---
title: "Gross Income"
type: Legal Term
source: https://casebriefly.com/legal-terms/gross-income
---

# Gross Income

Under IRC Section 61, gross income encompasses all income from whatever source derived, including but not limited to compensation for services, business income, gains from property dealings, interest, rents, royalties, dividends, and alimony. The Supreme Court in Commissioner v. Glenshaw Glass Co. (1955) established the foundational definition: gross income includes all accessions to wealth, clearly realized, over which the taxpayer has complete dominion and control. This broad definition means that unless Congress has specifically excluded a receipt from income, it is presumptively taxable. The concept is the starting point for all individual and corporate tax computations.

## Related Terms

- adjusted-gross-income
- taxable-income
- exclusion
- deduction

## Related Cases

- commissioner-v-glenshaw-glass

## Example

When a plaintiff receives a punitive damages award of $500,000, the entire amount constitutes gross income under the Glenshaw Glass standard because it represents an undeniable accession to wealth over which the plaintiff has dominion and control.

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Source: [Gross Income — CaseBriefly](https://casebriefly.com/legal-terms/gross-income)