99-32693. Definition of Contribution in Aid of Construction Under Section 118(c)  

  • [Federal Register Volume 64, Number 243 (Monday, December 20, 1999)]
    [Proposed Rules]
    [Pages 71082-71086]
    From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
    [FR Doc No: 99-32693]
    
    
    =======================================================================
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------
    
    DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
    
    Internal Revenue Service
    
    26 CFR Part 1
    
    [REG-106012-98]
    RIN 1545-AW17
    
    
    Definition of Contribution in Aid of Construction Under Section 
    118(c)
    
    AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Treasury.
    
    ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking and notice of public hearing.
    
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------
    
    SUMMARY: This document contains proposed regulations concerning the 
    definition of a contribution in aid of construction under section 
    118(c) and the adjusted basis of any property acquired with a 
    contribution in aid of construction. The proposed regulations affect a 
    regulated public utility that provides water or sewerage services 
    because a qualifying contribution in aid of construction is treated as 
    a contribution to the capital of the utility and excluded from gross 
    income. This document also provides notice of a public hearing on these 
    proposed regulations.
    
    DATES: Written and electronic comments must be received by March 22, 
    2000.
        Outlines of topics to be discussed at the public hearing scheduled 
    for April 27, 2000, must be received by April 6, 2000.
    
    ADDRESSES: Send submissions to: CC:DOM:CORP:R (REG-106012-98), room 
    5226, Internal Revenue Service, POB 7604, Ben Franklin Station, 
    Washington, DC 20044. Submissions may be hand delivered Monday through 
    Friday between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. to: CC:DOM:CORP:R (REG-
    106012-98), Courier's Desk, Internal Revenue Service, 1111 Constitution 
    Avenue, NW., Washington, DC. Alternatively, taxpayers may submit 
    comments electronically via the Internet by selecting the ``Tax Regs'' 
    option on the IRS Home Page, or by submitting comments directly to the 
    IRS Internet site at http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/tax__regs/
    regslist.html. The public hearing will be held in room 2615, Internal 
    Revenue Building, 1111 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC.
    
    FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Concerning the regulations, Paul 
    Handleman, (202) 622-3040; concerning submissions, the hearing, and/or 
    to be placed on the building access list to attend the hearing, LaNita 
    Van Dyke, (202) 622-7180 (not toll-free numbers).
    
    SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    
    Paperwork Reduction Act
    
        The collection of information contained in this notice of proposed 
    rulemaking has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget 
    for review in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 
    U.S.C. 3507(d)). Comments on the collection of information should be 
    sent to the Office of Management and Budget, Attn: Desk Officer for the 
    Department of the Treasury, Office of Information and Regulatory 
    Affairs, Washington, DC 20503, with copies to the Internal Revenue 
    Service, Attn: IRS Reports Clearance Officer, OP:FS:FP, Washington, DC 
    20224.
        Comments on the collection of information should be received by 
    February 18, 2000.
        Comments are specifically requested concerning:
        Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the 
    proper performance of the functions of the IRS, including whether the 
    information will have practical utility;
        The accuracy of the estimated burden associated with the proposed 
    collection of information (see below);
        How the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be 
    collected may be enhanced;
        How the burden of complying with the proposed collection of 
    information may be minimized, including through the application of 
    automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
    technology; and
        Estimates of capital or start-up costs and costs of operation, 
    maintenance, and purchase of services to provide information.
        The requirement for the collection of information in this notice of 
    proposed rulemaking is in Sec. 1.118-2(e). The information is required 
    by the IRS to establish that a taxpayer has notified the IRS of amounts 
    to be treated as a contribution to capital under section 118(c). This 
    information will be used to determine when the statutory period for the 
    assessment of any deficiency attributable to any contribution to 
    capital under section 118(c) expires. The collection of information is 
    mandatory. The likely respondents are businesses and other for-profit 
    organizations.
        Estimated total annual reporting burden: 100 hours.
        The estimated annual burden per respondent varies from .5 hours to 
    5 hours, depending on individual circumstances, with an estimated 
    average of 1 hour.
        Estimated number of respondents: 100.
        Estimated annual frequency of responses: annually.
        An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required 
    to respond to, a collection of information unless the collection of 
    information displays a valid control number assigned by the Office of 
    Management and Budget.
        Books or records relating to a collection of information must be 
    retained as long as their contents may become material in the 
    administration of any internal revenue law. Generally, tax returns and 
    tax return information are confidential, as required by 26 U.S.C. 6103.
    
