26 U.S.C. § 531
Section 531 · Imposition of accumulated earnings tax
Amended 6 times on record
Applied in 106 court decisions — leading case United States v. Generes (1972)
Most recently applied in Colgate v. Disthene Group, Inc. (August 2012)
Cases citing this section usually also cite 26 U.S.C. § 533 · 26 U.S.C. § 532 · 26 U.S.C. § 534
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 addition to other taxes imposed by this chapter, there is hereby imposed for each taxable year on the accumulated taxable income (as defined in section 535) of each corporation described in section 532, an accumulated earnings tax equal to 20 percent of the accumulated taxable income.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Amendments
2013—Pub. L. 112–240 substituted “20 percent” for “15 percent”.
2003—Pub. L. 108–27 substituted “equal to 15 percent of the accumulated taxable income.” for “equal to the product of the highest rate of tax under section 1(c) and the accumulated taxable income.”
2001—Pub. L. 107–16 substituted “equal to the product of the highest rate of tax under section 1(c) and the accumulated taxable income.” for “equal to 39.6 percent of the accumulated taxable income.”
1993—Pub. L. 103–66, §13202(b), substituted “39.6 percent” for “36 percent”.
Pub. L. 103–66, §13201(b)(1), substituted “36 percent” for “28 percent”.
1988—Pub. L. 100–647 amended section generally. Prior to amendment, section read as follows: “In addition to other taxes imposed by this chapter, there is hereby imposed for each taxable year on the accumulated taxable income (as defined in section 535) of every corporation described in section 532, an accumulated earnings tax equal to the sum of—
“(1) 27½ percent of the accumulated taxable income not in excess of $100,000, plus
“(2) 38½ percent of the accumulated taxable income in excess of $100,000.”
Effective Date of 2013 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 112–240 applicable to taxable years beginning after Dec. 31, 2012, see section 102(d)(1) of Pub. L. 112–240, set out as a note under section 1 of this title.
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 of 2001 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 107–16 applicable to taxable years beginning after Dec. 31, 2000, see section 101(d)(1) of Pub. L. 107–16, set out as an Effective and Termination Dates of 2001 Amendment note under section 1 of this title.
Effective Date of 1993 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 103–66 applicable to taxable years beginning after Dec. 31, 1992, see sections 13201(c) and 13202(c) of Pub. L. 103–66, set out as notes under section 1 of this title.
Effective Date of 1988 Amendment
Pub. L. 100–647, title I, §1001(a)(2)(B), Nov. 10, 1988, 102 Stat. 3349, provided that: “The amendment made by subparagraph (A) [amending this section] shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 1987. Such amendment shall not be treated as a change in a rate of tax for purposes of section 15 of the 1986 Code.”