26 U.S.C. § 611
Section 611 · Allowance of deduction for depletion
Amended 3 times on record
Applied in 111 court decisions — leading case Commissioner v. Engle (1984)
Most recently applied in 71 F. Supp. 3d 1264 - Gaudreau v. United States (December 2014)
Cases citing this section usually also cite 26 U.S.C. § 613 · 28 U.S.C. § 1346 · 26 U.S.C. § 162
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment and consequential amendments — watch for a citation surge after a change. 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 mines, oil and gas wells, other natural deposits, and timber, there shall be allowed as a deduction in computing taxable income a reasonable allowance for depletion and for depreciation of improvements, according to the peculiar conditions in each case; such reasonable allowance in all cases to be made under regulations prescribed by the Secretary. For purposes of this part, the term “mines” includes deposits of waste or residue, the extraction of ores or minerals from which is treated as mining under section 613(c). In any case in which it is ascertained as a result of operations or of development work that the recoverable units are greater or less than the prior estimate thereof, then such prior estimate (but not the basis for depletion) shall be revised and the allowance under this section for subsequent taxable years shall be based on such revised estimate.
(1) Leases
In the case of a lease, the deduction under this section shall be equitably apportioned between the lessor and lessee.
(2) Life tenant and remainderman
In the case of property held by one person for life with remainder to another person, the deduction under this section shall be computed as if the life tenant were the absolute owner of the property and shall be allowed to the life tenant.
(3) Property held in trust
In the case of property held in trust, the deduction under this section shall be apportioned between the income beneficiaries and the trustee in accordance with the pertinent provisions of the instrument creating the trust, or, in the absence of such provisions, on the basis of the trust income allocable to each.
(4) Property held by estate
In the case of an estate, the deduction under this section shall be apportioned between the estate and the heirs, legatees, and devisees on the basis of the income of the estate allocable to each.
For other rules applicable to depreciation of improvements, see section 167.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Amendments
1976—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 94–455 struck out “or his delegate” after “Secretary”.
1958—Subsec. (d)(4). Pub. L. 85–866 substituted “devisees” for “devises”.
Effective Date of 1958 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 85–866 applicable to taxable years beginning after Dec. 31, 1953, and ending after Aug. 16, 1954, see section 1(c)(1) of Pub. L. 85–866, set out as a note under section 165 of this title.