Internal Revenue Code
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The Internal Revenue Code (or IRC; more formally, the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended) is the main body of domestic statutory tax law of the United States organized topically, including laws covering the income tax (see Income tax in the United States), payroll taxes, gift taxes, estate taxes and statutory excise taxes. The Internal Revenue Code is published as Title 26 of the United States Code (USC), and is also known as the internal revenue title.
Contents
[edit] Genesis of tax codes in the United States
Prior to 1874, U.S. statutes were not codified. That is, they were not set forth in one comprehensive subject matter title, but were instead contained in the various acts passed by Congress. Codifications of statutes (including tax statutes) undertaken in 1873 resulted in the Revised Statutes of the United States, approved June 22, 1874, effective for the laws in force as of December 1, 1873 (title 35 of which was the internal revenue title). Another codification was undertaken in 1878.
In 1919, a committee of the U.S. House of Representatives began a project to recodify U.S. statutes which eventually resulted in a new code in 1926 (including tax statutes).
[edit] Internal Revenue Code of 1939
The tax statutes were re-codified by an Act of Congress on February 10, 1939 as the "Internal Revenue Code" (later known as the "Internal Revenue Code of 1939"). The 1939 Code was published as volume 53, Part I, of the United States Statutes at Large and as title 26 of the United States Code. Subsequent permanent tax laws enacted by the United States Congress updated and amended the 1939 Code.
[edit] Internal Revenue Code of 1954/1986
On August 16, 1954, in connection with a general overhaul of the Internal Revenue Service, the IRC was greatly reorganized by Congress and expanded. Ward M. Hussey was the principal drafter of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954. The code was published in volume 68A of the United States Statutes at Large. To prevent confusion with the 1939 Code, the new version was thereafter referred to as the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 and the prior version as the Internal Revenue Code of 1939. The lettering and numbering of subtitles, sections, etc., was completely changed. For example, section 22 of the 1939 Code (defining gross income) was roughly analogous to section 61 of the 1954 Code. The 1954 Code replaced the 1939 Code as title 26 of the United States Code.
Section 2 of the Tax Reform Act of 1986 provides (in part):
- (a) Redesignation of 1954 Code. - The Internal Revenue Title enacted August 16, 1954, as heretofore, hereby, or hereafter amended, may be cited as the "Internal Revenue Code of 1986".
- (b) References in Laws, Etc. - Except when inappropriate, any reference in any law, Executive order, or other document -
- (1) to the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 shall include a reference to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and
- (2) to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 shall include a reference to the provisions of law formerly known as the Internal Revenue Code of 1954.
In effect, the 1954 Code was renamed the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 by section 2 of the Tax Reform Act of 1986. The 1986 Act contained substantial amendments, but no formal re-codification. That is, the 1986 Code retained the most of the same lettering and numbering of subtitles, chapters, subchapters, parts, subparts, sections, etc. The 1986 Code, as amended from time to time (and still published as title 26 of the United States Code), retains the basic structure of the 1954 Code.
The Internal Revenue Code includes most but not all Federal tax statutes. Some tax statutes are found in other provisions of the United States Code including title 11 (related to bankruptcy) and title 28 (related to the judiciary). Further, some tax statutes are not codified at all (for example, the provisions of tax statutes that list the effective dates of Internal Revenue Code amendments).
[edit] Individual and corporate income tax
Section 1 of the Internal Revenue Code imposes the Federal income tax on the taxable income of U.S. citizens and residents, and of estates and trusts. The corporate income tax is imposed by Internal Revenue Code section 11.
[edit] Organization
Since the IRC is a part of the USC, the organization of the IRC is identical. See United States Code#Organization.
As an example, section 162(e)(2)(B)(ii) () would be as follows:
Title 26: Internal Revenue Code
[edit] Subtitles
As a further example, here are the chapters of this subtitle:
[edit] List of commonly-referenced sections
All of these examples are from Chapter 1 (Normal Taxes and Surtaxes) of Subtitle A (Income Taxes)
(key: §="section", §§="sections")
Title 26 - Internal Revenue Code
