Title 10Armed ForcesRelease 119-73not60

§8473 Gifts, Bequests, and Loans of Property: Acceptance for Benefit and Use of Naval Academy

Title 10 › Subtitle Subtitle C— Navy and Marine Corps › Part III— EDUCATION AND TRAINING › Chapter 853— UNITED STATES NAVAL ACADEMY › § 8473

Last updated Apr 3, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary of the Navy can take and look after gifts or bequests of personal property, and can accept loans of personal property (but not loans of money) when they are given to benefit or be used by the Naval Academy or the Naval Academy Museum. Gifts of money and money from selling donated property must go into the United States Naval Academy Gift and Museum Fund. The Secretary can spend money from that fund to help the Naval Academy, as the gift’s terms allow. The Secretary must write rules to decide when a gift or loan might harm the Navy’s or an employee’s ability to act fairly or might hurt the program’s integrity or appearance. Property accepted under these rules counts as a gift to the United States for federal tax purposes. If asked by the Secretary of the Navy, the Secretary of the Treasury may invest the fund’s money in U.S. government securities, and any interest earned goes back into the fund to be spent as allowed.

Full Legal Text

Title 10, §8473

Armed Forces — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Secretary of the Navy may accept, hold, administer, and spend any gift or bequest of personal property, and may accept, hold, and administer any loan of personal property other than money, that is made on the condition that it be used for the benefit of, or for use in connection with, the Naval Academy or the Naval Academy Museum, its collection, or its services. Gifts and bequests of money and the proceeds from the sales of property received as gifts shall be deposited in the Treasury in the fund called “United States Naval Academy Gift and Museum Fund”. The Secretary may disburse funds deposited under this subsection for the benefit or use of the Naval Academy (including the Naval Academy Museum) subject to the terms of the gift or bequest.
(b)The Secretary shall prescribe written guidelines to be used for determinations of whether the acceptance of money, any personal property, or any loan of personal property under subsection (a) would reflect unfavorably on the ability of the Department of the Navy or any officer or employee of the Department of the Navy to carry out responsibilities or duties in a fair and objective manner, or would compromise either the integrity or the appearance of the integrity of any program of the Department of the Navy or any officer or employee of the Department of the Navy who is involved in any such program.
(c)For the purpose of Federal income, estate, and gift taxes, property that is accepted under this section is considered as a gift or bequest to or for the use of the United States.
(d)Upon the request of the Secretary of the Navy, the Secretary of the Treasury may invest, reinvest, or retain investments of money or securities comprising any part of the United States Naval Academy Gift and Museum Fund in securities of the United States or in securities guaranteed as to principal and interest by the United States. The interest and benefits accruing from those securities shall be deposited to the credit of the United States Naval Academy Gift and Museum Fund and may be disbursed as provided in this section.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised sectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 6973(a)34 U.S.C. 1115.Mar. 31, 1944, ch. 147, § 1, 58 Stat. 135. 34 U.S.C. 1115a.Mar. 31, 1944, ch. 147, § 2, 58 Stat. 135. 6973(b)34 U.S.C. 1115b.Mar. 31, 1944, ch. 147, § 3, 58 Stat. 135. 6973(c)34 U.S.C. 1115c.Mar. 31, 1944, ch. 147, § 4, 58 Stat. 135.

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2018—Pub. L. 115–232 renumbered section 6973 of this title as this section. 2000—Pub. L. 106–398, § 1 [[div. A], title IX, § 942(c)(4)], substituted “Gifts, bequests, and loans of property: acceptance for benefit and use of Naval Academy” for “Gifts and bequests: acceptance for benefit of Naval Academy” as section catchline. Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 106–398, § 1 [[div. A], title IX, § 942(c)(1)], in first sentence, substituted “any gift or bequest of personal property, and may accept, hold, and administer any loan of personal property other than money, that is” for “gifts and bequests of personal property” and inserted “or the Naval Academy Museum, its collection, or its services” before period at end, in second sentence, substituted “United States Naval Academy Gift and Museum Fund” for “United States Naval Academy general gift fund”, and, in last sentence, inserted “(including the Naval Academy Museum)” after “the Naval Academy”. Subsecs. (b), (c). Pub. L. 106–398, § 1 [[div. A], title IX, § 942(c)(2)], added subsec. (b) and redesignated former subsec. (b) as (c). Former subsec. (c) redesignated (d). Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 106–398, § 1 [[div. A], title IX, § 942(c)(3)], substituted “United States Naval Academy Gift and Museum Fund” for “United States Naval Academy general gift fund” in two places. Pub. L. 106–398, § 1 [[div. A], title IX, § 942(c)(2)(A)], redesignated subsec. (c) as (d).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 2018 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 115–232 effective Feb. 1, 2019, with provision for the coordination of

Amendments

and special rule for certain redesignations, see section 800 of Pub. L. 115–232, set out as a note preceding section 3001 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

10 U.S.C. § 8473

Title 10Armed Forces

Last Updated

Apr 3, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60