McKay v. Comm'r of Internal Revenue, Docket No. 81968.
| Decision Date | 22 September 1960 |
| Docket Number | Docket No. 81968. |
| Parties | RAYMOND M. MCKAY, PETITIONER, V. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, RESPONDENT. |
| Court | U.S. Tax Court |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
John L. Carey, Esq., for the petitioner.
George H. Becker, Esq., for the respondent.
Held, that expenses incurred for singing and dramatic lessons supplied petitioner's minor daughter in 1957 constitute part of her support. Held, further, that petitioner is not entitled to a dependency exemption for his daughter in 1957 because he did not prove that he paid more than half of her support.
The respondent determined a deficiency in income tax against the petitioner for 1957 in the amount of $173.27.
The issue for decision is whether the petitioner furnished more than half of the support of his minor child so as to entitle him to a dependency exemption under section 152(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954.
The petitioner was a resident of Mishawaka, Indiana, during 1957, the taxable year involved. He filed his individual income tax return for the taxable year with the district director of internal revenue for Indiana.
The petitioner and his former wife, Claire, had one child, Sharron Lynn, who was born on April 10, 1944. Claire obtained a decree of divorce from petitioner on September 22, 1955, in Circuit Court No. 1 of Allen County, Indiana, under which she was awarded custody of the child. At all times subsequent thereto she has had custody of Sharron Lynn, and has resided in Fort Wayne, Indiana. For the year 1957, both the petitioner and Claire claimed a dependency exemption on their returns with respect to Sharron Lynn.
Under the terms of the divorce decree the petitioner was ordered to pay the clerk of the county Circuit Court $17.50 per week for the support of his daughter. In 1957, he made checks payable to the clerk in the total amount of $910, but the amount actually received by Claire in that year was only $857.50. The clerk was required by the court to wait until the petitioner's personal check had cleared before making payment to Claire.
Other support provided Sharron Lynn by the petitioner during the year was as follows:
+---------------------+
¦Sweaters ¦$15.96¦
+--------------+------¦
¦Birthday gift ¦10.00 ¦
+--------------+------¦
¦Coat ¦10.00 ¦
+--------------+------¦
¦Cash ¦40.00 ¦
+--------------+------¦
¦Entertainment ¦40.00 ¦
+--------------+------¦
¦Total ¦115.96¦
+---------------------+
The petitioner provided Sharron Lynn with support in the amount of $857.50 plus $115.96, or $973.46, during 1957.
Claire owned and maintained her own home, in which she and her daughter lived by themselves. The house had been constructed at the petitioner's direction in 1955, at a cost of $17,900. He had lived there with Claire and Sharron Lynn until September of that year, when the divorce was granted. After the divorce, Claire purchased the house from the court commissioners for $18,500. The house, which sits on a wooded lot 80 feet by 240 feet, has 3 bedrooms, a 2-compartment bath, a living room with fireplace and dining room area, a full basement with fireplace, a 2-car garage, a small front porch, a sundeck, and a patio in the back. There is a play area near the fireplace in the basement where Sharron Lynn and her friends gathered during the winter months for dancing, marshmallow roasts, and the like. The extra smaller bedroom was used as a musicroom for Sharron Lynn to practice playing the piano and singing and for her and her friends to rehearse their musical and theatrical activities.
The following expenses were incurred by Claire during 1957 in maintaining the home:
+------------------------------+
¦Insurance ¦$108.40¦
+----------------------+-------¦
¦Real estate taxes ¦245.80 ¦
+----------------------+-------¦
¦Electricity ¦76.56 ¦
+----------------------+-------¦
¦Heating and hot water ¦231.00 ¦
+----------------------+-------¦
¦Telephone ¦64.00 ¦
+----------------------+-------¦
¦Water softener ¦25.00 ¦
+----------------------+-------¦
¦Total ¦750.76 ¦
+------------------------------+
Claire paid $578.69 as mortgage interest on the house during 1957.
The fair rental value of the lodging furnished Sharron Lynn in 1957 was $600.
During 1954 and 1955 the petitioner rented at a cost of $5.50 per week a room in a boardinghouse in Fort Wayne where he had use of the living room to watch television and use of the kitchen for making snacks or coffee.
In addition to the items normally furnished a young girl of her age, Sharron Lynn was also given piano, voice, dramatic, and dancing lessons. Her singing talent was such that during 1957 she sang in two broadcasts over Radio Station WKJG in Fort Wayne. She sang regularly in the choir at church and was selected as the child soloist at Easter and Christmas.
