2002 Tax Ct. Summary LEXIS 59">*59 PURSUANT TO INTERNAL REVENUE CODE SECTION 7463(b), THIS OPINION MAY NOT BE TREATED AS PRECEDENT FOR ANY OTHER CASE.
VASQUEZ, Judge: This case was heard pursuant to the provisions of section 7463 1 in effect at the time petitioners filed the petition. The decision to be entered is not reviewable by any other court, and this opinion should not be cited as authority.
Respondent determined a deficiency of $ 11,032, an addition to tax pursuant to
Some of the facts have been stipulated and are so found. The stipulation of facts, the supplemental stipulation of facts, and the attached exhibits are incorporated herein by this reference. At the time they filed the petition, petitioners resided in Wasilla, Alaska.
Background
[4] In 1983, petitioners purchased a house located at 2041 Belair Drive in Anchorage, Alaska (the Belair property), for $ 295,000. From August 1983 to May 1994, petitioners' principal residence was the Belair property.
In December 1993, petitioners purchased approximately 151 acres of land in Wasilla, Alaska (the Wasilla property).
On February 24, 1994, petitioners listed the Belair property for sale with Fortune Properties (Fortune). 2002 Tax Ct. Summary LEXIS 59">*61 Petitioners' real estate agent from Fortune suggested that the Belair property would have a better chance of selling, and would sell for a higher price, if petitioners renovated and upgraded the Belair property. The suggested repairs and upgrades included replacing the carpeting and painting the house. Petitioners, however, decided to list the Belair property for sale "as is" for $ 288,000 and forgo renovating the Belair property.
The listing agreement gave Fortune the exclusive right to sell the Belair property and ran until July 1, 1994.3 Petitioners' plan was to sell the Belair property as a personal residence so that they could live elsewhere.
In May 1994, petitioners moved out of the Belair property and into a house located on the Wasilla property. The listing with Fortune expired without a sale. Petitioners did not relist the Belair property when the listing expired because they planned to renovate and upgrade the Belair property in order to make it more marketable.
2002 Tax Ct. Summary LEXIS 59">*62 From June through August 1994, petitioners upgraded and refurbished the Belair house in order to make it easier to sell. Petitioners replaced carpets throughout the house, added tile floor to the entryway, installed new kitchen counter tops, removed wallpaper throughout the house, installed new vinyl flooring, repaired drywall, and painted the interior and exterior of the house.
Around October 1994, petitioners decided to sell the Belair property regardless of market conditions. Petitioners listed the Belair property with Jack White Realty for $ 275,000. Within 1 week, petitioners received a full-price offer. On December 5, 1994, the sale closed. The settlement sheet for the sale of the Belair property reflected that the purchasers paid an extra $ 499.98 for 1-week's early occupancy.
Petitioners never placed a sign in front of the Belair property nor ran any newspaper advertisements listing it for rent. Furthermore, the renovation of the Belair property prevented it from being rented. By the time petitioners could have rented the Belair property, petitioners had decided "to get rid of" the Belair property. Petitioners never rented the Belair property, and it remained unoccupied2002 Tax Ct. Summary LEXIS 59">*63 until the new owners moved in on or about November 29, 1994.
In December 1994, petitioners met with their tax accountant, Fred M. Strand, to discuss their tax liability for 1994.4 Mr. Strand and petitioners discussed the sale of the Belair property, and Mr. Strand's opinion was that they had converted the property to business property and the loss on the sale was a business loss.
Mr. Strand prepared petitioner's 1994 return. Petitioners relied on Mr. Strand's tax advice in the preparation of their 1994 return. Petitioners reported the $ 499.98 they received on the sale of the Belair property, for 1-week's early occupancy, on Schedule E, Supplemental Income and Loss, of their 1994 return as rental income from the Belair property. Petitioners also reported a $ 35,428 loss on the sale of the Belair property on Form 4797, Sales of Business Property, which they attached to their 19942002 Tax Ct. Summary LEXIS 59">*64 return. Petitioners filed their 1994 joint Federal income tax return on December 8, 1997.
Discussion
I. Loss on Sale of the Belair Property
Deductions are a matter of legislative grace, and petitioners have the burden of showing that they are entitled to any deduction claimed.
(1) losses incurred in a trade or business;
(2) losses incurred in any transaction entered into for
profit, though not connected with a trade or business; and
(3) * * * losses of property not connected2002 Tax Ct. Summary LEXIS 59">*65 with a trade or
business, * * * if such losses arise from fire, storm,
shipwreck, or other casualty, or from theft.
It is a long-settled principle that a loss incurred by a taxpayer on the sale of his or her personal residence is not deductible except where prior to the sale the taxpayer has abandoned the use of the property as his or her personal residence and has converted it to profit inspired use.
Petitioners concede that the $ 499.98 listed on their settlement sheet was additional income paid to them by the purchasers incident to the sale of the Belair property and not rent.6 Petitioners argue, however, that they "otherwise appropriated" the Belair property "to income- producing purposes".
2002 Tax Ct. Summary LEXIS 59">*66 For a conversion of use to have occurred, petitioners' use of the Belair property would have to have shifted from a personal use to a business or profit-oriented purpose permitted under
2002 Tax Ct. Summary LEXIS 59">*67 Merely offering the property for sale does not necessarily convert it into property held for the production of income.
We conclude that petitioners have failed to establish that they converted their former residence, the Belair property, to income-producing purposes. Accordingly, the loss on its sale is not deductible under
Pursuant to
Reasonable and good faith reliance on the advice of an accountant may offer relief from the imposition of the penalty. Id.;
We think the foregoing circumstances meet the standard established in
To reflect the foregoing,
Decision will be entered for respondent as to the deficiency and the addition to tax pursuant to
1. Unless otherwise indicated, all subsequent section references are to the Internal Revenue Code in effect for the year in issue, and all Rule references are to the Tax Court Rules of Practice and Procedure.↩
2. In their reply brief, petitioners concede that they are liable for the addition to tax pursuant to
3. Fortune did not handle rental listings.↩
4. For more than 10 years, petitioners met with their tax accountant at the end of the year to help prepare their taxes for that year.↩
5. Cf. sec. 7491(a), effective for court proceedings arising in connection with examinations commencing after July 22, 1998. Petitioners do not contend that their examination began after July 22, 1998, or that sec. 7491(a) is applicable to their case.↩
6. We note that rent paid as an interim measure until the sale of a personal residence is completed is insufficient to convert a personal residence to income-producing property.
7. Furthermore, even if petitioners had attempted to rent the Belair property, as they claimed, unsuccessful efforts to rent property have been held to be insufficient to accomplish a conversion.