assignment of income doctrine
assignment-of-income doctrine. Family law. The common-law principle that the person who has earned income is the person taxed on it, regardless of who receives the proceeds. • Under this doctrine, future income assigned to another is taxable to the assignor. For example, in Lucas v. Earl, 281 U.S. 111, 50 S.Ct. 241 (1930), the Court held that a husband who was the sole wage-earner could not assign to his wife half his income and then pay the federal income tax on only the unassigned part.
