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Treasury Regulations · 26 CFR

§ 1.642(c)-2. Unlimited deduction for amounts permanently set aside for a charitable purpose.

In effect eCFR current as of October 15, 2026

Regulation text, no changes From the eCFR, current as of October 15, 2026. The eCFR is an authoritative but unofficial editorial compilation of the Code of Federal Regulations; the official text is the annual CFR on govinfo. Compare it with this section on ecfr.gov (external site) or the official annual CFR on govinfo (external site).

Regulation under 26 U.S.C. § 642(c)

Cite as 26 CFR § 1.642(c)-2

At a glance

Read from the text and its source citation. Not part of the regulation.

Status
In the current eCFR
Issued
June 2, 1975 by T.D. 7357
Last amended
January 2, 2004 by T.D. 9102
Issued under
26 U.S.C. § 642(c)
Length
2,322 words · about 10 min to read
Cross-references
cites 6 Code sections and 5 regulations; cited by 7
(a) Estates. Any part of the gross income of an estate which pursuant to the terms of the will:
(1) Is permanently set aside during the taxable year for a purpose specified in section 170(c), or
(2) Is to be used (within or without the United States or any of its possessions) exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, literary, or educational purposes, or for the prevention of cruelty to children or animals, or for the establishment, acquisition, maintenance, or operation of a public cemetery not operated for profit,

shall be allowed as a deduction to the estate in lieu of the limited charitable contributions deduction authorized by section 170(a).

(b) Certain trusts—
(1) In general. Any part of the gross income of a trust to which either subparagraph (3) or (4) of this paragraph applies, that by the terms of the governing instrument:
(i) Is permanently set aside during the taxable year for a purpose specified in section 170(c), or
(ii) Is to be used (within or without the United States or any of its possessions) exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, literary, or educational purposes, or for the prevention of cruelty to children or animals, or for the establishment, acquisition, maintenance, or operation of a public cemetery not operated for profit,

shall be allowed, subject to the limitation provided in subparagraph (2) of this paragraph, as a deduction to the trust in lieu of the limited charitable contributions deduction authorized by section 170(a). The preceding sentence applied only to a trust which is required by the terms of its governing instrument to set amounts aside. See section 642(c)(6) and § 1.642(c)-4 for disallowance of a deduction under this section to a trust which is, or is treated under section 4947(a)(1) as though it were, a private foundation (as defined in section 509(a) and the regulations thereunder) that is not exempt from taxation under section 501(a).

