Tippin v. Commissioner

104 T.C. No. 26, 104 T.C. 518, 1995 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 26
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedApril 27, 1995
DocketDocket No. 25076-92
StatusPublished
Cited by24 cases

This text of 104 T.C. No. 26 (Tippin 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
Tippin v. Commissioner, 104 T.C. No. 26, 104 T.C. 518, 1995 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 26 (tax 1995).

Opinion

OPINION

Jacobs, Judge:

Respondent determined the following deficiencies in, and additions to, petitioners’ Federal income taxes:

Accuracy-related Additions to tax penalty
Sec. Sec. Sec. Sec. Year Deficiency 6651(a)(1) 6653(a)(1) 6661 6662(a)
$1,219 $1,970 1988 $7,879 CD •<! O
$2,855 1989 14,274 -3 M tN
3,416 1990 17,079

After concessions,1 the issues for decision are: (1) Whether petitioners are entitled to Schedule C deductions for bankruptcy court-ordered adequate protection payments made during 1988, 1989, and 1990; (2) whether petitioners are entitled to Schedule C deductions for wages paid during 1988, 1989, and 1990 in excess of the amounts allowed in the notice of deficiency; (3) whether petitioners are entitled to Schedule C deductions for unemployment taxes and the employer’s portion of employment taxes paid during 1989 and 1990 in excess of the amounts allowed in the notice of deficiency; (4) whether petitioners are liable for section 6651(a)(1) additions to tax for filing delinquent 1988 and 1989 returns; (5) whether petitioners are liable for the addition to tax for negligence or intentional disregard of rules or regulations pursuant to section 6653(a)(1) for 1988, and for the accuracy-related penalty for negligence under section 6662(a) for 1989 and 1990; and (6) whether petitioners are liable for the addition to tax for substantial understatement pursuant to section 6661 for 1988.

Unless otherwise indicated, all section and chapter references are to the Internal Revenue Code in effect for the years under consideration. AJI Rule references are to the Tax Court Rules of Practice and Procedure.

The facts in this case have been fully stipulated. The stipulation of facts and attached exhibits are incorporated herein by this reference.

Background

Petitioners James W. and Billie R. Tippin2 resided in Leawood, Kansas, at the time they filed their petition.

Petitioners untimely filed Federal income tax returns for 1988 and 1989. Pursuant to extensions, petitioners’ 1988 and 1989 Federal income tax returns were due on October 15, 1989, and August 15, 1990, respectively. Both returns were filed on September 4, 1990. Petitioners timely filed their 1990 Federal income tax return. Respondent timely mailed a notice of deficiency to petitioners for the years under consideration.

Petitioner is an attorney who operates his law practice as a sole proprietorship. During the years under consideration, he had six employees. Petitioner’s areas of expertise are tax and bankruptcy law. The income and deductions relating to petitioner’s law practice were deducted on Schedules C attached to petitioners’ Federal income tax returns.

1. Bankruptcy Proceedings

On November 18, 1987, and April 20, 1988, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) filed Notices of Federal Tax Liens against petitioners in Johnson County, Kansas. The tax liens related to petitioners’ unpaid Federal income tax liabilities, interest, and penalties for 1983, 1984, 1985, and 1986, totaling $67,153.74.

On June 29, 1988, petitioner filed for protection under chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Kansas (bankruptcy court). At that time, receivables due petitioner’s law practice totaled approximately $20,000. The IRS had a secured interest in all of these receivables.

On July 1, 1988, petitioner filed an “Application to Use Cash Collateral in the Ordinary Course of Business and Motion to Reduce Time for Notice and to Limit Notice” in the bankruptcy court. A hearing with respect to petitioner’s application was held on July 11, 1988. At the hearing, petitioner requested that in the event adequate protection payments3 to the IRS were ordered, the payments be applied to petitioners’ back taxes rather than to interest or penalties.

On September 10, 1988, the bankruptcy court entered an “Order of Adequate Protection and For Use of Cash Collateral”. Among other things, the bankruptcy court’s order provided that petitioner “shall be allowed to use cash collateral of the United States in the form of accounts receivable”, and granted the IRS “a continuing interest in the debtor’s accounts receivable”. Pursuant to the order, petitioner was required to pay $850 per month to the IRS as adequate protection with respect to the law practice’s receivables. The order did not mandate how the IRS was to apply the $850 payments.

In response to a request from the bankruptcy court, the United States/IRS filed a “Proof of Claim for Internal Revenue Taxes” on November 16, 1988 (amending and superseding a prior proof of claim filed on July 18, 1988). The proof of claim asserted that petitioners were liable for the following amounts as of the date of the bankruptcy petition:

Tax period Date tax assessed Tax due Penalty to petition date Interest to petition date Notice of lien filed
12/31/83 4/28/86 $1,739.50 $3,411.87 $5,209.59 11/18/87
12/31/84 7/27/87 12,259.00 6,507.39 5,711.78 11/18/87
12/31/85 2/15/88 11,725.00 5,010.41 3,334.46 4/20/88
12/31/86 2/22/88 12,470.00 4,468.10 1,874.07 4/20/88

On January 5, 1994, the bankruptcy court entered a decree closing the chapter 11 case.

Petitioner made the required adequate protection payments to the IRS during the years under consideration. These payments totaled $4,250 in 1988, $10,200 in 1989, and $9,350 in 1990. The IRS applied the payments first to petitioners’ 1983 and 1984 overdue taxes, then to penalties, and finally to interest, as follows:4

1983 1984
Taxes $1,725.00 $12,229.00
Penalties 4,237.91 2,099.54
Interest 5,208.55 -

On Schedules C, petitioners deducted as interest all of the adequate protection payments made to the IRS.5 Respondent disallowed the claimed interest deductions.

2. Wage Withholdings

Petitioners are cash basis taxpayers. Petitioners deducted the gross wages paid to petitioner’s employees on Schedules C. These deductions were $47,867 for 1988, $59,303 for 1989, and $92,470 for 1990. Respondent reduced the claimed wage deductions to $42,612 for 1988, $50,668 for 1989, and $85,204 for 1990.

The records of petitioner’s law practice indicate that petitioner paid his employees gross wages totaling $44,479 in 1988, $56,527 in 1989, and $88,380 in 1990.

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Bluebook (online)
104 T.C. No. 26, 104 T.C. 518, 1995 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 26, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/tippin-v-commissioner-tax-1995.