(a) Income inclusions—(1) General rule. For purposes of section 267A, a tax resident or taxable branch includes in income a specified payment to the extent that, under the tax law of the tax resident or taxable branch—

(i) It takes the payment into account (or has taken the payment into account, or, based on all the facts and circumstances, is reasonably expected to take the payment into account during a taxable year that ends no more than 36 months after the end of the specified party's taxable year) in its income or tax base at the full marginal rate imposed on ordinary income (or, if different, the full marginal rate imposed on interest or a royalty, as applicable); and

(ii) The payment is not reduced or offset by an exemption, exclusion, deduction, credit (other than for withholding tax imposed on the payment), or other similar relief particular to such type of payment. Examples of such reductions or offsets include a participation exemption, a dividends received deduction, a deduction or exclusion with respect to a particular category of income (such as income attributable to a branch, or royalties under a patent box regime), a credit for underlying taxes paid by a corporation from which a dividend is received, and a recovery of basis with respect to stock or a recovery of principal with respect to indebtedness. A specified payment is not considered reduced or offset by a deduction or other similar relief particular to the type of payment if it is offset by a generally applicable deduction or other tax attribute, such as a deduction for depreciation or a net operating loss. For purposes of this paragraph (a)(1)(ii), a deduction may be treated as being generally applicable even if it arises from a transaction related to the specified payment (for example, if the deduction and payment are in connection with a back-to-back financing arrangement).

(2) Coordination with foreign hybrid mismatch rules. Whether a tax resident or taxable branch includes in income a specified payment is determined without regard to any defensive or secondary rule contained in hybrid mismatch rules, if any, under the tax law of the tax resident or taxable branch. For purposes of this paragraph (a)(2), a defensive or secondary rule means a provision of hybrid mismatch rules that requires a tax resident or taxable branch to include an amount in income if a deduction for the amount is not disallowed under the payer's tax law. However, a defensive or secondary rule does not include a rule pursuant to which a participation exemption or similar relief particular to a dividend is inapplicable as to a dividend for which the payer is allowed a deduction or other tax benefit under its tax law. Thus, a defensive or secondary rule does not include a rule consistent with recommendation 2.1 in Chapter 2 of OECD/G-20, Neutralising the Effects of Hybrid Mismatch Arrangements, Action 2: 2015 Final Report (October 2015).

(3) Inclusions with respect to reverse hybrids. With respect to a tax resident or taxable branch that is an investor of a reverse hybrid, whether the investor includes in income a specified payment made to the reverse hybrid is determined without regard to a distribution from the reverse hybrid (or the right to a distribution from the reverse hybrid triggered by the payment). However, if the reverse hybrid distributes all of its income during a taxable year, then, for that year, the determination of whether an investor includes in income a specified payment made to the reverse hybrid is made with regard to one or more distributions from the reverse hybrid during the year, by treating a portion of the specified payment as relating to each distribution during the year. For purposes of this paragraph (a)(3), the portion of the specified payment that is considered to relate to a distribution is the lesser of—

(i) The specified payment multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which is the amount of the distribution and the denominator of which is the aggregate amount of distributions from the reverse hybrid during the taxable year; and

(ii) The amount of the distribution multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which is the specified payment and the denominator of which is the sum of all specified payments made to the reverse hybrid during the taxable year.

(4) Inclusions with respect to certain payments pursuant to hybrid transactions. This paragraph (a)(4) applies to a specified payment that is interest and that is made pursuant to a hybrid transaction, to the extent that, under the tax law of a specified recipient of the payment, the payment is a recovery of basis with respect to stock or a recovery of principal with respect to indebtedness such that, but for this paragraph (a)(4), a no-inclusion would occur with respect to the specified recipient. In such a case, an amount that is a repayment of principal for U.S. tax purposes and that is or has been paid (or, based on all the facts and circumstances, is reasonably expected to be paid) by the specified party pursuant to the hybrid transaction (such amount, the principal payment) is, to the extent included in the income of the specified recipient, treated as correspondingly reducing the specified recipient's no-inclusion with respect to the specified payment. For purposes of this paragraph (a)(4), whether the specified recipient includes the principal payment in income is determined under paragraph (a)(1) of this section, by treating the principal payment as the specified payment and the taxable year period described in paragraph (a)(1) as being composed of taxable years of the specified recipient ending no more than 36 months after the end of the specified party's taxable year during which the specified payment is made (as opposed to, for example, being composed of taxable years of the specified recipient ending no more than 36 months after the end of the specified party's taxable year during which the principal payment is reasonably expected to be made). Moreover, once a principal payment reduces a no-inclusion with respect to a specified payment, it is not again taken into account for purposes of applying this paragraph (a)(4) to another specified payment. See §1.267A-6(c)(1)(vi) for an example illustrating the application of this paragraph (a)(4).

