§1271. Treatment of amounts received on retirement or sale or exchange of debt instruments
(a) General rule
For purposes of this title-
(1) Retirement
Amounts received by the holder on retirement of any debt instrument shall be considered as amounts received in exchange therefor.
(2) Ordinary income on sale or exchange where intention to call before maturity
(A) In general
If at the time of original issue there was an intention to call a debt instrument before maturity, any gain realized on the sale or exchange thereof which does not exceed an amount equal to-
(i) the original issue discount, reduced by
(ii) the portion of original issue discount previously includible in the gross income of any holder (without regard to section 1272(a)(7) (or the corresponding provisions of prior law)),
shall be treated as ordinary income.
(B) Exceptions
This paragraph shall not apply to-
(i) any tax-exempt obligation, or
(ii) any holder who has purchased the debt instrument at a premium.
(3) Certain short-term Government obligations
(A) In general
On the sale or exchange of any short-term Government obligation, any gain realized which does not exceed an amount equal to the ratable share of the acquisition discount shall be treated as ordinary income.
(B) Short-term Government obligation
For purposes of this paragraph, the term "short-term Government obligation" means any obligation of the United States or any of its possessions, or of a State or any political subdivision thereof, or of the District of Columbia, which has a fixed maturity date not more than 1 year from the date of issue. Such term does not include any tax-exempt obligation.
(C) Acquisition discount
For purposes of this paragraph, the term "acquisition discount" means the excess of the stated redemption price at maturity over the taxpayer's basis for the obligation.
(D) Ratable share
For purposes of this paragraph, except as provided in subparagraph (E), the ratable share of the acquisition discount is an amount which bears the same ratio to such discount as-
(i) the number of days which the taxpayer held the obligation, bears to
(ii) the number of days after the date the taxpayer acquired the obligation and up to (and including) the date of its maturity.
(E) Election of accrual on basis of constant interest rate
At the election of the taxpayer with respect to any obligation, the ratable share of the acquisition discount is the portion of the acquisition discount accruing while the taxpayer held the obligation determined (under regulations prescribed by the Secretary) on the basis of-
(i) the taxpayer's yield to maturity based on the taxpayer's cost of acquiring the obligation, and
(ii) compounding daily.
An election under this subparagraph, once made with respect to any obligation, shall be irrevocable.
(4) Certain short-term nongovernment obligations
(A) In general
On the sale or exchange of any short-term nongovernment obligation, any gain realized which does not exceed an amount equal to the ratable share of the original issue discount shall be treated as ordinary income.
(B) Short-term nongovernment obligation
For purposes of this paragraph, the term "short-term nongovernment obligation" means any obligation which-
(i) has a fixed maturity date not more than 1 year from the date of the issue, and
(ii) is not a short-term Government obligation (as defined in paragraph (3)(B) without regard to the last sentence thereof).
(C) Ratable share
For purposes of this paragraph, except as provided in subparagraph (D), the ratable share of the original issue discount is an amount which bears the same ratio to such discount as-
(i) the number of days which the taxpayer held the obligation, bears to
(ii) the number of days after the date of original issue and up to (and including) the date of its maturity.
(D) Election of accrual on basis of constant interest rate
At the election of the taxpayer with respect to any obligation, the ratable share of the original issue discount is the portion of the original issue discount accruing while the taxpayer held the obligation determined (under regulations prescribed by the Secretary) on the basis of-
(i) the yield to maturity based on the issue price of the obligation, and
(ii) compounding daily.
Any election under this subparagraph, once made with respect to any obligation, shall be irrevocable.
(b) Exception for certain obligations
(1) In general
This section shall not apply to any obligation issued by a natural person before June 9, 1997.
(2) Termination
Paragraph (1) shall not apply to any obligation purchased (within the meaning of section 1272(d)(1)) 1 after June 8, 1997.
(c) Double inclusion in income not required
This section and sections 1272 and 1286 shall not require the inclusion of any amount previously includible in gross income.
(Added
Editorial Notes
References in Text
Section 1272(d), referred to in subsec. (b)(2), was redesignated section 1272(c) by
Amendments
2018-Subsec. (a)(2)(A)(ii).
Subsec. (a)(2)(B).
Subsec. (b)(1).
"(A) any obligation issued by a natural person before June 9, 1997, and
"(B) any obligation issued before July 2, 1982, by an issuer which is not a corporation and is not a government or political subdivision thereof."
