Burnet v. Sanford & Brooks Co.

Supreme Court of the United States

Argued December 5, 8, 1930
Decided January 5, 1931

Full case name

Burnet, Commissioner of Internal Revenue, v. Sanford & Brooks Co.

Citations

51 S. Ct. 150; 75 L. Ed. 383; 1931 U.S. LEXIS 7; 2 U.S. Tax Cas. (CCH) P636; 9 A.F.T.R. (P-H) 603; 1931-1 C.B. 363; 1931 P.H. P389

Holding

An annual accounting system is a practical necessity if the federal income tax is to produce revenue ascertainable and payable at regular intervals.

Court membership

Chief Justice Charles E. Hughes

Associate Justices Oliver W. Holmes, Jr. · Willis Van Devanter James C. McReynolds · Louis Brandeis George Sutherland · Pierce Butler Harlan F. Stone · Owen J. Roberts

Case opinions

Majority

Stone, joined by unanimous

Burnet v. Sanford & Brooks Co., 282 U.S. 359 (1931), was a case heard before the United States Supreme Court dealing with accounting for purposes of federal income tax and the Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The case held that an annual accounting system is a practical necessity if the federal income tax is to produce revenue ascertainable and payable at regular intervals.

The case was decided at a time when losses could not be carried forward to future years. Section 172 of the Internal Revenue Code now generally allows losses to be carried back 2 years and forward 20 years.

United States Sixteenth Amendment case law

Scope	Brushaber v. Union Pacific Railroad (1916) Stanton v. Baltic Mining Company (1916) Tyee Realty Co. v. Anderson (1916)

Income	Stratton's Independence, Ltd. v. Howbert (1913) Towne v. Eisner (1918) Eisner v. Macomber (1920) Bowers v. Kerbaugh-Empire Co. (1926)

Taxable corporate dividends	Lynch v. Turrish (1918) Southern Pacific Co. v. Lowe (1918) Lynch v. Hornby (1918) Peabody v. Eisner (1918) Eisner v. Macomber (1920) United States v. Phellis (1921) Rockefeller v. United States (1921) Merchants' Loan & Trust v. Smietanka (1921) Miles v. Safe Deposit Co. (1922) Cullinan v. Walker (1923) Weiss v. Stearn (1924) Marr v. United States (1925) Koshland v. Helvering (1936) Helvering v. Gowran (1937)

Taxable corporate earnings	Edwards v. Cuba Railroad (1925) Burk-Waggoner Assoc. v. Hopkins (1925) Texas & Pacific Railway Co. v. United States (1932) Continental Tie & Lumber Co. v. United States (1932) Helvering v. Mitchell (1938) Helvering v. National Grocery (1938) Helvering v. Northwest Steel Mills (1940) Crane-Johnson Co. v. Helvering (1940) Commissioner v. Glenshaw Glass Co. (1955) General American Investors Co. v. Commissioner (1955) Commissioner v. Gillette Motor Co. (1960)

Taxable gains	Goodrich v. Edwards (1921) Walsh v. Brewster (1921) Taft v. Bowers (1929) Lucas v. Alexander (1929) Burnet v. Harmel (1932) United States v. Safety Car Heating Co. (1936) Helvering v. Bruun (1940) Helvering v. Horst (1940) Crane v. Commissioner (1947) United States v. Davis (1962) Commissioner v. Tufts (1983)

Unlawful income	United States v. Sullivan (1927) Rutkin v. United States (1952) Commissioner v. Sullivan (1958) James v. United States (1961)

Deductions and exemptions	Brushaber v. Union Pacific Railroad (1915) Burnet v. Sanford & Brooks Co. (1931) McLaughlin v. Alliance Ins. Co. (1932) Helvering v. Independent Life Ins. Co. (1934) Helvering v. Winmill (1938) Millinery Corp. v. Commissioner (1956) Tank Truck Rentals v. Commissioner (1958) Hoover Express Co. v. United States (1958) Cammarano v. United States (1959) United States v. General Dynamics Corp. (1987)

Diminution of loss	Bowers v. Kerbaugh-Empire Co. (1926)

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