[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 26, Volume 18]
[Revised as of April 1, 2004]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 26CFR301.7701-1]

[Page 607-608]
 
                       TITLE 26--INTERNAL REVENUE
 
    CHAPTER I--INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 
                               (CONTINUED)
 
PART 301_PROCEDURE AND ADMINISTRATION--Table of Contents
 
                               Definitions
 
Sec. 301.7701-1  Classification of organizations for federal tax purposes.


    (a) Organizations for federal tax purposes--(1) In general. The 
Internal Revenue Code prescribes the classification of various 
organizations for federal tax purposes. Whether an organization is an 
entity separate from its owners for federal tax purposes is a matter of 
federal tax law and does not depend on whether the organization is 
recognized as an entity under local law.
    (2) Certain joint undertakings give rise to entities for federal tax 
purposes. A joint venture or other contractual arrangement may create a 
separate entity for federal tax purposes if the participants carry on a 
trade, business, financial operation, or venture and divide the profits 
therefrom. For example, a separate entity exists for federal tax 
purposes if co- owners of an apartment building lease space and in 
addition provide services to the occupants either directly or through an 
agent. Nevertheless, a joint undertaking merely to share expenses does 
not create a separate entity for federal tax purposes. For example, if 
two or more persons jointly construct a ditch merely to drain surface 
water from their properties, they have not created a separate entity for 
federal tax purposes. Similarly, mere co-ownership of property that is 
maintained, kept in repair, and rented or leased does not constitute a 
separate entity for federal tax purposes. For example, if an individual 
owner, or tenants in common, of farm property lease it to a farmer for a 
cash rental or a share of the crops, they do not necessarily create a 
separate entity for federal tax purposes.
    (3) Certain local law entities not recognized. An entity formed 
under local law is not always recognized as a separate entity for 
federal tax purposes. For example, an organization wholly owned by a 
State is not recognized as a separate entity for federal tax purposes if 
it is an integral part of the State. Similarly, tribes incorporated 
under section 17 of the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, as amended, 
25 U.S.C. 477, or under section 3 of the Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act, as 
amended, 25 U.S.C. 503, are not recognized as separate entities for 
federal tax purposes.
    (4) Single owner organizations. Under Sec. Sec. 301.7701-2 and 
301.7701-3, certain organizations that have a single owner can choose to 
be recognized or disregarded as entities separate from their owners.
    (b) Classification of organizations. The classification of 
organizations that are recognized as separate entities is determined 
under Sec. Sec. 301.7701-2, 301.7701-3, and 301.7701-4 unless a 
provision of the Internal Revenue Code (such as section 860A addressing 
Real Estate Mortgage Investment Conduits (REMICs)) provides for special 
treatment of that organization. For the classification of organizations 
as trusts, see Sec. 301.7701-4. That section provides that trusts 
generally do not have associates or an objective to carry on business 
for profit. Sections 301.7701-2 and 301.7701-3 provide rules for 
classifying organizations that are not classified as trusts.
    (c) Qualified cost sharing arrangements. A qualified cost sharing 
arrangement that is described in Sec. 1.482-7 of this chapter and any 
arrangement that is treated by the Commissioner as a qualified cost 
sharing arrangement

[[Page 608]]

under Sec. 1.482-7 of this chapter is not recognized as a separate 
entity for purposes of the Internal Revenue Code. See Sec. 1.482-7 of 
this chapter for the proper treatment of qualified cost sharing 
arrangements.
    (d) Domestic and foreign entities. For purposes of this section and 
Sec. Sec. 301.7701-2 and 301.7701-3, an entity is a domestic entity if 
it is created or organized in the United States or under the law of the 
United States or of any State; an entity is foreign if it is not 
domestic. See sections 7701(a)(4) and (a)(5).
    (e) State. For purposes of this section and Sec. 301.7701-2, the 
term State includes the District of Columbia.
    (f) Effective date. The rules of this section are effective as of 
January 1, 1997.

[T.D. 8697, 61 FR 66588, Dec. 18, 1996]