Subsecs. (c), (d).
2014-Subsec. (c).
1997-Subsec. (b).
"(1)
"(2)
"(A) is not a corporation, and
"(B) is not a government or political subdivision thereof."
1988-Subsec. (a)(2)(A)(ii).
1986-Subsec. (a)(3)(B).
"(i) issued on a discount basis, and
"(ii) payable without interest at a fixed maturity date not more than 1 year from the date of issue.
Such term does not include any tax-exempt obligation."
Subsec. (a)(3)(D).
Subsec. (a)(3)(E).
Subsec. (a)(4).
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date of 2018 Amendment
Amendment by
Effective Date of 2014 Amendment
Amendment by
Effective Date of 1997 Amendment
Effective Date of 1988 Amendment
Amendment by
Effective Date of 1986 Amendment
Amendment by
Effective Date
"(a)
"(b)
"(1)
"(A) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, section 1274 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 [formerly I.R.C. 1954] (as added by section 41) and the amendment made by section 41(b) (relating to amendment of section 483) shall apply to sales or exchanges after December 31, 1984.
"(B) Section 1274 of such Code and the amendment made by section 41(b) shall not apply to any sale or exchange pursuant to a written contract which was binding on March 1, 1984, and at all times thereafter before the sale or exchange.
"(2)
"(3)
"(A)
"(i)
"(I) after March 1, 1984, nothing in section 483 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 shall permit any interest to be deductible before the period to which such interest is properly allocable, or
"(II) after June 8, 1984, notwithstanding section 483 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 or any other provision of law, no interest shall be deductible before the period to which such interest is properly allocable.
"(ii)
"(B)
"(i) Subparagraph (A)(i)(I) shall not apply to any sale or exchange pursuant to a written contract which was binding on March 1, 1984, and at all times thereafter before the sale or exchange.
"(ii) Subparagraph (A)(i)(II) shall not apply to any sale or exchange pursuant to a written contract which was binding on June 8, 1984, and at all times thereafter before the sale or exchange.
"(C)
"(4)
"(A)
"(i) sections 483(c)(1)(B) and 1274(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 shall be applied by substituting the testing rate determined under subparagraph (B) for 110 percent of the applicable Federal rate determined under section 1274(d) of such Code, and
"(ii) sections 483(b) and 1274(b) of such Code shall be applied by substituting the imputation rate determined under subparagraph (C) for 120 percent of the applicable Federal rate determined under section 1274(d) of such Code.
"(B)
"(i)
"(I) 9 percent, plus
"(II) if the borrowed amount exceeds $2,000,000, the excess determined under clause (ii) multiplied by a fraction the numerator of which is the borrowed amount to the extent it exceeds $2,000,000, and the denominator of which is the borrowed amount.
"(ii)
"(C)
"(i)
"(I) 10 percent, plus
"(II) if the borrowed amount exceeds $2,000,000, the excess determined under clause (ii) multiplied by a fraction the numerator of which is the borrowed amount to the extent it exceeds $2,000,000, and the denominator of which is the borrowed amount.
"(ii)
"(D)
"(E)
"(i) all sales or exchanges which are part of the same transaction (or a series of related transactions) shall be treated as one sale or exchange, and
"(ii) all debt instruments arising from the same transaction (or a series of related transactions) shall be treated as one debt instrument.
"(F)
"(i) section 1274 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 shall not apply, and
"(ii) interest on the obligation issued in connection with such sale or exchange shall be taken into account by both buyer and seller on the cash receipts and disbursements method of accounting.
The Secretary of the Treasury or his delegate may by regulation prescribe rules to prevent the mismatching of interest income and interest deductions in connection with obligations on which interest is computed on the cash receipts and disbursements method of accounting.
"(G)
"(5)
"(A) assumes, in connection with the sale or exchange of property, any debt obligation, or
"(B) acquires any property subject to any debt obligation,
sections 1274 and 483 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 shall apply to such debt obligation by reason of such assumption (or such acquisition).
"(6)
"(A)
"(i) assumes, in connection with the sale or exchange of property, any debt obligation described in subparagraph (B) and issued on or before October 15, 1984, or
"(ii) acquires any property subject to any such debt obligation issued on or before October 15, 1984,
sections 1274 and 483 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 shall not be applied to such debt obligation by reason of such assumption (or such acquisition) unless the terms and conditions of such debt obligation are modified in connection with the assumption (or acquisition).
