[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 26, Volume 5]
[Revised as of April 1, 2004]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 26CFR1.404(g)-1]

[Page 467-468]
 
                       TITLE 26--INTERNAL REVENUE
 
    CHAPTER I--INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 
                               (CONTINUED)
 
PART 1_INCOME TAXES--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 1.404(g)-1  Deduction of employer liability payments.

    (a) General rule. Employer liability payments shall be treated as 
contributions to a stock bonus, pension, profit-sharing, or annuity plan 
to which section 404 applies. Such payments that satisfy the limitations 
of this section shall be deductible under section 404 when paid without 
regard to any other limitations in section 404.
    (b) Employer liability payments. For purposes of this section, 
employer liability payments mean:
    (1) Any payment to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) 
for termination or withdrawal liability imposed under section 4062 
(without regard to section 4062(b)(2)), 4063, or 4064 of the Employee 
Retirement Insurance Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Any bond or escrow 
payment furnished under section 4063 of ERISA shall not be considered as 
a payment of liability until applied against the liability of the 
employer.
    (2) Any payment to a non-multiemployer plan pursuant to a commitment 
to the PBGC made in accordance with PBGC Determination of Plan 
Sufficiency and Termination of Sufficient Plans. See PBGC regulations, 
29 CFR 2617.13(b) for rules concerning these commitments. Such payments 
shall not exceed an amount necessary to provide for, and used to fund, 
the benefits guaranteed under section 4022 of ERISA.
    (3) Any payment to a multiemployer plan for withdrawal liability 
imposed under part 1 of subtitle E of title IV of ERISA. Any bond or 
escrow payment furnished under such part shall not be considered as a 
payment of liability until applied against the liability of the 
employer.
    (c) Limitations, etc.--(1) Permissible expenses. A payment shall be 
deductible under section 404(g) and this section only if the payment 
satisfies the conditions of section 162 or section 212. Payments made by 
an entity which is liable for such payments because it is a member of a 
commonly controlled group of corporations, or trades or businesses, 
within the meaning of section 414 (b) or (c), shall not fail to satisfy 
such conditions merely because the entity did not directly employ 
participants in the plan with respect to which the liability payments 
were made.
    (2) Qualified plan. A payment shall be deductible under section 
404(g) and this section only if the payment is made in a taxable year of 
the employer ending

[[Page 468]]

within or with a taxable year of the trust for which the trust is exempt 
under section 501(a). For purposes of this paragraph, the payment timing 
rules of section 404(a)(6) shall apply.
    (3) Full funding limitation. (i) If the employer liability payment 
is to a plan, the total amount deductible for such payment and for other 
plan contributions may not exceed an amount equal to the full funding 
limitation as defined in section 412(c)(7) for the taxable year with 
respect to which the contributions are deemed made under section 404.
    (ii) If the total contributions to the plan for the taxable year 
including the employer liability payment exceed the amount equal to this 
full funding limitation, the employer liability payment shall be 
deductible first.
    (iii) Any amount paid in a taxable year in excess of the amount 
deductible in such year under the full funding limitation shall be 
treated as a liability payment and be deductible in the succeeding 
taxable years in order of time to the extent of the difference between 
the employer liability payments made in each succeeding year and the 
maximum amount deductible for such year under the full funding 
limitation.
    (4) Maximum deduction allowable under section 404. The amount 
deductible under section 404 is limited to the higher of the maximum 
amount deductible by the employer under section 404(a) or the amount 
otherwise deductible under section 404(g). If the contributions are to a 
plan to which more than one employer contributes, this limit shall apply 
to each employer separately rather than all employers in the aggregate. 
Thus, each employer may deduct the greater of its allocable share of the 
deduction determined under sections 404(a) and 413(b)(7) or 413(c)(6) or 
its allocable share of the amount deductible under section 404(g). 
However, pursuant to the rule in subdivision (ii) of subparagraph (3), 
in determining each employer's allocable share under section 404(a), the 
total amount deductible under section 404(a) by all employers shall not 
exceed the difference between the full funding limitation and the total 
amount deductible by all employers under section 404(g).
    (5) Example. The provisions of this paragraph may be illustrated by 
the following example:

    Example. In the 1983 taxable year, Employer A makes a withdrawal 
liability payment of $700,000 to multiemployer Plan X to which Employer 
A and Employer B are required to contribute. Employer A's allocable 
share of the deduction allowable under sections 404(a) and 413(b)(7) in 
the 1983 taxable year is $600,000. Employer B's allocable share of the 
deduction allowable under section 404(a) and 413(b)(7) in the 1983 
taxable year is $400,000.
    The full funding limitation for the 1983 taxable year is $1,000,000. 
Based on paragraph (c)(4) of this section, Employer A may deduct 
$700,000, the amount of the withdrawal liability payment. However, the 
deduction of Employer B is limited to $300,000, the difference between 
the full funding limitation and the amount deductible under section 
404(g).

    (d) Effective date etc.--(1) General rule. This section is effective 
for employer payments made after September 25, 1980.
    (2) Transitional rule. For employer payments made before September 
26, 1980, for purposes of section 404, any amount paid by an employer 
under section 4062, 4063, or 4064 of the Employee Retirement Income 
Security Act of 1974 shall be treated as a contribution to which section 
404 applies by such employer to or under a stock bonus, pension, profit-
sharing, or annuity plan.

[T.D. 8085, 51 FR 16297, May 2, 1986]