Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
W

Walz v. Commissioner

T.C. Summary Opinion 2005-1 (2005)

From our private database of 46,500+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Walz v. Commissioner

United States Tax Court
T.C. Summary Opinion 2005-1 (2005)

SH

Facts

John Walz was a professional, world-renowned cellist. During the year 2000, Walz offered his professional services to various musical organizations. Walz performed for the Los Angeles Opera (opera) and had performed for the opera for 10 years prior. The opera selected the music to be performed, provided him with the music for the season, required him to attend rehearsal at a set time and duration, did not permit Walz to leave rehearsals unless he was excused, and set the dress uniform for performances. Walz also performed for the Long Beach Symphony (symphony) and had performed for the symphony for 20 years prior, under conditions similar to those of the opera. Both the opera and symphony considered Walz to be an employee. Both issued W-2s, made withholdings of various taxes, and made pension contributions on his behalf according to union contract. When it came time to file his tax return, Walz filed a Form 1040 as an independent professional musician and claimed deductions for business expenses. The commissioner disallowed all of Walz’s claimed deductions. The main question was whether Walz was an employee or independent contractor during the year 2000.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Pajak, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 832,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,500 briefs - keyed to 994 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

Entertainment Law

Key Terms