Protiva v. Commissioner

1970 T.C. Memo. 282, 29 T.C.M. 1318, 1970 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 76
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedOctober 5, 1970
DocketDocket No. 5903-69 SC.
StatusUnpublished

This text of 1970 T.C. Memo. 282 (Protiva 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
Protiva v. Commissioner, 1970 T.C. Memo. 282, 29 T.C.M. 1318, 1970 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 76 (tax 1970).

Opinion

James Davis Protiva v. Commissioner.
Protiva v. Commissioner
Docket No. 5903-69 SC.
United States Tax Court
T.C. Memo 1970-282; 1970 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 76; 29 T.C.M. (CCH) 1318; T.C.M. (RIA) 70282;
October 5, 1970, Filed
James Davis Protiva, pro se, 570 Cap-Au-Guis, Troy, Mo., Charles B. Tetrick, for the respondent.

IRWIN

Memorandum Findings of Fact and Opinion

IRWIN, Judge: The Commissioner determined a deficiency in petitioner's income tax for the year 1967 in the amount of $324.14. The issues for decision are:

1. whether petitioner is entitled to dependency exemption deductions for Christine and Steven Jahoda under sections 151(e) and 152(a) (9) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954; 1

2. whether petitioner is entitled to a child care expense deduction in the amount of $900 for his three children under section 214; and

3. whether*78 the amounts petitioner paid for "job wanted" advertisements are deductible under section 162 or section 212.

Findings of Fact

Some of the facts have been stipulated. The stipulations and the exhibits attached thereto are incorporated herein by reference. 1319

James Davis Protiva (hereinafter referred to as petitioner) resided in Troy, Mo., at the time of the filing of the petition in this case. He filed his individual Federal income tax return for the calendar year 1967 with the district director of internal revenue at St. Louis, Mo.

Respondent, in his notice of deficiency to petitioner, disallowed the following deductions claimed by the taxpayer on his 1967 tax return:

1. dependency exemptions claimed for Christine Elizabeth Jahoda and Steven Paul Jahoda totaling $1,200;

2. expenses for care of petitioner's three children totaling $900; and

3. expense of $4.89 attributable to placing "job wanted" advertisements in a local newspaper.

Petitioner and his wife, Hattie Pearl Protiva, who died in July 1964, had three children. The names and birth dates of these children are as follows:

NameBirth Date
James Davis Protiva, Jr.November 8, 1959
Franklin Reed ProtivaMay 11, 1961
Susan Elizabeth ProtivaNovember 26, 1962

*79 Petitioner never remarried and he found it extremely difficult to find suitable persons to care for his children while he was working. From July 1964 until the latter part of 1966, petitioner's relatives took care of his children while he was away at work.

In the fall or winter of 1966, petitioner answered an advertisement placed in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch by Penina Jahoda (hereinafter Penina), a divorcee, who desired to obtain employment as a babysitter under an arrangement whereby she and her two children would live in th employer's home. The names and birth dates of the two Jahoda children are:

NameBirth Date
Christine Elizabeth (hereinafter Christine)December 28, 1962
Steven Paul (hereinafter Steven)July 26, 1960

Late in 1966, petitioner agreed to employ Penina, who resided with Christine and Steven in the taxpayer's home throughout all of 1967. Their employment agreement provided that petitioner would furnish food, lodging, and incidental items, such as utilities, to Penina and her two children as well as pay her $100 per month, in return for her services as a babysitter for petitioner's three children. Penina never received the $100 per month, *80 although petitioner did give her a check for $359 in September 1967, which was intended to serve as wages. However, Penina spent this sum for groceries for the entire household.

Although Penina performed household duties other than babysitting during 1967, such as cleaning house and washing clothes, such activities were not a condition of her employment.

Penina regarded her relationship with petitioner as one of employer and employee. After she terminated her employment with petitioner and left his home in 1969, he no longer furnished food and lodging to the two Jahoda children and their mother.

Petitioner never arranged or planned to adopt Christine and Steven, who did not consider him as their father.

Victor Jahoda, Christine and Steven's father, provided $175 to each of the children during 1967, which Penina spent primarily for their clothing.

Petitioner's home in Troy, Mo., housed seven persons in 1967, viz., petitioner, his three children, Penina, and her two children.

This house, which had originally been purchased for $10,500, had 12 rooms and two baths. During the period that petitioner has been living there, he has made some improvements to the house, such as roofing, *81 painting, rewiring it, as well as sanding the floors.

Petitioner had three employers during the year at issue. There were periods in that year during which he was unemployed. While the exact nature of these jobs was nots disclosed, it appears that none of these jobs entailed grade school or high school teaching.

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Bluebook (online)
1970 T.C. Memo. 282, 29 T.C.M. 1318, 1970 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 76, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/protiva-v-commissioner-tax-1970.