26 U.S.C. § 212
Section 212 · Expenses for production of income
Amended 1 time on record
Applied in 330 court decisions — leading case Commissioner of Internal Revenue v. P Groetzinger (1987)
Most recently applied in Ray v. CIR (September 2021)
Cases citing this section usually also cite 26 U.S.C. § 162 · 26 U.S.C. § 263 · 26 U.S.C. § 165
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.
In the case of an individual, there shall be allowed as a deduction all the ordinary and necessary expenses paid or incurred during the taxable year—
(1) for the production or collection of income;
(2) for the management, conservation, or maintenance of property held for the production of income; or
(3) in connection with the determination, collection, or refund of any tax.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Denial of Deduction for Amounts Paid or Incurred on Judgments in Suits Brought To Recover Price Increases in Purchase of New Principal Residence
No deductions to be allowed in computing taxable income for two-thirds of any amount paid or incurred on a judgment entered against any person in a suit brought under section 208(b) of Pub. L. 94–12, see section 208(c) of Pub. L. 94–12, set out as a note under section 44 of this title.
Cross References
Adjusted gross income as gross income minus, among others, expenses for production of income, see section 62 of this title.
Trade or business expenses deductible, see section 162 of this title.