Tax Court In Brief | Romana v. Commissioner | Miscellaneous Itemized Business Expenses And Accuracy-Related Penalty

• Published date: 20 June 2022
• Subject Matter: Tax, Income Tax, Tax Authorities
• Law Firm: Freeman Law
• Author: Freeman Law

The Tax Court in Brief - June 13th - June 17th, 2022

Freeman Law's " The Tax Court in Brief" covers every substantive Tax Court opinion, providing a weekly brief of its decisions in clear, concise prose.

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Tax Litigation: The Week of June 13th, 2022, through June 17th, 2022

• Phillips v. Comm'r, T.C. Memo. 2022-58 | June 13, 2022 | Lauber, J. | Dkt. No. 18553-21L
• Chavis v. Comm'r, 158 T.C. No. 8 | June 15, 2022 | Lauber, J. | Dkt. No. 11835-20L
• Hatfield v. Comm'r, T.C. Memo. 2022-59 | June 13, 2022 | Lauber, J. | Dkt. Nos. 7327-20 1500-21
• Howland v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2022-60 | June 13, 2022 | Weiler, J.| Dkt. No 17526-19
• Kellett v. Comm'r, T.C. Memo 2022-62 | June 14, 2022 | Greaves, J. | Dkt. No. 21518-18
• Walker v Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2022-63 | June 15, 2022 |Nega, J.| Dkt. No. 16958-18L

Romana v. Commissioner, T.C. Summary Opinion 2022-9 | June 16, 2022 | Carluzzo, J.| Dkt. No. 1156-21S

Opinion

Summary: In this case, the miscellaneous itemized deductions of taxpayers, Raul Romana and Maria Romana (together, the Romanas), were in issue. Raul Romana was employed as a stationary engineer. Maria Romana was employed as a nurse in a plastic surgery clinic operated by Kaiser Permanente (Kaiser). Kaiser's dress code required that she be dressed in "comfortable" clothes and in a manner that reflected her profession as a nurse. Neither Kaiser nor the collective bargaining agreement for her nursing union had a policy that allowed reimbursement for the expenses she incurred to purchase clothing that satisfied the dress code. While at work, Maria Romana wore scrubs that she purchased and dry-cleaned at her own expense. The Schedule A, Itemized Deductions, included with the Romanas' 2017 return showed various deductions, including unreimbursed employee business expenses relating to Maria Romana's employment with Kaiser and Raul Romana's employment as a stationary engineer. The expense categories were professional dues, uniforms and protective clothing, dry cleaning/laundry, seminars, tools, telephone, and internet. The IRS disallowed the miscellaneous itemized deduction for unreimbursed employee business expenses claimed for uniforms and protective clothing, dry cleaning and laundry, tools, telephone, and internet. The IRS also imposed a section 6662(a) accuracy-related penalties.

Key Issues:

• Whether the Romanas (1)...