STEVENS, J., dissenting are not offices. Because some examples that do not constitute offices come readily to mind-an artist's studio, or a cabinetmaker's basement-it is easy to understand why Congress did not limit this category that narrowly. The test applied by the Tax Court, and adopted by the Court of Appeals, is both true to the statute and practically incapable of abuse. In addition to the requirements of exclusive and regular use, those courts would require that the taxpayer's home office be essential to his business and be the only office space available to him. 935 F. 2d 52, 54 (CA4 1991); 94 T. C., at 29. Respondent's home office is the only place where he can perform the administrative functions essential to his business. Because he is not employed by the hospitals where he works, and because none of those hospitals offers him an office, respondent must pay all the costs necessary for him to have any office at all. In my judgment, a principal place of business is a place maintained by or (in the rare case) for the business. As I would construe the statute in this context, respondent's office is not just the "principal" place of his trade or business; it is the only place of his trade or business.16 Nothing in the history of this statute provides an acceptable explanation for disallowing a deduction for the expense of maintaining an office that is used exclusively for business purposes, that is regularly so used, and that is the only place available to the taxpayer for the management of his business. A self-employed person's efficient use of his or her resources should be encouraged by sound tax policy. When it is clear that no risk of the kind of abuse that led to the enactment of § 280A is present, and when the taxpayer has satisfied a reasonable, even a strict, construction of each of the condi 16 If his tax form asked for the address of his principal place of business, respondent would certainly have given his office address (he did, of course, give that address as his business address on the relevant tax forms). It borders on the absurd to suggest that he should have identified a place over which he has no control or dominion as his place. STEVENS, J., dissenting tions set forth in § 280A, a deduction should be allowed for the ordinary cost of maintaining his home office. In my judgment, the Court's contrary conclusion in this case will breed uncertainty in the law,17 frustrate a primary purpose of the statute, and unfairly penalize deserving taxpayers. Given the growing importance of home offices, the result is most unfortunate. I respectfully dissent. 17 Most, if not all, of the uncertainty in cases debating the relative merits of the "focal point" test and the "facts and circumstances" test, as well as the uncertainty that today's opinion is sure to generate, would be eliminated by defining the term "place of business" to encompass only property that is owned or leased by the taxpayer or his employer. Syllabus ROWLAND, FORMER DIRECTOR, CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, ET AL. v. CALIFORNIA MEN'S COLONY, UNIT II MEN'S ADVISORY COUNCIL CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT No. 91-1188. Argued October 6, 1992-Decided January 12, 1993 In a suit filed in the District Court against petitioner state correctional officers, respondent, a representative association of inmates in a California prison, sought leave to proceed in forma pauperis under 28 U. S. C. § 1915(a), which permits litigation without prepayment of fees, costs, or security "by a person who makes affidavit that he is unable to pay." The court denied the motion for an inadequate showing of indigency. In reversing that decision, the Court of Appeals noted that a "person" who may be authorized to proceed in forma pauperis under § 1915(a) may be an "association" under the Dictionary Act, 1 U. S. C. §1, which in relevant part provides that "in determining the meaning of any Act of Congress, unless the context indicates otherwise" ""person"" includes "associations" and other artificial entities such as corporations and societies. Held: Only a natural person may qualify for treatment in forma pauperis under § 1915. Pp. 199-212. (a) "Context," as used in 1 U. S. C. § 1, means the text of the Act of Congress surrounding the word at issue or the texts of other related congressional Acts, and this is simply an instance of the word's ordinary meaning. Had Congress intended to point to a broader definition that would include things such as legislative history, it would have been natural to use a more spacious phrase. In contrast to the narrow meaning of "context," "indication" bespeaks something more than an express contrary definition, addressing the situation where Congress provides no particular definition, but the definition in § 1 seems not to fit. Pp. 199–201. (b) Four contextual features indicate that "person" in 28 U. S. C. § 1915(a) refers only to individuals. First, the permissive language used in § 1915(d)—that a "court may request an attorney to represent any such person unable to employ counsel" (emphasis added)-suggests that Congress assumed that courts would sometimes leave the "person" to conduct litigation on his own behalf, and, thus, also assumed that the "person" has the legal capacity to petition the court for appointment of Syllabus counsel while unrepresented and the capacity to litigate pro se should the petition be denied. These assumptions suggest in turn that Congress was thinking in terms of natural persons, because the law permits corporations, see, e. g., Osborn v. President of Bank of United States, 9 Wheat. 