Allen J. McDonell v. Commissioner 26 T.C.M. 115 (Tax Ct. 1967) McDonell worked as a sales manager for a company called DECO. As part of a sales incentive, DECO sent salesmen who made their quotas on a vacation to Hawaii. They randomly chose McDonell (and his wife) from the list of sales managers and told him to go as well, to keep an eye on things. DECO paid $1121 for the McDonell's expenses. McDonell filed his tax forms and reported about half ($600) of the trip cost. McDonell initially figured that his half of the trip wasn't reportable because he was required to go, only his wife's half was. The IRS stepped in and said that the entire $1121 should be counted as gross income. McDonell objected. The IRS argued that the cost of the trip was reportable under 26 U.S.C. §61, or alternately that it was reportable under 26 U.S.C. §74 as an award. McDonell argued that it wasn't an award, it was a requirement of his job. He also changed his mind as asked for his wife's expenses to be deducted as well. The Tax Court found for McDonell. The Tax Court found that while the salesmen's costs were covered as awards under §74, McDonell's were not. McDonell wasn't given the trip as an award, he was told to go as part of his duties. The fact that he enjoyed it was irrelevant. The Court found that none of the $1121 was attributable to McDonell because it wasn't an award or compensation.