Welch v. Helvering, 290 U.S. 111 (1933), was decision by the United States Supreme Court on the difference between business and personal expenses, and the difference between ordinary business deductions and capital expenses. It is one of the most important income tax law cases.
| Welch v. Helvering | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Argued October 19, 1933 Decided November 6, 1933 | |
| Full case name | Thomas Welch v. Guy T. Helvering, Commissioner of Internal Revenue |
| Citations | 290 U.S. 111 (more) 54 S.Ct. 8; 78 L.Ed. 212 |
| Holding | |
| Welch′s repayments of his discharged debts were not ordinary and necessary business expenses, and therefore not deductible under Sec. 162 of IRC. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinion | |
| Majority | Cardozo |
Thomas Welch and his father owned a grain brokerage business in Minnesota, that went bankrupt in 1922. Welch later re-opened a business, but first had to repay his discharged debts. He then tried to deduct the repayments, but the Commissioner said no.
Justice Benjamin N. Cardozo, delivering the Court's opinion, held that the expenses were too personal, that they were too bizarre to be ordinary, and that they were capital. He did not consider them “ordinary and necessary business expenses”, and therefore not deductible under Section 162 of the Internal Revenue Code.
This case is frequently cited for its dictum describing the meaning of the term "necessary" in Section 162 as requiring that expenses merely be "appropriate and helpful [in] the development of the [taxpayer's] business."
See also
Further reading
- Newman, Joel S. (2002). "The Story of Welch: The Use (and Misuse) of the 'Ordinary and Necessary' Test for the Deductibility of Business Expenses". In Caron, Paul L. (ed.) (ed.). Tax stories: An in-depth look at ten leading federal income tax cases. New York: Foundation Press. pp. 155–182. ISBN 1587784033.
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