§ 1.402(d)-1 — Effect of section 402(d).

26 CFR § 1.402(d)-1

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

Text

§ 1.402(d)-1 Effect of section 402(d).

(a) If the requirements of section 402(d) are met, a contribution made by an employer on behalf of an employee to a trust which is not exempt under section 501(a) shall not be included in the income of the employee in the year in which the contribution is made. Such contribution will be taxable to the employee, when received in later years, as provided in section 72 (relating to annuities). For taxable years beginning before January 1, 1964, section 72(e)(3) (relating to the treatment of certain lump sums), as in effect before such date, shall not apply to such contributions. For taxable years beginning after December 31, 1963, such contributions, when received, may be taken into account in computations under sections 1301 through 1305 (relating to income averaging). See paragraph (b) of § 1.403(c)-1. The intent and purpose of section 402(d) is to give those employees, covered under certain non-exempt trusts to which such section applies, essentially the same tax treatment as those covered by trusts described in section 401(a) and exempt under section 501(a), except that the capital gains treatment referred to in section 402(a)(2) does not apply.

(b) Every person claiming the benefit of section 402(d) must be able to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Commissioner that all of the provisions of such section are met. The taxpayer must produce sufficient evidence to prove:

(1) That, before October 21, 1942, he was employed by the particular employer making the contribution in question and was at such time definitely covered by a written agreement, entered into before October 21, 1942, between himself and the employer, or between the employer and the trustee of a trust established by the employer before October 21, 1942, and that the contribution by the employer was made pursuant to such agreement. The fact that an employee may have been potentially covered is not sufficient. Evidence that the employment was entered into, or the agreement executed, “as of” a date before October 21, 1942, or that the agreement or trust instrument which did not theretofore meet the requirements of section 402(d) was modified or amended after October 20, 1942, so as to come within the provisions of such section, will not satisfy the requirements of section 402(d).

(2) That such contribution, pursuant to the terms of such agreement, was to be applied for the purchase of an annuity contract for the taxpayer. In the case of a contribution by the employer of an annuity contract purchased by such employer and transferred by him to the trustee of the trust, evidence should be presented to prove that such contract was purchased for the taxpayer by the employer pursuant to the terms of a written agreement between the employer and the employee or between the employer and the trustee, entered into before October 21, 1942.

(3) That under the written terms of the trust agreement the taxpayer is not entitled during his lifetime, except with the consent of the trustee, to any payments other than annuity payments under the annuity contract or contracts purchased by the trustee or by the employer and transferred to the trustee, and that the trustee may grant or withhold such consent free from control by the taxpayer, the employer, or any other person. However, such control will not be presumed from the fact that the trustee is himself an officer or employee of the employer. As used in section 402(d) the phrase “if * * * under the terms of the trust agreement the employee is not entitled” means that the trust instrument must make it impossible for the prohibited distribution to occur whether by operation or natural termination of the trust, whether by power of revocation or amendment, other than with the consent of the trustee, whether by the happening of a contingency, by collateral arrangement, or any other means. It is not essential that the employer relinquish all power to modify or terminate the trust but it must be impossible, except with the consent of the trustee, to be received by the taxpayer contracts purchased by the trustee, or by the employer and transferred to the trustee, to be received by the taxpayer directly or indirectly, other than as annuity payments.

(4) The nature and amount of such contribution and the extent to which income taxes have been paid thereon before January 1, 1949, and not credited or refunded.

(5) If it is claimed that section 402(d) applies to amounts contributed to a trust after June 1, 1949, the taxpayer must prove to the satisfaction of the Commissioner that the trust did not, on June 1, 1949, qualify for exemption under section 165(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1939. Where an employer buys an annuity contract which is transferred to the trustee, the date of the purchase of the annuity contract and not the date of the transfer to the trustee is the controlling date in determining whether or not the contribution was made to the trust after June 1, 1949.

[T.D. 6500, 25 FR 11679, Nov. 26, 1960, as amended by T.D. 6885, 31 FR 7801, June 2, 1966]