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- ⌠
- Tax Guide for Small Business, page 72
- Publication 334 (Rev. Nov. 87)
- ⌡
- Exchange for Corporate Stocks.
-
- In certain cases, exchanges for corporate stock are nontaxable.
- The rules for these nontaxable exchanges are given below.
-
- A corporation's own stock. A corporation may dispose of its own
- stock, including treasury stock, without having a recognized gain
- of loss. For options acquired or lapsed after July 18, 1984,
- there is no recognized gain or loss by a corporation as to any
- lapse or acquisition of an option to buy or sell its own stock,
- including treasury stock.
-
- Stock for stock of the same corporation. You may exchange common
- stock in the same corporation, or preferred stock for preferred
- stock in the same corporation, without having recognized gain or
- loss.
-
- Convertible stocks and bonds. If you convert bonds into stock,
- or preferred stock into common stock, there is no recognized gain
- or loss. For this rule to apply, the stock you receive must be
- in the same corporation as the bond or preferred stock you
- convert. The conversion also must be made according to the terms
- of the bond or preferred stock certificate.
-
- Property for stock. If you transfer property to a corporation in
- exchange for stock or securities in that corporation, and
- immediately afterwards you are in control of the corporation, the
- exchange is usually nontaxable. This rule applies both to
- individual investors and groups of investors who transfer
- property to a corporation.
-
- However, if the property exchanged includes depreciable property,
- you may be taxed on ordinary gain because of depreciation. See
- Chapter 23.
-
- Control of a corporation. To be in control of the corporation,
- you or your group of investors must own, immediately after the
- exchange, at least 80% of the total combined voting power of all
- classes of stock entitled to vote and at least 80% of the
- outstanding shares of each class of nonvoting stock.
-
- Example. You and Bill Jones transfer property having a basis of
- $100,00 to a corporation for stock having a fair market value of
- $300,00. However, this represents only 75% of each class of
- stock of that corporation. The other 25% already had been issued
- to someone else. You and Bill recognized a taxable gain of
- $200,000 on the transaction.
-
- Services rendered. The term property does not include services
- rendered or to be rendered to the issuing corporation.
- Therefore, stock received for services is income to the
- recipient.
-
- Example. You transfer property worth $35,000 and render services
- valued at $3,000 to a corporation in exchange for stock valued at
- $38,000. Right after the exchange you own 85% of the outstanding
- stock. No gain is recognized on the exchange of property;
- however, you will recognize ordinary income of $3,000 as payment
- for services you rendered.
-
- Property of relatively small value. The term property does not
- include property that is of relatively small value when it is
- compared to the value of stock and securities already owned or to
- be received for services by the transferor, if the main purpose
- of the transfer is the nonrecognition of gain or loss by other
- transferrers.
-
- Property transferred will not be considered to be of relatively
- small value if the fair market value of the property transferred
- is at least 10% of the fair market value of the stock and
- securities already owned or to be received for services by such
- person.
-
- Stock Received in disproportion to property transferred. If a
- group of investors exchange property for corporate stock, each
- investor does not have to receive stock in proportion to his or
- her interest in the property transferred. However,, if a
- disproportionate transfer takes place, it will be treated for tax
- purposes in accordance with its true nature. It may be treated
- as if the stock and securities had been received in proportion
- and then some of it had been used to make gifts, to pay
- compensation for services, or to satisfy obligations of the
- transferor.
-
- Money or other Property. If, in a nontaxable exchange of
- property for corporate stock, you also receive money or property
- other than stock, you may have a taxable gain. However, you are
- taxed only up to the amount of money plus the fair market value
- of the other property you receive. The rules for figuring gain
- in this situation generally follow those for a Partially
- nontaxable exchange discussed earlier under Like-kind exchanges.
- No loss is recognized.