26 U.S.C. § 280B (2024)

This is the official text of 26 U.S.C. § 280B (2024), part of Federal (US Code)’s United States Code — the codified general and permanent federal statutes of the United States, organized into more than 50 numbered titles by subject.

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Demolition of structures

Official statutory text

In the case of the demolition of any structure—

(1) no deduction otherwise allowable under this chapter shall be allowed to the owner or lessee of such structure for—

(A) any amount expended for such demolition, or

(B) any loss sustained on account of such demolition; and

(2) amounts described in paragraph (1) shall be treated as properly chargeable to capital account with respect to the land on which the demolished structure was located.

(Added Pub. L. 94–455, title XXI, §2124(b)(1), Oct. 4, 1976, 90 Stat. 1918; amended Pub. L. 95–600, title VII, §701(f)(5), Nov. 6, 1978, 92 Stat. 2902; Pub. L. 96–541, §2(b), Dec. 17, 1980, 94 Stat. 3204; Pub. L. 97–34, title II, §212(d)(2)(C), Aug. 13, 1981, 95 Stat. 239; Pub. L. 98–369, div. A, title X, §1063(a), (b)(1), July 18, 1984, 98 Stat. 1047.)

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1984—Pub. L. 98–369 struck out "certain historic" before "structures" in section catchline, struck out heading "(a) General rule", substituted "In the case of the demolition of any structure" for "In the case of the demolition of a certified historic structure (as defined in 48(g)(3)(A))" in text, and struck out subsecs. (b) and (c) which contained provisions relating to a special rule for registered historic districts and to the application of this section, respectively.

1981—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 97–34, §212(d)(2)(C)(i), substituted "48(g)(3)(A)" for "section 191(d)(1)" in provisions preceding par. (1).

Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 97–34, §212(d)(2)(C)(ii), substituted "section 48(g)(3)(B)" for "section 191(d)(2)".

1980—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 96–541 added subsec. (c).
o a special rule for registered historic districts and to the application of this section, respectively.

1981—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 97–34, §212(d)(2)(C)(i), substituted "48(g)(3)(A)" for "section 191(d)(1)" in provisions preceding par. (1).

Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 97–34, §212(d)(2)(C)(ii), substituted "section 48(g)(3)(B)" for "section 191(d)(2)".

1980—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 96–541 added subsec. (c).

1978—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 95–600 substituted "registered historic district (as defined in section 191(d)(2))" for "Registered Historic District" and "Secretary of the Interior has certified that such structure is not a certified historic structure, and that such structure is not of historic significance to the district, and if such certification occurs after the beginning of the demolition of such structure, the taxpayer has certified to the Secretary that, at the time of such demolition, he in good faith was not aware of the certification requirement by the Secretary of the Interior" for "Secretary of the Interior has certified, prior to the demolition of such structure, that such structure is not of historic significance to the district".

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date of 1984 Amendment

Pub. L. 98–369, div. A, title X, §1063(c), July 18, 1984, 98 Stat. 1047, as amended by Pub. L. 99–514, title XVIII, §1878(h), Oct. 22, 1986, 100 Stat. 2904, provided that:

"(1) The amendments made by this section [amending this section] shall apply to taxable years ending after December 31, 1983, but shall not apply to any demolition (other than of a certified historic structure) commencing before July 19, 1984.

"(2) For purposes of paragraph (1), if a demolition is delayed until the completion of the replacement structure on the same site, the demolition shall be treated as commencing when construction of the replacement structure commences.
taxable years ending after December 31, 1983, but shall not apply to any demolition (other than of a certified historic structure) commencing before July 19, 1984.

"(2) For purposes of paragraph (1), if a demolition is delayed until the completion of the replacement structure on the same site, the demolition shall be treated as commencing when construction of the replacement structure commences.

"(3) The amendments made by this section [amending this section] shall not apply to any demolition commencing before September 1, 1984, pursuant to a bank headquarters building project if—

"(A) on April 1, 1984, a corporation was retained to advise the bank on the final completion of the project, and

"(B) on June 12, 1984, the Comptroller of the Currency approved the project.

"(4) The amendments made by this section shall not apply to the remaining adjusted basis at the time of demolition of any structure if—

"(A) such structure was used in the manufacture, storage, or distribution of lead alkyl antiknock products and intermediate and related products at facilities located in or near Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Houston, Texas, owned by the same corporation, and

"(B) demolition of at least one such structure at the Baton Rouge facility commenced before January 1, 1984."

Effective Date of 1981 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 97–34 applicable to expenditures incurred after Dec. 31, 1981, in taxable years ending after such date, see section 212(e) of Pub. L. 97–34, set out as a note under section 46 of this title.

Effective Date of 1978 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 95–600 effective as if included within the enactment of this section by section 2124 of Pub. L. 94–455, see section 701(f)(8) of Pub. L. 95–600, set out as an Effective and Termination Dates of 1978 Amendments note under section 167 of this title.

Effective Date
ction 212(e) of Pub. L. 97–34, set out as a note under section 46 of this title.

Effective Date of 1978 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 95–600 effective as if included within the enactment of this section by section 2124 of Pub. L. 94–455, see section 701(f)(8) of Pub. L. 95–600, set out as an Effective and Termination Dates of 1978 Amendments note under section 167 of this title.

Effective Date

Pub. L. 94–455, title XXI, §2124(b)(3), Oct. 4, 1976, 90 Stat. 1918, which had provided that enactment of this section by subsec. (b) shall apply with respect to demolitions commencing after June 30, 1976, and before Jan. 1, 1981, was repealed by Pub. L. 96–541, §2(e)(2), Dec. 17, 1980, 94 Stat. 3205. See subsec. (c) of this section.

Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site

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About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the Open US Law dataset (Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine (Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.