26 U.S.C. § 1257
Section 1257 · Disposition of converted wetlands or highly erodible croplands
Amended 3 times on record
Applied in 5 court decisions — leading case United States v. Murdock (1931)
Most recently applied in United States v. Murdock (November 1931)
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.
Any gain on the disposition of converted wetland or highly erodible cropland shall be treated as ordinary income. Such gain shall be recognized notwithstanding any other provision of this subtitle, except that this section shall not apply to the extent such gain is recognized as ordinary income under any other provision of this part.
Any loss recognized on the disposition of converted wetland or highly erodible cropland shall be treated as a long-term capital loss.
For purposes of this section—
The term “converted wetland” means any converted wetland (as defined in section 1201(a)(7) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3801(7))) held—
by the person whose activities resulted in such land being converted wetland, or
by any other person who at any time used such land for farming purposes.
The term “highly erodible cropland” means any highly erodible cropland (as defined in section 1201(a)(10) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3801(10))), if at any time the taxpayer used such land for farming purposes (other than the grazing of animals).
If any land is converted wetland or highly erodible cropland in the hands of any person, such land shall be treated as converted wetland or highly erodible cropland in the hands of any other person whose adjusted basis in such land is determined (in whole or in part) by reference to the adjusted basis of such land in the hands of such person.
Under regulations prescribed by the Secretary, rules similar to the rules applicable under section 1245 shall apply for purposes of subsection (a). For purposes of sections 170(e) and 751(c), amounts treated as ordinary income under subsection (a) shall be treated in the same manner as amounts treated as ordinary income under section 1245.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Amendments
2018—Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 115–141, § 401(a)(177), substituted “section 1201(a)(7)” for “section 1201(4)” and “16 U.S.C. 3801(7)” for “16 U.S.C. 3801(4)” in introductory provisions.
Subsec. (c)(2). Pub. L. 115–141, § 401(a)(178), substituted “section 1201(a)(10)” for “section 1201(6)” and “16 U.S.C. 3801(10)” for “16 U.S.C. 3801(6)”.
2003—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 108–27 struck out “, 341(e)(12),” after “170(e)”.
Effective Date of 2003 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 108–27 applicable, except as otherwise provided, to taxable years beginning after Dec. 31, 2002, see section 302(f) of Pub. L. 108–27, set out as an Effective and Termination Dates of 2003 Amendment note under section 1 of this title.
Effective Date
Pub. L. 99–514, title IV, § 403(c), Oct. 22, 1986, 100 Stat. 2222, provided that: “The amendments made by this section [enacting this section] shall apply to dispositions of converted wetland or highly erodible cropland (as defined in section 1257(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 as added by this section) first used for farming after March 1, 1986, in taxable years ending after that date.”