UNITED STATES STATUTES AT LARGE
CONTAINING THE
LAWS AND CONCURRENT RESOLUTIONS
ENACTED DURING THE FIRST SESSION OF THE
SEVENTY-SIXTH CONGRESS
OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
1939
AND
TREATIES, INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS OTHER
THAN TREATIES, AND PROCLAMATIONS
___________
COMPILED, EDITED, INDEXED, AND PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY OF LAW
UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE
___________
VOLUME 53
PART 1
INTERNAL REVENUE CODE
APPROVED FEBRUARY 10, 1939
UNITED STATES
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON : 1939
PREFACE
The Internal Revenue Code, approved February 10, 1939, and
published in this volume as Public Act No. 1 of the Seventy-sixth
Congress, is the first Federal act of its kind since the Revised Statutes
of the United States, approved June 22, 1874. Title XXXV of the
Revise Statutes embraces the general and permanent statutes relat-
ing exclusively to internal revenue in force on December 1, 1873.
The internal revenue title, which comprises all of the Code except
the preliminary sections relating to its enactment, is intended to con-
tain all the United States statutes of a general and permanent nature
relating exclusively to internal revenue in force on January 2, 1939;
also such of the temporary statutes of that description as relate to
taxes the occassion of which may arise after the enactment of the Code.
These statutes are codified without substantive change and with only
such change of form as is required by arrangement and consolidation.
The title contains no provision, except for effective date, not derived
from a law approved prior to January 3, 1939.
The derivation of the title, in its textual sequence, is shown in the
appendix, part I, table A. Conversely, the placement of the statutes
in the title, cited in their chronological order, is shown in table B.
The Revised Statutes of the United States and the Statutes at Large
of the United States are the sources of the law codified. The Revised
Statutes cover a period ended December 1, 1873. The Statutes at
Large codified cover the period following December 1, 1873, and are
published in the 35 volumes numbered 18 to 52, inclusive. The
seperate enactments carried into the internal revenue title, wholly or
in part, from the Statutes at Large are 143 in number, exclusive of 93
statutes involving express amendment, reenactment, or repeal. The
277 Revised Statutes sections codified were derived from 21 basic
statutes. The whole body of internal revenue law in effect on January
2, 1939, therefore, has its ultimate origin in 164 seperate enactments
of Congress. The earliest of these was approved July 1, 1862; the
latest, June 16, 1938.
The Internal Revenue Code is an enactment without change of the
1939 edition of the Codification of Internal Revenue Laws prepared
by Mr. Colin F. Stam and Mr. L.L. Stratton, of the staff of the Joint
Committee on Internal Revenue Taxation, with the assistance of the
Department of the Treasury and the Department of Justice. The
bill embodying that codification, H.R. 2762, was introduced on
January 18, 1939, by Mr. Doughton, of North Carolina, chairman of
the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives
and vice chairman of the Joint Committee on Internal Revenue Taxa-
tion. Mr. Doughton submitted the unanimously favorable report of
the Committee on Ways and Means on January 20. Unanimous con-
sent for consideration of the bill was requested and objected to on
January 23. It was called up on the following Calendar Wednesday,
January 25, and passed on that date by a vote of 350 to 16. On Jan-
uary 27, the bill was messaged to the Senate and referred to the Com-
mittee on Finance, before whom a hearing was held on the 30th.
At the direction of Mr. Harrison, of Mississippi, chairman of the
Joint Committee on Internal Revenue Taxation and of the Committee
iii
iv
PREFACE
on Finance, Mr. George, of Georgia, a member of of both committees,
submitted the unanimously favorable report of the Committee on
Finance on February 1. The bill was considered by the Senate on the
following day and passed without a record vote.
The 1939 codification was the fourth to be published by the staff
of the Joint Committee on Internal Revenue Taxation. The first,
published in 1930, embraced the general and permanent internal
revenue laws in force on December 1, 1930; the second, published in
1933, the laws in force on July 16, 1932; and the third, published in
1938, the laws in force at the beginning of that year.
In the preperation of these codifications, invaluable assistance was
received from the Department of the Treasury, the Department of
Justice, and the Legislative Reference Service of the Library of
Congress. To the Division of Research and Publication of the
Department of State grateful acknowledgement is made of the index
to this volume and of their expert aid in the revision of the proof
of the appendix.
The appendix, published under the provisions of section 9 of the
Internal Revenue Code, is divided into four parts. Part I consists of
tables of reference to internal revenue statutes. Tables A and B have
been described above. Table C cites the statutes expressly repealed,
in whole or in part, together with the repealing statutes. Table D
cites the statutes expressly amended or reenacted, with the amending
or reenacting statutes. The derivation of the sections of the Revised
Statutes relating to internal revenue is shown in table E. Mr. W. H.
McClenon, of the Legislative Reference Service of the Library of Con-
gress, rendered indispensable aid in the preparation of these tables,
as well as of the Code generally.
Part II of the appendix contains the provisions of the Constitution
of the United State relating to taxation.
Part III of the appendix, prepared by the Department of the Treas-
ury, contains miscellaneous statutory and treaty provisions affecting,
the administration of internal revenue laws but omitted from the Code
for the reason that they are of a temporary nature or do not relate
exclusively to internal revenue.