    Background
    
        This document contains proposed amendments to the Income Tax 
    Regulations (26 CFR part 1) to provide regulations under section 118(c) 
    of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. Section 118(c) was added to the 
    Code by section 1613(a)(1)(B) of the Small Business Job Protection Act 
    of 1996 (SBJPA of 1996), 1996-3 C.B. 155, 248-250. Under section 
    1613(a)(3) of the SBJPA of 1996, the amendments made by section 1613(a) 
    apply to amounts received after June 12, 1996.
    
    Explanation of Provisions
    
    Contribution to Capital
    
        Section 118(a) generally provides that, in the case of a 
    corporation, gross income does not include any contribution to the 
    capital of the taxpayer. Under section 118(b), a contribution in aid of 
    construction generally is not a contribution to the capital of the 
    taxpayer and is not excluded from gross income under section 118(a). 
    However, for amounts received after June 12, 1996, section 118(c) 
    provides an exception to this rule.
        Under section 118(c)(1), the term ``contribution to the capital of 
    the
    
    [[Page 71083]]
    
    taxpayer'' includes any amount of money or other property received from 
    any person (whether or not a shareholder) by a regulated public utility 
    that provides water or sewerage disposal services if the amount is a 
    contribution in aid of construction. In the case of a contribution of 
    property other than water or sewerage disposal facilities, the amount 
    must meet the requirements of the expenditure rule of section 118(c)(2) 
    (which generally requires that the amount is expended to acquire or 
    construct water or sewerage disposal facilities within the specified 
    time period). Moreover, the amount (or any property acquired or 
    constructed with the amount) cannot be included in the taxpayer's rate 
    base for rate-making purposes.
    
