§ 1.381(a)-1 — General rule relating to carryovers in certain corporate acquisitions.

26 CFR § 1.381(a)-1

• Title: Title 26: Internal Revenue
• Part: Part 1: Income Taxes
• Source: eCFR (current through Mar 20, 2026)

Text

§ 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;

(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. In a transaction to which section 381(a)(2) applies, the acquiring corporation is the corporation that, pursuant to the plan of reorganization, directly acquires the assets transferred by the transferor corporation, even if that corporation ultimately retains none of the assets so transferred.

(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)). X 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. 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.

(c) Foreign corporations. For additional rules involving foreign corporations, see §§ 1.367(b)-7 through 1.367(b)-9.

(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.

(e) Effective/applicability date. The rules of paragraph (b)(1)(i) of this section apply to corporate reorganizations and tax-free liquidations described in section 381(a) that occur on or after August 31, 2011. The last sentence of paragraph (b)(2)(i) of this section and Example 2 of paragraph (b)(2)(ii) of this section apply to transactions occurring on or after November 10, 2014.

[T.D. 6500, 25 FR 11607, Nov. 26, 1960, as amended by T.D. 7343, 40 FR 1698, Jan. 9, 1975; T.D. 9273, 71 FR 44914, Aug. 8, 2006; T.D. 9534, 76 FR 45675, Aug. 1, 2011; T.D. 9700; 79 FR 66617, Nov. 10, 2014]