[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: 26CFR1.381(a)-1]

[Page 359-360]
 
                       TITLE 26--INTERNAL REVENUE
 
    CHAPTER I--INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 
                               (CONTINUED)
 
PART 1_INCOME TAXES--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 1.381(a)-1  General rule relating to carryovers in certain corporate 
acquisitions.

    (a) Allowance of carryovers. Section 381 provides that a corporation 
which acquires the assets of another corporation in certain liquidations 
and reorganizations shall succeed to, and take into account, as of the 
close of the date of distribution or transfer, the items described in 
section 381(c) of the distributor or transferor corporation. These items 
shall be taken into account by the acquiring corporation subject to the 
conditions and limitations specified in sections 381, 382(b), and 383 
and the regulations thereunder.
    (b) Determination of transactions and items to which section 381 
applies--(1) Qualified transactions. Except to the extent provided in 
section 381(c)(20), relating to the carryover of unused pension trust 
deductions in certain liquidations, the items described in section 
381(c) are required by section 381 to be carried over to the acquiring 
corporation (as defined in subparagraph (2) of this paragraph) only in 
the following liquidations and reorganizations:
    (i) The complete liquidation of a subsidiary corporation upon which 
no gain or loss is recognized in accordance with the provisions of 
section 332, but only if the basis of the assets distributed to the 
acquiring corporation is not required by section 334(b)(2) to be the 
adjusted basis of the stock with respect to which the distribution is 
made;
    (ii) A statutory merger or consolidation qualifying under section 
368(a)(1)(A) to which section 361 applies;
    (iii) A reorganization qualifying under section 368(a)(1)(C);
    (iv) A reorganization qualifying under section 368(a)(1)(D) if the 
requirements of section 354(b)(1)(A) and (B) are satisfied; and
    (v) A mere change in identity, form, or place of organization 
qualifying under section 368(a)(1)(F).
    (2) Acquiring corporation defined. (i) Only a single corporation may 
be an acquiring corporation for purposes of section 381 and the 
regulations thereunder. The corporation which acquires the assets of its 
subsidiary corporation in a complete liquidation to which section 
381(a)(1) applies is the acquiring corporation for purposes of section 
381. Generally, in a transaction to which section 381(a)(2) applies, the 
acquiring corporation is that corporation which, pursuant to the plan of 
reorganization, ultimately acquires, directly or indirectly, all of the 
assets transferred by the transferor corporation. If, in a transaction 
qualifying under section 381(a)(2), no one corporation ultimately 
acquires all of the assets transferred by the transferor corporation, 
that corporation which directly acquires the assets so transferred shall 
be the acquiring corporation for purposes of section 381 and the 
regulations thereunder, even though such corporation ultimately retains 
none of the assets so transferred. Whether a corporation has acquired 
all of the assets transferred by the transferor corporation is a 
question of fact to be determined on the

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basis of all the facts and circumstances.
    (ii) The application of this subparagraph may be illustrated by the 
following examples:

    Example (1). Y Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of X 
Corporation, directly acquired all the assets of Z Corporation solely in 
exchange for voting stock of X Corporation in a transaction qualifying 
under section 368(a)(1)(C). Y Corporation is the acquiring corporation 
for purposes of section 381.
    Example (2). X Corporation acquired all the assets of Z Corporation 
solely in exchange for voting stock of X Corporation in a transaction 
qualifying under section 368(a)(1)(C). Thereafter, pursuant to the plan 
of reorganization X Corporation transferred all the assets so acquired 
to Y Corporation, its wholly-owned subsidiary (see section 
368(a)(2)(C)). Y Corporation is the acquiring corporation for purposes 
of section 381.
    Example (3). X Corporation acquired all the assets of Z Corporation 
solely in exchange for the voting stock of X Corporation in a 
transaction qualifying under section 368(a)(1)(C). Thereafter, pursuant 
to the plan of reorganization X Corporation transferred one-half of the 
assets so acquired to Y Corporation, its wholly-owned subsidiary, and 
retained the other half of such assets. X Corporation is the acquiring 
corporation for purposes of section 381.
    Example (4). X Corporation acquired all the assets of Z Corporation 
solely in exchange for voting stock of X Corporation in a transaction 
qualifying under section 368(a)(1)(C). Thereafter, pursuant to the plan 
of reorganization X Corporation transferred one-half of the assets so 
acquired to Y Corporation, its wholly-owned subsidiary, and the other 
half of such assets to M Corporation, another wholly-owned subsidiary of 
X Corporation. X Corporation is the acquiring corporation for purposes 
of section 381.

    (3) Transactions and items not covered by section 381. (i) Section 
381 does not apply to partial liquidations, divisive reorganizations, or 
other transactions not described in subparagraph (1) of this paragraph. 
Moreover, section 381 does not apply to the carryover of an item or tax 
attribute not specified in subsection (c) thereof. In a case where 
section 381 does not apply to a transaction, item, or tax attribute by 
reason of either of the preceding sentences, no inference is to be drawn 
from the provisions of section 381 as to whether any item or tax 
attribute shall be taken into account by the successor corporation.
    (ii) If, pursuant to the provisions of subparagraph (2) of this 
paragraph, a corporation is considered to be the acquiring corporation 
even though a part of the acquired assets is transferred to one or more 
corporations controlled by the acquiring corporation, or all the 
acquired assets are transferred to two or more corporations controlled 
by the acquiring corporation, then the carryover of any item described 
in section 381(c) to such controlled corporation or corporations shall 
be determined without regard to section 381. Thus, for example, if a 
parent corporation is the acquiring corporation for purposes of section 
381 notwithstanding the fact that, pursuant to the plan of 
reorganization, it transferred to its wholly-owned subsidiary property 
acquired from the transferor corporation which the transferor 
corporation had elected to inventory under the last-in first-out method, 
then the question whether the subsidiary corporation shall continue to 
use the same method of inventorying with respect to that property shall 
be determined without regard to section 381.
    (c) Foreign corporations. A foreign corporation may be a 
distributor, transferor, or acquiring corporation for purposes of 
section 381. Thus, for example, the net operating loss carryovers of a 
foreign corporation, determined under the provisions of section 172 and 
subchapter N (section 861 and following), chapter 1 of the Code, may be 
carried over to a domestic acquiring corporation if the domestic 
corporation acquires the assets of the foreign corporation in a 
liquidation or reorganization described in section 381(a) and the 
requirements of Sec. 1.367-1, if applicable, have been complied with.
    (d) Internal Revenue Code of 1939. Any reference in the regulations 
under section 381 to any provision of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 
shall, where appropriate, be deemed also to refer to the corresponding 
provision of the Internal Revenue Code of 1939.

[T.D. 6500, 25 FR 11607, Nov. 26, 1960, as amended by T.D. 7343, 40 FR 
1698, Jan. 9, 1975]

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