738, 829, and other artificial entities, see, e. g., Eagle Associates v. Bank of Montreal, 926 F. 2d 1305, to appear in federal courts only through licensed counsel. Second, § 1915(d) describes the affidavit required by § 1915(a) as an allegation of "poverty," which is a human condition that does not apply to an artificial entity. Third, because artificial entities cannot take oaths, they cannot make the affidavits required in § 1915(a). It would be difficult to accept an affidavit on the entity's behalf from an officer or agent in this statutory context, since it would be hard to determine an affiant's authorization to act on behalf of an amorphous legal creature such as respondent; since the term "he" used in § 1915(a)'s requirement that the affidavit must state the "affiant's belief that he is entitled to redress" (emphasis added) naturally refers to the "affiant" as the person seeking in forma pauperis status; and since the affidavit cannot serve its deterrent function fully when applied to artificial entities, which may not be imprisoned for perjurious statements. Fourth, § 1915 gives no hint of how to resolve the issues raised by applying an "inability to pay" standard to artificial entities. Although the "necessities of life" criterion cannot apply, no alternative criterion can be discerned in § 1915's language and there is no obvious analogy, including insolvency, to that criterion in the organizational context. Nor does § 1915 guide courts in determining when to "pierce the veil" of the entity, which would be necessary to avoid abuse. Respondent's argument that there is no need to formulate comprehensive rules in the instant case because it would be eligible under any set of rules is rejected, since recognizing the possibility of organizational eligibility would force this Court to delve into difficult policy and administration issues without any guidance from § 1915. Pp. 201-209. (c) Section 1915 manifests no single purpose that would be substantially frustrated by limiting the statutory reach to natural persons. Wilson v. Omaha Tribe, 442 U. S. 653, 666; United States v. A & P Trucking Co., 358 U. S. 121, distinguished. In addition, denying respondent in forma pauperis status would not place an unconstitutional burden on its members' First Amendment rights to associate by requiring them to demonstrate their indigency status, since a court could hardly ignore the assets of an association's members in making an indigency determination for the organization. Pp. 209-212. 939 F. 2d 854, reversed and remanded. UNIT II MEN'S ADVISORY COUNCIL Opinion of the Court SOUTER, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which REHNQUIST, C. J., and WHITE, O'CONNOR, and SCALIA, JJ., joined. KENNEDY, J., filed a dissenting opinion, post, p. 212. THOMAS, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which BLACKMUN, STEVENS, and KENNEDY, JJ., joined, post, p. 212. James Ching, Supervising Deputy Attorney General of California, argued the cause for petitioners. With him on the briefs were Daniel E. Lungren, Attorney General, George Williamson, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Kenneth C. Young, Assistant Attorney General, and Joan W. Cavanagh, Supervising Deputy Attorney General. Charles D. Weisselberg argued the cause for respondent. With him on the briefs were Michael J. Brennan, Dennis E. Curtis, and Denise Meyer. JUSTICE SOUTER delivered the opinion of the Court. Title 28 U. S. C. § 1915, providing for appearances in forma pauperis, authorizes federal courts to favor any "person" meeting its criteria with a series of benefits including dispensation from the obligation to prepay fees, costs, or security for bringing, defending, or appealing a lawsuit. Here, we are asked to decide whether the term "person" as so used applies to the artificial entities listed in the definition of that term contained in 1 U. S. C. § 1. We hold that it does not, so that only a natural person may qualify for treatment in forma pauperis under § 1915. I Respondent California Men's Colony, Unit II Men's Advisory Council (Council), is a representative association of prison inmates organized at the behest of one of the petitioners, the Warden of the Colony, to advise him of complaints and recommendations from the inmates, and to communicate his administrative decisions back to them. The general prison population elects the Council's members. In a complaint filed in the District Court in 1989, the Council charged the petitioners, state correctional officers, with |