(5) Deemed full inclusions and de minimis inclusions. A preferential rate, exemption, exclusion, deduction, credit, or similar relief particular to a type of payment that reduces or offsets 90 percent or more of the payment is considered to reduce or offset 100 percent of the payment. In addition, a preferential rate, exemption, exclusion, deduction, credit, or similar relief particular to a type of payment that reduces or offsets 10 percent or less of the payment is considered to reduce or offset none of the payment.

(b) Certain amounts not treated as disqualified hybrid amounts to extent included or includible in income for U.S. tax purposes—(1) In general. A specified payment, to the extent that but for this paragraph (b) it would be a disqualified hybrid amount (such amount, a tentative disqualified hybrid amount), is reduced under the rules of paragraphs (b)(2) through (4) of this section, as applicable. The tentative disqualified hybrid amount, as reduced under such rules, is the disqualified hybrid amount. See §1.267A-6(c)(3) and (7) for examples illustrating the application of paragraph (b) of this section.

(2) Included in income of United States tax resident or U.S. taxable branch. A tentative disqualified hybrid amount is reduced to the extent that a specified recipient that is a tax resident of the United States or a U.S. taxable branch takes the tentative disqualified hybrid amount into account in determining its gross income.

(3) Includible in income under section 951(a)(1)(A). A tentative disqualified hybrid amount is reduced to the extent that the tentative disqualified hybrid amount is received by a CFC and includible under section 951(a)(1)(A) (determined without regard to properly allocable deductions of the CFC, qualified deficits under section 952(c)(1)(B), and the earnings and profits limitation under §1.952-1(c)) in the gross income of a United States shareholder of the CFC. However, if the United States shareholder is a domestic partnership, then the amount includible under section 951(a)(1)(A) in the gross income of the United States shareholder reduces the tentative disqualified hybrid amount only to the extent that a tax resident of the United States would take into account the amount.

(4) Includible in income under section 951A(a). A tentative disqualified hybrid amount is reduced to the extent that the tentative disqualified hybrid amount increases a United States shareholder's pro rata share of tested income (as determined under §§1.951A-1(d)(2) and 1.951A-2(b)(1)) with respect to a CFC, reduces the shareholder's pro rata share of tested loss (as determined under §§1.951A-1(d)(4) and 1.951A-2(b)(2)) of the CFC, or both. However, to the extent that a deduction for the tentative disqualified hybrid amount would be allowed to a tax resident of the United States or a U.S. taxable branch, or would be allowed to a CFC but would be allocated and apportioned to gross income of the CFC that is gross income taken into account in determining subpart F income (as described in section 952) or gross income that is effectively connected (or treated as effectively connected) with the conduct of a trade or business in the United States (as described in §1.882-4(a)(1)), the reduction provided under this paragraph (b)(4) is equal to the reduction that would be provided under this paragraph (b)(4) but for this sentence multiplied by the difference of 100 percent and the percentage described in section 250(a)(1)(B).

(5) Includible in income under section 1293. A tentative disqualified hybrid amount is reduced to the extent that the tentative disqualified hybrid amount is received by a qualified electing fund (as described in section 1295) and is includible under section 1293 in the gross income of a United States person that owns stock of that fund. However, if the United States person is a domestic partnership, then the amount includible under section 1293 in the gross income of the United States person reduces the tentative disqualified hybrid amount only to the extent that a tax resident of the United States would take into account the amount.

[T.D. 9896, 85 FR 19836, Apr. 8, 2020]