26 C.F.R. §§ 1.1563-1–1.1563-4

Types of controlled groups. For purposes of sections 1561 through 1563, the term controlled group of corporations means any group of corporations which is—

Special rules. In determining whether a corporation is included in a controlled group of corporations, section 1563(b) and paragraph (b) of this section shall not be taken into account. For rules defining a component member of a controlled group of corporations, including rules defining an excluded member and an additional member, see section 1563(b) and paragraph (b) of this section.

Cross reference. For the exclusion of certain stock for purposes of applying the definitions contained in this paragraph, see section 1563(c) and § 1.1563-2.

Definition. The term parent-subsidiary controlled group means one or more chains of corporations connected through stock ownership with a common parent corporation if—

Examples. The definition of a parent-subsidiary controlled group of corporations may be illustrated by the following examples:

Definition. The term brother-sister controlled group means two or more corporations if the same five or fewer persons who are individuals, estates, or trusts own (directly and with the application of the rules contained in § 1.1563-3(b)) stock possessing more than 50 percent of the total combined voting power of all classes of stock entitled to vote or more than 50 percent of the total value of shares of all classes of stock of each corporation, taking into account the stock ownership of each such person only to the extent such stock ownership is identical with respect to each such corporation.

Additional stock ownership requirement for purposes of certain other provisions of law. For purposes of any provision of law (other than sections 1561 through 1563) that incorporates the section 1563(a) definition of a controlled group, the term brother-sister controlled group means two or more corporations if the same five or fewer persons who are individuals, estates, or trusts own (directly and with the application of the rules contained in § 1.1563-3(b)) stock possessing—

Examples. The principles of paragraph (a)(3)(ii) of this section may be illustrated by the following examples:

Special rule if prior law applies. Paragraph (a)(3)(ii) of this section, as amended by TD 8179, applies to taxable years ending on or after December 31, 1970. See, however, the transitional rule in paragraph (d) of this section.

Definition. The term combined group means any group of three or more corporations if—

Examples. The definition of a combined group of corporations may be illustrated by the following examples:

Definition. The term life insurance controlled group means two or more life insurance companies each of which is a member of a controlled group of corporations described in paragraph (a)(2), (a)(3)(i), or (a)(4) of this section and to which § 1.1502-47(f)(6) does not apply. Such insurance companies shall be treated as a controlled group of corporations separate from any other corporations which are members of a controlled group described in such paragraph (a)(2), (a)(3)(i), or (a)(4) of this section. For purposes of this section, the common parent of the controlled group described in paragraph (a)(2) of this section shall be referred to as the common parent of the life insurance controlled group.

Examples. The following examples illustrate the definition of a life insurance controlled group. In these examples, L indicates a life company, another letter indicates a nonlife company and each corporation uses the calendar year as its taxable year:

Definition. For purposes of sections 1561 through 1563, a corporation is with respect to its taxable year a component member of a controlled group of corporations for the group's testing date if such corporation—

Member of a controlled group of corporations. For purposes of sections 1561 through 1563, a member of a controlled group is a corporation connected with other member(s) of a controlled group under the stock ownership rules and the stock qualification rules set forth in section 1563. Under these rules, for a corporation to qualify as a component member of the group with respect to a group's December 31st testing date (or the short-year testing date for a short-year member), that corporation does not have to be a member of that group on that group's testing date. In addition, a corporation that is a member of a controlled group on the group's testing date does not necessarily qualify as a component member of that group with respect to that testing date.

Temporal test. A corporation, which is a member of a controlled group of corporations on the group's testing date, a date included within that member's taxable year, but who was a member of such group for less than one-half of the number of days of its testing period, shall be treated as an excluded member of such group for that group's testing date.

Qualification test. A corporation which is a member of a controlled group of corporations on a testing date shall be treated as an excluded member of such group on such date if, for its taxable year including such date, such corporation is—

One corporation. If on a December 31st, a corporation would, without the application of this paragraph (c)(2), be a component member of more than one brother-sister controlled group on such date, the corporation will be treated as a component member of only one such group on such date. Such corporation may elect the group in which it is to be included by including on or with its income tax return for the taxable year that includes such date a statement entitled, “STATEMENT TO ELECT CONTROLLED GROUP PURSUANT TO § 1.1563-1(c)(2).” This statement must include—

Multiple corporations. If more than one corporation would, without the application of this paragraph (c)(2), be a component member of more than one controlled group, those corporations electing to be component members of the same group must file a single statement. The statement must contain the information described in paragraph (c)(2)(i) of this section, plus the names and employer identification numbers of all other corporations designating the same group. The original statement must be included on or with the original Federal income tax return (including any amended return filed on or before the due date (including extensions) of such return) of the corporation that, among those corporations which would (without the application of this paragraph (c)(2)) belong to more than one group, has the taxable year including such December 31st which ends on the earliest date. That corporation must provide a copy of the statement to each other corporation included in the statement and represent in its statement that it has done so. Either the original or a copy of the statement must be retained by each corporation as part of its records. See § 1.6001-1(e) of this chapter.

