[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 26, Volume 4]
[Revised as of April 1, 2004]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 26CFR1.354-1]

[Page 185-186]
 
                       TITLE 26--INTERNAL REVENUE
 
    CHAPTER I--INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 
                               (CONTINUED)
 
PART 1_INCOME TAXES--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 1.354-1  Exchanges of stock and securities in certain reorganizations.

    (a) Section 354 provides that under certain circumstances no gain or 
loss is recognized to a shareholder who surrenders his stock in exchange 
for other stock or to a security holder who surrenders his securities in 
exchange for stock. Section 354 also provides that under certain 
circumstances a security holder may surrender securities and receive 
securities in the same principal amount or in a lesser principal amount 
without the recognition of gain or loss to him. The exchanges to which 
section 354 applies must be pursuant to a plan of reorganization as 
provided in section 368(a) and the stock and securities surrendered as 
well as the stock and securities received must be those of a corporation 
which is a party to the reorganization. Section 354 does not apply to 
exchanges pursuant to a reorganization described in section 368(a)(1)(D) 
unless the transferor corporation--
    (1) Transfers all or substantially all of its assets to a single 
corporation, and
    (2) Distributes all of its remaining properties (if any) and the 
stock, securities and other properties received in the exchange to its 
shareholders or security holders in pursuance of the plan of 
reorganization. The fact that properties retained by the transferor 
corporation, or received in exchange for the properties transferred in 
the reorganization, are used to satisfy existing liabilities not 
represented by securities and which were incurred in the ordinary course 
of business before the reorganization does not prevent the application 
of section 354 to an exchange pursuant to a plan of reorganization 
defined in section 368(a)(1)(D).
    (b) Except as provided in section 354 (c) and (d), section 354 is 
not applicable to an exchange of stock or securities if a greater 
principal amount of securities is received than the principal amount of 
securities the recipient surrenders, or if securities are received and 
the recipient surrenders no securities. See, however, section 356 and 
regulations pertaining to such section. See also section 306 with 
respect to the receipt of preferred stock in a transaction to which 
section 354 is applicable.
    (c) An exchange of stock or securities shall be subject to section 
354(a)(1) even though--
    (1) Such exchange is not pursuant to a plan of reorganization 
described in section 368(a), and
    (2) The principal amount of the securities received exceeds the 
principal amount of the securities surrendered or if securities are 
received and no securities are surrendered--

if such exchange is pursuant to a plan of reorganization for a railroad 
corporation as defined in section 77(m) of the Bankruptcy Act (11 U.S.C. 
205(m)) and is approved by the Interstate Commerce Commission under 
section 77 of such act or under section 20b of the Interstate Commerce 
Act (49 U.S.C. 20b) as being in the public interest. Section 354 is not 
applicable to such exchanges if there is received property other than 
stock or securities. See,

[[Page 186]]

however, section 356 and regulations pertaining to such section.
    (d) The rules of section 354 may be illustrated by the following 
examples:

    Example 1. Pursuant to a reorganization under section 368(a) to 
which Corporations T and W are parties, A, a shareholder in Corporation 
T, surrenders all his common stock in Corporation T in exchange for 
common stock of Corporation W. No gain or loss is recognized to A.
    Example 2. Pursuant to a reorganization under section 368(a) to 
which Corporations X and Y (which are not railroad corporations) are 
parties, B, a shareholder in Corporation X, surrenders all his stock in 
X for stock and securities in Y. Section 354 does not apply to this 
exchange. See, however, section 356.
    Example 3. C, a shareholder in Corporation Z (which is not a 
railroad corporation), surrenders all his stock in Corporation Z in 
exchange for securities in Corporation Z. Whether or not this exchange 
is in connection with a recapitalization under section 368(a)(1)(E), 
section 354 does not apply. See, however, section 302.
    Example 4. The facts are the same as in Example 3 of this paragraph 
(d), except that C receivies solely rights to acquire stock in 
Corporation Z. Section 354 does not apply.

    (e) Except as provided in Sec. 1.356-6, for purposes of section 
354, the term securities includes rights issued by a party to the 
reorganization to acquire its stock. For purposes of this section and 
section 356(d)(2)(B), a right to acquire stock has no principal amount. 
For this purpose, rights to acquire stock has the same meaning as it 
does under sections 305 and 317(a). Other Internal Revenue Code 
provisions governing the treatment of rights to acquire stock may also 
apply to certain exchanges occurring in connection with a 
reorganization. See, for example, sections 83 and 421 through 424 and 
the regulations thereunder. This paragraph (e) applies to exchanges 
occurring on or after March 9, 1998.
    (f) See Sec. 1.356-7(a) and (b) for the treatment of nonqualified 
preferred stock (as defined in section 351(g)(2)) received in certain 
exchanges for nonqualified preferred stock or preferred stock. See Sec. 
1.356-7(c) for the treatment of preferred stock received in certain 
exchanges for common or preferred stock described in section 
351(g)(2)(C)(i)(II).

[T.D. 6500, 25 FR 11607, Nov. 26, 1960, as amended by T.D. 7616, 44 FR 
26869, May 8, 1979; T.D. 8752, 63 FR 410, Jan. 6, 1998; T.D. 8882, 65 FR 
31078, May 16, 2000; T.D. 8904, 65 FR 58651, Oct. 2, 2000]