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TOPICS / CORPORATIONS

Ordinary Worthless Stock Deductions: Characterizing Subsidiary Receipts

An ordinary loss deduction for worthless stock of an affiliated operating subsidiary generally is permitted as long as more than 90% of the subsidiary’s gross receipts are from active operating income. This item discusses the difficulty of determining whether a subsidiary’s gross receipts qualify as active operating income for this purpose under various circumstances.

The Impact of Unified Loss Rules on Earnings and Profits

This item explores whether an adjustment is made for E&P purposes when a member of a consolidated group is required under the unified loss rules to reduce its basis in the stock of another member for regular tax purposes upon the first member’s disposition of the second member’s stock at a loss for regular tax purposes.

Prop. Regs. on Controlled Group Deferred Losses

The IRS issued proposed regulations on the time for taking into account deferred losses on the sale or exchange of property between members of a controlled group (REG-118761-09).

Extended NOL Carrybacks and the AMT

The addition and expansion of the Sec. 172(b)(1)(H) election has created numerous tax planning opportunities for corporations that have sustained NOLs; the ability to change the character of election-year ATNOLs creates an additional benefit of making this election.

Tax Implications of the Five-Year NOL Carryback

An extended carryback period of up to 5 years is available for NOLs generated in 2008 or 2009. The author reviews some of the practical issues that should be considered when deciding whether to take advantage of the extended NOL carryback period.

Homebuyer Credit, NOL Carrybacks Extended; Mandatory E-Filing Enacted

The Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009 contains a handful of tax provisions. These include changes to the first-time homebuyers’ credit, increased NOL carrybacks for small businesses, and mandatory e-filing for most tax return preparers.

AMT Consequences of an Ownership Change

While most tax planning routinely contemplates the impact of the Sec. 382 limitation on the use of a corporation’s net unrealized built-in losses (NUBILs) following an ownership change, the corresponding impact of Sec. 56(g)(4)(G) for adjusted current earnings (ACE) is often overlooked and may have a significantly different effect than Sec. 382.

Intangibles Can Be Like-Kind Property

The IRS ruled that exchanged intangibles such as trademarks, trade names, mastheads, and advertiser and subscriber accounts may be eligible for like-kind exchange treatment.

Should a Company Elect to Defer Cancellation of Debt?

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 provides certain business debtors with a cancellation of debt (COD) income deferral election under new Sec. 108(i) for reacquisitions by the debtor or by certain related parties of applicable debt instruments after December 31, 2008, and before January 1, 2011.

IRS Clarifies Guidance on Small Business NOL Carrybacks

The IRS has issued Rev. Proc. 2009-26, which clarifies the guidance in Rev. Proc. 2009-19 on how small businesses can elect to carry back 2008 net operating losses (NOLs) for three, four, or five years, as provided for by Sec. 172(b)(1) (H) (instead of the usual two years).