TAX COURT OPINION

Case: Noah Charles Boss
Docket Number: 24303-16S
Judge: Buch
Opinion Type: bench
Filed: 11/03/2017
Pages: 7

SR UNITED STATES TAX COURT WASHINGTON, DC 20217 NOAH CHARLES BOSS, Petitioner, v. ) ) ) ) Docket No. 24303-16S. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent ) ) ) ORDER Pursuant to Rule 152(b), Tax Court Rules of Practice and Procedure, it is ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court shall transmit with this order to petitioner and respondent a copy of the pages of the transcript of the trial in this case before Judge Ronald L. Buch at Columbus, Ohio, containing his oral findings of fact and opinion rendered at the trial session at which the case was heard. In accordance with the oral findings of fact and opinion, decision will be entered under Rule 155. (Signed) Ronald L. Buch Judge Dated: Washington, D.C. November 3, 2017 SERVED Nov 07 2017 1 2 3 4 5 6 8 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 3 Bench Opinion by. Judge Ronald L. Buch September 12, 2017 Noah Charles Boss v. Commissioner Docket No. 24303-16S THE COURT: The following represents the Court's oral findings of fact and opinion. The oral findings of fact and opinion may not be relied upon as precedent in any other case. This opinion is in conformity with Internal Revenue Code section 7459(b) and Rule 152(a) of the Tax Court Rules of Practice and Procedure. Any section references refer to the Internal Revenue Code or the Treasury regulations in effect during the years at issue, and all Rule references are to the Tax Court Rules of Practice and Procedure. This case was heard pursuant to section 7463. Under section 7463(b), the decision to be entered in this case is not reviewable by any other court, and this opinion may not be treated as precedent for any other case. The question before us is whether Mr. Boss is entitled to deduct $9,149 of moving expenses that he claimed on his 2014 return. Background During 2014 Mr. Boss was a civilian contractor with United States Air Force. During that year he received two promotions, both of which required him to relocate. He àEEEEl 73)406-2250]opentions@escrihetsnet|wwwascribetsmet 1 2 first moved from Ohio to Texas in.March 2014 and then from Texas back to Ohio in June 2014. The Commissioner 3 . concedes that Mr. Boss incurred,a total of 3224 miles of 4 mileage for these two moves.. In add tion to mileage, 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Mr. Boss claimed deductions on his 2014 return for a variety. pf expenses that he considered to be related to those moves.. . Rather than take all of his belyngings with him to Texas, Mr. Boss stored some of his things on family property.in Mount Vernon,.Ohio. Among the things that Mr. Boss claimed tie stored were a .piano, a pool table,.and gun safe. Mr. Boss deducted the cost of professional overs,,.or in the case of the gun sa e, rental equipment, to relocate these particularly hard- o-mpve items. Mr. Boss did not provide any receipts or other documents to substantiate these costs. In add tion to these three items, .Mr. Boss stored many of his p rsonal belongings on the .family property. Mr. Boss also claimed that he made the.270-mile rgund trip drive between Beaver Creek and Mount Vernon to transport his belongings four times between February and March.before m ving.to Texas and nineteen times to retrieve his thin s from storage.after 23 he returned to Ohio.. Mr. Boss claimed.a total of 6,210 24 miles fgr the twenty-three round tr ps between Beaver 25 Creek,. Ohio, and Mount Vernon, Ohio. (473)40 .2250|opentions@escribersaat|wwwsscnäers.net 7 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 Moving Expenses Section 217 permits taxpayers to deduct "moving expenses paid or incurred during the taxable year in connection with the commencement of work by the taxpayer as an employee or as a self-employed individual at a new principal place of work." Moving expenses are defined as "reasonable expenses (A) of moving household goods and personal effects from the former residence to the new residence, and (B) of traveling (including lodging) from the former residence to the new place of residence." Sec. 217(b). Under section 217(c), a taxpayer's new place of work must be fifty miles further from his residence than his previous place of employment in order to be eligible to deduct applicable moving expenses. Sec. 217(c)(1) (A). The taxpayer must also meet the so-called "39-week test": he must be a full-time employee in that location for at least thirty-nine weeks during the following twelve-month period following the move. Sec. 217(c)(2)(A). Section 217(d) provides a safe harbor to those who do not meet the thirty-nine-week test. A taxpayer may still deduct the cost of moving expenses if they "transfer for the benefit of" an employer after "obtaining full-time employment in which the taxpayer could reasonablypexpected to" meet the 39-week test. Sec. 217(d) (1) (B). (s73)406-2250|opentions@ssaíbersaat|wwwascríbers.net 8 The regulations allow a taxpayer to deduct "lodging ¾e da+c en route (including d^of arrival) from the taxpayer's former residence to his new place of residence." Treas. Reg. 1.217-2(b)(4). A taxpayer may also deduct the cost of lodging "incurred in the general location of the former residence within one day after the former residence is no longer suitable for occupancy because of the removal of household·goods and personal effects." Treas. Reg. 1.217-2(b) (4). Mr. Boss is eligible to deduct moving expenses under section 217. While he has.not satisfied the 39-week test, he is protected by the safe harbor under section 217(h)(1)(A). The Commissioner concedes that Mr. Boss's move back to Ohio was for the convenience of his employer, and as a result Mr. Boss is eligible to deduct moving expenses in 2014. The Commissioner also conceded that Mr. Boss is entitled to deduct the standard mileage rate for the 3,224 miles he drove from Ohio to Texas and back again. Mr. Boss's approach to identifying deductible moving expenses raises credibility questions as to his claimed expenses. Rather than identifying the expenses that he incurred as a result of his moves, Mr. Boss appears to have looked to identify any expense conceivably related to his move and then deducted it. Perhaps the best example 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 EEEE (473)406.2250|operations@ascrihetsnetj wwwascribenmet 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 is a trailer Mr. Boss purchased a decade before the move. Because he used the trailer, he deducted the cost of the trailer. The move did not cause the expense, but he deducted it anyhow. The same is true for Mr. Boss's rental expenses. He did not pay any fees for parking his trailer, but he nonetheless deducted a portion of his rent under the novel theory that he might not have been able to park his trailer on site if he hadn't been paying the rent. Again, the move did not cause the expense. The same with deducting a portion of his rent for his day of arrival; he did not incur a lodging expense in connection 12 with the move; this was his residence rental. 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 His attempt to stretch what he may deduct as moving expenses raises credibility questions as to those expenses that might be legitimate. The moving of the piano, pool table, and gun safe are perfectly plausible as deductible expenses. But Mr. Boss has no receipts and given his other attempts to stretch what is deductible, we lack confidence in the truth of his testimony. The same with the minor expenses shown through his credit card statements; there is not enough information to tie those to a move, and we do not find Mr. Boss's testimony to be credible enough to allow those expenses. Even his trips between Mount Vernon and Beaver Creek are questionable. One such trip was on Christmas Eve. Given his other EM (e73)406.2250|operations@sraibwmat|wwmascribes.net 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 attempts to shoehorn personal expenses into deductible moving expenses, it seems likely that this was a personal trip. And again, this calls into question his other trips to store or retrieve items. We allow the expenses to the extent conceded by the Commissioner, specifically, 3224 miles of transportation expenses. Decision will be entered under Rule 155. (Whereupon, at 11: 38 AM, the above-entitled 10 matter was concluded.) 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 (s73)406-2250|opeiations@ercribersaetlwwwescribetsmet