Title 26, Internal Revenue CodeRelease 119-102
§6409 Refunds Disregarded in the Administration of Federal Programs and Federally Assisted Programs
Title 26 › Subtitle F — Procedure and Administration › CHAPTER 65 — ABATEMENTS, CREDITS, AND REFUNDS › Subchapter A — Procedure in General › § 6409
Summary
Tax refunds and advance payments of refundable tax credits a person receives must not be counted as income or as resources for 12 months. This rule applies when deciding if that person or anyone else qualifies for benefits or how much they get under federal programs or state or local programs paid with federal funds.
Full Legal Text
Title 26, §6409
Internal Revenue Code, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any refund (or advance payment with respect to a refundable credit) made to any individual under this title shall not be taken into account as income, and shall not be taken into account as resources for a period of 12 months from receipt, for purposes of determining the eligibility of such individual (or any other individual) for benefits or assistance (or the amount or extent of benefits or assistance) under any Federal program or under any State or local program financed in whole or in part with Federal funds.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
Amendments
2013—Pub. L. 112–240 amended section generally. Prior to amendment, section related to refunds disregarded in the administration of Federal programs and federally assisted programs and provided that the provisions were inapplicable to any amount received after Dec. 31, 2012.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date
of 2013 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 112–240 applicable to amounts received after Dec. 31, 2012, see section 103(e)(2) of Pub. L. 112–240, set out as a note under section 24 of this title.
Effective Date
Pub. L. 111–312, title VII, § 728(c), Dec. 17, 2010, 124 Stat. 3317, provided that: “The
Amendments
made by this section [enacting this section] shall apply to amounts received after December 31, 2009.”
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
26 U.S.C. § 6409
Title 26, Internal Revenue Code
Last Updated
Aug 21, 2026
Release point: 119-102