Case: U.S. Tax Court Upholds IRS Decision Denying Taxpayer’s Unreimbursed Expenses and Energy Efficiency Claims (T.C. Memo)

The U.S. Tax Court affirmed the IRS decision denying the taxpayer’s claim for deductions for unreimbursed employee expenses, depreciation, and section 179 expenses, or section 179D energy-efficient commercial building deductions. Taxpayer, an individual, worked as a sales manager for a lighting company and claimed various deductions on his 2016 and 2017 tax returns related to his employment. He also claimed section 179D deductions based on energy-efficient improvements made by his employer to government buildings, arguing he was the “designer” eligible to claim the deductions. The court held that the taxpayer failed to substantiate the claimed employee expense deductions or establish ...