Part IV of the appendix digests several court opinions construing
the repeal provisions of the Revised Statutes. The similarity of the
repeal provisions of the Revised Statutes and those of the Code suggests
the possible applicability of these decisions to questions that may
arise affecting the Code.
February 10, 1939
[H.R. 2762]
Public, No. 1
Chapter 2
INTERNAL REVENUE CODE
Intended to Include All General and Permanent Laws of the United States and Parts
of Such Laws, Relating Exclusively to Internal Revenue, in Force on January 2,
1939, and All Internal Revenue Laws Relating to Temporary Internal Revenue
Taxes the Occasion for Which Arises After the Effective Date of the Code
___________
FIRST SESSION OF THE SEVENTY-SIXTH CONGRESS
OF THE
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
___________
AN ACT
To consolidate and codify the internal revenue laws of the United States.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled, That the laws of
the United States hereinafter codified and set forth as a part of this
act under the heading “Internal Revenue Title” are hereby enacted
into law.
SEC. 2. CITATION.—This act and the internal revenue title incor-
porated herein shall be known as the Internal Revenue Code and
may be cited as “I.R.C.”.
SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE—Except as otherwise provided herein-
this act shall take effect on the day following the date of its enact-
ment.
SEC. 4. REPEAL AND SAVINGS PROVISIONS.—(a) The Internal Revenue
Title, as hereinafter set forth, is intended to include all general laws
of the United States and parts of such laws, relating exclusively to
internal revenue, in force on the 2d day of January 1939 (1) of a
permanent nature and (2) of a temporary nature if embraced in
said Internal Revenue Title. In furtherance of that purpose, all
such laws and parts of laws codified herein, to the extent they relate
exclusively to internal revenue, are repealed, effective, except as pro-
vided in section 5, on the day following the date of the enactment of
this act.
(b) Such repeal shall not affect any act done or any right accruing
or accrued, or any suit or proceeding had or commenced in any civil
cause before said repeal, but all rights and liabilities under said manner, as if
said repeal had not been made; nor shall any office, position, employ-
ment, board, or committee, be abolished by such repeal, but the same
shall continue under the pertinent provisions of the Internal Revenue
Title.
(c) All offenses committed, and all parties or forfeitures incurred
under any statute hereby repealed, may be prosecuted and punished
in the same manner and with the same effect as if this act had not been
passed.
1
1aCODIFICATION OF INTERNAL REVENUE LAWS
(d) All acts of limitation, whether applicable to civil causes and
proceedings, or to the prosecution of offenses, or for the recovery of
penalties or forfeitures, hereby repealed shall not be affected thereby,
but all suits, proceedings, or prosecutions, whether civil or criminal,
for causes arising, or acts done or committed, prior to said repeal,
may be commenced and prosecuted within the same time as if this
act had not been passed.
(e) The authority vested in the President of the United States, or
in any officer or officers of the Treasury Department, by the law as it
existed immediately prior to the enactment of this act, hereafter to
give publicity to tax returns required under any internal revenue law
in force immediately prior to the enactment of this act or any informa
tion therein contained, and to furnish copies thereof and to prescribe
the terms and conditions upon which such publicity may be given
or such copies furnished, and to make rules and regulations with re-
espect to such publicity, is hereby preserved. And the provisions of
law authorizing such publicity and prescribing the terms, conditions,
limitations, and restrictions upon such publicity and upon the use
of the information gained through such publicity and the provisions
of law prescribing penalties for unlawful publicity of such returns
and for unlawful use of such information are hereby preserved and
continued in full force and effect.
SEC. 5. CONTINUANCE OF EXISTING LAW.— Any provision of law
in force on the 2d day of January 1939 corresponding to a provision
contained in the Internal Revenue Title shall remain in force until
the corresponding provision under such Title takes effect.
SEC. 6. ARRANGEMENT, CLASSIFICATION, AND CROSS REFERENCES.—
The arrangement and classification of the several provisions of the
Internal Revenue Title have been made for the purpose of a more
convenient and orderly arrangement of the same, and, therefore,
no inference, implication, or presumption of legislative construction
shall be drawn or made by reason of the location or grouping of any
particular section or provision or portion thereof, nor shall any out-
line, analysis, cross reference, or descriptive matter relating to the
contents of said Title be given any legal effect.
SEC. 7. EFFECT UPON SUBSEQUENT LEGISLATION.— The enactment of
this act shall not repeal nor effect any act of Congress passed since
the 2d day of January 1939, and all acts passed since that date shall
have full effect as if passed after the enactment of this act; but, so
far as such acts vary from, or conflict with, any provision contained
in this act, they are to have effect as subsequent statutes, and as
repealing any portion of this act inconsistent therewith.
SEC. 8. COPIES AS EVIDENCE OF ORIGINAL.—Copies of this act
printed in the Government Printing Office and bearing its imprint
shall be conclusive evidence of the original Internal Revenue Code
in the custody of the Secretary of State.
SEC. 9. PUBLICATION— The said Internal Revenue Code shall be
published as a seperate part of a volume of the United States Statutes
at Large, with an appendix and index, but without marginal refer-
ences; the date of enactment, bill number, public and chapter number
shall be printed as a headnote.
SEC.10. INTERNAL REVENUE TITLE.— The Internal Revenue Title,
heretofore referred to, and hereby and herein enacted into law, is as
follows: