Penn v. Commissioner
United States Tax Court
Petitioner, life tenant of real estate bearing a building largely unproductive, razed it and erected at her own expense an income-producing building. At the time she had a life expectancy of 7 years but the property had a useful life of 50 years. Held, the Commissioner did not err in allowing depreciation deduction on a basis of estimated useful life of the building and disallowing it on basis of petitioner's life expectancy.
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Petitioner, life tenant of real estate bearing a building largely unproductive, razed it and erected at her own expense an income-producing building. At the time she had a life expectancy of 7 years but the property had a useful life of 50 years. Held, the Commissioner did not err in allowing depreciation deduction on a basis of estimated useful life of the building and disallowing it on basis of petitioner's life expectancy. Caroline T. Kissell, 15 B. T. A. 705, distinguished.
1Opinion of the Court
OPINION.
Disney, Judge:
The petitioner’s contention is that having expended her own money in the erection of the building involved she as life tenant of the property is entitled to a deduction in the nature of depreciation based upon her 7-year life expectancy instead of the 50-year useful life of the building, as determined by the Commissioner.
Section 23 (1), Internal Revenue Code, provides that deduction for depreciation “shall be computed as if the life tenant were the absolute owner of the property and shall be allowed to the life tenant.”
The Revenue Act of 1921, section 214 (a) (8),…
2Cases cited2 opinions
- Wolff v. CommissionerUnited States Tax Court · 1946
- Grant v. RoseDistrict Court, N.D. Georgia · 1929
3Cited by3 opinions
- Bell v. Harrison. Bell v. United StatesCourt of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · 1954
- Penn v. CommissionerUnited States Tax Court · 1951
- Penn v. Commissioner of Internal RevenueCourt of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit · 1952