Commissioner of Internal Revenue v. Kowalski et Ux.
Decided November 29, 1977. William Joseph Brennan Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 76-1095 · 434 U.S. 77 (1977) · Cited 143 times
We don’t yet publish a summary of this opinion — read the official text below for the Court’s holding and reasoning.
How the Justices voted
Decided 7–2.
Majority · 7
- William Joseph Brennan Jr. · delivered the opinion of the Court
- Byron Raymond White
- John Paul Stevens
- Lewis Franklin Powell Jr.
- Potter Stewart
- Thurgood Marshall
- William Hubbs Rehnquist
Dissenting · 2
- Harry Andrew Blackmun · filed a dissenting opinion
- Warren Earl Burger
“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.
Precedents cited
Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.
- United States v. Correll · 389 U.S. 299 (1967)
- Commissioner v. Glenshaw Glass Co. · 348 U.S. 426 (1955)
- Eisner v. MacOmber · 252 U.S. 189 (1920)
- Helvering v. Clifford · 309 U.S. 331 (1940)
- Douglas v. Willcuts · 296 U.S. 1 (1935)
- Commissioner v. LoBue · 351 U.S. 243 (1956)
- Helvering v. Stockholms Enskilda Bank · 293 U.S. 84 (1934)
- Irwin v. Gavit · 268 U.S. 161 (1925)
- Helvering v. Winmill · 305 U.S. 79 (1938)
- Commissioner v. Jacobson · 336 U.S. 28 (1949)
- Helvering v. Midland Mutual Life Insurance · 300 U.S. 216 (1937)
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- Central Illinois Public Service Co. v. United States · 435 U.S. 21 (1978)
- Rowan Cos. v. United States · 452 U.S. 247 (1981)
- Moore v. United States · 602 U.S. 572 (2024)
- HCSC-Laundry v. United States · 450 U.S. 1 (1981)
Official text
Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)
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William Joseph Brennan Jr.’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court
Source: the U.S. Reports via govinfo.gov; authoring Justice and vote lineup from the Supreme Court Database (Washington University). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).