    Contribution in Aid of Construction
    
        Section 118(c)(3)(A) provides that, for purposes of section 118(c), 
    the term ``contribution in aid of construction'' shall be defined by 
    regulations prescribed by the Secretary, except that such term shall 
    not include amounts paid as service charges for starting or stopping 
    services.
        Section 118(c) was added by the SBJPA of 1996 ``to restore the 
    contribution in aid of construction provision that was repealed by the 
    Tax Reform Act of 1986 (1986 Act) for regulated public utilities that 
    provide water or sewerage disposal services.'' H.R. Conf. Rep. No. 737, 
    104th Cong., 2d Sess. 316 (1996), 1996-3 C.B. 741, 1056. Before the 
    1986 Act, former section 118(b) generally provided that a contribution 
    in aid of construction received by a regulated public utility was 
    treated as a contribution to the capital of the taxpayer and was 
    excluded from gross income. However, former section 118(b)(3)(A) 
    provided that the term ``contribution in aid of construction'' did not 
    include amounts paid as customer connection fees (including amounts 
    paid to connect the customer's line to an electric line, a gas main, a 
    steam line, or a main water or sewer line and amounts paid as service 
    charges for starting or stopping services). The legislative history of 
    the SBJPA of 1996 also states that ``[p]rior to the enactment of the 
    Tax Reform Act of 1986 * * * [a nontaxable] contribution in aid of 
    construction did not include a connection fee.'' Id.
        The nontaxable contribution in aid of construction provision in 
    former section 118(b) is derived from a line of cases, including 
    several Supreme Court cases, beginning with Edwards v. Cuba R.R., 268 
    U.S. 628 (1925), IV-2 C.B. 122. In Edwards, the Supreme Court held that 
    subsidy payments by the Republic of Cuba to a railroad company to 
    induce the construction and operation of a railroad in Cuba were not 
    included in the recipient corporation's gross income because the 
    payments were not made for services rendered or to be rendered. In 
    Detroit Edison Co. v. Commissioner, 319 U.S. 98 (1943), 1943 C.B. 1019, 
    the Supreme Court looked at the contributors' motivation to determine 
    whether payments by customers for extending electrical service lines 
    were nonshareholder contributions to capital. Because the transferors 
    received direct benefits in the form of services as a result of the 
    contributions, the Court held that the payments were not contributions 
    to capital, but the price for receiving service.
        The Supreme Court elaborated on the contributor's motivation in 
    Brown Shoe Co. v. Commissioner, 339 U.S. 583 (1950), 1950-1 C.B. 38, 
    when it held that, if the transferor did not anticipate any direct 
    benefit from the contribution, such as the receipt of services, but 
    expected only that the transaction would benefit the community at 
    large, the funds were contributions to capital. The lack of a direct 
    benefit to the transferor was considered indicative of an intent to 
    increase the transferee's capital. In United States v. Chicago, 
    Burlington & Quincy R.R., 412 U.S. 401 (1973), 1973-2 C.B. 428, the 
    Supreme Court held that government payments received by a railroad 
    company for improvements at grade crossing and intersections were not 
    contributions to capital. In reaching its holding, the Court set forth 
    five characteristics of a nonshareholder contribution to capital, 
    including that the amounts received must not constitute payments for 
    specific, quantifiable services provided for the transferor by the 
    transferee.
        Consistent with the above Supreme Court cases, a customer 
    connection fee would not have qualified as a nonshareholder 
    contribution to the capital of the utility under section 118(a) because 
    the fee clearly is paid as a prerequisite for obtaining services. In 
    addition, the IRS' position prior to the enactment of former section 
    118(b) as articulated in Rev. Rul. 75-557, 1975-2 C.B. 33, was that 
    customer connection fees charged by a water utility were not excludable 
    from income. In 1976, Congress enacted former section 118(b) to treat 
    contributions in aid of construction to water or sewerage disposal 
    facilities as excludable contributions to capital. This legislation 
    specifically excluded customer connection fees from the definition of 
    nontaxable contributions in aid of construction. As explained by the 
    court in Florida Progress Corp. v. United States, M.D. Fla., No. 93-
    246-CIV-T-25A, 9/2/98, Congress enacted former section 118(b) in 1976 
    to codify the already existing case law with regard to contributions in 
    aid of construction to water and sewerage disposal facilities. 
    Thereafter, payments made to a utility to encourage the extension of 
    facilities into new areas benefitting a large number of people would be 
    given tax free status; however, as held by the Supreme Court in Detroit 
    Edison, payments made to a utility as a prerequisite to receiving water 
    or sewerage service would be treated as taxable income to the utility.
        The proposed regulations define the term ``contribution in aid of 
    construction,'' for purposes of section 118(c), as meaning any amount 
    of money or other property contributed to a regulated public utility 
    that provides water or sewerage disposal services to the extent that 
    the purpose of the contribution is to provide for the expansion, 
    improvement, or replacement of the utility's water or sewerage disposal 
    facilities. However, to restore the contribution in aid of construction 
    provision that existed before the 1986 Act for regulated public 
    utilities providing water and sewerage disposal services as well as to 
    be consistent with the Supreme Court cases discussed above, the 
    proposed regulations exclude customer connection fees from the 
    definition of contribution in aid of construction.
        A customer connection fee is defined in the proposed regulations as 
    any amount of money or property contributed to the utility representing 
    the cost of installing a connection or service line (including the cost 
    of meters and piping) from the utility's main water or sewer lines to 
    the line owned by the customer or potential customer. However, money or 
    property contributed for a connection or service line from the 
    utility's main line to the customer 's or potential customers line is 
    not a customer connection fee if the connection or service line does 
    serve, or is designed to serve, more than one customer. The proposed 
    regulations also define a customer connection fee as including any 
    amount paid as a service charge for stopping or starting service.
        The proposed regulations indicate that a contribution in aid of 
    construction may include an amount of money or other property 
    contributed to a regulated public utility for a water or sewerage 
    disposal facility subject to a contingent obligation to repay, in whole 
    or in part, the amount to the contributor (commonly referred to as an 
    ``advance''). However, no inference is intended as to whether an amount 
    subject to such a
    
    [[Page 71084]]
    
    repayment obligation is a contribution or loan. Whether an advance is a 
    contribution or a loan is determined under general principles of 
    federal tax law based on all the facts and circumstances.
    
