J. Bryant Kasey and Maryann Kasey v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue

The taxpayers appeal from a decision of the Tax Court, 54 T.C. 1642 , which upheld the Commissioner’s denial of certain deductions claimed by appellants for various litigation-related expenses, and which limited the amount of their deductions for travel expenses to 10-cents a mile.

The litigation in which appellants were involved during the years in which the deductions were claimed appears in Kasey v. Molybdenum Corporation of America, 9 Cir., 1964, 336 F.2d 560 . The Tax Court ruled that the expenses attributable to that litigation must be considered to be either related to the defense or perfection of the title to property or a personal expense. There is ample support in the record for this characterization of those expenses. Personal expenses are not deductible under Section 262 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954. Expenses incurred in the defense or perfection of the title to property are not currently deductible under Treasury Regulation § 1.212-1 (k). Porter Royalty Pool Inc. v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, 6 Cir., 1948, 165 F.2d 933, 936 , cert. denied, 1948, 334 U.S. 833 , 68 S.Ct. 1347 , 92 L.Ed. 1760 ; Jones’ Estate v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, 5 Cir.,…