TAX COURT OPINION

Case: Rodelmar Q. & Donna Alcantara
Docket Number: 29138-10S
Judge: Kroupa
Opinion Type: bench
Filed: 12/29/2011
Pages: 5

RMM UNITED STATES TAX COURT WASHINGTON, DC 20217 RODELMAR Q. & DONNA ALCANTARA, Petitioners, Docket No. 29138-10S COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent. O R D E R Pursuant to Rule 152 (b), Tax Court Rules of Practice and Procedure, it is ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court shall transmit to the pages of the petitioners and to respondent a copy of transcript of Diane L. Kroupa at San Antonio, Texas, on December 14, 2011 containing her findings of the above case before Judge the proceedings of fact and opinion. In accordance with the oral findings of fact and opinion, decision will be entered for respondent. (Signed) Diane L. Kroupa Judge Dated: Washington, D.C. December 29, 2011 SERVED Dec 30 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 3 Bench Opinion by Judge Diane L. Kroupa Alcantara v. Commissioner Docket No. 29138-10S December 14, 2011 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. THESE ORAL FINDINGS OF FACT AND OPINION SHALL NOT BE RELIED UPON AS PRECEDENT IN ANY OTHER CASE. This proceeding was heard as a small tax case pursuant to the provisions of section 7463 and Rules 170 through 175. This bench opinion is made pursuant to the authority granted by section 7459(b) and Rule 152. All section references are to the Internal Revenue Code as amended and in effect for 2009 and all Rule references are to the Tax.Court Rules of Practice and Procedure. This is a deficiency case involving the first-time homebuyer credit. Petitioners appeared pro se and Sheila Pattison appeared on behalf of respondent . FINDINGS OF FACT Certain facts are stipulated. The stipulation of facts, with accompanying exhibits, is incorporated by this reference. The facts are so 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 found. Petitioners resided in Texas at the time they filed the petition. Petitioners purchased a home in Corpus Christi, Texas in September 2004, but petitioner husband was transferred to San Antonio, Texas, for work shortly after the purchase. Petitioner wife stayed in the Corpus Christi home for a while to finish her bachelor's degree before joining her husband in San Antonio. Petitioners put the Corpus Christi home on the market and finally sold the home on June 12, 2006. Petitioners rented a home in San Antonio, Texas, during 2008 and part of 2009. Petitioners then purchased this home on May 7, 2009, from petitioner wife's.uncle. Petitioners filed a Federal income tax return for 2009, claiming the first-time homebuyer credit of $8,000. Respondent disallowed the homebuyer credit and issued a deficiency notice to petitioners. Petitioners timely filed a petition with this Court. At trial, petitioners acknowledged that they failed to satisfy the three-year rule for the homebuyer credit by two months but asked the Court for leniency given the short gap and their personal hardships. They ask that we allow them all or a part 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 of the first-time homebuyer credit. Petitioners divorced in 2010, and Mrs. Alcantara still resides in the San Antonio home. OPINION We are asked whether respondent properly denied petitioners from claiming the first-time homebuyer credit. We begin with fundamental principle of tax litigation. The Commissioner's determinations are generally presumed correct, and the taxpayer bears the burden of proving that those determinations are erroneous. Rule 142(a). Generally, a refundable tax credit is allowed to a first-time homebuyer of a principal residence in the United States. Sec. 36(a), (b). The first-time homebuyer credit for the purchase of a principal residence in 2009 is 10 percent of the purchase price of the residence, with a limitation of $8,000. Sec. 36(a), (b) (1) (A). The term "first-time homebuyer" means an individual who did not have a present ownership interest in a principal residence during the three-year period preceding the date of the purchase of the principal residence for which the credit is sought. Sec. 36(c) (1). Petitioners are not first-time homebuyers because they owned the Corpus Christi home within 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 three years of purchasing the San Antonio home. The three-year period after which petitioners could be considered eligible first-time homebuyers expired on June 30, 2009. See sec. 36(c). Petitioners purchased the San Antonio residence on May 7, 2009, before they could qualify for the first-time homebuyer credit. See Drain v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2011-242. Petitioners request leniency because they were merely a month and a few days away from qualifying for the first-time homebuyer credit. They ask us to consider their personal hardships. We are sympathetic to petitioners' situation. Nevertheless, we must treat all taxpayers equally. Accordingly, we sustain respondent's disallowance of the $8,000 first-time homebuyer credit as claimed on petitioners' Federal income tax return for 2009. To reflect the foregoing, decision will be entered for respondent. THIS CONCLUDES THE COURT'S ORAL FINDINGS OF FACT AND OPINION IN THIS CASE. (Whereupon, at 10:34 a.m., the bench opinion in the above-entitled matter was concluded.) // // // Heritage Reporting Corporation (202) 628-4888