Title 46 › Subtitle Subtitle V— - Merchant Marine › Part Part C— - Financial Assistance Programs › Chapter CHAPTER 535— - CAPITAL CONSTRUCTION FUNDS › § 53511
Treats any withdrawal that is not a qualified withdrawal as a nonqualified withdrawal and sets simple rules for where the money comes from and how it is taxed. A nonqualified withdrawal is taken first from the ordinary income part of the fund, then from the capital gain part, and last from the capital account. Money taken from the ordinary income part is taxed as ordinary income in the year you withdraw it. Money taken from the capital gain part is taxed as a long‑term capital gain (held more than 6 months) in the year you withdraw it. No interest or late penalty is charged until the tax payment due date for the year. If extra tax is due because of a nonqualified withdrawal from the ordinary income or capital gain parts, interest is charged at a special rate set by the Secretary and the Secretary of the Treasury, applied back to when the money was deposited. For capital construction funds, amounts left in the fund become nonqualified over time: 20% at the close of the 26th year, 40% at the 27th, 60% at the 28th, 80% at the 29th, and 100% at the 30th. Earnings count as deposits. Money under a binding contract to be spent for a qualified purpose is not treated as remaining. If a nonqualified withdrawal happens, you exclude the amount from gross income but raise your tax by multiplying the withdrawal by the top tax rate (with limits for certain capital gains and special rules if earlier deposits did not reduce tax).
Full Legal Text
Shipping — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
Legislative History
Reference
Citation
46 U.S.C. § 53511
Title 46 — Shipping
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73