    Adjusted Basis
    
        Section 118(c)(4) provides that notwithstanding any other provision 
    of subtitle A, no deduction or credit shall be allowed for, or by 
    reason of, any expenditure which constitutes a contribution in aid of 
    construction to which section 118(c) applies. The adjusted basis of any 
    property acquired with a contribution in aid of construction to which 
    section 118(c) applies shall be zero.
        Consistent with section 118(c)(4), the proposed regulations provide 
    rules for adjusting the basis of water or sewerage disposal facilities 
    acquired as, or acquired or constructed with any money received as, a 
    contribution in aid of construction.
    
    Statute of Limitations
    
        Section 118(d)(1) provides that if the taxpayer for any taxable 
    year treats an amount as a contribution to the capital of the taxpayer 
    described in section 118(c), then the statutory period for the 
    assessment of any deficiency attributable to any part of the amount 
    does not expire before the expiration of 3 years from the date the 
    Secretary is notified by the taxpayer (in such manner as the Secretary 
    may prescribe) of the amount of the expenditure referred to in section 
    118(c)(2)(A), of the taxpayer's intention not to make the expenditures 
    referred to in section 118(c)(2)(A), or of a failure to make the 
    expenditure within the period described in section 118(c)(2)(B). 
    Section 118(d)(2) provides that the deficiency may be assessed before 
    the expiration of such 3-year period notwithstanding the provisions of 
    any other law or rule of law which would otherwise prevent assessment. 
    The proposed regulations provide the time and manner for taxpayers to 
    notify the Secretary with respect to its contributions in aid of 
    construction under section 118(d)(1).
    
    Proposed Effective Date
    
        The regulations are proposed to be applicable for any money or 
    other property received by a regulated public utility that provides 
    water or sewerage disposal services on or after the date final 
    regulations are published in the Federal Register.
    
    Special Analyses
    
        It has been determined that this notice of proposed rulemaking is 
    not a significant regulatory action as defined in Executive Order 
    12866. Therefore, a regulatory assessment is not required. It is hereby 
    certified that the collection of information in these regulations will 
    not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
    entities. This certification is based upon the fact that any burden on 
    taxpayers is minimal. Accordingly, a Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 
    under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. chapter 6) is not 
    required. Pursuant to section 7805(f) of the Internal Revenue Code, 
    this notice of proposed rulemaking will be submitted to the Chief 
    Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration for comment 
    on its impact on small business.
    
    Comments and Public Hearing
    
        Before these proposed regulations are adopted as final regulations, 
    consideration will be given to any written comments (a signed original 
    and eight (8) copies) or electronic comments that are submitted timely 
    to the IRS. The IRS and Treasury Department specifically request 
    comments on the clarity of the proposed rule and how it may be made 
    easier to understand. All comments will be available for public 
    inspection and copying.
        A public hearing has been scheduled for Thursday, April 27, 2000, 
    at 10 a.m. in room 2615, Internal Revenue Building, 1111 Constitution 
    Avenue, NW., Washington DC. Due to building security procedures, 
    visitors must enter at the 10th Street entrance, located between 
    Constitution and Pennsylvania Avenues, NW. In addition, all visitors 
    must present photo identification to enter the building. Because of 
    access restrictions, visitors will not be admitted beyond the immediate 
    entrance area more than 15 minutes before the hearing starts. For 
    information about having your name placed on the building access list 
    to attend the hearing, see the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section 
    of this preamble.
        The rules of 26 CFR 601.601(a)(3) apply to the hearing.
        Persons who wish to present oral comments at the hearing must 
    submit an outline of the topics to be discussed and the time to be 
    devoted to each topic (signed original and eight (8) copies) by April 
    6, 2000.
        A period of 10 minutes will be allotted to each person for making 
    comments.
        An agenda showing the scheduling of the speakers will be prepared 
    after the deadline for receiving outlines has passed. Copies of the 
    agenda will be available free of charge at the hearing.
        Drafting Information: The principal author of these regulations is 
    Paul F. Handleman, Office of the Assistant Chief Counsel (Passthroughs 
    and Special Industries), IRS. However, other personnel from the IRS and 
    Treasury Department participated in their development.
    
