Codified text.
(a) General definition.—Except as otherwise provided in this subtitle, gross income means all income from whatever source derived, including (but not limited to) the following items:
(1) Compensation for services, including fees, commissions, fringe benefits, and similar items;
(2) Gross income derived from business;
(3) Gains derived from dealings in property;
(4) Interest;
(5) Rents;
(6) Royalties;
(7) Dividends;
(8) Annuities;
(9) Income from life insurance and endowment contracts;
(10) Pensions;
(11) Income from discharge of indebtedness;
(12) Distributive share of partnership gross income;
(13) Income in respect of a decedent; and
(14) Income from an interest in an estate or trust.
Codified text.
(b) Cross references.—For items specifically included in gross income, see part II (sec. 71 and following). For items specifically excluded from gross income, see part III (sec. 101 and following).
Editorial commentary — not part of the primary text.
Editorial note. Source credits are preserved as editorial metadata derived from the official Office of the Law Revision Counsel publication.
Editorial note. Aug. 16, 1954, ch. 736, 68A Stat. 17; Pub. L. 98–369, div. A, title V, § 531(c), July 18, 1984, 98 Stat. 884; Pub. L. 115–97, title I, § 11051(b)(1)(A), Dec. 22, 2017, 131 Stat. 2089.
Revision history
- 1954-08-16 — Enacted as part of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (ch. 736, 68A Stat. 17).
- 1984-07-18 — Amended by § 531(c) of the Deficit Reduction Act of 1984 (Pub. L. 98-369, 98 Stat. 884) to add fringe benefits to the enumeration.
- 2017-12-22 — Amended by § 11051(b)(1)(A) of Pub. L. 115-97 (131 Stat. 2089) to strike the reference to alimony and separate maintenance payments.