26 U.S.C. § 262
Section 262 · Personal, living, and family expenses
Amended 2 times on record
Applied in 234 court decisions — leading case United States v. Correll (1967)
Most recently applied in Dept. of Rev. v. Wakefield (February 2022)
Cases citing this section usually also cite 26 U.S.C. § 162 · 26 U.S.C. § 7482 · 26 U.S.C. § 274
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.
Except as otherwise expressly provided in this chapter, no deduction shall be allowed for personal, living, or family expenses.
For purposes of subsection (a), in the case of an individual, any charge (including taxes thereon) for basic local telephone service with respect to the 1st telephone line provided to any residence of the taxpayer shall be treated as a personal expense.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Amendments
1988—Pub. L. 100–647 amended section generally. Prior to amendment, section read as follows: “Except as otherwise expressly provided in this chapter, no deduction shall be allowed for personal, living, or family expenses.”
Effective Date of 1988 Amendment
Section 5073(b) of Pub. L. 100–647 provided that: “The amendment made by subsection (a) [amending this section] shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 1988.”
Cross References
Additional exemption for students, see section 151 of this title.
Medical and dental expenses deductible, see section 213 of this title.
Non-trade or non-business expenses deductible, see section 212 of this title.
Trade or business expenses deductible, see section 162 of this title.
Traveling expenses including meals and lodging deductible, see section 162 of this title.