StacksVerified U.S. regulatory reference

26 U.S.C. § 1059

Verified against govinfo.gov as of June 20, 2026View official text on govinfo.gov ↗
  1. (a)If any corporation receives any extraordinary dividend with respect to any share of stock and such corporation has not held such stock for more than 2 years before the dividend announcement date—
    1. (1)The basis of such corporation in such stock shall be reduced (but not below zero) by the nontaxed portion of such dividends.
    2. (2)If the nontaxed portion of such dividends exceeds such basis, such excess shall be treated as gain from the sale or exchange of such stock for the taxable year in which the extraordinary dividend is received.
  2. (b)For purposes of this section—
    1. (1)The nontaxed portion of any dividend is the excess (if any) of—
      1. (A)the amount of such dividend, over
      2. (B)the taxable portion of such dividend.
    2. (2)The taxable portion of any dividend is—
      1. (A)the portion of such dividend includible in gross income, reduced by
      2. (B)the amount of any deduction allowable with respect to such dividend under section 243 1 So in original. Probably should be followed by a comma. 245, or 245A.
  3. (c)For purposes of this section—
    1. (1)The term “extraordinary dividend” means any dividend with respect to a share of stock if the amount of such dividend equals or exceeds the threshold percentage of the taxpayer’s adjusted basis in such share of stock.
    2. (2)The term “threshold percentage” means—
      1. (A)5 percent in the case of stock which is preferred as to dividends, and
      2. (B)10 percent in the case of any other stock.
    3. (3)
      1. (A)All dividends—shall be treated as 1 dividend.
        1. (i)which are received by the taxpayer (or a person described in subparagraph (C)) with respect to any share of stock, and
        2. (ii)which have ex-dividend dates within the same period of 85 consecutive days,
      2. (B)All dividends—shall be treated as extraordinary dividends if the aggregate of such dividends exceeds 20 percent of the taxpayer’s adjusted basis in such stock (determined without regard to this section).
        1. (i)which are received by the taxpayer (or a person described in subparagraph (C)) with respect to any share of stock, and
        2. (ii)which have ex-dividend dates during the same period of 365 consecutive days,
      3. (C)In the case of any stock, a person is described in this subparagraph if—
        1. (i)the basis of such stock in the hands of such person is determined in whole or in part by reference to the basis of such stock in the hands of the taxpayer, or
        2. (ii)the basis of such stock in the hands of the taxpayer is determined in whole or in part by reference to the basis of such stock in the hands of such person.
    4. (4)If the taxpayer establishes to the satisfaction of the Secretary the fair market value of any share of stock as of the day before the ex-dividend date, the taxpayer may elect to apply paragraphs (1) and (3) by substituting such value for the taxpayer’s adjusted basis.
  4. (d)For purposes of this section—
    1. (1)Any reduction in basis under subsection (a)(1) shall be treated as occurring at the beginning of the ex-dividend date of the extraordinary dividend to which the reduction relates.
    2. (2)To the extent any dividend consists of property other than cash, the amount of such dividend shall be treated as the fair market value of such property (as of the date of the distribution) reduced as provided in section 301(b)(2).
    3. (3)For purposes of determining the holding period of stock under subsection (a), rules similar to the rules of paragraphs (3) and (4) of section 246(c) shall apply and there shall not be taken into account any day which is more than 2 years after the date on which such share becomes ex-dividend.
    4. (4)The term “ex-dividend date” means the date on which the share of stock becomes ex-dividend.
    5. (5)The term “dividend announcement date” means, with respect to any dividend, the date on which the corporation declares, announces, or agrees to the amount or payment of such dividend, whichever is the earliest.
    6. (6)
      1. (A)Subsection (a) shall not apply to any extraordinary dividend with respect to any share of stock of a corporation if—
        1. (i)such stock was held by the taxpayer during the entire period such corporation was in existence, and
        2. (ii)except as provided in regulations, no earnings and profits of such corporation were attributable to transfers of property from (or earnings and profits of) a corporation which is not a qualified corporation.
      2. (B)For purposes of subparagraph (A), the term “qualified corporation” means any corporation (including a predecessor corporation)— a corporation not described in clause (i).
