Shumaker v. Commissioner

1979 T.C. Memo. 71, 38 T.C.M. 302, 1979 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 453
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedMarch 5, 1979
DocketDocket No. 6771-76.
StatusUnpublished

This text of 1979 T.C. Memo. 71 (Shumaker 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
Shumaker v. Commissioner, 1979 T.C. Memo. 71, 38 T.C.M. 302, 1979 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 453 (tax 1979).

Opinion

LLOYD M. SHUMAKER, Petitioner v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent
Shumaker v. Commissioner
Docket No. 6771-76.
United States Tax Court
T.C. Memo 1979-71; 1979 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 453; 38 T.C.M. (CCH) 302; T.C.M. (RIA) 79071;
March 5, 1979, Filed

*453 Held, petitioner determined to have ordinary income and not capital gains from sale of grain grown on his farm. Held further, proper allocation of farm sale price to depreciables determined. Held further, basis of farm equipment determined.

Lloyd M. Shumaker, pro se.
Kenneth W. McWade, for the respondent.

STERRETT

MEMORANDUM FINDINGS OF FACT AND OPINION

STERRETT, Judge: Respondent determined deficiencies in petitioner's income taxes for the following years and in the following amounts:

Taxable Year EndedDeficiency
December 31, 1972 $ 971.00
December 31, 19736,624.00

A variety of issues, including the capital or ordinary income quality of petitioner's receipts from certain grain sales made by him and the proper allocation of the sale price of his farm, are presented.

FINDINGS OF FACT

Some of the facts have been stipulated and are so found. 1 The stipulation of facts and exhibits attached thereto are incorporated herein by this reference.

Petitioner Lloyd M. Shumaker resided at Soap Lake, Washington at the time he filed his petition*455 herein.Petitioner's Federal income tax returns for the years in issue were filed with the service's western regional service center at Ogden, Utah. Petitioner was at all times relevant hereto on a cash basis of accounting. Petitioner filed his petition herein on July 13, 1976. On April 15, 1977 petitioner mailed an amended income tax return for his taxable year 1973 which was received on April 19, 1977. By this amended return petitioner claimed a refund for his taxable year 1973 in the amount of $ 428. 2

Petitioner was for many years a wheat farmer on a farm located near Soap Lake. In August of 1972 he leased his farm to a Mr. Cox. On February 15, 1973 petitioner sold his farm to Mr. Cox for $ 135,000. In connection with this sale the parties executed a closing statement dated February 15, 1973 wherein the total sales price for the farm and farm machinery was allocated $ 113,000 to the*456 farm land and $ 22,000 to the farm machinery.

Prior to leasing his farm to Mr. Cox petitioner had harvested the farm's 1972 wheat crop. It was petitioner's usual practice to sell immediately so much of his yearly crop as was required to meet that year's financial obligations and store any excess grain for sale in the next year. In accordance with this practice petitioner stored a portion of his 1972 wheat crop with the Wilson Creek Union Grain & Trading Company (Wilson Creek). Petitioner stored the following amounts of wheat on the following dates:

Date storedGross BushelsNet Bushels
July 27, 19723,219.333,203.24
July 30, 1972737.45730.07
August 5, 19728,398.938,314.84

Subsequent to leasing his farm to Mr. Cox, petitioner lent Mr. Cox 968 bushels of wheat for seed. On March 30, 1973 petitioner sold that part of his 1972 wheat crop which he had stored with Wilson Creek for a gross amount of $ 26,881.89. On July 14, 1973, Mr. Cox returned the 968 bushels he had borrowed to the Wilson Creek storage facility for deposit to petitioner's account. Petitioner sold this wheat on July 23, 1973 for a gross price of $ 3,097.60.

During his years*457 as a farmer and in the ordinary course of his business of farming, petitioner became a member of various farmer's cooperative associations. From time to time these cooperatives would issue dividends to their members which represented, at least in part, rebates to them based on the amount of wheat the cooperative had handled, stored and/or insured. In 1973 petitioner received cooperative dividends totaling $ 2,176. 3

On April 27, 1972 petitioner bought a Calkins weeder (weeder) for a total cash price of $ 5,785. Petitioner paid $ 1,500 cash down, was allowed $ 3,074.25 for the trade-in of old weeders, and assumed a liability of $ 1,210.75. The old weeders which petitioner turned in had adjusted bases totaling$ 42.

For his taxable year 1970, petitioner claimed an obsolescence loss of $ 4,535 which was disallowed by respondent on audit. In lieu of this obsolescence loss, respondent allowed petitioner an additional $ 1,039 of depreciation in 1970. As a result of these adjustments petitioner is entitled to an additional $ 3,495 of depreciation on, or basis in, the farm equipment sold*458 with the farm on February 15, 1973. Petitioner's amended return for his taxable year 1973 relates to this adjustment.

OPINION

This case involves a variety of adjustments made by respondent to petitioner's income for his 1972-1973 calendar years.

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1979 T.C. Memo. 71, 38 T.C.M. 302, 1979 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 453, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/shumaker-v-commissioner-tax-1979.