Google Maps Tax Court Memorandum

[dascpa]

Does anyone have additional info to clarify?

A recent Tax Court Memorandum (T.C. Memo 2021-80) highlights auto mileage substantiation.

Taxpayer used Google Maps to show mileage to and from jobsites.  Tax court rejected this saying “He failed, however, to provide the Court adequate information regarding the starting and ending points he picked, and thus has failed to substantiate any amount in excess of…..”

I’m taking from this he may have used City A to City B but not exact addresses but the T.C. Memo does not specify.

[BobKamman]

Mr. Geiman attempted to substantiate further amounts of business mileage by introducing a number of Google Maps printouts that purportedly reflected his driving distances during the Simpson Electric project and the Sturgeon projects. He failed, however, to provide the Court adequate information regarding the starting and ending points he picked, and thus has failed to substantiate any amounts in excess of 1,613 miles.

https://www.taxnotes.com/research/federal/court-documents/court-opinions-and-orders/electrician-allo...

[qbteachmt]

"he may have used City A to City B but not exact addresses"

That's not how I read it. City A to City B was accepted, when that applied. Lodging-to-Work location travel also was accepted, when there was proof of temporary work location (away from tax home, on assignment). When there is no proof of that situation, there is commuting. The person was an employee, and this seems to be a claim for 2013 tax year unreimbursed employee expenses.

The statements explain he worked on various project(s) at temporary locations away from his primary residence, with the determination that there is no permanent business location. That makes his residence also his "place of business."

"Mr. Geiman's testimony and bank statements establish that in January 2013 he drove from the Clifton area to Cheyenne for his work at the Simpson Electric project, returning in May. His testimony and bank statements further show that he drove from the Clifton area to Denver in August for his work on the Sturgeon projects. He thus has substantiated 908 business miles for these three drives."

"Sturgeon sent him to work on four separate projects in different parts of Colorado"

Consider this in light of those paragraphs: "Mr. Geiman has not introduced any evidence regarding his lodging expenses during the times of the Simpson Electric project and the Sturgeon projects. He thus is not entitled to deduct lodging expenses for either."

If you don't have Lodging, you are not proven to be "away from home." So, no business mileage.

This is for the Laramie River project: "We conclude that Mr. Geiman has substantiated the time, place, and business purpose of the travel underlying the foregoing lodging expenses."

And thus, the mileage commentary: "We take judicial notice of a few distances: (1) the distance between Clifton, Colorado, and Cheyenne, Wyoming, is 335 miles; (2) the distance between Clifton, Colorado, and Denver, Colorado, is 238 miles; (3) the distance between the Wyoming Motel and the Laramie River Power Station is 6.5 miles, and (4) the distance between Motel 6 in Wheatland, Wyoming, and the Laramie River Power Station is 7.8 miles."

So, the far trips to/from Home to business locations generically as City A to City (or powerplant) B (example, for Denver for Sturgeon) and all trips from WY motels to Laramie River power station, were used for how to determine start and end for business mileage allowance. Without further evidence for where he was, they cannot make assumptions for where else he went, back and forth.

"On his Schedule A Mr. Geiman reported car and truck expenses of $18,594, based on driving 32,910 business miles. At trial he lowered this amount to 10,789 business miles."

It seems he changed his understanding of what applied or what could be reported, or both.

I don't see this as a Google Map issue. It's a documentation issue. Although you are not supposed to make up travel records after the fact, and although Cohan doesn't apply to travel (can't guesstimate), you can reconstruct from your documentation, but you have to be able to substantiate what you report.

[dascpa]

The only reason I stated it was a Google Maps issue is that my tax research company Parker Tax Library worded their headline that way in their weekly update.

[qbteachmt]

"worded their headline that way"

Presenting a map of Los Angeles to Miami won't do anyone any good, unless they also are proving that's where they went on business. That's how the Maps apply to the case. The Map is not the documentation of the trip. It's the Trip info.

[qbteachmt]

I came across this one: "Tax Court Did Not Believe Taxpayer's Logs That Showed He Drove from Florida to South Africa"

[PATAX]

Maybe he was driving an Amphicar Model 770?...😉