These proposed regulations applicable to tax-free spin-offs would impose a range of new substantive requirements and greatly expand the information that must be reported to the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") by taxpayers...more
On January 13, 2025, the U.S. Treasury Department (the “Treasury”) and the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) issued proposed regulations (REG-112261-23 and REG-112261-24) adding and amending parts of the regulations...more
Spin-offs have become increasingly popular with innovative companies as a method of unlocking shareholder value, but the transaction is not always tax-free, particularly for international employees holding equity awards or...more
The US Department of the Treasury (Treasury Department) and the IRS recently released Revenue Procedure 2024-24 (Revenue Procedure) and Notice 2024-38 (Notice) establishing revised standards and procedures for taxpayers...more
Earlier this month, the IRS released Revenue Procedure 2024-24, which sets forth new requirements for requests for private letter rulings ("PLRs") on corporate spin-off and split-off transactions. (Both spin-offs...more
Over the last three months, public statements by U.S. Treasury and Internal Revenue Service officials have suggested that they are in the process of significantly revising the rules governing tax-free spin-offs, split-offs...more
On November 18, 2022, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) published private letter ruling 202246008 (the PLR), which concluded that a transaction qualifies as a tax-free spin-off under Section 3552 despite the fact that the...more
Corporate reorganizations and spin-off transactions are transactions where there is often a great deal of incentive to qualify for tax-free treatment. In many cases, the amount of tax at issue justifies obtaining a private...more
Takeaways - Tax law changes in the Build Back Better Act (BBBA) would limit the amount of value a company could extract in a spin-off by using a debt-for-debt exchange. Companies may be able to achieve most of the...more
On January 14, 2022, the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") released Revenue Procedure 2022-10, which establishes a "fast-track processing" pilot program for certain private letter ruling requests that are solely or primarily...more
Brief commentary on recent cases, rulings, notices, and related federal tax guidance as of December 14, 2021. U.S. Agreements Expand Potential Tax Credits for Digital Service Taxes - The global tax landscape is...more
Regulations frequently change as Congress adopts new policies and the IRS issues new or revised regulations implementing those policy changes. Tax elections based on existing law cannot be revoked if later regulatory changes...more
Speaking at several tax conferences this month, several senior IRS officials, including the Associate Chief Counsel, Corporate, discussed the nuances of the device requirement for spinoffs and signaled a willingness to relax...more
On February 28, 2020, the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) released PLR 202009002, the first private letter ruling that will potentially permit a tax-free spin-off of a research and development (“R&D”) intensive business...more
Our Federal Tax Group considers whether corporations that have engaged in spinoffs should be aggressive in deducting expenses. ...more
Mostly Divisions- Over the last several months, many of the projects on which I have been working have involved the division of a corporation or of a partnership. Yes, there have been purchases and sales of businesses...more
On May 17, 2019, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) published private letter ruling 201920008 (the PLR), which concluded that a transaction qualifies as a tax-free spin-off under Section 355 despite the fact that the...more
In our recent article on spin-offs (click here), we discussed an announcement made by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) signaling a change in the application of the active trade or business (ATB) requirement under Section...more
The “five-year active trade or business” or “ATB” requirement of section 355 is notorious for defeating many otherwise promising tax-free spin-off transactions. Consider the following common scenarios... Originally...more
The new guidance is significant given the popularity of debt exchanges as a monetization technique in conjunction with spin-offs. On October 3, 2018, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) published Revenue Procedure 2018-53,...more
On September 25, 2018, the IRS announced that it is undertaking a study regarding the application of the five-year active trade or business requirement of Section 355(b) (the “ATB Requirement”) to entrepreneurial ventures...more
The IRS is considering future guidance that could present opportunities for R&D phase businesses. In a statement issued on September 25, 2018, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced that it is studying the active...more
On September 25, 2018, the Internal Revenue Service (the IRS) released a statement announcing a study of the "active trade or business" test for tax-free spin-offs under Section 355 (the ATB Test), as applied to...more
Sometimes, it becomes necessary for a corporation to be divided, in which a shareholder or a group of shareholders would separate from the corporation and take with them a business division, unit or location. Parties...more
On September 21, 2017, the IRS announced in Revenue Procedure 2017-52 (the “Pilot Program Rev. Proc.”) that it is expanding the scope of spin-off private letter ruling requests that it will consider. The pilot program is...more