As rare as a double eagle on a par 4, Andrew Gross & Angela Gross, Docket No. 2467-25S, filed 9/25/26, survive the Section 274 enhanced substantiation motor vehicle requirements, with Angela’s handwritten logs, her automobiles’ service records, and her MapQuest screenshots saving the 60,500 driven miles she reported.
Angela was a drive-by specialist. Don’t worry, no person or animal was harmed in the making of this blogpost.
Judge Ronald L. (“Ingenuity”) Buch tells the story. “Angela Gross conducted property inspections as a subcontractor for several different companies, mostly banks and insurance companies. The companies for which Ms. Gross was a subcontractor would provide a list of properties for her to visit on any given day. She would then drive to each of the properties on the list and check on them. For example, if a bank-owned property was supposed to be vacant, her drive-by inspection might be to simply verify that the property looks vacant. In contrast, if a bank made a loan on a property that was supposed to be used as a residence, Ms. Gross might need to confirm that it was, in fact, occupied. These cursory inspections didn’t take much time, but they involved a lot of driving.” Transcript, at pp. 3-4.
Angela’s handwritten log listed date, street address, miles driven, sometimes type of inspection. Angelka used the applicable Federal mileage rate to figure her car and truck expenses for her Schedule C. IRS conceded 30K of Angela’s claimed 60.5K. Angela conceded $7K of travel expenses.
Angela put in the log at trial, and the service records for her five-year-old Subaru that she traded in in year at issue for a three-year-old Ford, whose records she also tendered. The Suby showed 20K miles in four months, and the Ford showed $43K for that year, both on the odometers.
The MapQuest readouts varied from Angela’s claimed mileage, but not by a lot. Actual over-the-road involves shortcuts and detours, finding refueling stops or places for lunch breaks.
IRS says the logs don’t have the odometer reading, the addresses do not contain a city or state, and the log does not identify the business purpose.
Judge Ingenuity Buch: “… taxpayers may satisfy the substantiation requirements by providing a contemporaneous log along with other corroborating evidence, including the taxpayer’s own statements. This is what Ms. Gross has done. We have her logs in evidence. In addition, she testified as to the purpose of those travels, how those logs were created, and the meanings of her notations. The logs Ms. Gross provided were written contemporaneously and documented the total miles she drove each day. She supplemented them with her testimony.” Transcript, at p. 10.
Though her return showed a loss, if only accounting for fuel, she made money. And she testified she found the work profitable. Taishoff says I find it hard to believe someone drove 60K miles per year in a beat-up five-year-old Subaru with 215K miles on the clock, and a three-year-old Ford Focus starting with 43K on the clock for another 43K miles, except for money.
Anyway, Angela’s logs, maintenance records, and testimony carry the day. As for chops, let’s see what the Rule 155 beancount shows after concessions are taken into account.
