United States V. Correll - Facts

Facts

The respondent, a traveling salesman from Tennessee, routinely took same-day business trips throughout 1960 and 1961. He would leave on business early in the morning and come back by dinner. Because he would eat breakfast and lunch on the road, he deducted the cost of those meals from his 1960 and 1961 income tax return pursuant to § 162(a)(2). § 162(a)(2) allows the taxpayer to deduct "traveling expenses while away from home in the pursuit of a trade or business." The Commissioner of Internal Revenue ("Commissioner") disallowed the deductions on the ground that the respondent did not meet the definition of "away from home" under § 162(a)(2) because his trip did not require him to sleep or rest. Therefore, the Commissioner ruled that the cost of the meals was not a § 162(a)(2) business expense, but rather a "’personal, living’ expense under § 262." The respondent paid the tax and sued for a refund in the District Court. He received a favorable verdict in the District Court, which was affirmed by the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. The Supreme Court granted certiorari “in order to resolve a conflict among the circuits on this recurring question of federal income tax administration.”