(a) Scope. This section provides rules under section 468B(g) for the current taxation of income of a pre-closing escrow.
(b) Definitions. For purposes of this section—
(1) A pre-closing escrow is an escrow account, trust, or fund—
(i) Established in connection with the sale or exchange of real or personal property;
(ii) Funded with a down payment, earnest money, or similar payment that is deposited into the escrow prior to the sale or exchange of the property;
(iii) Used to secure the obligation of the purchaser to pay the purchase price for the property;
(iv) The assets of which, including any income earned thereon, will be paid to the purchaser or otherwise distributed for the purchaser's benefit when the property is sold or exchanged (for example, by being distributed to the seller as a credit against the purchase price); and
(v) Which is not an escrow account or trust established in connection with a deferred exchange under section 1031(a)(3).
(2) Purchaser means, in the case of an exchange, the intended transferee of the property whose obligation to pay the purchase price is secured by the pre-closing escrow;
(3) Purchase price means, in the case of an exchange, the required consideration for the property; and
(4) Administrator means the escrow agent, escrow holder, trustee, or other person responsible for administering the pre-closing escrow.
(c) Taxation of pre-closing escrows. The purchaser must take into account in computing the purchaser's income tax liability all items of income, deduction, and credit (including capital gains and losses) of the pre-closing escrow. In the case of an exchange with a single pre-closing escrow funded by two or more purchasers, each purchaser must take into account in computing the purchaser's income tax liability all items of income, deduction, and credit (including capital gains and losses) earned by the pre-closing escrow with respect to the money or property deposited in the pre-closing escrow by or on behalf of that purchaser.
(d) Reporting obligations of the administrator. For each calendar year (or portion thereof) that a pre-closing escrow is in existence, the administrator must report the income of the pre-closing escrow on Form 1099 to the extent required by the information reporting provisions of subpart B, Part III, subchapter A, chapter 61, Subtitle F of the Internal Revenue Code and the regulations thereunder. See § 1.6041-1(f) for rules relating to the amount to be reported when fees, expenses, or commissions owed by a payee to a third party are deducted from a payment.
(e) Examples. The provisions of this section may be illustrated by the following examples:
Example 1.P enters into a contract with S for the purchase of residential property owned by S for the price of $200,000. P is required to deposit $10,000 of earnest money into an escrow. At closing, the $10,000 and the interest earned thereon will be credited against the purchase price of the property. The escrow is a pre-closing escrow. P is taxable on the interest earned on the pre-closing escrow prior to closing.
Example 2.X and Y enter into a contract in which X agrees to exchange certain construction equipment for residential property owned by Y. The contract requires X and Y to each deposit $10,000 of earnest money into an escrow. At closing, $10,000 and the interest earned thereon will be paid to X and $10,000 and the interest earned thereon will be paid to Y. The escrow is a pre-closing escrow. X is taxable on the interest earned prior to closing on the $10,000 of funds X deposited in the pre-closing escrow. Similarly, Y is taxable on the interest earned prior to closing on the $10,000 of funds Y deposited in the pre-closing escrow.
(f) Effective dates—(1) In general. This section applies to pre-closing escrows established after February 3, 2006.
(2) Transition rule. With respect to a pre-closing escrow established after August 16, 1986, but on or before February 3, 2006, the Internal Revenue Service will not challenge a reasonable, consistently applied method of taxation for income earned by the escrow or a reasonable, consistently applied method for reporting the income.
[T.D. 9249, 71 FR 6202, Feb. 7, 2006]