Title 26 › Subtitle Subtitle F— - Procedure and Administration › Chapter CHAPTER 80— - GENERAL RULES › Subchapter Subchapter B— - Effective Date and Related Provisions › § 7851
Sets the dates when parts of the new tax code start and which parts of the old Internal Revenue Code of 1939 are removed. Chapters 1, 2, and 6 of the new code apply only to taxable years that begin after December 31, 1953 and end after the law is enacted; for those years parts of the 1939 code (chapters 1 except sections 143 and 144, chapter 2, and section 3801) are repealed. Chapter 3 of the new code applies to payments and transfers after December 31, 1954, and then sections 143, 144, and chapter 7 of the 1939 code are repealed for those events. Provisions that say they apply after a specific date apply to taxable years ending after that date, and for earlier years they are treated as part of the 1939 code only until the new date takes effect. Effective for taxable years ending after March 31, 1954 and taxed under the 1939 code, the law repeals sections 13(b)(3), 26(b)(2)(C), 26(h)(1)(C) (including the comma and the word “and” immediately before it), 26(i)(3), 108(k), 207(a)(1)(C), 207(a)(3)(C), and the last sentence of 362(b)(3); and it removes the phrase “and before April 1, 1954” from sections 13(b)(2), 26(b)(2)(B), 26(h)(1)(B), 26(i)(2), 207(a)(1)(B), 207(a)(3)(B), 421(a)(1)(B), and the second sentence of 362(b)(3). Chapter 11 of the new code applies to estates of people who die after enactment and repeals chapter 3 of the 1939 code for those estates. Chapter 12 applies to calendar year 1955 and later and repeals chapter 4 of the 1939 code for those years. Subtitle C of the new code applies to pay received after December 31, 1954 (and chapter 22 only to pay for services done after that date); most of chapter 9 of the 1939 code is repealed for pay after that date, but subchapter B (and related parts of subchapter E) still apply for pay for services done on or before that date. Subtitle D takes effect January 1, 1955 and many parts of subtitles B and C of the 1939 code are repealed then, with a few specified provisions treated as effective May 1, 1954 or April 1, 1954. Subtitle E mostly takes effect January 1, 1955, except a few parts (including section 5411’s brewery rule, section 5554, and chapter 53) which take effect the day after the date of enactment; some parts of the 1939 code are repealed the day after enactment or on January 1, 1955 as stated. Subtitle F takes effect the day after the date of enactment and applies to taxes under the new code; but certain enforcement and procedure parts of the 1939 code remain in force until January 1, 1955 and apply to taxes under either code until that date. After enactment, chapters 73–80 of subtitle F (with stated limits for chapter 75 and sections 7502 and 7503) also apply to taxes under the 1939 code. If a new code provision has no date, it takes effect the day after enactment, and any unrepealed 1939 provision is repealed then. Repealing old rules does not wipe out acts already done, rights already earned, ongoing suits, offices, jobs, or delegations of authority. Crimes, penalties, and periods for bringing suits or prosecutions under repealed laws may still be enforced as if the repeal had not happened. When applying either code to a period, any reference to a section that does not apply for that period must be read as a reference to the matching section of the code that does apply.
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Reference
Citation
26 U.S.C. § 7851
Title 26 — Internal Revenue Code
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73