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Problem Set 3
In each case, assume that X is a business entity with three equal owners, R, S and T. R, S and T each contribute $10,000 cash to X to form the entity.
What are the tax consequences to X, R, S and T of each of the following fact
patterns? For R, S and T, consider the effects on the basis of their ownership
interests as well as the amount, character and timing of any income they have.
In each case, address each of the following scenarios:
Scenario A. X is a C corporation (or an "association").
Scenario B. X is an S corporation.
Scenario C. X is a partnership, or an LLC taxed as a partnership. Under the partnership agreement or LLC operating agreement, all items of income, deduction, loss and credit are allocated equally among R, S and T.
In this problem set, we will first discuss all of the problems together as
applied to C corporations. We will then discuss all of the problems together in
the context of S corporations; finally, we will discuss all of the problems
together in the context of partnerships.
Problem 3.1. Shortly after it is formed, X borrows $54,000 from a bank. The loan is a recourse loan; no payments are due until the next year. For the first year of its operation, X has a pre-tax net operating loss of $39,000. X makes no distributions to R, S or T. For purposes of Scenario C, assume that X is a general partnership.
Problem 3.2. Same as Problem 3.1, except that, in Scenario C, X is a limited partnership; R is the sole general partner; and S and T are the limited partners.
Problem 3.3. Same as Problem 3.1, except that, in Scenario C, X is an LLC.
Problem 3.4. Same as Problem 3.2, except that R, S and T individually guarantee X's obligation to the lender. For purposes of Scenario C, assume that X is a limited partnership; R is the sole general partner; and S and T are the limited partners.
Problem 3.5. Same as Problem 3.1, except that, in addition to contributing $10,000 each in cash for their equity interests in X, the owners (R, S and T) each lend $10,000 to X.
Problem 3.6.
Same as Problem 3.1, except that for the first year of its operations, X has a
pre-tax operating profit (before any deduction for interest it paid) of
$24,000. X pays $900 of interest and $1200 of principal to the lender.
Suggested Study for Problem Set 3
Scenario A (C corporations): I.R.C. §§ 11, 172.
Scenario B (S corporations): I.R.C. §§ 1363, 1366 (especially 1366(d)), 1367, 1371; Harris v. United States (below).
Scenario C (partnerships): I.R.C. §§ 702, 704 (especially 704(d)),
705, 752; Treas. Regs. §§ 1.752-1(a), 1.752-2(a), (b), 1.752-3.
(902 F.2d 439)
J.H. HARRIS, and William J. Martin,
Plaintiffs-Appellants,
v.
No. 89-3024.
Fifth Circuit.
June 7, 1990.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
Before JOHNSON, WILLIAMS and GARWOOD, Circuit Judges.
GARWOOD, Circuit Judge:
In this federal income tax refund suit, plaintiffs-appellants, J.H. Harris
(Harris) and William J. Martin (Martin), collectively Taxpayers, appeal the
district court's summary judgment in favor of defendant-appellee, the
Facts and Proceedings Below
In June 1982, Taxpayers contracted with Trans-Lux
New Orleans Corporation to purchase for $665,585 cash a
Subsequently, to shield themselves from the potential adverse publicity that could follow from the purchase of the pornographic theater, as well as to limit their personal liability and enhance their chances of qualifying for industrial revenue bonds to finance the theater's renovation, in July 1982 Taxpayers formed Harmar (Harmar), a Louisiana corporation, which elected to be taxed pursuant to Subchapter S of the Internal Revenue Code, to purchase and operate the subject property. Harris and Martin each initially contributed $1,000 to the corporation, receiving its stock in return, and each also loaned Harmar $47,500 to satisfy operating expenses. Harris and Martin were the sole shareholders of Harmar, each owning half of its stock.
The purchase of the theater closed on November 1, 1982, and the theater was
conveyed to Harmar on that date.
On its income tax return for the year ending December 31, 1982, Harmar reported a net operating loss of $104,013. Pursuant to section 1374 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954,(4) Taxpayers each claimed half of the loss as a deduction on their 1982 individual returns,(5) concluding that their bases in Harmar were in fact greater than Harmar's net operating loss for that year and that they therefore were entitled to deduct the entire loss on their personal returns. On audit, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) found to the contrary and determined that Harris and Martin each had a basis of $1,000 in his Harmar stock and an adjusted basis in Harmar's indebtedness to each of them as shareholders of $47,500. Pursuant to I.R.C. § 1374(c)(2), the IRS limited Taxpayers' deductions of the net operating loss to what it considered to be their bases in Harmar, $48,500 each. The IRS's disallowance of a portion of the deductions claimed by Taxpayers(6) resulted in additional tax liability, including interest, for Martin of $3,150.58 and for Harris of $1,280. Taxpayers paid the tax in dispute and now appeal the district court's summary judgment dismissing their suit for refund.