Examples. The provisions of this paragraph (c)(2) may be illustrated by the following examples (in which it is assumed that all the individuals are unrelated):

Old group. Under the authority of section 7805(b), the Internal Revenue Service will treat an old group as a brother-sister controlled group corporations for purposes of applying sections 401, 404(a), 408(k), 409A, 410, 411, 412, 414, 415, and 4971 of the Internal Revenue Code (Code) and sections 202, 203, 204, and 302 of the Employment Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) in a plan year or taxable year beginning before March 2, 1988, to the extent necessary to prevent an adverse effect on any old member (or any other corporation), or on any plan or other entity described in such sections (including plans, etc., of corporations not part of such old group), that would result solely from the retroactive effect of the amendment to this section by TD 8179. An adverse effect includes the disqualification of a plan or the disallowance of a deduction or credit for a contribution to a plan. The Internal Revenue Service, however, will not treat an old member as a member of an old group to the extent that such treatment will have an adverse effect on that old member.

Old member of old group. Section 7805(b) will not be applied pursuant to paragraph (d)(2)(i) of this section to treat an old member of an old group as a member of a brother-sister controlled group to prevent an adverse effect for a taxable year if, for that taxable year, that old member treats or has treated itself as not being a member of that old group for purposes of sections 401, 404(a), 408(k), 409A, 410, 411, 412, 414, 415, and 4971 of the Code and sections 202, 203, 204, and 302 and title IV of ERISA for such taxable year (such as by filing, with respect to such taxable year, a return, amended return, or claim for credit or refund in which the amount of any deduction, credit, limitation, or tax due is determined by treating itself as not being a member of the old group for purposes of those sections). However, the fact that one or more (but not all) of the old members do not qualify for section 7805(b) treatment because of the preceding sentence will not preclude that old member (or members) from being treated as a member of the old group under paragraph (d)(2)(i) of this section in order to prevent the disallowance of a deduction or credit of another old member (or other corporation) or to prevent the disqualification of, or other adverse effect on, another old member's plan (or other entity) described in the sections of the Code and ERISA enumerated in such paragraph.

In general. A corporation may make an election under paragraph (c)(2) of this section by filing an amended return on or before September 2, 1988 if—

Exception. This paragraph (d)(5) does not apply to a corporation that is treated as a member of an old group under paragraph (d)(3) of this section.

Paragraph (a)(1)(ii) of this section applies to taxable years beginning on or after April 11, 2011.

Paragraphs (a)(2)(i)(A) and (B), (a)(6), and (b)(4) of this section apply to taxable years beginning on or after December 30, 2024.

Rule. Stock owned, directly or indirectly, by or for a partnership is considered as owned by any partner having an interest of 5 percent or more in either the capital or profits of the partnership in proportion to the partner's interest in capital or profits, whichever such proportion is the greater.

Stock owned, directly or indirectly, by or for an estate or trust is considered as owned by any beneficiary who has an actuarial interest of 5 percent or more in such stock, to the extent of such actuarial interest. For purposes of this paragraph (b)(3)(i), the actuarial interest of each beneficiary is determined by assuming the maximum exercise of discretion by the fiduciary in favor of such beneficiary and the maximum use of such stock to satisfy the beneficiary's rights as a beneficiary. A beneficiary of an estate or trust who cannot under any circumstances receive any interest in stock held by the estate or trust, including the proceeds from the disposition thereof, or the income therefrom, does not have an actuarial interest in such stock. Thus, where stock owned by a decedent's estate has been specifically bequeathed to certain beneficiaries and the remainder of the estate is bequeathed to other beneficiaries, the stock is attributable only to the beneficiaries to whom it is specifically bequeathed. Similarly, a remainderman of a trust who cannot under any circumstances receive any interest in the stock of a corporation which is a part of the corpus of the trust (including any accumulated income therefrom or the proceeds from a disposition thereof) does not have an actuarial interest in such stock. However, an income beneficiary of a trust does have an actuarial interest in stock if that beneficiary has any right to the income from such stock even though under the terms of the trust instrument such stock can never be distributed to that beneficiary. The factors and methods prescribed in § 20.2031-7 of this chapter (Estate Tax Regulations) for use in ascertaining the value of an interest in property for estate tax purposes must be used for purposes of this paragraph (b)(3)(i) in determining a beneficiary's actuarial interest in stock owned directly or indirectly by or for a trust.

For the purposes of this paragraph (b)(3), property of a decedent is considered as owned by the decedent's estate if such property is subject to administration by the executor or administrator for the purposes of paying claims against the estate and expenses of administration notwithstanding that, under local law, legal title to such property vests in the decedent's heirs, legatees or devisees immediately upon death. With respect to an estate, the term beneficiary includes any person entitled to receive property of the decedent pursuant to a will or pursuant to laws of descent and distribution. A person no longer is considered a beneficiary of an estate when all the property to which the person is entitled has been received by the person, when the person no longer has a claim against the estate arising out of having been a beneficiary, and when there is only a remote possibility that it will be necessary for the estate to seek the return of property or to seek payment from the person by contribution or otherwise to satisfy claims against the estate or expenses of administration. When pursuant to the preceding sentence, a person ceases to be a beneficiary, stock owned by the estate is not thereafter considered owned by the person.

