Weinberg v. Commissioner

64 T.C. 771, 1975 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 93
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedAugust 4, 1975
DocketDocket No. 760-72
StatusPublished
Cited by61 cases

This text of 64 T.C. 771 (Weinberg 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
Weinberg v. Commissioner, 64 T.C. 771, 1975 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 93 (tax 1975).

Opinion

Simpson, Judge:

The Commissioner determined the following deficiencies in the petitioners’ Federal income taxes:

Year Petitioner Amount
1968 Steven Michael Weinberg_ $2,376.51
1969 Steven Michael Weinberg_ 417.78
1969 Courtney Plummer Weinberg_ 417.78

The issues to be decided are: (1) Whether any of the amounts paid to the petitioner Steven Michael Weinberg in 1968 and 1969 by several hospitals in which he served as an intern and resident was excludable from gross income as a scholarship or fellowship grant under section 117 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954;1 and (2) whether additional cash allowances paid to him for meals and lodging by Parkland Memorial Hospital during 1968 and 1969 were excludable from income under section 119, relating to meals or lodging furnished for the convenience of the employer.

FINDINGS OF FACT

Some of the facts have been stipulated, and those facts are so found.

The petitioners, Dr. Steven Michael and Courtney Plummer Weinberg, were married in 1969 and maintained their residence in Dallas, Tex., at the time of filing their petition herein. He filed his individual Federal income tax return for the year 1968 with the District Director of Internal Revenue, Dallas, Tex. They filed individual returns for 1969 with the District Director of Internal Revenue, Dallas, Tex. Dr. Weinberg will sometimes be referred to as the petitioner.2

Dr. Weinberg was graduated from the Iowa Medical School in June 1967. He received his license to practice medicine in Iowa in 1968 and his license to practice in Texas in 1970.

From July 1,1967, through June 30,1968, Dr. Weinberg was a rotating intern at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School (the university) in Dallas, Tex. From July 1, 1968, through June 30, 1972, he was a resident at the university specializing in general surgery. The university coordinated internship and residency training programs with hospitals in the Dallas area. Interns and residents were often rotated through several hospitals. Dr. Weinberg worked chiefly at Parkland Memorial Hospital (Parkland), which is the primary teaching facility of the university. He also worked at Presbyterian Hospital (Presbyterian) and Veterans Administration Hospital (Veterans) in Dallas. The internship and residency were required for Dr. Weinberg to be licensed to practice medicine and certified by the American Board of Surgery.

Parkland was one of two hospitals operated by the Dallas County Hospital District (the district). The permanent staff of the district was composed of the members of the faculty of the university. The chairman of a particular service within the university served as the chairman of that service in the district and directed, supervised, and controlled that service of the district.

Patients were admitted to the district hospitals on the basis of medical need. After admission, they were assigned to medical teams made up of faculty members, residents, interns, and students, on the basis of the patient’s particular medical problem. The district provided medical care for indigent citizens of Dallas County and a limited number of paying patients. The intern and residency program was established by the district to provide “education for graduate medical students, and [to] avail itself of the services of these physicians for the care of the indigent sick.”

While he was an intern in 1968, Dr. Weinberg spent time on the medical service, the psychiatric service, the pediatric service, and the obstetrical and gynecological service. During this time, he examined patients, participated in evaluations and in taking histories, proposed diagnoses, assisted in giving treatment, and participated in making rounds and in deciding which drugs or medications to prescribe. He did not perform or assist in surgery during this time. Dr. Weinberg had no primary or direct responsibility for the care or treatment of patients. He was under close and immediate supervision at all times and could not prescribe or administer any treatment on his own initiative. His performance was supervised and evaluated by the faculty of the university.

As an intern, Dr. Weinberg attended lectures and conferences daily. He also attended seminars which were coordinated into the internship training program.

On July 1, 1968, Dr. Weinberg started a 4-year surgical residency program with the university. During this program, he spent time on general surgery service, neurosurgery service, thoracic surgery service, and other surgical subspecialties.

During his first year of residency, Dr. Weinberg examined patients, participated in evaluations and in taking patient histories, proposed diagnoses, assisted in giving treatment, made rounds, prescribed drugs and medications, and assisted in the performance of surgery. He participated in approximately 500 operations in his first year. He did not have any primary or direct responsibility for the care or treatment of patients. He did not perform any services independently or without direct supervision.

As a second-year resident, Dr. Weinberg was given more responsibility and was under less direct control. He continued to receive supervision, but it was less direct. As he continued in his residency, he was given more independence and received less supervision. He regularly attended 10 to 15 lectures, conferences, and seminars a week. He participated in approximately 600 operations during the first 6 months of his second year.

During his internship and residency, Dr. Weinberg was on duty for 36 hours, off for 12, on for 12, off for 12, and then the cycle was repeated. He was on duty as much as 120 hours per week. When on duty, Dr. Weinberg was required to remain at the hospital during meal periods so that he would be available for emergency calls. Emergencies did occur requiring him to participate with others in providing medical treatment to patients during meal periods. While on duty at Parkland, Dr. Weinberg purchased all his meals at the hospital cafeteria or from coin-operated food machines. He spent approximately $100 per month on food in the cafeteria at Parkland.

On March 24,1967, Dr. Weinberg entered into a contract with Parkland for his internship from July 1, 1967, through June 30, 1968. He agreed to conform to all hospital rules and discharge all the duties of a house staff officer. He was to be paid $260 per month plus “An additional cash allowance of $100.00 per month * * * to cover costs of food and housing whether purchased from the hospital or. purchased outside.” Dr. Weinberg was prohibited from any form of private practice without permission. On November 27, 1967, and February 5, 1969, he signed similar contracts for his residency program. During the first year of his residency, the basic monthly payment was to be $290, and during the second year, it was to be $455. In addition, he was to continue to receive the cash allowance of $100 per month for food and housing.

In 1968, Dr. Weinberg was paid the following amounts by the hospitals:

Parkland_ $3,299.79

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Bluebook (online)
64 T.C. 771, 1975 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 93, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/weinberg-v-commissioner-tax-1975.