26 U.S.C. § 12
Section 12 · Cross references relating to tax on corporations
Amended 9 times on record
Applied in 22 court decisions — leading case Hofferbert v. Marshall (1952)
Most recently applied in United States v. Detroit Medical Center (August 2016)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
For tax on the unrelated business income of certain charitable and other corporations exempt from tax under this chapter, see section 511.
For accumulated earnings tax and personal holding company tax, see parts I and II of subchapter G (sec. 531 and following).
For doubling of tax on corporations of certain foreign countries, see section 891.
For rate of withholding in case of foreign corporations, see section 1442.
For alternative minimum tax, see section 55.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Editorial Notes
Amendments
2022—Par. (5). Pub. L. 117–169 added par. (5).
2017—Pars. (4) to (6). Pub. L. 115–97, § 13001(b)(2)(B), redesignated par. (5) as (4) and struck out former pars. (4) and (6) which read as follows:
“(4) For alternative tax in case of capital gains, see section 1201(a).
“(6) For limitation on benefits of graduated rate schedule provided in section 11(b), see section 1551.”
Par. (7). Pub. L. 115–97, § 12001(b)(12), struck out par. (7) which read as follows: “For alternative minimum tax, see section 55.”
1986—Par. (7). Pub. L. 99–514 amended par. (7) generally, substituting “alternative minimum tax” and “55” for “minimum tax for tax preferences” and “56”, respectively.
1984—Pars. (6) to (8). Pub. L. 98–369 redesignated pars. (7) and (8) as (6) and (7), respectively. Former par. (6), which referred to section 1451 for withholding of tax on tax-free covenant bonds, was struck out.
1978—Par. (7). Pub. L. 95–600 substituted “benefits of graduated rate schedule provided in section 11(b)” for “the $25,000 exemption from surtax provided in section 11(c)”.
1975—Par. (7). Pub. L. 94–12 substituted “$50,000” for “$25,000” for a limited period. See Effective and Termination Dates of 1975 Amendment note set out below.
1969—Par. (8). Pub. L. 91–172 added par. (8).
1964—Par. (8). Pub. L. 88–272 struck out par. (8) which referred to section 1503 for additional tax for corporations filing consolidated returns.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date of 2022 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 117–169 applicable to taxable years beginning after Dec. 31, 2022, see section 10101(f) of Pub. L. 117–169, set out as a note under section 11 of this title.
Effective Date of 2017 Amendment
Amendment by section 12001(b)(12) of Pub. L. 115–97 applicable to taxable years beginning after Dec. 31, 2017, see section 12001(c) of Pub. L. 115–97, set out as a note under section 11 of this title.
Amendment by section 13001(b)(2)(B) of Pub. L. 115–97 applicable to taxable years beginning after Dec. 31, 2017, see section 13001(c)(1) of Pub. L. 115–97, set out as a note under section 11 of this title.
Effective Date of 1986 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 99–514 applicable to taxable years beginning after Dec. 31, 1986, with certain exceptions and qualifications, see section 701(f) of Pub. L. 99–514, set out as an Effective Date note under section 55 of this title.
Effective Date of 1984 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 98–369 not applicable with respect to obligations issued before Jan. 1, 1984, see section 475(b) of Pub. L. 98–369, set out as a note under section 33 of this title.
Effective Date of 1978 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 95–600 applicable to taxable years beginning after Dec. 31, 1978, see section 301(c) of Pub. L. 95–600, set out as a note under section 11 of this title.
Effective and Termination Dates of 1975 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 94–12 applicable to taxable years ending after Dec. 31, 1974, but to cease to apply for taxable years ending after Dec. 31, 1975, see section 305(b)(1) of Pub. L. 94–12, set out as a note under section 11 of this title.
Effective Date of 1969 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 91–172 applicable to taxable years ending after Dec. 31, 1969, see section 301(c) of Pub. L. 91–172, set out as a note under section 5 of this title.
Effective Date of 1964 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 88–272 applicable to taxable years beginning after Dec. 31, 1963, see section 234(c) of Pub. L. 88–272, set out as a note under section 1503 of this title.
Applicability of Certain Amendments by Public Law 99–514 in Relation to Treaty Obligations of United States
For applicability of amendment by Pub. L. 99–514 notwithstanding any treaty obligation of the United States in effect on Oct. 22, 1986, see section 1012(aa)(2) of Pub. L. 100–647, set out as a note under section 861 of this title.