26 CFR § 1.1272-2 Treatment of debt instruments purchased at a premium | Code of Federal Regulations | US Law

26 CFR § 1.1272-2

Treatment of debt instruments purchased at a premium

June 25, 2020

CFR

(a) In general. Under section 1272(c)(1), if a holder purchases a debt instrument at a premium, the holder does not include any OID in gross income. Under section 1272(a)(7), if a holder purchases a debt instrument at an acquisition premium, the holder reduces the amount of OID includible in gross income by the fraction determined under paragraph (b)(4) of this section.

(b) Definitions and special rules—(1) Purchase. For purposes of section 1272 and this section, purchase means any acquisition of a debt instrument, including the acquisition of a newly issued debt instrument in a debt-for-debt exchange or the acquisition of a debt instrument from a donor.

(2) Premium. A debt instrument is purchased at a premium if its adjusted basis, immediately after its purchase by the holder (including a purchase at original issue), exceeds the sum of all amounts payable on the instrument after the purchase date other than payments of qualified stated interest (as defined in §1.1273-1(c)).

(3) Acquisition premium. A debt instrument is purchased at an acquisition premium if its adjusted basis, immediately after its purchase (including a purchase at original issue), is—

(i) Less than or equal to the sum of all amounts payable on the instrument after the purchase date other than payments of qualified stated interest (as defined in §1.1273-1(c)); and

(ii) Greater than the instrument's adjusted issue price (as defined in §1.1275-1(b)).

(4) Acquisition premium fraction. In applying section 1272(a)(7), the cost of a debt instrument is its adjusted basis immediately after its acquisition by the purchaser. Thus, the numerator of the fraction determined under section 1272(a)(7)(B) is the excess of the adjusted basis of the debt instrument immediately after its acquisition by the purchaser over the adjusted issue price of the debt instrument. The denominator of the fraction determined under section 1272(a)(7)(B) is the excess of the sum of all amounts payable on the debt instrument after the purchase date, other than payments of qualified stated interest, over the instrument's adjusted issue price.

(5) Election to accrue discount on a constant yield basis. Rather than applying the acquisition premium fraction, a holder of a debt instrument purchased at an acquisition premium may elect under §1.1272-3 to compute OID accruals by treating the purchase as a purchase at original issuance and applying the mechanics of the constant yield method.

(6) Special rules for determining basis—(i) Debt instruments acquired in exchange for other property. For purposes of section 1272(a)(7), section 1272(c)(1), and this section, if a debt instrument is acquired in an exchange for other property (other than in a reorganization defined in section 368) and the basis of the debt instrument is determined, in whole or in part, by reference to the basis of the other property, the basis of the debt instrument may not exceed its fair market value immediately after the exchange. For example, if a debt instrument is distributed by a partnership to a partner in a liquidating distribution and the partner's basis in the debt instrument would otherwise be determined under section 732, the partner's basis in the debt instrument may not exceed its fair market value for purposes of this section.

(ii) Acquisition by gift. For purposes of this section, a donee's adjusted basis in a debt instrument is the donee's basis for determining gain under section 1015(a).

Example 1. Debt instrument purchased at an acquisition premium. (i) Facts. On July 1, 1994, A purchased at original issue, for $500, a debt instrument issued by Corporation X. The debt instrument matures on July 1, 1999, and calls for a single payment at maturity of $1,000. Under section 1273(a), the debt instrument has a stated redemption price at maturity of $1,000 and, thus, OID of $500. On July 1, 1996, when the debt instrument's adjusted issue price is $659.75, A sells the debt instrument to B for $750 in cash.

(ii) Acquisition premium fraction. Because the cost to B of the debt instrument is less than the amount payable on the debt instrument after the purchase date, but is greater than the debt instrument's adjusted issue price, B has paid an acquisition premium for the debt instrument. Accordingly, the daily portion of OID for any day that B holds the debt instrument is reduced by a fraction, the numerator of which is $90.25 (the excess of the cost of the debt instrument over its adjusted issue price) and the denominator of which is $340.25 (the excess of the sum of all payments after the purchase date over its adjusted issue price).

Example 2. Debt-for-debt exchange where holder is considered to purchase new debt instrument at a premium. (i) Facts. On January 1, 1995, H purchases at original issue, for $1,000, a debt instrument issued by Corporation X. On July 1, 1997, when H's adjusted basis in the debt instrument is $1,000, Corporation X issues a new debt instrument with a stated redemption price at maturity of $750 to H in exchange for the old debt instrument. Assume that the issue price of the new debt instrument is $600. Thus, under section 1273(a), the debt instrument has OID of $150. The exchange qualifies as a recapitalization under section 368(a)(1)(E), with the consequence that, under sections 354 and 358, H recognizes no loss on the exchange and has an adjusted basis in the new debt instrument of $1,000.

(ii) Application of section 1272(c)(1). Under paragraphs (b)(1) and (b)(2) of this section, H purchases the new debt instrument at a premium of $250. Accordingly, under section 1272(c)(1), H is not required to include OID in income with respect to the new debt instrument.

Example 3. Debt-for-debt exchange where holder is considered to purchase new debt instrument at an acquisition premium. (i) Facts. The facts are the same as in Example 2 of paragraph (c) of this section, except that H purchases the old debt instrument from another holder on July 1, 1995, and on July 1, 1997, H's adjusted basis in the old debt instrument is $700. Under section 1273(a), the new debt instrument is issued with OID of $150.

(ii) Application of section 1272(a)(7). Under paragraphs (b)(1) and (b)(3) of this section, H purchases the new debt instrument at an acquisition premium of $100. Accordingly, the daily portion of OID that is includible in H's income is reduced by the fraction determined under section 1272(a)(7).

Example 4. Treatment of acquisition premium for debt instrument acquired by gift. (i) Facts. On July 1, 1994, D receives as a gift a debt instrument with a stated redemption price at maturity of $1,000 and an adjusted issue price of $800. On that date, the fair market value of the debt instrument is $900 and the donor's adjusted basis in the debt instrument is $950.

(ii) Application of section 1272(a)(7). Under paragraphs (b)(1), (b)(3), and (b)(6)(ii) of this section, D is considered to have purchased the debt instrument at an acquisition premium of $150. Accordingly, the daily portion of OID that is includible in D's income is reduced by the fraction determined under section 1272(a)(7).

[T.D. 8517, 59 FR 4814, Feb. 2, 1994]

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