26 U.S.C. § 1272 — Current inclusion in income of original issue discount

Verified against govinfo.gov as of June 20, 2026View official text on govinfo.gov ↗

(a)Original issue discount included in income on basis of constant interest rate
1. (1)General ruleFor purposes of this title, there shall be included in the gross income of the holder of any debt instrument having original issue discount, an amount equal to the sum of the daily portions of the original issue discount for each day during the taxable year on which such holder held such debt instrument.
2. (2)ExceptionsParagraph (1) shall not apply to—
  1. (A)Tax-exempt obligationsAny tax-exempt obligation.
  2. (B)United States savings bondsAny United States savings bond.
  3. (C)Short-term obligationsAny debt instrument which has a fixed maturity date not more than 1 year from the date of issue.
  4. (D)Loans between natural persons
    1. (i)In generalAny loan made by a natural person to another natural person if—
      1. (I)such loan is not made in the course of a trade or business of the lender, and
      2. (II)the amount of such loan (when increased by the outstanding amount of prior loans by such natural person to such other natural person) does not exceed $10,000.
    2. (ii)Clause (i) not to apply where tax avoidance a principal purposeClause (i) shall not apply if the loan has as 1 of its principal purposes the avoidance of any Federal tax.
    3. (iii)Treatment of husband and wifeFor purposes of this subparagraph, a husband and wife shall be treated as 1 person. The preceding sentence shall not apply where the spouses lived apart at all times during the taxable year in which the loan is made.
3. (3)Determination of daily portionsFor purposes of paragraph (1), the daily portion of the original issue discount on any debt instrument shall be determined by allocating to each day in any accrual period its ratable portion of the increase during such accrual period in the adjusted issue price of the debt instrument. For purposes of the preceding sentence, the increase in the adjusted issue price for any accrual period shall be an amount equal to the excess (if any) of—
  1. (A)the product of—
    1. (i)the adjusted issue price of the debt instrument at the beginning of such accrual period, and
    2. (ii)the yield to maturity (determined on the basis of compounding at the close of each accrual period and properly adjusted for the length of the accrual period), over
  2. (B)the sum of the amounts payable as interest on such debt instrument during such accrual period.
4. (4)Adjusted issue priceFor purposes of this subsection, the adjusted issue price of any debt instrument at the beginning of any accrual period is the sum of—
  1. (A)the issue price of such debt instrument, plus
  2. (B)the adjustments under this subsection to such issue price for all periods before the first day of such accrual period.
5. (5)Accrual periodExcept as otherwise provided in regulations prescribed by the Secretary, the term “accrual period” means a 6-month period (or shorter period from the date of original issue of the debt instrument) which ends on a day in the calendar year corresponding to the maturity date of the debt instrument or the date 6 months before such maturity date.
6. (6)Determination of daily portions where principal subject to acceleration
  1. (A)In generalIn the case of any debt instrument to which this paragraph applies, the daily portion of the original issue discount shall be determined by allocating to each day in any accrual period its ratable portion of the excess (if any) of—
    1. (i)the sum of (I) the present value determined under subparagraph (B) of all remaining payments under the debt instrument as of the close of such period, and (II) the payments during the accrual period of amounts included in the stated redemption price of the debt instrument, over
    2. (ii)the adjusted issue price of such debt instrument at the beginning of such period.
  2. (B)Determination of present valueFor purposes of subparagraph (A), the present value shall be determined on the basis of—
    1. (i)the original yield to maturity (determined on the basis of compounding at the close of each accrual period and properly adjusted for the length of the accrual period),
    2. (ii)events which have occurred before the close of the accrual period, and
    3. (iii)a prepayment assumption determined in the manner prescribed by regulations.
  3. (C)Debt instruments to which paragraph appliesThis paragraph applies to—To the extent provided in regulations prescribed by the Secretary, in the case of a small business engaged in the trade or business of selling tangible personal property at retail, clause (iii) shall not apply to debt instruments incurred in the ordinary course of such trade or business while held by such business.
    1. (i)any regular interest in a REMIC or qualified mortgage held by a REMIC,
    2. (ii)any other debt instrument if payments under such debt instrument may be accelerated by reason of prepayments of other obligations securing such debt instrument (or, to the extent provided in regulations, by reason of other events), or
    3. (iii)any pool of debt instruments the yield on which may be affected by reason of prepayments (or to the extent provided in regulations, by reason of other events).
7. (7)Reduction where subsequent holder pays acquisition premium
  1. (A)ReductionFor purposes of this subsection, in the case of any purchase after its original issue of a debt instrument to which this subsection applies, the daily portion for any day shall be reduced by an amount equal to the amount which would be the daily portion for such day (without regard to this paragraph) multiplied by the fraction determined under subparagraph (B).
  2. (B)Determination of fractionFor purposes of subparagraph (A), the fraction determined under this subparagraph is a fraction—
    1. (i)the numerator of which is the excess (if any) of—
      1. (I)the cost of such debt instrument incurred by the purchaser, over
      2. (II)the issue price of such debt instrument, increased by the portion of original issue discount previously includible in the gross income of any holder (computed without regard to this paragraph), and
    2. (ii)the denominator of which is the sum of the daily portions for such debt instrument for all days after the date of such purchase and ending on the stated maturity date (computed without regard to this paragraph).
(b)ExceptionsThis section shall not apply to any holder—
1. (1)who has purchased the debt instrument at a premium, or
2. (2)which is a life insurance company to which section 811(b) applies.
(c)Definition and special rule
1. (1)Purchase definedFor purposes of this section, the term “purchase” means—
  1. (A)any acquisition of a debt instrument, where
  2. (B)the basis of the debt instrument is not determined in whole or in part by reference to the adjusted basis of such debt instrument in the hands of the person from whom acquired.
2. (2)Basis adjustmentThe basis of any debt instrument in the hands of the holder thereof shall be increased by the amount included in his gross income pursuant to this section.