        1. (i)with respect to which the taxpayer holds directly or indirectly during the entire period of such corporation’s existence at least the same ownership interest as the taxpayer holds in the corporation distributing the extraordinary dividend, and
        2. (ii)which has no earnings and profits—
          1. (I)which were earned by, or
          2. (II)which are attributable to gain on property which accrued during a period the corporation holding the property was,
      3. (C)This paragraph shall not apply to any extraordinary dividend to the extent such application is inconsistent with the purposes of this section.
  5. (e)
    1. (1)Except as otherwise provided in regulations—
      1. (A)In the case of any redemption of stock—any amount treated as a dividend with respect to such redemption shall be treated as an extraordinary dividend to which paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (a) apply without regard to the period the taxpayer held such stock. In the case of a redemption described in clause (iii), only the basis in the stock redeemed shall be taken into account under subsection (a).
        1. (i)which is part of a partial liquidation (within the meaning of section 302(e)) of the redeeming corporation,
        2. (ii)which is not pro rata as to all shareholders, or
        3. (iii)which would not have been treated (in whole or in part) as a dividend if—
          1. (I)any options had not been taken into account under section 318(a)(4), or
          2. (II)section 304(a) had not applied,
      2. (B)An exchange described in section 356 which is treated as a dividend shall be treated as a redemption of stock for purposes of applying subparagraph (A).
    2. (2)
      1. (A)Except as provided in regulations, the term “extraordinary dividend” does not include any qualifying dividend (within the meaning of section 243).
      2. (B)Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to any portion of a dividend which is attributable to earnings and profits which—
        1. (i)were earned by a corporation during a period it was not a member of the affiliated group, or
        2. (ii)are attributable to gain on property which accrued during a period the corporation holding the property was not a member of the affiliated group.
    3. (3)
      1. (A)In the case of 1 or more qualified preferred dividends with respect to any share of stock—
        1. (i)this section shall not apply to such dividends if the taxpayer holds such stock for more than 5 years, and
        2. (ii)if the taxpayer disposes of such stock before it has been held for more than 5 years, the aggregate reduction under subsection (a)(1) with respect to such dividends shall not be greater than the excess (if any) of—
          1. (I)the qualified preferred dividends paid with respect to such stock during the period the taxpayer held such stock, over
          2. (II)the qualified preferred dividends which would have been paid during such period on the basis of the stated rate of return.
      2. (B)For purposes of this paragraph—
        1. (i)The actual rate of return shall be the rate of return for the period for which the taxpayer held the stock, determined—
          1. (I)by only taking into account dividends during such period, and
          2. (II)by using the lesser of the adjusted basis of the taxpayer in such stock or the liquidation preference of such stock.
        2. (ii)The stated rate of return shall be the annual rate of the qualified preferred dividend payable with respect to any share of stock (expressed as a percentage of the amount described in clause (i)(II)).
      3. (C)For purposes of this paragraph— Such term shall not include any dividend payable with respect to any share of stock if the actual rate of return on such stock exceeds 15 percent.
        1. (i)The term “qualified preferred dividend” means any fixed dividend payable with respect to any share of stock which—
          1. (I)provides for fixed preferred dividends payable not less frequently than annually, and
          2. (II)is not in arrears as to dividends at the time the taxpayer acquires the stock.
        2. (ii)In determining the holding period for purposes of subparagraph (A)(ii), subsection (d)(3) shall be applied by substituting “5 years” for “2 years”.
  6. (f)
    1. (1)Any dividend with respect to disqualified preferred stock shall be treated as an extraordinary dividend to which paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (a) apply without regard to the period the taxpayer held the stock.
    2. (2)For purposes of this subsection, the term “disqualified preferred stock” means any stock which is preferred as to dividends if—
      1. (A)when issued, such stock has a dividend rate which declines (or can reasonably be expected to decline) in the future,
      2. (B)the issue price of such stock exceeds its liquidation rights or its stated redemption price, or
      3. (C)such stock is otherwise structured—
        1. (i)to avoid the other provisions of this section, and
        2. (ii)to enable corporate shareholders to reduce tax through a combination of dividend received deductions and loss on the disposition of the stock.
  7. (g)The Secretary shall prescribe such regulations as may be appropriate to carry out the purposes of this section, including regulations—
    1. (1)providing for the application of this section in the case of stock dividends, stock splits, reorganizations, and other similar transactions, in the case of stock held by pass-thru entities, and in the case of consolidated groups, and
    2. (2)providing that the rules of subsection (f) shall apply in the case of stock which is not preferred as to dividends in cases where stock is structured to avoid the purposes of this section.