(2) Limitation of deduction. Subparagraph (1) of this paragraph applies only to the gross income earned by a trust with respect to amounts transferred to the trust under a will executed on or before October 9, 1969, and satisfying the requirements of subparagraph (4) of this paragraph or transferred to the trust on or before October 9, 1969. For such purposes, any income, gains, or losses, which are derived at any time from the amounts so transferred to the trust shall also be taken into account in applying subparagraph (1) of this paragraph. If any such amount so transferred to the trust is invested or reinvested at any time, any asset received by the trust upon such investment or reinvestment shall also be treated as an amount which was so transferred to the trust. In the case of a trust to which this paragraph applies which contains (i) amounts transferred pursuant to transfers described in the first sentence of this subparagraph and (ii) amounts transferred pursuant to transfers not so described, subparagraph (1) of this paragraph shall apply only if the amounts described in subdivision (i) of this subparagraph, together with all income, gains, and losses derived therefrom, are separately accounted for from the amounts described in subdivision (ii) of this subparagraph, together with all income, gains, and losses derived therefrom. Such separate accounting shall be carried out consistently with the principles of paragraph (c)(4) of § 53.4947-1 of this chapter (Foundation Excise Tax Regulations), relating to accounting for segregated amounts of split-interest trusts.
(3) Trusts created on or before October 9, 1969. A trust to which this subparagraph applies is a trust, testamentary or otherwise, which was created on or before October 9, 1969, and which qualifies under either subdivision (i) or (ii) of this subparagraph.
(i) Transfer of irrevocable remainder interest to charity. To qualify under this subdivision the trust must have been created under the terms of an instrument granting an irrevocable remainder interest in such trust to or for the use of an organization described in section 170(c). If the instrument granted a revocable remainder interest but the power to revoke such interest terminated on or before October 9, 1969, without the remainder interest having been revoked, the remainder interest will be treated as irrevocable for purposes of the preceding sentence.
(ii) Grantor under a mental disability to change terms of trust.
(A) To qualify under this subdivision (ii) the trust must have been created by a grantor who was at all times after October 9, 1969, under a mental disability to change the terms of the trust. The term mental disability for this purpose means mental incompetence to change the terms of the trust, whether or not there has been an adjudication of mental incompetence and whether or not there has been an appointment of a committee, guardian, fiduciary, or other person charged with the care of the person or property of the grantor.
(B) If the grantor has not been adjudged mentally incompetent, the trustee must obtain from a qualified physician a certificate stating that the grantor of the trust has been mentally incompetent at all times after October 9, 1969, and that there is no reasonable probability that the grantor's mental capacity will ever improve to the extent that he will be mentally competent to change the terms of the trust. A copy of this certification must be filed with the first return on which a deduction is claimed by reason of this subdivision (ii) and subparagraph (1) of this paragraph. Thereafter, a statement referring to such medical opinion must be attached to any return for a taxable year for which such a deduction is claimed and during which the grantor's mental incompetence continues. The original certificate must be retained by the trustee of the trust.
(C) If the grantor has been adjudged mentally incompetent, a copy of the judgment or decree, and any modification thereof, must be filed with the first return on which a deduction is claimed by reason of this subdivision (ii) and subparagraph (1) of this paragraph. Thereafter, a statement referring to such judgment or decree must be attached to any return for a taxable year for which such a deduction is claimed and during which the grantor's mental incompetence continues. A copy of such judgment or decree must also be retained by the trustee of the trust.
(D) This subdivision (ii) applies even though a person charged with the care of the person or property of the grantor has the power to change the terms of the trust.
(4) Testamentary trust established by will executed on or before October 9, 1969. A trust to which this subparagraph applies is a trust which was established by will executed on or before October 9, 1969, and which qualifies under either subdivision (i), (ii), or (iii) of this subparagraph. This subparagraph does not apply, however, to that portion of any trust, not established by a will executed on or before October 9, 1969, which was transferred to such trust by a will executed on or before October 9, 1969. Nor does it apply to that portion of any trust, not established by a will executed on or before October 9, 1969, which was subject to a testamentary power of appointment that fails by reason of the testator's nonexercise of the power in a will executed on or before October 9, 1969.
(i) Testator dying within 3 years without republishing his will. To qualify under this subdivision the trust must have been established by the will of a testator who died after October 9, 1969, but before October 9, 1972, without having amended any dispositive provision of the will after October 9, 1969, by codicil or otherwise.
(ii) Testator having no right to change his will. To qualify under this subdivision the trust must have been established by the will of a testator who died after October 9, 1969, and who at no time after that date had the right to change any portion of such will pertaining to such trust. This subdivision could apply, for example, where a contract has been entered into for the execution of wills containing reciprocal provisions as well as provisions for the benefit of an organization described in section 170(c) and under applicable local law the surviving testator is prohibited from revoking his will because he has accepted the benefit of the provisions of the will of the other contracting party.
