income limitations on the disability income exclusion.

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1984 T.C. Memo. 241, 48 T.C.M. 23, 1984 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 428, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/onderdonk-v-commissioner-tax-1984.