The word “mercy” does not exist in the tax code or its regulations. Do not expect mercy from the IRS or the courts.

We assume that David E. Christensen was hoping for mercy when he arrived in court with no records to prove his deductions. He explained that his records were either destroyed in “hard disk crashes” or were lost while moving.

The court explained to Christensen that when you lose your tax records for any reason—including floods, theft, hurricanes, and ... Log in to view full article.