26 CFR § 1.1362-4 - Inadvertent terminations and inadvertently invalid elections.
(a) In general. A corporation is treated as continuing to be an S corporation or a QSub (or, an invalid election to be either an S corporation or a QSub is treated as valid) during the period specified by the Commissioner if—
(1) The corporation made a valid election under section 1362(a) or section 1361(b)(3) and the election terminated or the corporation made an election under section 1362(a) or section 1361(b)(3) that was invalid;
(2) The Commissioner determines that the termination or invalidity was inadvertent;
(3) Within a reasonable period of time after discovery of the terminating event or invalid election, steps were taken so that the corporation for which the election was made or the termination occurred is a small business corporation or a QSub, as the case may be, or to acquire the required shareholder consents; and
(4) The corporation and shareholders agree to adjustments that the Commissioner may require for the period.
(b) Inadvertent termination or inadvertently invalid election. For purposes of paragraph (a) of this section, the determination of whether a termination or invalid election was inadvertent is made by the Commissioner. The corporation has the burden of establishing that under the relevant facts and circumstances the Commissioner should determine that the termination or invalid election was inadvertent. The fact that the terminating event or invalidity of the election was not reasonably within the control of the corporation and, in the case of a termination, was not part of a plan to terminate the election, or the fact that the terminating event or circumstance took place without the knowledge of the corporation, notwithstanding its due diligence to safeguard itself against such an event or circumstance, tends to establish that the termination or invalidity of the election was inadvertent.
(c) Corporation's request for determination of an inadvertent termination or invalid election. A corporation that believes that the termination or invalidity of its election was inadvertent may request a determination from the Commissioner that the termination or invalidity of its election was inadvertent. The request is made in the form of a ruling request and should set forth all relevant facts pertaining to the event or circumstance including, but not limited to, the facts described in paragraph (b) of this section, the date of the corporation's election (or intended election) under section 1362(a) or 1361(b)(3), a detailed explanation of the event or circumstance causing the termination or invalidity, when and how the event or circumstance was discovered, and the steps taken under paragraph (a)(3) of this section.
(d) Adjustments. The Commissioner may require any adjustments that are appropriate. In general, the adjustments required should be consistent with the treatment of the corporation as an S corporation or QSub during the period specified by the Commissioner. In the case of stock held by an ineligible shareholder that causes an inadvertent termination or invalid election for an S corporation under section 1362(f), the Commissioner may require the ineligible shareholder to be treated as a shareholder of the S corporation during the period the ineligible shareholder actually held stock in the corporation. Moreover, the Commissioner may require protective adjustments that prevent the loss of any revenue due to the holding of stock by an ineligible shareholder (for example, a nonresident alien).
(e) Corporation and shareholder consents. The corporation and all persons who were shareholders of the corporation at any time during the period specified by the Commissioner must consent to any adjustments that the Commissioner may require. Each consent should be in the form of a statement agreeing to make the adjustments. The statement must be signed by the shareholder (in the case of shareholder consent) or a person authorized to sign the return required by section 6037 (in the case of corporate consent). See § 1.1362–6(b)(2) for persons required to sign consents. A shareholder's consent statement should include the name, address, and taxpayer identification numbers of the corporation and shareholder, the number of shares of stock owned by the shareholder, and the dates on which the shareholder owned any stock. The corporate consent statement should include the name, address, and taxpayer identification numbers of the corporation and each shareholder.
(f) Status of corporation. The status of the corporation after the terminating event or invalid election and before the determination of inadvertence is determined by the Commissioner. Inadvertent termination or inadvertent invalid election relief may be granted retroactively for all years for which the terminating event or circumstance giving rise to invalidity is effective, in which case the corporation is treated as if its election was valid or had not terminated. Alternatively, relief may be granted only for the period in which the corporation became eligible for subchapter S or QSub treatment, in which case the corporation is treated as a C corporation or, in the case of a QSub with an inadvertently terminated or invalid election, as a separate C corporation, during the period for which the corporation was not eligible for its intended status.
(g) Effective/applicability date. Paragraphs (a), (b), (c), (d), and (f) of this section are effective on August 14, 2008.