---
type: "LegalText"
title: "12 U.S.C. § 541"
description: "Tax on circulating notes generally"
jurisdiction: "us"
corpus: "united_states_code"
kind: "code_section"
title_number: 12
title_name: "BANKS AND BANKING"
chapter_number: "4"
chapter_name: "TAXATION"
section: "541"
citation: "12 U.S.C. § 541"
status: "current"
release_point: "119-100"
release_date: "2026-06-26"
source: "official"
source_url: "https://uscode.house.gov/download/releasepoints/us/pl/119/100/xml_usc12@119-100.zip"
source_identifier: "/us/usc/t12/s541"
source_file: "data/legal/raw/us/code/title-12/usc12.xml"
source_hash: "d2f1385ec9a470a4c402320342ca60daf993a7ad1b3bfba3fee19d7904bca6ce"
raw_snapshot_hash: "e6b98700ef4156ac33fde5d105824845d727afa91a53f3762be2cf4d1a3b01fa"
text_hash: "5a89f4d4f1ebca7e4db78dc5b65af85641ab1c79e10c5902816a64b0e2934684"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-04"
confidence: "official"
tags: ["legal", "us-code"]
---

# 12 U.S.C. § 541 - Tax on circulating notes generally

## Text

In lieu of all existing taxes, every association shall pay to the Treasurer of the United States, in the months of January and July, a duty of one-half of 1 per centum each half year upon the average amount of its notes in circulation.

(R.S. § 5214; Mar. 3, 1883, ch. 121, § 1, 22 Stat. 488.)

## Notes

Editorial Notes

Codification R.S. § 5214 derived from act June 3, 1864, ch. 106, § 41, 13 Stat. 111, which was part of the National Bank Act. See section 38 of this title.