Sibla v. Commissioner

On appeal, the court found that petitioners' participation in the organized mess was not voluntary, that the charge for the meals equaled the value of the meals, that the mandatory mess was for the convenience of the employer as part of its integration program, and that the employer did not reimburse petitioners for meals that they were not able to eat at the station. Thus, the expenses of the mess were not nondeductible living expenses under 26 U.S.C.S. § 262, but were either deductible business expenses under § 162(a) or were employer-furnished meals that were excludable from income under 26 U.S.C.S. § 119. Therefore, the court affirmed the judgments.

The court affirmed the judgments allowing petitioner firefighter taxpayers to deduct the amount that they paid for their meals as part of their employer's mandatory organized mess. The court held that because the payment was involuntary whether or not petitioners ate their meals at the mess, petitioners could deduct the cost as business expenses or exclude it from income as meals furnished by their employer for the employer's convenience.

• Text of Sibla v. Commissioner, 611 F.2d 1260 (9th Cir. 1980) is available from: CourtListener Justia OpenJurist Google Scholar