Discussion
Taxpayers contend on appeal that in determining the deduction allowable for Harmar's net operating loss, the IRS should have included
in Taxpayers' bases in their Harmar stock the full
value of the $700,000
In its summary judgment memorandum, the district court declared that Brown
v. Commissioner, 706 F.2d 755 (6th Cir.1983), was "on all fours" with
the instant case and therefore resolved it. In Brown, the Sixth Circuit
rejected shareholders' substance over form argument in ruling that the
shareholders' guarantees of loans to their Subchapter S corporation could not
increase their bases in their stock in the corporation unless the shareholders
made an economic outlay by satisfying at least a portion of the guaranteed
debt.
Taxpayers press this Court to follow the contrary holding of Selfe v.
The courts have uniformly ruled that a shareholder must make an economic
outlay to increase his Subchapter S corporation stock basis. See Leavitt, 875
F.2d at 422; Selfe, 778 F.2d at 772; Brown, 706 F.2d
at 756; Underwood v. Commissioner, 535 F.2d 309, 311-12 (5th Cir.1976).
Taxpayers assert that if we look beyond the form of the transaction at what
they contend is its substance--a loan from
Ordinarily, taxpayers are bound by the form of the transaction they have
chosen; taxpayers may not in hindsight recast the transaction as one that they
might have made in order to obtain tax advantages. Don E. Williams Co. v.
Commissioner, 429
In this case we find that the transaction as structured did not lack adequate substance or reality and that an economic outlay justifying the basis claimed by Taxpayers never occurred.
The summary judgment evidence reflects that the parties to this transaction
intended that the
Moreover, if the transaction is to be "recast," it is by no means clear
that it should be recast in the form sought by Taxpayers, namely as a cash loan
to them from Hibernia followed by their payment of the cash to Harmar as a contribution to its capital, and Harmar's then using the cash to purchase the building. Such
recasting does not account for
Taxpayers' guarantees and Harris' pledge of certificates of deposit do not
undermine the intent of the parties that Harmar be
the borrower in this transaction. It certainly is not difficult to fathom that
a careful lender to a new, small, closely held corporation such as Harmar would seek personal guarantees from all of its
shareholders. See Bogdanski, supra, at 269. Moreover, the wholly unperformed
guarantees do not satisfy the requirement that an economic outlay be made
before a corresponding increase in basis can occur. See generally Underwood,
535 F.2d at 312. In the same light, Harris' pledge to
We conclude that the transaction must be treated as it purports to be and as
the parties treated it--namely as a loan by Hibernia to Harmar,
all payments on which through the relevant time have been made by Harmar to
Conclusion
There was no genuine dispute as to any material fact necessary to sustain theGovernment's summary judgment motion. The district court's judgment is correct and it is therefore
AFFIRMED.
1. As part of the contract, Taxpayers deposited with the seller $32,500, all of which was to be applied to the purchase price. In the event Taxpayers were unable to procure the loan, the purchase contract called for their deposit to be refunded.
2. Smith asserted in his deposition that he did not know the purpose of the borrowed funds in excess of the purchase price, but he surmised that the money was intended for improvements to the theater. No written loan commitment was ever issued.
3. As noted, the purchase price was $665,585. Harris testified in his deposition that at closing there was also paid some $10,000 in miscellaneous closing costs and a $35,000 real estate commission, so "the entire $700,000 was accounted for at the closing." It is unclear whether the $32,500 escrow previously deposited by the Taxpayers with the seller was wholly or partially refunded to them or was credited to Harmar. Harmar's 1982 income tax return shows that as of December 31, 1982, it had land and buildings with an original cost of $674,367.
4. Except as otherwise indicated, references herein to the Internal Revenue Code (I.R.C.) are to the Internal Revenue Code of 1954. * * * We also observe that the limitations provided in former § 1374(c)(2) by section 2 of the Subchapter S Revision Act of 1982 were subsequently reenacted in § 1366(d)(1). That section is currently in effect.
5. Harris and Martin claimed deductions for Harmar's loss of $52,006 and $52,007, respectively.
6. The IRS disallowed $4,506 of Harris' deduction and $4,507 of Martin's.
7. In reasoning that the shareholders had not increased their stock bases as
a result of their guarantees, the court turned to I.R.C. § 1012, which defines
basis of property as its cost.
8. The court noted that the loan in question had been made by the bank
directly to the corporation, the loan payments were made by the corporation
directly to the bank, and neither the corporation nor the shareholders reported
the payments as constructive dividends.
Under Leavitt, the presumption is that the form will control and that presumption will not be surmounted absent the shareholder's satisfying the higher standard applicable to a taxpayer's seeking to disavow the form he selected and recast a transaction. See Bowers, Building Up an S Shareholder's Basis through Loans and Acquisitions, J. Tax'n S Corp., Fall 1989, at 22, 29.