    List of Subjects in 26 CFR Part 1
    
        Income taxes, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
    
    Proposed Amendments to the Regulations
    
        Accordingly, 26 CFR part 1 is proposed to be amended as follows:
    
    PART 1--INCOME TAXES
    
        Paragraph 1. The authority citation for part 1 is amended by adding 
    an entry in numerical order to read in part as follows:
    
        Authority: 26 U.S.C. 7805 * * *
    
        Section 1.118-2 also issued under 26 U.S.C. 118(c)(3)(A); * * *
        Par. 2. Section 1.118-2 is added to read as follows:
    
    
    Sec. 1.118-2  Contribution in aid of construction.
    
        (a) Special rule for water and sewerage disposal utilities--(1) In 
    general. For purposes of section 118, the term ``contribution to the 
    capital of the taxpayer'' includes any amount of money or other 
    property received from any person (whether or not a shareholder) by a 
    regulated public utility that provides water or sewerage disposal 
    services if--
        (i) The amount is a contribution in aid of construction under 
    paragraph (b) of this section;
        (ii) In the case of a contribution of property other than water or 
    sewerage disposal facilities, the amount satisfies the expenditure rule 
    under paragraph (c) of this section; and
        (iii) The amount (or any property acquired or constructed with the 
    amount) is not included in the taxpayer's rate base for ratemaking 
    purposes.
        (2) Definitions--(i) Regulated public utility has the meaning given 
    such term by section 7701(a)(33), except that such term does not 
    include any utility which is not required to provide water or sewerage 
    disposal services to members of the general public in its service area.
        (ii) Water or sewerage disposal facility is defined as tangible 
    property described in section 1231(b) that is used predominately (i.e., 
    80% or more) in the trade or business of furnishing water or sewerage 
    disposal services.
        (b) Contribution in aid of construction--(1) In general. For
    
    [[Page 71085]]
    
    purposes of section 118(c) and this section, the term ``contribution in 
    aid of construction'' means any amount of money or other property 
    contributed to a regulated public utility that provides water or 
    sewerage disposal services to the extent that the purpose of the 
    contribution is to provide for the expansion, improvement, or 
    replacement of the utility's water or sewerage disposal facilities.
        (2) Advances. A contribution in aid of construction may include an 
    amount of money or other property contributed to a regulated public 
    utility for a water or sewerage disposal facility subject to a 
    contingent obligation to repay the amount, in whole or in part, to the 
    contributor (commonly referred to as an ``advance''). For example, an 
    amount received by a utility from a developer to construct a water 
    facility pursuant to an agreement under which the utility will pay the 
    developer a percentage of the receipts from the facility over a fixed 
    period may constitute a contribution in aid of construction. Whether an 
    advance is a contribution or a loan is determined under general 
    principles of federal tax law based on all the facts and circumstances. 
    For the treatment of any amount of a contribution in aid of 
    construction that is repaid by the utility to the contributor, see 
    paragraphs (c)(2)(ii) and (d)(2) of this section.
        (3) Customer connection fee. A customer connection fee is not a 
    contribution in aid of construction under this paragraph (b) and is 
    includible in income. The term ``customer connection fee'' includes any 
    amount of money or other property transferred to the utility 
    representing the cost of installing a connection or service line 
    (including the cost of meters and piping) from the utility's main water 
    or sewer lines to the line owned by the customer or potential customer. 
    However, money or other property contributed for a connection or 
    service line from the utility's main line to the customer's or 
    potential customer's line is not a customer connection fee if the 
    connection or service line does serve, or is designed to serve, more 
    than one customer. A customer connection fee also includes any amount 
    paid as a service charge for stopping or starting service.
        (4) Binding agreement to reimburse utility for a facility 
    previously placed in service. If a water or sewerage disposal facility 
    is placed in service by the utility before an amount is contributed to 
    the utility, the contribution is not a contribution in aid of 
    construction under this paragraph (b) with respect to the cost of the 
    facility unless, at the time the facility is placed in service by the 
    utility, there is an agreement, binding under local law between the 
    prospective contributor and the utility, that the utility is to receive 
    the amount as reimbursement for the cost of acquiring or constructing 
    the facility. If such an agreement exists, the basis of the facility 
    must be reduced by the amount of the contribution at the time the 
    facility is placed in service.
        (5) Classification by ratemaking authority. The fact that the 
    applicable ratemaking authority classifies any money or other property 
    received by a utility as a contribution in aid of construction is not 
    conclusive as to its treatment under this paragraph (b).
        (c) Expenditure rule--(1) In general. An amount satisfies the 
    expenditure rule of section 118(c)(2) if the amount is expended for the 
    acquisition or construction of property described in section 
    118(c)(2)(A), the amount is paid or incurred before the end of the 
    second taxable year after the taxable year in which the amount was 
    received as required by section 118(c)(2)(B), and accurate records are 
    kept of contributions and expenditures as provided in section 
    118(c)(2)(C).
        (2) Excess amount--(i) Includible in the utility's income. An 
    amount received by a utility as a contribution in aid of construction 
    that is not expended for the acquisition or construction of water or 
    sewerage disposal facilities as required by paragraph (c)(1) of this 
    section (the excess amount) is not a contribution to the capital of the 
    taxpayer under paragraph (a) of this section. Except as provided in 
    paragraph (c)(2)(ii) of this section, such excess amount is includible 
    in the utility's income in the taxable year in which the amount was 
    received.
        (ii) Repayment of excess amount. If the excess amount described in 
    paragraph (c)(2)(i) of this section is repaid, in whole or in part, 
    either--
        (A) Before the end of the time period described in paragraph (c)(1) 
    of this section, the repayment amount is not includible in the 
    utility's income; or
        (B) After the end of the time period described in paragraph (c)(1) 
    of this section, the repayment amount may be deducted by the utility in 
    the taxable year in which it is paid or incurred to the extent such 
    amount was included in income.
        (3) Example. The application of this paragraph (c) is illustrated 
    by the following example:
    