The following cash expenditures were made for the benefit of Sharron Lynn by Claire and the petitioner during the taxable year:
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
¦Food ¦$400.00 ¦
+----------------------------------------------------------------+--------¦
¦Clothing ¦247.11 ¦
+----------------------------------------------------------------+--------¦
¦Doctor and dental services ¦68.00 ¦
+----------------------------------------------------------------+--------¦
¦X-rays ¦42.20 ¦
+----------------------------------------------------------------+--------¦
¦Drugs and medicine ¦27.50 ¦
+----------------------------------------------------------------+--------¦
¦Nursing services ¦90.00 ¦
+----------------------------------------------------------------+--------¦
¦Hospitalization insurance ¦25.00 ¦
+----------------------------------------------------------------+--------¦
¦Boarding-out costs ¦25.00 ¦
+----------------------------------------------------------------+--------¦
¦School book rental, voice and piano manuals, hymnals, catechisms¦48.00 ¦
+----------------------------------------------------------------+--------¦
¦School lunches ¦57.00 ¦
+----------------------------------------------------------------+--------¦
¦Allowance of $2 per week ¦104.00 ¦
+----------------------------------------------------------------+--------¦
¦Piano and voice instructions ¦163.50 ¦
+----------------------------------------------------------------+--------¦
¦Dramatic lessons and costumes and fees ¦80.00 ¦
+----------------------------------------------------------------+--------¦
¦Transportation to and from school and rehearsals ¦66.60 ¦
+----------------------------------------------------------------+--------¦
¦Summer and music camp for 2 weeks ¦42.00 ¦
+----------------------------------------------------------------+--------¦
¦Parochial school tuition ¦80.00 ¦
+----------------------------------------------------------------+--------¦
¦Schoolbus fee ¦25.00 ¦
+----------------------------------------------------------------+--------¦
¦Bus fee for school trip to Chicago ¦11.00 ¦
+----------------------------------------------------------------+--------¦
¦Confirmation and graduation gift ¦32.50 ¦
+----------------------------------------------------------------+--------¦
¦Cost of keeping dog ¦52.00 ¦
+----------------------------------------------------------------+--------¦
¦Beauty parlor expenses ¦25.00 ¦
+----------------------------------------------------------------+--------¦
¦Dancing lessons at YMCA ¦16.00 ¦
+----------------------------------------------------------------+--------¦
¦Additional items of clothing, entertainment, and other gifts ¦ ¦
+----------------------------------------------------------------+--------¦
¦supplies by petitioner ¦115.96 ¦
+----------------------------------------------------------------+--------¦
¦Total ¦1,843.37¦
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Sharron Lynn had no income of her own in 1957.
The support furnished Sharron Lynn during 1957 consisted of the cash expenditures for her benefit totaling $1,843.37 plus $600, the value of her lodging, or an aggregate sum of $2,443.37. Of this amount the petitioner supplied $973.46, which is less than half.
In his determination of the deficiency herein the respondent disallowed the dependency exemption claimed by the petitioner for Sharron Lynn for 1957.
The only question presented is the factual one as to whether the petitioner furnished more than half of the cost of the support of his daughter, Sharron Lynn, in 1957 so as to entitle him to the deduction of a dependency exemption under section 152(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954.1
The petitioner's contentions on brief are not entirely clear with respect to the items constituting his daughter's support, but he appears to take the position that the amounts listed below in the first column were contributed by him for her support and that the amounts in the second column comprised her total support in...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Gulvin v. Commissioner
...that may be considered in determining whether over half of a child's support was received from the taxpayer. In McKay v. Commissioner Dec. 24,381, 34 T.C. 1080, 1083 (1960), we held that a child had not received $52.50 of support from the taxpayer in 1957 under the facts there present. The ......
-
Cramer v. Comm'r of Internal Revenue
...him to develop his musical talents. In the circumstances of this case, we think the expenditure was part of his support. See Rayment M. McKay, 34 T.C. 1080 (1960).Real Property Taxes On brief, respondent has conceded the deductibility of the taxes which petitioner paid with respect to the C......
-
Fearing v. CIR
...case presents hard facts. Compare generally James H. Fitzner, 1959, 31 T.C. 1252; Bernard C. Rivers, 1960, 33 T.C. 935; Raymond M. McKay, 1960, 34 T.C. 1080; Aaron F. Vance, 1961, 36 T.C. 547; Grover A. Lycan, P-H T.C. Memo. 51077, CCH Dec. 18212 (M); Harry P. Justice Jr., 1958, T.C. Memo. ......
-
Leslie v. Commissioner, Docket No. 890-70.
...support contributions. Harvey L. Hopkins, supra, 541-542; Aaron F. Vance Dec. 24,905, 36 T.C. 547 (1961). See also Raymond M. McKay Dec. 24,361, 34 T.C. 1080, 1083 (1960). Taking all of the amounts at face value petitioner spent for support of his children which we have allowed, and allocat......