"(B)
"(i) was issued on or before October 15, 1984, and
"(ii) was assumed (or property was taken subject to such obligation) in connection with the sale or exchange of property (including a deemed sale under section 338 (a)) the sales price of which is not greater than $100,000,000.
"(C)
"(D)
"(7)
"(A)
"(i) assumes, in connection with the sale or exchange of property described in subparagraph (B), any debt obligation, or
"(ii) acquires any such property subject to any such debt obligation,
sections 1274 and 483 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 shall not be applied to such debt obligation by reason of such assumption (or such acquisition) unless the terms and conditions of such debt obligation are modified in connection with the assumption (or acquisition).
"(B)
"(i)
"(I) either-
"(aa) such residence on the date of such sale or exchange (or in the case of an estate or testamentary trust, on the date of death of the decedent) was the principal residence (within the meaning of section 1034) of the individual or decedent, or
"(bb) during the 2-year period ending on such date, no substantial portion of such residence was of a character subject to an allowance under this title [probably means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986] for depreciation (or amortization in lieu thereof) in the hands of such individual or decedent, and
"(II) such residence was not at any time, in the hands of such individual, estate, testamentary trust, or decedent, described in section 1221(1) (relating to inventory, etc.).
"(ii)
"(I) real property which was used as a farm (within the meaning of section 6420(c)(2)) at all times during the 3-year period ending on the date of such sale or exchange, or
"(II) tangible personal property which was used in the active conduct of the trade or business of farming on such farm and is sold in connection with the sale of such farm,
but only if such property is sold or exchanged for use in the active conduct of the trade or business of farming by the transferee of such property.
"(iii)
"(I)
"(II)
"(III)
"(iv)
This subparagraph shall not apply to any transaction described in the last sentence of paragraph (6)(B) (relating to transaction in excess of $100,000,000).
"(C)
"(i)
"(I) a person who-
"(aa) is an individual, estate, or testamentary trust,
"(bb) is a corporation which immediately prior to the date of the sale or exchange has 35 or fewer shareholders, or
"(cc) is a partnership which immediately prior to the date of the sale or exchange has 35 or fewer partners,
"(II) is a 10-percent owner of a farm or a trade or business,
"(III) pursuant to a plan, disposes of-
"(aa) an interest in a farm or farm property, or
"(bb) his entire interest in a trade or business and all substantially similar trades or businesses, and
"(IV) the ownership interest of whom may be readily established by reason of qualified allocations (of the type described in section 168(j)(9)(B), one class of stock, or the like).
"(ii) 10-
"(iii)
"(I)
"(II)
"(c)
"(1)
"(2)
"(d)
"(e) 5-
"(1)
"(2) 5-
"(A)
"(i) the provisions of section 1281 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (as added by section 41) shall be treated as a change in the method of accounting of the taxpayer,
"(ii) such change shall be treated as having been made with the consent of the Secretary, and
"(iii) the net amount of the adjustments required by section 481(a) of such Code to be taken into account by the taxpayer in computing taxable income (hereinafter in this paragraph referred to as the 'net adjustments') shall be taken into account during the spread period with the amount taken into account in each taxable year in such period determined under subparagraph (B).
"(B)
"(i)
"(I) one-fifth of the net adjustments, and
"(II) the excess (if any) of-
"(a) the cash basis income over the accrual basis income, over
"(b) one-fifth of the net adjustments.
"(ii)
"(I) the portion of the net adjustments not taken into account in the preceding taxable year of the spread period divided by the number of remaining taxable years in the spread period (including the year for which the determination is being made), and
"(II) the excess (if any) of-
"(a) the excess of the cash basis income over the accrual basis income, over
"(b) one-fifth of the net adjustments, multiplied by 5 minus the number of years remaining in the spread period (not including the current year).
The excess described in subparagraph (B)(ii)(II)(a) shall be reduced by any amount taken into account under this subclause or clause (i)(II) in any prior year.
"(C)
"(D)
"(E)
"(f)
"(g)
"(h)
"(i)
"(1)
"(2)
"(j)
[Amendment of section 44 of
Plan Amendments Not Required Until January 1, 1989
For provisions directing that if any amendments made by subtitle A or subtitle C of title XI [§§1101–1147 and 1171–1177] or title XVIII [§§1800–1899A] of