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
On May 1, 2024, the Treasury Department (Treasury) and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released Revenue Procedure 2024-24 (Revenue Procedure), which sets out substantially revised guidelines for private letter ruling (PLR)...more
The Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") recently issued important guidance identifying new positions the IRS is considering on critical aspects of tax-free spin-offs, and significantly expanding the information that taxpayers...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 January 2, 2024, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released two revenue procedures updating the IRS guidelines for private letter ruling (PLR) requests, Revenue Procedure 2024-1 and Revenue Procedure 2024-3 (the 2024...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
Sibling Rivalry- You have probably encountered family-owned corporations in which the founder’s offspring are involved in the business to varying degrees. They may even own some equity, typically having received such equity...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
Brief commentary on the past week’s cases, rulings, notices, and related federal tax guidance. Corporations Permitted to Rely on Public Shareholder Data to Confirm Qualification for Tax-Free Spin-off and Subsequent Merger...more
On February 28, 2020, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released private letter ruling 202009002 (the PLR), which concluded that an absence of income does not, under the facts of the PLR, prevent a line of business from...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
A couple of months back, a local business reporter asked whether I could identify one kind of corporate transaction that was occupying more of my time than any other. When I asked whether they were referring to any specific...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 Bracewell Tax Report is a periodic publication focused on developments in federal income tax law, including the recently enacted Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, with emphasis on how such developments impact the energy, technology...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
In a new 18-month pilot program, the IRS is temporarily opening up a previous no-rule policy with respect to certain issues arising in a distribution by a corporation to its shareholders under Section 355....more
Today, the Wall Street Journal considers again, on its front page above the fold, the potential benefits of corporate spin-off transactions. The Journal article notes that the S&P Spin-Off Index has outperformed the S&P 500...more
The Situation: In 2013, the IRS ceased issuing private letter rulings confirming the general tax consequences of tax-free spin-offs....more
On September 21, 2017, the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) issued Revenue Procedure 2017-52 (the “Rev. Proc.”), introducing an 18-month “pilot program” in respect of corporate “spin-off,” “split-up” and “split-off”...more
A new Letter Ruling from the IRS brings concerns for corporations looking at a spinoff. Our Federal Tax Group breaks down the guidelines and what they mean. - Dual-class structure - Debt - Delayed transfers LTR...more
The IRS recently provided taxpayers with favorable guidance involving tax-free spin-offs. First, the IRS will resume issuing private rulings that allow a distributing corporation to satisfy debt it issued in anticipation of a...more
On May 3, the Internal Revenue Service (the IRS) issued Revenue Ruling 2017-09 (the “Ruling”), which helpfully clarifies that the separate steps of a typical “north-south” spinoff transaction will be respected, and announced...more
Section 385 Proposed Regulations — Impact on Related-Party Financing - Section 385 has been in the Internal Revenue Code since 1969. It was enacted to provide guidance for whether to classify an interest in a corporation...more