Stock owned, directly or indirectly, by or for any portion of a trust of which a person is considered the owner under Subpart E, Part I, Subchapter J of the Code (relating to grantors and others treated as substantial owners) is considered as owned by such person.

This subparagraph does not apply to stock owned by any employees' trust described in section 401(a) which is exempt from tax under section 501(a).

Stock owned, directly or indirectly, by or for a corporation shall be considered as owned by any person who owns (within the meaning of section 1563(d)) 5 percent or more in value or its stock in that proportion which the value of the stock which such person so owns bears to the value of all the stock in such corporation.

Example. Brown, an individual, owns 60 shares of the 100 shares of the only class of outstanding stock of corporation P. Smith, an individual, owns 4 shares of the P stock, and corporation X owns 36 shares of the P stock. Corporation P owns, directly and indirectly, 50 shares of the stock of corporation S. Under this paragraph (b)(4), Brown is considered to own 30 shares of the S stock (60/100 × 50), and X is considered to own 18 shares of the S stock (36/100 × 50). Since Smith does not own 5 percent or more in value of the P stock, Smith is not considered as owning any of the S stock owned by P. If, in this example, Smith's spouse had owned directly 1 share of the P stock, Smith (and Smith's spouse) would each own 5 shares of the P stock, and therefore Smith (and Smith's spouse) would be considered as owning 2.5 shares of the S stock (5/100 × 50).

Except as provided in paragraph (b)(5)(ii) of this section, an individual is considered to own the stock owned, directly or indirectly, by or for the individual's spouse, other than a spouse who is legally separated from the individual under a decree of divorce, whether interlocutory or final, or a decree of separate maintenance.

An individual is not considered to own stock in a corporation owned, directly or indirectly, by or for the individual's spouse on any day of a taxable year of such corporation, provided that each of the following conditions are satisfied with respect to such taxable year:

For purposes of subdivision (ii)(c) of this subparagraph, the gross income of a corporation for a taxable year shall be determined under section 61 and the regulations thereunder. The terms “royalties”, “rents”, “dividends”, “interest”, and “annuities” shall have the same meanings such terms are given for purposes of section 1244(c). See paragraph (e)(1)(ii), (iii), (iv), (v), and (vi) of § 1.1244(c)-1.

An individual is considered to own the stock owned, directly or indirectly, by or for the individual's children who have not attained the age of 21 years, and, if the individual has not attained the age of 21 years, the stock owned, directly or indirectly, by or for the individual's parents.

If an individual owns (directly, and with the application of the rules of this paragraph but without regard to this paragraph (b)(6)(ii)) stock possessing more than 50 percent of the total combined voting power of all classes of stock entitled to vote or more than 50 percent of the total value of shares of all classes of stock in a corporation, then such individual is considered to own the stock in such corporation owned, directly or indirectly, by or for the individual's parents, grandparents, grandchildren, and children who have attained the age of 21 years. In determining whether the stock owned by an individual possesses the requisite percentage of the total combined voting power of all classes of stock entitled to vote of a corporation, see § 1.1563-1(a)(6).

For purposes of section 1563, and §§ 1.1563-1 through 1.1563-4, a legally adopted child of an individual shall be treated as a child of such individual by blood.

If, by reason of subparagraph (1) of this paragraph, a corporation would (but for this subparagraph) become a component member of more than one controlled group on a December 31, such corporation shall be treated as a component member of only one such controlled group on such date. The determination as to which group such corporation is treated as a component member of shall be made in accordance with the rules contained in paragraphs (d)(2)(ii), (iii) and (iv) of this section.

In any case in which a corporation is a component member of a controlled group of corporations on a December 31 as a result of treating each share of its stock as owned only by the person who owns such share directly, then each such share shall be treated as owned by the person who owns such share directly.

If the application of subdivision (ii) of this subparagraph does not result in a corporation being treated as a component member of only one controlled group on a December 31, then the stock of such corporation described in subparagraph (1) of this paragraph shall be treated as owned by the one person described in such subparagraph who owns, directly and with the application of the rules contained in paragraph (b) (1), (2), (3), and (4) of this section, the stock possessing the greatest percentage of the total value of shares of all classes of stock of the corporation.

Statement. If the application of paragraph (d)(2)(ii) or (iii) of this section does not result in a corporation being treated as a component member of only one controlled group of corporations on a December 31, then such corporation will be treated as a component member of only one such group on such date. Such corporation may elect the group in which it is to be included by including on or with its income tax return a statement entitled, “STATEMENT TO ELECT CONTROLLED GROUP PURSUANT TO § 1.1563-3(d)(2)(iv).” The statement must include—

Provide a reasonable selling price for the stock of the member, and

Require that a portion of the employee's compensation or dividends, or both, from such member be applied to the purchase of such stock (or to the purchase of notes, bonds, debentures, or similar evidences of indebtedness of such member held by the parent corporation or the common owner).