TAX COURT OPINION

Case: Benedicto J. Diaz
Docket Number: 25810-09
Judge: Colvin
Opinion Type: bench
Filed: 01/06/2011
Pages: 4

UNITED STATES TAX COURT WASHINGTON, DC 2(217 Benedicto J. Diaz, Petitioner, v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent.. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) Docket No. 25810-09. O R D E R Pursuant to Rule 152 (b) , Tax Cou:''t Rules of Practice and Procedure, it is ORDERED that the Clerk. of the Court shall transmit herewith the pages of the to petitioner and to respondent a copy of transcript of the above case before Judge Mark V. Holmes at San Francisco, CA on December 6, 2010 containing his oral of trial. fact and opinion rendered after the conclusion the trial of findings of In accordance with the -oral findings of fact and opinion, a decision for respondent will be entered. (Signed) Mark V. Holmes Judge Dated: Washington, D.C. January 6, 2009 %%VED JAN - I 2011 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 4 Bench Opinion by Judge Mark V. Holmes December 6, 2010 Benedicto J. Diaz v. Commissioner Docket No. 25810-09 THE COURT: In the case of Benedicto Diaz v. Commissioner, 25810-09, the Court has decided to render oral findings of fact and opinion in this case, and the following represents the Court's oral findings of fact and opinion. This bench opinion is made purst ant to the . authority granted by section 7459(b) of the Interral Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and Rule 152 of the Tay Court's Rules of Practice & Procedure . The parties entered a stipulation which was signed and admitted into evidence. Thé Petitioner was a resident of Maryland when he filed his pétition. The case involves a deficiency asserted by the Commissioner of $22, 459 for tax year 2008. It consists of two adjustments. One is an increase in pension income of $57, 235. The other is a reduction of the deductions that. Mr. Diaz claimed of $28,300. I'll take each issue :.n turn. As to the pension income, Mr. Diaz did report receiving $102, 000 as either diutributions or pension, distributions from retirement plans or pension income, for 2008. As he testified, though, he had miscalculated the portion that was taxable, and indeed he had attach d to his return as -- a is part of the record in Exhibit 4-J - 1099s for pension income well in excess of the $102,000. Heritage Reporting Corporation (202) 628I-4888 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 5 I find that the miscalculation was entirely honest, it's a difficult calcula:ion to make, but I have to support t E--have-t-e-s-tippert the Respondent on this one, the definition of gross income does encompass both annuities and pensions. That's Internal Revenue Code section 61(a) (9) and -(11). As to the $28,300 in deductions that were disallowed by the IRS, these were on Mr. Diaz's Schedule A deductions, and apparently resulaed from money that he lost in the form of repairs that he paid for on a house that he ended up not owning. That certainly is a loss but is not a deductible loss. If Mr. Diaz somehow gets this back from the person who took it, it woulda't be taxable if he ever got it back, but is not deductible for 2008. L ÚÜ More generally, I do f:.nd that Mr. Diaz was entirely honest in his testimony. His confusion was genuine and he was involved in a little hit of a difficult area as a recent retiree. Nevertheless, I do have to find for the Respondent as to the following deficiencies for tax, and that is for the 2008 tax year, I find a defidiency of $22,459. I do ask the IRS, however, to help Mr. Diaz with information regarding collection alternativen, especially an of er-in- compromise, given his age and experience and the problems that he's having domestically. Heritage Reporting Corporation (202) 628-4888 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 So, with that, this concludes the Court's oral findings of fact and opinion in :his case. Thank you, Mr. Diaz. Have a safe trip ba k. We can be off the reco::d until the Resendez case gets settled. (Whereupon, at 1: 57 p .u. , the bench opinion in the above-entitled matter was concluded.) // // // // // // // // // // // // // // // // // // Heritage Reporting Corporation (202) 628 -4888