Deductions Allowed. Sec. 214. (a) That in computing net income there shall be allowed Deductions as deductions: (1) All the ordinary and necessary expenses paid or incurred during the taxable year in carrying on any trade or business, including a reasonable allowance for salaries or other compensation for personal services actually rendered, and including rentals or other payments required to be made as a condition to the continued use or possession, for purposes of the trade or business, of property to which the taxpayer has not taken or is not taking title or in which he has no equity; (2) All interest paid or accrued within the taxable year on indebtedness, except on indebtedness incurred or continued to purchase or carry obligations or securities (other than obligations of the United States issued after September 24, 1917), the interest upon which is wholly exempt from taxation under this title as income to the taxpayer, or, in the case of a nonresident alien individual, the proportion of such interest which the amount of his gross income from sources within the United States bears to the amount of his gross income from all sources within and without the United States; (3) Taxes paid or accrued wihin the taxable year imposed (a) by the authority of the United States, except income, war profits and excessprofits taxes; or (b) by the authority of any of its possessions, except the amount of income, war profits and excess-profits taxes allowed as a credit under section 222; or (c) by the authority of any State or Territory, or any county, school district, municipality, or other taxing subdivision of any State or Territory, not including those assessed against local benefits of a kind tending to increase the value of the property assessed; or (d) in the case of a citizen or resident of the United States, by the authority of any foreign country, except the amount of income, war-profits and excess-profits taxes allowed as a credit under section 222; or (e) in the case of a nonresident alien individual, by the authority of any foreign country (except income, war-profits and excess-profits taxes, and taxes assessed against local benefits of a kind tending to increase the value of the property assessed), upon property or business; (4) Losses sustained during the taxable year and not compensated for by insurance or otherwise, if incurred in trade or business; in Computing Net Income Business Expenses Interest Taxes Losses in Losses in (5) Losses sustained during the taxable year and not compensated for by insurance or otherwise, if incurred in any transaction entered into for profit, though not connected with the trade or business; but in the Entered Into case of a nonresident alien individual only as to such transactions within the United States; (6) Losses sustained during the taxable year of property not connected with the trade or business (but in the case of a non-resident alien individual only property within the United States) if arising from for Profit Losses from Bad Debts Wear and Amortization of Facilities for Carrying on the War Depletion of Contributions to Religious Corporations, ctc. fires, storms, shipwreck, or other casualty, or from theft, and if not compensated for by insurance or otherwise; (7) Debts ascertained to be worthless and charged off within the taxable year; (8) A reasonable allowance for the exhaustion, wear and tear of property used in the trade or business, including a reasonable allowance for obsolescence; (9) In the case of buildings, machinery, equipment, or other facilities, constructed, erected, installed, or acquired, on or after April 6, 1917, for the production of articles contributinig to the prosecution of the present war, and in the case of vessels constructed or acquired on or after such date for the transportation of articles or men contributing to the prosecution of the present war, there shall be allowed a reasonable deduction for the amortization of such part of the cost of such facilities or vessels as has been borne by the taxpayer, but not again including any amount otherwise allowed under this title or previous Acts of Congress as a deduction in computing net income. At any time within three years after the termination of the present war, the Commissioner may, and at the request of the taxpayer shall, reaxamine the return, and if he then finds as a result of an appraisal or from other evidence that the deduction originally allowed was incorrect, the taxes imposed by this title and by Title III for the year or years affected shall be redetermined; and the amount of tax due upon such redetermination, if any, shall be paid upon notice and demand by the collector, or the amount of tax overpaid, if any, shall be credited or refunded to the taxpayer in accordance with the provisions of section 252. (10) In the case of mines, oil and gas wells, other natural deposits, and timber, a reasonable allowance for depletion and for depreciation of improvements, according to the peculiar conditions in each case, based upon cost including cost of development not otherwise deducted: Provided, That in the case of such properties acquired prior to March 1, 1913, the fair market value of the property (or the taxpayer's interest therein) on that date shall be taken in lieu of cost up to that date: Provided further, That in the case of mines, oil and gas wells, discovered by the taxpayer, on or after March 1, 1913, and not acquired as the result of purchase of a proven tract or lease, where the fair market value of the property is materially disproportionate to the cost, the depletion allowance shall be based upon the fair market value of the property at the date of the discovery, or within 30 days thereafter; such reasonable allowance in all the above cases to be made under rules and regulations to be prescribed by the Commissioner with the approval of the Secretary. In the case of leases the deductions allowed by this paragraph shall be equitably apportioned between the lessor and the lessee; (11) Contributions or gifts made within the taxable year to corporations organized and operated exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, or educational purposes, or for the prevention of cruelty to ildren or animals, no part of the net earnings of which inures to the nefit of any private stockholder or individual, or to the special fund or vocational rehabilitation authorized by section 7 of the Vocational ehabilitation Act, to an amount not in excess of 15 per centum of the xpayer's net income as computed without the benefit of this paragraph. uch contributions or gifts shall be allowable as deductions only if veried under rules and regulations prescribed by the Commissioner, with le approval of the Secretary. In the case of a nonresident alien indiidual this deduction shall be allowed only as to contributions or gifts ade to domestic corporations, or to such vocational rehabilitation fund; Abatement For of Inventory, etc., for 1918 (12) (a) At the time of filing return for the taxable year 1918 a Ixpayer may file a claim in abatement based on the fact that he has Claim in ustained a substantial loss (whether or not actually realized by sale or ther disposition) resulting from any material reduction (not due to emporary fluctuation) of the value of the inventory for such taxable ear, or from the actual payment after the close of such taxable year f rebates in pursuance of