(a) General rule—(1) Owner is the taxpayer. For purposes of applying section 108(a)(1)(A) and (B) to discharge of indebtedness income of a grantor trust or a disregarded entity, neither the grantor trust nor the disregarded entity shall be considered to be the “taxpayer,” as that term is used in section 108(a)(1) and (d)(1) through (3). Rather, for purposes of section 108(a)(1)(A) and (B) and (d)(1) through (3) and subject to section 108(d)(6), the owner of the grantor trust or the owner of the disregarded entity is the “taxpayer.”

(2) The bankruptcy exclusion. If indebtedness of a grantor trust or a disregarded entity is discharged in a title 11 case, section 108(a)(1)(A) applies to that discharged indebtedness only if the owner of the grantor trust or the owner of the disregarded entity is under the jurisdiction of the court in a title 11 case as the title 11 debtor. If the grantor trust or the disregarded entity is under the jurisdiction of the court in a title 11 case as the title 11 debtor, but the owner of the grantor trust or the owner of the disregarded entity is not, section 108(a)(1)(A) does not apply to the discharge of indebtedness income.

(3) The insolvency exclusion. Section 108(a)(1)(B) applies to the discharged indebtedness of a grantor trust or a disregarded entity only to the extent the owner of the grantor trust or the owner of the disregarded entity is insolvent. If the grantor trust or the disregarded entity is insolvent, but the owner of the grantor trust or the owner of the disregarded entity is solvent, section 108(a)(1)(B) does not apply to the discharge of indebtedness income.

(b) Application to partnerships. Under section 108(d)(6), in the case of a partnership, section 108(a)(1)(A) and (B) applies at the partner level. If a partnership holds an interest in a grantor trust or a disregarded entity, the applicability of section 108(a)(1)(A) and (B) to the discharge of indebtedness income is tested by looking to each partner to whom the income is allocable.

(c) Definitions—(1) Disregarded entity. For purposes of this section, a disregarded entity is an entity that is disregarded as an entity separate from its owner for Federal income tax purposes. See §301.7701-2(c)(2)(i) of this chapter, the Procedure and Administration Regulations. Examples of disregarded entities include a domestic single-member limited liability company that does not elect to be classified as a corporation for Federal income tax purposes pursuant to §301.7701-3 of this chapter, a corporation that is a qualified REIT subsidiary (within the meaning of section 856(i)(2)), and a corporation that is a qualified subchapter S subsidiary (within the meaning of section 1361(b)(3)(B)).

(2) Grantor trust. For purposes of this section, a grantor trust is any portion of a trust that is treated under subpart E of part I of subchapter J of chapter 1 of subtitle A of title 26 of the United States Code as being owned by the grantor or another person.

(3) Owner. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section to the contrary, neither a grantor trust nor a disregarded entity shall be considered an owner for purposes of this section.

(4) Title 11 debtor. For purposes of this section, a title 11 debtor is a debtor in a case under title 11 of the United States Code, as defined in 11 U.S.C. 101(13).

(d) Applicability date. The rules of this section apply to discharge of indebtedness income occurring on or after June 10, 2016.

[T.D. 9771, 81 FR 37507, June 10, 2016]