        Example. M, a calendar year regulated public utility that 
    provides water services, received a $1,000,000 contribution in aid 
    of construction in 1999 for the purpose of constructing a water 
    facility. To the extent that the $1,000,000 exceeded the actual cost 
    of the facility, the contribution was subject to being returned. In 
    2000, M built the facility at a cost of $700,000 and returned 
    $200,000 to the contributor. As of the end of 2001, M had not 
    returned the remaining $100,000. Assuming accurate records are kept, 
    the requirement under section 118(c)(2) is satisfied for $700,000 of 
    the contribution. Because $200,000 of the contribution was returned 
    within the time period during which qualifying expenditures could be 
    made, this amount is not includible in M's income. However, the 
    remaining $100,000 is includible in M's income for its 1999 taxable 
    year (the taxable year in which the amount was received) because the 
    amount was neither spent nor repaid during the prescribed time 
    period. To the extent M repays the remaining $100,000 after year 
    2001, M would be entitled to a deduction in the year such repayment 
    is paid or incurred.
    
        (d) Adjusted basis--(1) Exclusion from basis. Except for a 
    repayment described in paragraph (d)(2) of this section, to the extent 
    that a water or sewerage disposal facility is acquired or constructed 
    with an amount received as a contribution to the capital of the 
    taxpayer under paragraph (a) of this section, the basis of the facility 
    is reduced by the amount of the contribution. To the extent the water 
    or sewerage disposal facility is acquired as a contribution to the 
    capital of the taxpayer under paragraph (a) of this section, the basis 
    of the contributed facility is zero.
        (2) Repayment of contribution. If a contribution to the capital of 
    the taxpayer under paragraph (a) of this section is repaid to the 
    contributor, either in whole or in part, then the repayment amount is a 
    capital expenditure in the taxable year in which it is paid or 
    incurred, resulting in an increase in the property's adjusted basis in 
    such year.
        (3) Allocation of contributions. An amount treated as a capital 
    expenditure under this paragraph (d) is to be allocated proportionately 
    to the adjusted basis of each property acquired or constructed with the 
    contribution based on the relative cost of such property.
        (4) Example. The application of this paragraph (d) is illustrated 
    by the following example:
    
