2026-09-01
In August 2026, the Tax Court published 18 opinions, which included a total of 440 pages. Below are graphs for the month showing: (i) the top 15 code sections referenced, (ii) cases cited 5 or more times, (iii) the number of opinions by judge, and (iv) the number of pages by judge.
I am always interested in learning well-established tax principles. Often, court cases will explicitly indicate that a tax principle is well established or well settled. Or the court may concisely state the holding of a prior case in a parenthetical. Below are excerpts from the August 2026 Tax Court cases referring to these types of principles or holdings.
Beacom v. Commr., T.C. Memo. 2026-65. (Pugh)
Al-Soufi v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2015-68 ("Even where a taxpayer has lost records through no fault of his own, he is not relieved from the burden of substantiation.")
Berenblatt v. Commr., T.C. Memo. 2026-75. (Copeland)
Phillips Petroleum Co. v. Commissioner, 104 T.C. 256, 301 (1995) ("A taxpayer has the right to rely upon Government regulations and their published illustrations.")
Laborde v. Commr., T.C. Memo. 2026-74. (Landy)
Terrell v. Commissioner, 625 F.3d at 259 (holding that returned mailings from the taxpayer meant the IRS knew or should have known that it had the wrong mailing address for him)
Reed v. Commr., T.C. Memo. 2026-64. (Toro)
Tokarski v. Commissioner, 87 T.C. 74, 77 (1986) ("A bank deposit is prima facie evidence of income and [the Commissioner] need not prove a likely source of that income.")
Reed v. Commr., T.C. Memo. 2026-64. (Toro)
Reyes Barrios v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2026-32 ("The failure to receive tax information forms . . . does not excuse a taxpayer from his obligation to report income.")
Reed v. Commr., T.C. Memo. 2026-64. (Toro)
Root v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2025-51 (discussing the legal standards applicable to determining whether a taxpayer is engaged in a trade or business, including the requirement that the taxpayer's business activities actually have commenced)
Reed v. Commr., T.C. Memo. 2026-64. (Toro)
Lomas Santa Fe, Inc. v. Commissioner, 693 F.2d 71 (9th Cir. 1982) ("[I]t is ultimately up to the taxpayer and not the courts to structure transactions in a manner eligible for favorable tax treatment . . . .")
Reed v. Commr., T.C. Memo. 2026-64. (Toro)
Burnett v. Commissioner, 356 F.2d 755 (5th Cir. 1966) ("[I]t is well settled that an expenditure for which there is an unconditional right of reimbursement is not deductible as a business expense . . . .")
Sami v. Commr., T.C. Memo. 2026-69. (Copeland)
Andersen v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2019-2 ("While these [bank] statements show that he paid those amounts to someone for something, there is insufficient evidence that these expenses were for his business.")
SIH Partners LLLP v. Commr., 167 T.C. No. 8 (2026). (Weiler)
Turner Broad. Sys., Inc. v. Commissioner, 111 T.C. 315 (1998) (stating that to apply the substance-over form doctrine, we are to first determine that the substance of the transaction differs from its form)
In August 2026, the IRS published 6 Announcements, Notices, Revenue Procedures, and Revenue Rulings, which included a total of 91 pages.
In August 2026, the IRS published 79 Written Determinations, which included a total of 448 pages.
