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Title 26 — Internal Revenue CodeRelease 119-73

§1052 Basis Established by the Revenue Act of 1932 or 1934 or by the Internal Revenue Code of 1939

Title 26 › Subtitle Subtitle A— Income Taxes › Chapter 1— NORMAL TAXES AND SURTAXES › Subchapter O— Gain or Loss on Disposition of Property › Part IV— SPECIAL RULES › § 1052

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Old tax-basis rules stay locked in for certain property acquired long ago. If property was acquired after February 28, 1913, in a tax year beginning before January 1, 1934, and its basis was set by certain rules of the Revenue Act of 1932, that basis still controls today. The same carryover applies to property acquired in years beginning before January 1, 1936, under the Revenue Act of 1934, and to property acquired in transactions covered by certain basis rules of the Internal Revenue Code of 1939. In practice this matters only for very old property whose basis was fixed under those earlier laws.

Full Legal Text

Title 26, §1052

Internal Revenue Code — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)If the property was acquired, after February 28, 1913, in any taxable year beginning before January 1, 1934, and the basis thereof, for purposes of the Revenue Act of 1932 was prescribed by section 113(a)(6), (7), or (9) of such Act (47 Stat. 199), then for purposes of this subtitle the basis shall be the same as the basis therein prescribed in the Revenue Act of 1932.
(b)If the property was acquired, after February 28, 1913, in any taxable year beginning before January 1, 1936, and the basis thereof, for purposes of the Revenue Act of 1934, was prescribed by section 113(a)(6), (7), or (8) of such Act (48 Stat. 706), then for purposes of this subtitle the basis shall be the same as the basis therein prescribed in the Revenue Act of 1934.
(c)If the property was acquired, after February 28, 1913, in a transaction to which the Internal Revenue Code of 1939 applied, and the basis thereof, for purposes of the Internal Revenue Code of 1939, was prescribed by section 113(a)(6), (7), (8), (13), (15), (18), (19), or (23) of such code, then for purposes of this subtitle the basis shall be the same as the basis therein prescribed in the Internal Revenue Code of 1939.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

Revenue Act of 1932, referred to in section catchline and subsec. (a), is act
June 6, 1932, ch. 209, 47 Stat. 169. For complete classification of the Act to the Code, see Tables. Revenue Act of 1934, referred to in section catchline and subsec. (b), is act
May 10, 1934, ch. 277, 48 Stat. 680. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Tables. The Internal Revenue Code of 1939, referred to in section catchline and subsec. (c), is act Feb. 10, 1939, ch. 2, 53 Stat. 1. Prior to the enactment of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 [formerly I.R.C. 1954], the 1939 Code was classified to former Title 26, Internal Revenue Code. For Table comparisons of the 1939 Code to the 1986 Code, see table I preceding section 1 of this title. section 113 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1939, referred to in subsec. (c), was classified to section 113 of former Title 26, Internal Revenue Code. section 113 was repealed by section 7851(a)(1)(A) of this title. For table of comparisons of the 1939 Code to the 1986 Code, see Table I preceding section 1 of this title. See, also, section 7851(e) of this title for provision that references in the 1986 Code to a provision of the 1939 Code, not then applicable, shall be deemed a reference to the corresponding provision of the 1986 Code, which is then applicable.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

26 U.S.C. § 1052

Title 26 — Internal Revenue Code

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73