On July 1, 1862, Congress passed the Revenue Act of 1862,
which included a broad program of additional taxes to offset
the rising war expenditures and created the Office of the
Commissioner of Internal Revenue. Most of the new taxes
began October 1, 1862.
The most significant aspects of the law were:
• authorization of the first federal income tax
• creation of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (now the
Internal Revenue Service) under the Treasury Department
• use of adhesive tax stamps
