Internal Revenue Code Section 61 - Scope

Scope

Section 61 contains a rare example of intensive redundancy, or emphatic redundancy, in the Internal Revenue Code. That is, the parenthetical phrase "but not limited to" redundantly intensifies the significance of the phrase "all income" and the phrase "from whatever source derived." Under ordinary rules of statutory construction the list of fifteen specific items of income would not, even in the absence of the parenthetical intensive, be considered a complete list of all items of income included in "gross income" under the definition. The use of the word "including" also highlights this expansive definition of "gross income." Under Internal Revenue Code § 7701(c), "he terms 'includes' and 'including' when used in a definition contained in this title shall not be deemed to exclude other things otherwise within the meaning of the term defined." Under the 1959 U.S. Supreme Court case of Sims v. United States, the terms "includes" and "including" in section 7701 are terms of expansion, not terms of exclusivity.

The phrase "except as otherwise provided in this subtitle" generally refers to the items of income that are excluded from "gross income" under Internal Revenue Code sections 101 through 140. For example, § 101 excludes certain life insurance proceeds received by reason of the death of the insured. § 102 excludes certain gifts and inheritances. § 103 excludes interest income on state and municipal bonds. § 104 excludes certain amounts received on account of injuries or sickness.