5.2.1.2. Any other reportable transaction as
defined in Treasury Regulations Section 1.6011-4 and section 3 of this rule
(other than a listed transaction) if a significant purpose of the transaction
is the avoidance or evasion of federal income tax. The following additional
information is provided relative to reportable transactions other than listed
transactions so as to assist in determining whether certain transactions are
deemed to be reportable transactions other than listed transactions.
5.2.1.2.a. Confidential transactions. - For
confidential transactions, a transaction is considered to be offered to a
taxpayer under conditions of confidentiality if the material advisor who is
paid the minimum fee places a limitation on disclosure by the taxpayer of the
tax treatment or tax structure of the transaction and the limitation on
disclosure protects the confidentiality of that material advisor's tax
strategies. A transaction is treated as confidential even if the conditions of
confidentiality are not legally binding on the taxpayer. A claim that a
transaction is proprietary or exclusive is not treated as a limitation on
disclosure if the material advisor confirms to the taxpayer that there is no
limitation on disclosure of the tax treatment or tax structure of the
transaction.
5.2.1.2.a.1. The minimum fee is:
5.2.1.2.a.1.A. $250,000 for a transaction if
the taxpayer is a corporation; or,
5.2.1.2.a.1.B. $50,000 for all other
transactions unless the taxpayer is a partnership or trust, all of the owners
or beneficiaries of which are corporations (looking through any partners or
beneficiaries that are themselves partnerships or trusts), in which case the
minimum fee is $ 250,000.
5.2.1.2.a.2. A minimum fee includes all fees
for a tax strategy, for services for advice (whether or not tax advice), or for
the implementation of a transaction. These fees include consideration in
whatever form paid, whether in cash or in kind, for services to analyze the
transaction (whether or not related to the tax consequences of the
transaction), for services to implement the transaction, for services to
document the transaction, and for services to prepare tax returns to the extent
that the fees exceed the fees customary for return preparation. A taxpayer is
treated as paying fees to a material advisor if the taxpayer knows or should
know that the amount it pays will be paid indirectly to the material advisor,
such as through a referral fee or fee-sharing arrangement. A fee does not
include amounts paid to a person, including a material advisor, in that
person's capacity as a party to the transaction. For example, a fee does not
include reasonable charges for the use of capital or the sale or use of
property.
5.2.1.2.b.
Transactions with contractual protections. - When determining whether the
transaction has contractual protections, all the facts and circumstances
relating to the transaction will be considered when determining whether a fee
is refundable or contingent, including the right to reimbursements of amounts
that the parties to the transaction have not designated as fees or any
agreement to provide services without reasonable compensation.
5.2.1.2.b.1. Fees are required to have been
paid by or on behalf of the taxpayer or a related party to any person who makes
or provides a statement, oral or written, to the taxpayer or related party (or
for whose benefit a statement is made or provided to the taxpayer or related
party) as to the potential tax consequences that may result from the
transaction.
5.2.1.2.b.2.
Exceptions
5.2.1.2.b.2.A. Termination of
transaction. A transaction is not considered to have contractual protection
solely because a party to the transaction has the right to terminate the
transaction upon the happening of an event affecting the taxation of one or
more parties to the transaction.
5.2.1.2.b.2.B. Previously reported
transaction. If a person makes or provides a statement to a taxpayer as to the
potential tax consequences that may result from a transaction only after the
taxpayer has entered into the transaction and reported the consequences of the
transaction on a filed tax return, and the person has not previously received
fees from the taxpayer relating to the transaction, then any refundable or
contingent fees are not taken into account in determining whether the
transaction has contractual protection.
5.2.1.2.c. Loss transactions. - In
determining whether a transaction results in a taxpayer claiming a loss that
meets the threshold amounts over a combination of taxable years, only losses
claimed in the taxable year that the transaction is entered into and the five
succeeding taxable years are combined.
5.2.1.2.c.1. Because a loss transaction is a
transaction resulting in a loss being claimed under I.R.C. §165, for
purposes of loss transactions, an I.R.C. §165 loss includes the following:
5.2.1.2.c.1.A. When determining the
thresholds as stated in the definition of "loss transaction" in section 3 of
this rule, the amount of an I.R.C. §165 loss is adjusted for any salvage
value and for any insurance or other compensation received. However, an I.R.C.
