26 U.S.C. § 701
Section 701 · Partners, not partnership, subject to tax
Amended 1 time on record
Applied in 205 court decisions — leading case Bellis v. United States (1974)
Most recently applied in Baxter v. United States (August 2022)
Cases citing this section usually also cite 26 U.S.C. § 6226 · 26 U.S.C. § 6231 · 26 U.S.C. § 6221
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.
A partnership as such shall not be subject to the income tax imposed by this chapter. Persons carrying on business as partners shall be liable for income tax only in their separate or individual capacities.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Cross References
Definitions of partnership, see sections 761, 7701 of this title.
Partnerships electing to be taxed as corporations, see section 1361 of this title.