Disabled Enough

Unlike Kev Campbell, ex-USCG and star of yesterday’s blogpost “Disabled Veteran”, 12/22/14, Bill Lewis, Sr., at the relevant times respectively 63 and 64 years old, with a VA disability of 60% as to his right arm, and 30% to his feet, resulting from a Marine Corps-sponsored trip to a country in Southeast Asia (which shall remain nameless), gets the real estate pro ribbon from Judge Kerrigan in a small-claimer, Bill Lewis, Sr., and Jocelyn Irene Knowles-Lewis, 2014 T. C. Sum. Op. 112, filed 12/23/14.

No doubt Bill Sr. did all the work on his triplex rental property adjoining his house, raking leaves, sacking trash, recycling, driving to the bank every time a tenant coughed up the rent, making all the computer entries, supervising repairs, making some repairs himself, cleaning up after tenants, handling tenant beefs, tossing the nonpayers, and doing it all as well as he could.

IRS agrees he materially participated (you can see this is another Section 469(c)(7) pro bowl). But IRS claims Bill Sr. didn’t make 750 hours in either of the years at issue, because he took too much time doing whatever he said he was doing.

Note IRS didn’t say Bill Sr. didn’t do all that he said he did; he just took too long.

Judge Kerrigan reminds IRS that Bill Sr. isn’t as spry as some real estate pros who never served a day–but this is beside the point.

“Petitioner husband and petitioner wife testified credibly that because of petitioner husband’s disabilities all of the activities took him significantly longer than might ordinarily be expected.” 2014 T. C. Sum. Op. 112, at p. 11.

Bill Sr. did it all, even though he needed a knee replacement and had difficulty seeing; Jocelyn worked full-time at a credit union.

Bill Sr. wins.

Happy Holidays, Bill, Sr. and Jocelyn.