26 CFR § 1.149(e)-1 - Information reporting requirements for tax-exempt bonds.

§ 1.149(e)-1 Information reporting requirements for tax-exempt bonds.

(a) General rule. Interest on a bond is included in gross income unless certain information with respect to the issue of which the bond is a part is reported to the Internal Revenue Service in accordance with the requirements of this section. This section applies to any bond if the issue of which the bond is a part is issued after December 31, 1986 (including any bond issued to refund a bond issued on or before December 31, 1986).

(b) Requirements for private activity bonds—(1) In general. If the issue of which the bond is a part is an issue of private activity bonds, the issuer must comply with the following requirements—

(i) Not later than the 15th day of the second calendar month after the close of the calendar quarter in which the issue is issued, the issuer must file with the Internal Revenue Service a completed information reporting form prescribed for this purpose;

(ii) If any bond that is part of the issue is taken into account under section 146 (relating to volume cap on private activity bonds), the state certification requirement of paragraph (b)(2) of this section must be satisfied; and

(iii) If any bond that is part of the issue is a qualified mortgage bond or qualified veterans' mortgage bond (within the meaning of section 143 (a) or (b) or section 103A(c) (1) or (3) as in effect on the day before enactment of the Tax Reform Act of 1986), the issuer must submit the annual report containing information on the borrowers of the original proceeds of the issue as required under § 1.103A–2 (k)(2)(ii) and (k)(3) through (k)(6).

(2) State certification with respect to volume cap—(i) In general. If an issue is subject to the volume cap under section 146, a state official designated by state law (if there is no such official, then the governor or the governor's delegate) must certify that the issue meets the requirements of section 146, and a copy of this certification must be attached to the information reporting form filed with respect to the issue. In the case of any constitutional home rule city (as defined in section 146(d)(3)(C)), the preceding sentence is applied by substituting “city” for “state” and “chief executive officer” for “governor.”

(ii) Certification. The certifying official need not perform an independent investigation in order to certify that the issue meets the requirements of section 146. For example, if the certifying official receives an affidavit that was executed by an officer of the issuer who is responsible for issuing the bonds and that sets forth, in brief and summary terms, the facts necessary to determine that the issue meets the requirements of section 146 and if the certifying official has compared the information in that affidavit to other readily available information with respect to that issuer (e.g., previous affidavits and certifications for other private activity bonds issued by that issuer), the certifying official may rely on the affidavit.

(c) Requirements for governmental bonds—(1) Issue price of $100,000 or more. If the issue of which the bond is a part has an issue price of $100,000 or more and is not an issue of private activity bonds, then, not later than the 15th day of the second calendar month after the close of the calendar quarter in which the issue is issued, the issuer must file with the Internal Revenue Service a completed information reporting form prescribed for this purpose.

(2) Issue price of less than $100,000—(i) In general. If the issue of which the bond is a part has an issue price of less than $100,000 and is not an issue of private activity bonds, the issuer must file with the Internal Revenue Service one of the following information reporting forms within the prescribed period—

(A) Separate return. Not later than the 15th day of the second calendar month after the close of the calendar quarter in which the issue is issued, a completed information reporting form prescribed for this purpose with respect to that issue; or

(B) Consolidated return. Not later than February 15 of the calendar year following the calendar year in which the issue is issued, a completed information form prescribed for this purpose with respect to all issues to which this paragraph (c)(2) applies that were issued by the issuer during the calendar year and for which information was not reported on a separate information return pursuant to paragraph (c)(2)(i)(A) of this section.

(ii) Bond issues issued before January 1, 1992. Paragraph (c)(2)(i)(A) of this section does not apply if the issue of which the bond is a part is issued before January 1, 1992.

(iii) Extended filing date for first and second calendar quarters of 1992. If the issue of which the bond is a part is issued during the first or second calendar quarter of 1992, the prescribed period for filing an information reporting form with respect to that issue pursuant to paragraph (c)(2)(i)(A) of this section is extended until November 16, 1992.

