Redefining Mental Disability in the Treasury Regulations

Abstract:     
The regulations accompanying section 72 of the Internal Revenue Code, relating to penalties for early withdrawals from qualified retirement plans, contain an outdated definition of mental disability under which almost no one with a mental illness today could be found to be disabled. This definition is incorporated by reference in many sections throughout the code and regulations. This article looks at the definition of disability in section 72(m)(7) and its corresponding regulations and shows how the current law was applied in the recent case of Keeley v. Commissioner. The article then shows that current understandings of mental disability, as well as the history of the statute and its regulations, mandate revision of the regulations. The article concludes that the current language of the regulations allows courts some leeway in determining whether an individual is disabled, however, and that courts therefore need not feel constrained by the outmoded sections of the regulations.

Keywords: Tax law, disability, section 72

JEL Classifications: K34

Accepted Paper Series