26 U.S.C. § 273
Section 273 · Holders of life or terminable interest
Amended 2 times on record
Applied in 46 court decisions — leading case Shelton v. Gill (1953)
Most recently applied in Ramirez v. Commissioner (September 1986)
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.
Amounts paid under the laws of a State, the District of Columbia, a possession of the United States, or a foreign country as income to the holder of a life or terminable interest acquired by gift, bequest, or inheritance shall not be reduced or diminished by any deduction for shrinkage (by whatever name called) in the value of such interest due to the lapse of time.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Amendments
1976—Pub. L. 94–455 struck out reference to amounts paid under laws of a Territory.
Effective Date of 1976 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 94–455 effective for taxable years beginning after Dec. 31, 1976, see section 1901(d) of Pub. L. 94–455, set out as a note under section 2 of this title.