Mary Frances Allen v. Commissioner 16 T.C. 163 (Tax Ct. 1951) Allen lost a brooch while visiting a museum. When she filed her taxes, she deducted the value of the brooch, $1800 as a deduction for theft. The IRS denied the deduction. Allen appealed. Allen argued that the applicable section of the tax code (then 26 U.S.C. §23(e)(3), now known as §165(c)(3)) allowed for deductions for property lost through theft. The IRS argued that there was no proof that the brooch had been stolen, it might have just been lost. The Tax Court found for the IRS and denied the deduction. The Tax Court found that the burden of proof was on the taxpayer to show that the property had been stolen. In this case, Allen had not established that the brooch had been stolen, therefore she cannot claim the deduction. Allen argued that she filed a police report reporting the brooch stolen, but the Court did not find that persuasive. In a dissent it was argued that the most probable way Allen lost her brooch was by theft, and to demand that Allen introduce eyewitness testimony that it was stolen was such a high burden of proof that it effectively repealed §23(e)(3).