The case involves a tax petition filed by Daniel Allemeier against the Commissioner of Internal Revenue. The petitioner’s tax returns for the year 2001 included deductions of $19,079 in deductions for business expenses. The various deduction claims included educational expenses such as tuition and parking fees associated with his education, business expenses such as vehicle, meal, and travel expenses, tax preparation fees. However, the Commissioner disallowed the claims. Instead, the respondent mailed the taxpayer a deficiency notice indicating a $4,872 deficiency and an accuracy-related penalty of $974. For this reason, the respondent filed the case.

The case revolved around four key issues. They are the burden of proof, the determination for whether the petitioner could deduct his MBA educational expenses, whether he/she adequately substantiated tax preparation fees and unreimbursed employee business expenses, and whether he/she is liable for the accuracy-related penalty. The court holds that the petitioner bears the burden of proofing that he is qualified for the claimed deductions. The court breaks the second issue into two. It first examines whether the MBA degree meets the minimum requirements for the taxpayer’s employer. It finds out that an MBA is not a minimum education level requirement for the employer. The court then looks into whether the MBA qualified the taxpayer for a new trade or business.

Here, it determines that the petitioner’s duties and responsibilities remained the same after the MBA. Therefore, the program did not prepare him for any new trade or business. Concerning the third issue, the court determines that the petitioner did not adequately substantiate his travel, vehicle, meal expenses. Therefore, it holds that such expenses are not tax deductible. Finally, the court holds that the petitioner is not liable for the accuracy-related penalty. It upholds the taxpayer’s argument that he acted in good faith in taking and claiming the deductions concerned.

Deficiency cases litigated in the US Tax Court can commence before the taxpayer pays the tax liability asserted by the Commissioner. It is worth noting that the decision of the Tax Court with regard to disputes involving $50,000 or less is not appealable. Therefore, the taxpayer/petitioner of the case must pay up the deficiency as determined by the court to resolve the issue.