Briggsdaniels
Briggsdaniels v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue
Opinion
Lead Opinion
MEMORANDUM
James E. Briggsdaniels appeals from the tax court’s judgment sustaining the *849 Commissioner of Internal Revenue’s (the “Commissioner”) determination of a deficiency on his 1995 and 1996 federal income tax returns. We affirm.
Absent a showing of clear error, we cannot overturn the tax court’s findings. See Wolf v. Commissioner, 4 F.3d 709, 712 (9th Cir.1993). Under the clear error standard, “ ‘[i]f the [tax court’s] account of the evidence is plausible in light of the record viewed in its entirety, the court of appeals may not reverse it even though convinced that had it been sitting as the trier of fact, it would have weighed the evidence differently.’ ” Id. at 712-13 (alterations in original) (quoting Serv. Employees Int’l Union v. Fair Political Practices Comm’n, 955 F.2d 1312 , 1317 n. 7 (9th Cir.1992)).
Briggsdaniels claims that the tax court erred in sustaining the Commissioner’s determination that he failed to qualify for head of household filing status under 26 U.S.C. § 2 (b), the earned income credit under 26 U.S.C. § 32 (a), and dependency exemptions for his sons James E. Daniels, Jamar E. Daniels, and Jeremy E. Daniels under 26 U.S.C. § 151 (c)(1).