        Example. A, a calendar year regulated public utility that 
    provides water services, received a $1,000,000 contribution in aid 
    of construction in 1999 as an advance from B, a developer, for the 
    purpose of constructing a water facility. To the extent that the 
    $1,000,000 exceeds the actual cost of the facility, the contribution 
    is subject to being returned. Under the terms of the advance, A 
    agrees to pay to B a percentage of the receipts from the facility 
    over a fixed period, but limited to the cost of the facility. In 
    2000, A builds the facility at a cost of $700,000 and returns 
    $300,000 to B. In 2001, A pays
    
    [[Page 71086]]
    
    $20,000 to B out of the receipts from the facility. Assuming 
    accurate records are kept, the $700,000 advance is a contribution to 
    the capital of A under paragraph (a) of this section and is 
    excludable from A's income. The basis of the $700,000 facility 
    constructed with this contribution to capital is zero. The $300,000 
    excess amount is not a contribution to the capital of A under 
    paragraph (a) of this section because it does not meet the 
    expenditure rule described in paragraph (c)(1) of this section. 
    However, this excess amount is not includible in A's income pursuant 
    to paragraph (c)(2)(ii) of this section since the amount is repaid 
    to B within the required time period. The repayment of the $300,000 
    excess amount to B in 2000 is not treated as a capital expenditure 
    by A. The $20,000 payment to B in 2001 is treated as a capital 
    expenditure by A in 2001 resulting in an increase in the adjusted 
    basis of the water facility from zero to $20,000.
    
        (e) Statute of limitations--(1) Extension of statute of 
    limitations. Under section 118(d)(1), the statutory period for 
    assessment of any deficiency attributable to a contribution to capital 
    under paragraph (a) of this section does not expire before the 
    expiration of 3 years after the date the taxpayer notifies the 
    Secretary in the time and manner prescribed in paragraph (e)(2) of this 
    section.
        (2) Time and manner of notification. Notification is made by 
    attaching a statement to the taxpayer's federal income tax return for 
    the taxable year in which any of the reportable items in paragraphs 
    (e)(2)(i) through (iii) of this section occur. The statement must 
    contain the taxpayer's name, address, employer identification number, 
    taxable year and the following information with respect to 
    contributions of property other than water or sewerage disposal 
    facilities that are subject to the expenditure rule described in 
    paragraph (c) of this section:
        (i) The amount of contributions in aid of construction expended 
    during the taxable year for property described in section 118(c)(2)(A) 
    (qualified property) as required under paragraph (c)(1) of this 
    section, identified by taxable year in which the contributions were 
    received.
        (ii) The amount of contributions in aid of construction that the 
    taxpayer does not intend to expend for qualified property as required 
    under paragraph (c)(1) of this section, identified by taxable year in 
    which the contributions were received.
        (iii) The amount of contributions in aid of construction that the 
    taxpayer failed to expend for qualified property as required under 
    paragraph (c)(1) of this section, identified by taxable year in which 
    the contributions were received.
        (f) Effective date. This section is applicable for any money or 
    other property received by a regulated public utility that provides 
    water or sewerage disposal services on or after the date final 
    regulations are published in the Federal Register.
    Robert E. Wenzel,
    Deputy Commissioner of Internal Revenue.
    [FR Doc. 99-32693 Filed 12-17-99; 8:45 am]
    BILLING CODE 4830-01-U
    
    
    

Document Information

Published:
12/20/1999
Department:
Internal Revenue Service
Entry Type:
Proposed Rule
Action:
Notice of proposed rulemaking and notice of public hearing.
Document Number:
99-32693
Dates:
Written and electronic comments must be received by March 22, 2000.
Pages:
71082-71086 (5 pages)
Docket Numbers:
REG-106012-98
RINs:
1545-AW17: Definition of Contribution in Aid of Construction Under Section 118(c)
RIN Links:
https://www.federalregister.gov/regulations/1545-AW17/definition-of-contribution-in-aid-of-construction-under-section-118-c-
PDF File:
99-32693.pdf
CFR: (1)
26 CFR 1.118-2