(d) Filing of forms and special rules—(1) Completed form. For purposes of this section—

(i) Good faith effort. An information reporting form is treated as completed if the issuer (or a person acting on behalf of the issuer) has made a good faith effort to complete the form (taking into account the instructions to the form).

(ii) Information. In general, information reporting forms filed pursuant to this section must be completed on the basis of available information and reasonable expectations as of the date the issue is issued. Forms that are filed on a consolidated basis pursuant to paragraph (c)(2)(i)(B) of this section, however, may be completed on the basis of information readily available to the issuer at the close of the calendar year to which the form relates, supplemented by estimates made in good faith.

(iii) Certain information not required. An issuer need not report to the Internal Revenue Service any information specified in the first sentence of section 149(e)(2) that is not required to be reported to the Internal Revenue Service pursuant to the information reporting forms prescribed under that section and the instructions to those forms.

(2) Manner of filing—(i) Place for filing. The information reporting form must be filed with the Internal Revenue Service at the address specified on the form or in the instructions to the form.

(ii) Extension of time. The Commissioner may grant an extension of time to file any form or attachment required under this section if the Commissioner determines that the failure to file in a timely manner was not due to willful neglect. The Commissioner may make this determination with respect to an issue or to a class of issues.

(e) Definitions. For purposes of this section only—(1) Private activity bond. The term “private activity bond” has the meaning given that term in section 141(a) of the Internal Revenue Code, except that the term does not include any bond described in section 1312(c) of the Tax Reform Act of 1986 to which section 1312 or 1313 of the Tax Reform Act of 1986 applies.

(2) Issue—(i) In general. Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph (e)(2), bonds are treated as part of the same issue only if the bonds are issued—

(A) By the same issuer;

(B) On the same date; and

(C) Pursuant to a single transaction or to a series of related transactions.

(ii) Draw-down loans, commercial paper, etc.

(A) Bonds issued during the same calendar year may be treated as part of the same tissue if the bonds are issued—

(1) Pursuant to a loan agreement under which amounts are to be advanced periodically (“draw-down loan”); or

(2) With a term not exceeding 270 days.

(B) In addition, the bonds must be equally and ratably secured under a single indenture or loan agreement and issued pursuant to a common financing arrangement (e.g., pursuant to the same official statement that is periodically updated to reflect changing factual circumstances). In the case of bonds issued pursuant to a draw-down loan that meets the requirements of the preceding sentence, bonds issued during different calendar years may be treated as part of the same issue if all the amounts to be advanced pursuant to the draw-down loan are reasonably expected to be advanced within three years of the date of issue of the first bond.

(iii) Leases and installment sales. Bonds other than private activity bonds may be treated as part of the same issue if—

(A) The bonds are issued pursuant to a single agreement that is in the form of a lease or installment sales agreement; and

(B) All of the property covered by that agreement is reasonably expected to be delivered within three years of the date of issue of the first bond.

(iv) Qualified 501(c)(3) bonds. If an issuer elects under section 141(b)(9) to treat a portion of an issue as a qualified 501(c)(3) bond, that portion is treated as a separate issue.

(3) Date of issue—(i) Bond. The date of issue of a bond is determined under § 1.150–1.

(ii) Issue. The date of issue of an issue of bonds is the date of issue of the first bond that is part of the issue. See paragraphs (e)(2) (ii) and (iii) of this section for rules relating to draw-down loans, commercial paper, etc., and leases and installment sales.

(iii) Bonds to which prior law applied. Notwithstanding the provisions of this paragraph (e)(3), an issue for which an information report was required to be filed under section 103(l) or section 103A(j)(3) is treated as issued prior to January 1, 1987.

(4) Issue price. The term “issue price” has the same meaning given the term under § 1.148–1(b).

[T.D. 8425, 57 FR 36002, Aug. 12, 1992, as amended at 59 FR 24351, May 11, 1994]