(iii) Testator under a mental disability to republish his will. To qualify under this subdivision the trust must have been established by the will of a testator who died after October 8, 1972, without having amended any dispositive provision of such will after October 9, 1969, and before October 9, 1972, by codicil or otherwise, and who is under a mental disability at all times after October 8, 1972, to amend such will, by codicil or otherwise. The provisions of subparagraph (3)(ii) of this paragraph with respect to mental incompetence apply for purposes of this subdivision.
(iv) Amendment of dispositive provisions. The provisions of paragraph (e) (4) and (5) of § 20.2055-2 of this chapter (Estate Tax Regulations) are to be applied under subdivisions (i) and (iii) of this subparagraph in determining whether there has been an amendment of a dispositive provision of a will.
(c) Pooled income funds. Any part of the gross income of a pooled income fund to which § 1.642(c)-5 applies for the taxable year that is attributable to net long-term capital gain (as defined in section 1222(7)) which, pursuant to the terms of the governing instrument, is permanently set aside during the taxable year for a purpose specified in section 170(c) shall be allowed as a deduction to the fund in lieu of the limited charitable contributions deduction authorized by section 170(a). No amount of net long-term capital gain shall be considered permanently set aside for charitable purposes if, under the terms of the fund's governing instrument and applicable local law, the trustee has the power, whether or not exercised, to satisfy the income beneficiaries' right to income by the payment of either: an amount equal to a fixed percentage of the fair market value of the fund's assets (whether determined annually or averaged on a multiple year basis); or any amount that takes into account unrealized appreciation in the value of the fund's assets. In addition, no amount of net long-term capital gain shall be considered permanently set aside for charitable purposes to the extent the trustee distributes proceeds from the sale or exchange of the fund's assets as income within the meaning of § 1.642(c)-5(a)(5)(i). No deduction shall be allowed under this paragraph for any portion of the gross income of such fund which is (1) attributable to income other than net long-term capital gain (2) earned with respect to amounts transferred to such fund before August 1, 1969. However, see paragraph (b) of this section for a deduction (subject to the limitations of such paragraph) for amounts permanently set aside by a pooled income fund which meets the requirements of that paragraph. The principles of paragraph (b) or (2) of this section with respect to investment, reinvestment, and separate accounting shall apply under this paragraph in the case of amounts transferred to the fund after July 31, 1969.
(d) Disallowance of deduction for certain amounts not deemed to be permanently set aside for charitable purposes. No amount will be considered to be permanently set aside, or to be used, for a purpose described in paragraph (a) or (b)(1) of this section unless under the terms of the governing instrument and the circumstances of the particular case the possibility that the amount set aside, or to be used, will not be devoted to such purpose or use is so remote as to be negligible. Thus, for example, where there is possibility of the invasion of the corpus of a charitable remainder trust, as defined in § 1.664-1(a)(1)(ii), in order to make payment of the annuity amount or unitrust amount, no deduction will be allowed under paragraph (a) of this section in respect of any amount set aside by an estate for distribution to such a charitable remainder trust.
(e) Effective dates. Generally, the second sentence of paragraph (c) of this section, concerning the loss of any charitable deduction for long-term capital gains if the fund's income may be determined by a fixed percentage of the fair market value of the fund's assets or by any amount that takes into account unrealized appreciation in the value of the fund's assets, applies for taxable years beginning after January 2, 2004. In a state whose statute permits income to be determined by reference to a fixed percentage of, or the unrealized appreciation in, the value of the fund's assets, net long-term capital gain of a pooled income fund may be considered to be permanently set aside for charitable purposes if the fund's governing instrument is amended or reformed to eliminate the possibility of determining income in such a manner and if income has not been determined in this manner. For this purpose, a judicial proceeding to reform the fund's governing instrument must be commenced, or a nonjudicial reformation that is valid under state law must be completed, by the date that is nine months after the later of January 2, 2004 or the effective date of the state statute authorizing determination of income in such a manner.

For treatment of distributions by an estate to a charitable remainder trust, see paragraph (a)(5)(iii) of § 1.664-1.

[T.D. 7357, 40 FR 23740, June 2, 1975; 40 FR 24361, June 6, 1975, as amended by T.D. 9102, 69 FR 17, Jan. 2, 2004]

Other regulations under § 642

Cross-references

Computed from the citations in the text of 26 CFR.

Code sections it cites

Regulations it cites

Cited by 7 other regulations

Amendment history

From the source citation at the end of the section, newest first. T.D. is a Treasury decision; FR is the Federal Register.

  1. Amended by T.D. 9102 (69 FR 17)
  2. Amended (40 FR 24361)
  3. Issued by T.D. 7357 (40 FR 23740)

Where it sits in 26 CFR

  1. Subchapter A Income tax
  2. Part 1 Income taxes
  3. Estates, Trusts, and Beneficiaries

Nearby sections