Carol D. Buller-McGee & Robert McGee v. Frank M. O’Connell, Commissioner, Georgia Department of Revenue

Summary

Holding: The Tribunal granted the Department's Motion for Summary Judgment and dismissed Petitioners' pro se appeal of tax assessments for 2017 and 2018.

Background: Petitioners claimed large non-cash charitable contribution deductions to Goodwill of North Georgia — $139,474 for 2017 and $52,453 for 2018 — broken into multiple individual donations, none of which individually exceeded $5,000. The Department disallowed most of these deductions for lack of supporting documentation/appraisal and issued assessments: $7,092.00 for 2017 and $8,831.59 for 2018. Petitioners protested the 2017 assessment (denied January 2024) and filed their Tax Tribunal petition on February 1, 2024.

Key rulings:

1. Jurisdiction (2018 tax year): The 2018 assessment issued October 17, 2020, but Petitioners did not file their petition until February 1, 2024 — far beyond the 30-day appeal window under O.C.G.A. § 48-2-59(b). The Tribunal therefore lacked jurisdiction over the 2018 appeal and dismissed it on that independent basis.
2. Qualified appraisal requirement (2017 tax year): Under 26 U.S.C.S. § 170(f)(11)(C) and 26 C.F.R. § 1.170A-13(c)(3), a qualified appraisal is required for non-cash property contributions exceeding $5,000 in the aggregate — even if no single individual donation exceeds that threshold. Relying on Bass v. Commissioner and Cohen v. Commissioner, the Tribunal held that similar items (here, clothing/apparel donated to one organization) must be aggregated for purposes of the $5,000 threshold. Because Petitioners' aggregated clothing donations far exceeded $5,000 and they had not obtained or attached a qualified appraisal (a Form 8283 alone is insufficient), their itemized charitable deductions could not be sustained as a matter of law.

Result: Summary judgment granted to the Department; petition dismissed in full.