On August 19, 2020, the Tax Court issued a Memorandum Opinion in the case of Brashear v. Commissioner (T.C. Memo. 2020-122). The primary issue before the court in Brashear was whether the petitioners were entitled to various deductions on Schedule C (Profits and Loss from Business). Business-Related Deductions 101 in Brashear v. Commissioner The taxpayer’s burden of proof regarding entitlement to deductions requires the taxpayer to substantiate all expenses underlying the deductions claimed by keeping and producing adequate records that enable the IRS to determine the taxpayer’s correct tax liability. IRC § 6001; Hradesky v. Commissioner, 65 T.C. 87, 89-90 (1975), aff’d per curiam, 540 F.2d 821 (5th Cir. 1976); Meneguzzo v. Commissioner, 43 T.C. 824, 831-32 (1965). A taxpayer claiming a deduction on a Federal income tax return must demonstrate that the deduction is allowable pursuant to some statutory provision and must further substantiate that the expense to which…