Commissioner of Internal Revenue v. National Alfalfa Dehydrating & Milling Co.

Decided May 28, 1974. Harry Andrew Blackmun delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 73-9 · 417 U.S. 134 (1974) · Cited 467 times

Holding

Respondent did not incur amortizable debt discount upon the issuance of its debentures in exchange for its outstanding preferred stock.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 9–0.

“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.

• Old Mission Portland Cement Co. v. Helvering · 293 U.S. 289 (1934)
• Helvering v. Union Pacific Railroad · 293 U.S. 282 (1934)
• Deputy, Administratrix v. Du Pont · 308 U.S. 488 (1940)
• New Colonial Ice Co. v. Helvering · 292 U.S. 435 (1934)
• Gregory v. Helvering · 293 U.S. 465 (1935)
• Higgins v. Smith · 308 U.S. 473 (1940)
• Dixon v. United States · 381 U.S. 68 (1965)
• John Kelley Co. v. Commissioner · 326 U.S. 521 (1946)
• Gray v. Powell · 314 U.S. 402 (1941)
• Helvering v. Southwest Consolidated Corp. · 315 U.S. 194 (1942)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Frank Lyon Co. v. United States · 435 U.S. 561 (1978)
• Don E. Williams Co. v. Commissioner · 429 U.S. 569 (1977)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Harry Andrew Blackmun’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1974). 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).