§165 loss does not take into account offsetting gains, or other income or
limitations. The full amount of an I.R.C. §165 loss is taken into account
for the year in which the loss is sustained, regardless of whether all or part
of the loss enters into the computation of a net operating loss under I.R.C.
§172 or a net capital loss under I.R.C. §1212 that is a carryback or
carryover to another year. An I.R.C. §165 loss does not include any
portion of a loss, attributable to a capital loss carryback or carryover from
another year, that is treated as a deemed capital loss under I.R.C.
§1212.
5.2.1.2.c.1.B. An
I.R.C. §165 loss includes an amount deductible pursuant to a provision
that treats a transaction as a sale or other disposition, or otherwise results
in a deduction under I.R.C. §165. An I.R.C. §165 loss includes, for
example, a loss resulting from a sale or exchange of a partnership interest
under I.R.C. §741 and a loss resulting from an I.R.C. §988
transaction.
5.2.1.2.d. Transactions with a significant
book-tax difference. - For purposes of determining whether the transaction is a
transactions with a significant book-tax difference, offsetting items may not
be netted for either tax or book purposes. The amount of an item for book
purposes is determined by applying United States generally accepted accounting
principles (U.S. GAAP) for worldwide income. However, if a taxpayer, in the
ordinary course of its business, keeps books for reporting financial results to
shareholders, creditors, or regulators on a basis other than U.S. GAAP, and
does not maintain U.S. GAAP books for any purpose, then the taxpayer may
determine the amount of a book item by using the books maintained by the
taxpayer, provided the books are kept on the same basis consistently from year
to year. Adjustments to any reserve for taxes are disregarded for purposes of
determining the book-tax difference.
5.2.1.2.d.1. In general, this category of
reportable transactions applies only to:
5.2.1.2.d.1.A. Taxpayers that are reporting
companies under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and are related business;
or
5.2.1.2.d.1.B. Business entities
that have $250,000,000 or more in gross assets for book purposes at the end of
any financial accounting period that ends with or within the entity's taxable
year in which the transaction occurs (for purposes of this determination, the
assets of all related business entities) must be aggregated.
5.2.1.2.d.2. Consolidated returns.
For purposes of this category of reportable transactions, in the case of
taxpayers that are members of a group of affiliated corporations filing a
consolidated return, transactions solely between or among members of the group
will not be disregarded. Moreover, where two or more members of the group
participate in a transaction that is not solely between or among members of the
group, items shall be aggregated (as if such members were a single taxpayer),
but any offsetting items shall not be netted.
5.2.1.2.d.3. Foreign persons. In the case of
a taxpayer that is a foreign person (other than a foreign corporation that is
treated as a domestic corporation for Federal tax purposes under I.R.C.
§§269B, 953(d), 1504(d) or any other provision of the Internal
Revenue Code), only assets that are U.S. assets under Treasury Regulation
§1.884-1(d) shall be taken into account for purposes of part 5.2.1.2.d.2
of this rule, and only transactions that give rise to income that is
effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business within the United
States (or to losses, expenses, or deductions allocated or apportioned to such
income) shall be taken into account for purposes of this reportable
transaction.
5.2.1.2.d.4. Owners of
disregarded entities. In the case of an eligible entity that is disregarded as
an entity separate from its owner for Federal tax purposes, items of income,
gain, loss, or expense that otherwise are considered items of the entity for
book purposes shall be treated as items of its owner, and items arising from
transactions between the entity and its owner shall be disregarded, for
purposes of this reportable transaction.
5.2.1.2.d.5. Partners of partnerships. In the
case of a taxpayer that is a member or a partner of an entity that is treated
as a partnership for Federal tax purposes, items of income, gain, loss, or
expense that are allocable to the taxpayer for Federal tax purposes, but
otherwise are considered items of the entity for book purposes, shall be
treated as items of the taxpayer for purposes of this reportable
transaction.
5.2.1.2.e.
Transactions involving a brief asset holding period. A transaction involving a
brief asset holding period is any transaction resulting in the taxpayer
claiming a tax credit exceeding $250,000 (including a foreign tax credit) if
the underlying asset giving rise to the credit is held by the taxpayer for 45
days or less. For purposes of determining the holding period, the principles of
I.R.C. §§246(c)(3) and (c)(4) apply. Transactions resulting in a
foreign tax credit for withholding taxes or other taxes imposed in respect of a
dividend that are not disallowed under I.R.C. §901(k) (including
transactions eligible for the exception for securities dealers under I.R.C.
§901(k)(4)) are excluded.