A taxpayer is a partner in an accounting firm. He has always enjoyed auto racing as a hobby. Now that his children are grown, he has decided to devote more time to auto racing. He recently purchased a racing car for $50,000 and has entered several races. He recently raced in his first competitive race and placed fourth, resulting in winnings of $5,000. He expects to incur a number of expenses related to his racing: auto maintenance, storage, transportation, and so on. He would like your advice as to how to proceed so that he can depreciate his car and deduct all of these expenses.
a. Do the Treasury regulations provide further guidance in this situation?
b. Do the Treasury regulations help to refine or add to the initial research question?
c. Do the regulations adequately address the research question? If so, what are your conclusions, and on what are they based?