9. In
Subsequent decisions have elaborated on Plantation Patterns and identified thirteen factors used to establish whether shareholder advances to a corporation are debt or equity. They are:
"(1) the names given to the certificates evidencing the indebtedness;
"(2) the presence or absence of a fixed maturity date;
"(3) the source of payments;
"(4) the right to enforce payment of principal and interest;
"(5) participation in management flowing as a result;
"(6) the status of the contribution in relation to regular corporate creditors;
"(7) the intent of the parties;
"(8) 'thin' or adequate capitalization;
"(9) identity of interest between creditor and stockholder;
"(10) source of interest payments;
"(11) the ability of the corporation to obtain loans from outside lending institutions;
"(12) the extent to which the advance was used to acquire capital assets; and "(13) the failure of the debtor to repay on the due date or to seek a postponement."
In re Lane, 742 F.2d 1311, 1314-15 (11th Cir.1984) (quoting Estate of Mixon v.
10. The Fourth Circuit embraced the Tax Court's interpretation of its earlier opinion in Blum v. Commissioner, 59 T.C. 436 (1972). In Blum, the court rejected the taxpayer's substance over form argument. The Leavitt Tax Court asserted that the Blum court never reached the debt/equity issue "because the taxpayer had failed his burden of proving that the bank in substance had loaned the funds to the taxpayer and not to the corporation." Leavitt, 90 T.C. at 215. Thus construed, Blum in no way undermines the Fourth Circuit's § 1374 analysis.
11. See S.Rep. No. 1983, 85th Cong., 2d Sess. at 220, U.S.Code Cong. & Admin.News 1958, p. 4791, (1958-3 Cum.Bull. at 1141); see also Comment, Subchapter S Loss Limitation: The Effect of Shareholder Loan Guarantees on Basis, 40 Sw.L.J. 1241, 1263 (1987).
12. In his deposition, when discussing the documentation required to make
the loan, Smith stated that items such as the corporate certificate of good
standing, corporate charter, and articles of incorporation were prerequisites
to closing the loan because
13. To the extent Harmar did not have funds available, Taxpayers would deposit personal funds into Harmar's account, but the checks were always drawn on Harmar's checking account. These and other amounts advanced by Taxpayers to Harmar were carried on its books as part of its interest-bearing indebtedness to Taxpayers.
14. This is unlike the situation in Underwood, 535 F.2d at 312 & n.2,
where we allowed the IRS to disregard a note of the shareholders of the
Subchapter S corporation to another of their wholly-owned corporations that was
substituted for the Subchapter S corporation's note, because it was not shown
that the shareholders there intended to or would ever "make a demand upon
themselves ... for payment of their note." Here,
We also observe that this case stands in contrast to those involving nominees or dummy corporations. In such instances, courts may look beyond the form of a transaction if it is clear that the corporation served no significant business activity and that the shareholders intended that the corporation serve only as a dummy for them. See, e.g., Paymer v. Commissioner, 150 F.2d 334, 337 (2d Cir.1945); B. Bittker & J. Eustice, Federal Income Taxation of Corporations and Shareholders ¶ 2.10 (1979). In this case, Taxpayers intended that Harmar conduct significant business activity, and they do not contend that Harmar's separate, corporate identity should be disregarded or that it was a mere sham.
We do not suggest that had the transaction been structured in a different manner it would have lacked adequate substance or reality, or that there was no way the transaction could have been structured to afford Taxpayers a further $700,000 basis in Harmar under section 1374(c)(2) (now section 1366(d)(1)).
15. See also Megaard, No Stock Basis for Shareholder Guarantee of S Corporation Debt, 15 J.Corp. Tax'n 340 (1989). Megaard explains that "[u]nder Section 358(d), the assumption by a corporation of its shareholder's debt is treated as money received which reduces the shareholder's basis in the stock." Id. at 349. Cf. id. at 350 ("Having the corporation's assets encumbered by the shareholder's personal debt runs the risk of a basis reduction under Section 358 should the Service argue that the transaction was a purchase by the shareholder of the ... assets followed by a contribution of the assets to the corporation subject to the debt.").
16. Taxpayers would have us, in effect, convert this pledge to Hibernia into
a $700,000 cash contribution made to Harmar by
Taxpayers equally. But that did not happen. Taxpayers do not contend that the
certificates of deposit were contributed to Harmar's
capital.
Study
Guide Reading
For those using the Black Letter study guide (optional), this material is
covered in Chapter III(C) (pages 112-114); Chapter XV(D)(3)(c) (pages 398-400);
Chapter XVI(C) (pages 423-428); and Chapter XVII(C)(4) (pages 484-497).
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Update: 10 Jan 08
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