contracts entered into during such year upon ales made during such year. In such case payment of the amount of he tax covered by such claim shall not be required until the claim is lecided, but the taxpayer shall accompany his claim with a bond in louble the amount of the tax covered by the claim, with sureties satisactory to the Commissioner, conditioned for the payment of any part of such tax found to be due, with interest. If any part of such claim is lisallowed then the remainder of the tax due shall on notice and demand by the collector be paid by the taxpayer with interest at the rate of 1 er centum per month from the time the tax would have been due had no uch claim been filed. If it is shown to the satisfaction of the Comnissioner that such substantial loss has been sustained, then in computing he tax imposed by this title the amount of such loss shall be deducted from the net income. (b) If no such claim is filed, but it is shown to the atisfaction of the Commissioner that during the taxable year 1919 the axpayer has sustained a substantial loss of the character above described hen the amount of such loss shall be deducted from the net income for he taxable year 1918 and the tax imposed by this title for such year shall be redetermined accordingly. Any amount found to be due to the taxpayer upon the basis of such redetermination shall be credited or refunded to the taxpayer in accordance with the provisions of section 252. (b) In the case of a nonresident alien individual the deductions allowed in paragraphs (1), (4), (7), (8), (9), (10), (12), and clause (e) of paragraph (3), of subdivision (a) shall be allowed only if and to the extent that they are connected with income arising from a source within the United States; and the proper apportionment and allocation of the deductions with respect to sources of income within and without the United States shall be determined under rules and regulations prescribed by the Commissioner with the approval of the Secretary. For 1919 Deductions Non-resident Aliens Items Not Credits Dividends Interest on Personal Dependents Non-resident Items Not Deductible. Sec. 215. That in computing net income no deduction shall in any case be allowed in respect of (a) Personal, living, or family expenses; (b) Any amount paid out for new buildings or for permanent improvements or betterments made to increase the value of any property or estate; (c) Any amount expended in restoring property or in making good the exhaustion thereof for which an allowance is or has been made; or (d) Premiums paid on any life insurance policy covering the life of any officer or employee, or of any person financially interested in any trade or business carried on by the taxpayer, when the taxpayer is directly or indirectly a beneficiary under such policy. Credits Allowed. Sec. 216. That for the purpose of the normal tax only there shall be allowed the following credits: (a) The amount received as dividends from a corporation which is taxable under this title upon its net income, and amounts received as dividends from a personal service corporation out of earnings or profits upon which income tax has been imposed bv act of Congress; (b) The amount received as interest upon obligations of the United States and bonds issued by the War Finance Corporation, which is included in gross income under section 213; (c) In the case of a single person, a personal exemption of $1,000, or in the case of the head of a family or a married person living with husband or wife, a personal exemption of $2,000. A husband and wife living together shall receive but one personal exemption of $2,000 against their aggregate net income; and in case they make separate returns, the personal exemption of $2,000 may be taken by either or divided between them; (d) $200 for each person (other than husband or wife) dependent upon and receiving his chief support from the taxpayer, if such dependent person is under eighteen years of age or is incapable of self-support because mentally or physically defective. (e) In the case of a nonresident alien individual who is a citizen or subject of a country which imposes an income tax, the credits allowed in subdivisions (c) and (d) shall be allowed only if such country allows a similar credit to citizens of the United States not residing in such country. Nonresident Aliens-Allowance of Deductions and Credits. Non-resident to File Return Sec. 217. That a nonresident alien individual shall receive the benefit of the deductions and credits allowed in this title only by filing Aliens or causing to be filed with the collector a true and accurate return of his total income received from all sources corporate or otherwise in the United States, in the manner prescribed by this title, including therein all the information which the Commissioner may deem necessary for the calculation of such deductions and credits; Provided, That the benefit of the credits allowed in subdivisions (c) and (d) of section 216 may, in the discretion of the Commissioner, and except as otherwise provided in subdivision (e) of that section, be received by filing a claim therefor with the withholding agent. In case of failure to file a return, the collector shall collect the tax on such income, and all property belonging to such nonresident alien individual shall be liable to distraint for the tax. Partnerships and Personal Service Corporations. Sec. 218. (a) That individuals carrying on business in partnership shall be liable for income tax only in their individual capacity. There shall be included in computing the net income of each partner his distributive share, whether distributed or not, of the net income of the partnership for the taxable year, or, if his net income for such taxable year is computed upon the basis of a period different from that upon the basis of which the net income of the partnership is computed, then his distributive share of the net income of the partnership for any accounting period of the partnership ending within the fiscal or calendar year upon the basis of which the partner's net income is computed. The partner shall, for the purpose of the normal tax, be allowed as credits, in addition to the credits allowed to him under section 216, his proportionate share of such amounts specified in subdivisions (a) and (b) of section 216 as are received by the partnership. (b) If a fiscal year of a partnership ends during a calendar year for which the rates of tax differ from those for the preceding calendar year, then (1) the rates for such preceding calendar year shall apply to an amount of each partner's share of such partnership net income equal to the proportion which the part of such fiscal year falling within such calendar year bears to the full fiscal year, and (2) the rates for the calendar year during which such fiscal year ends shall apply to the remainder. (c) In the case of an individual member of a partnership which makes return for a fiscal year beginning in 1917 and ending in 1918, his proportionate share of any excess profits tax imposed upon the partnership under the Revenue Act of 1917 with respect to that part of such fiscal year falling in 1917, shall, for the purpose of determining the tax imposed by this title, be credited against that portion of the net income embraced in his personal return for the taxable year 1918 to which the rates for 1917 apply. Partnerships Fiscal Year 1918 |