Title 40 — Public Buildings, Property, and WorksRelease 119-73
§1312 Release of real estate in certain cases
Title 40 › Subtitle SUBTITLE I— - FEDERAL PROPERTY AND ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES › Chapter CHAPTER 13— - PUBLIC PROPERTY › § 1312
Summary
When a debt is later paid in money, the GSA Administrator may return property the government took for that debt to the debtor, their heirs, or an appointee. It does not apply to tax debts under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
Full Legal Text
Title 40, §1312
Public Buildings, Property, and Works — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)Real estate that has become the property of the Federal Government in payment of a debt which afterward is fully paid in money and received by the Government may be conveyed by the Administrator of General Services to the debtor from whom it was taken or to the heirs or devisees of the debtor or the person that they may appoint.
(b)This section does not apply to real estate the Government acquires in payment of any debt arising under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 1 et seq.).
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Historical and Revision Notes
Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 131240:306.R.S. § 3751; Pub. L. 89–30, § 3, June 2, 1965, 79 Stat. 119. In subsection (a), the words “by conveyance, extent, or otherwise” are omitted as unnecessary. The words “General Counsel for the Department of the Treasury” were substituted for “Solicitor of the Treasury” in section 3751 of the Revised Statutes because section 512(b) of the Revenue Act of 1934 (ch. 277, 48 Stat. 759) abolished the offices of General Counsel and Assistant General Counsel for the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the offices of Solicitor and Assistant Solicitor of the Treasury and transferred the powers, duties, and functions of those offices to the General Counsel for the Department of the Treasury. The words “release by deed or otherwise” and “if he is living, or, if such debtor is dead” are omitted as unnecessary. In subsection (b), the words “the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 1 et seq.)” are substituted for “the internal-revenue laws” for clarity and for consistency in the revised title and with other titles of the Code.
Editorial Notes
References in Text
The Internal Revenue Code of 1986, referred to in subsec. (b), is classified to Title 26, Internal Revenue Code.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
40 U.S.C. § 1312
Title 40 — Public Buildings, Property, and Works
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73