§ 1.75-1. Treatment of bond premiums in case of dealers in tax-exempt securities.

For purposes of this subparagraph, the amount realized on the sale of the obligation, or the fair market value of the obligation, shall not include any amount attributable to interest, and the adjusted basis shall be computed without regard to any adjustment for amortization of bond premium required under section 75 and section 1016(a)(6). For purposes of determining whether the obligation is sold or otherwise disposed of by the taxpayer within 30 days after the date of its acquisition by him, it is immaterial whether or not such 30-day period is entirely within one taxable year.

X, a dealer in securities who values his inventories on a basis other than cost, makes his income tax returns on the calendar year basis. On July 1, 1954, he bought, for $1,060 each, three municipal bonds (A, B, an C) having a face obligation of $1,000, and maturing on July 1, 1959. Bond A is sold on December 31, 1954, bond B is sold on December 31, 1955, and bond C is sold on June 30, 1956. For each bond the amortizable bond premium to maturity is $60, the period from date of acquisition to maturity is 60 months, and the amortizable bond premium per month is $1. The adjustment for each of the years 1954, 1955, and 1956 is as follows:

Y is a dealer in securities who values his inventories on a basis other than cost. He makes his income tax returns on the calendar year basis. On January 1, 1958, Y bought five bonds (D, E, F, G, and H) issued by various municipalities. Each bond has a face obligation of $1,000 and was purchased for $1,060. The interest on each is excludable from gross income under section 103. Bonds D, E, and F mature on December 31, 1962, and bonds G and H mature on December 31, 1967. The amortizable bond premium per month is $1 with respect to bonds D, E, and F, and is $.50 with respect to bonds G and H. The following table indicates the reduction in “cost of securities sold” which Y should make for the years shown, assuming that he sells the bonds on the dates and for the prices set forth:

An adjustment to “cost of securities sold” must be made with respect to bond D (even though it was ultimately sold at a gain) because the bond neither had an earliest maturity or call date of more than 5 years from the date on which Y acquired it, nor was it disposed of within 30 days after such date. An adjustment must be made for the years 1958 and 1959 since section 75(a)(1) requires that an adjustment be made with respect to such a bond at the close of each taxable year in which it is held. On the other hand, since bonds E, F, G, and H either were disposed of within 30 days after the date of such acquisition or had an earliest maturity or call date more than 5 years from the date of acquisition, and were acquired after December 31, 1957, it is necessary to determine whether Y disposed of them at a loss so as to require an adjustment under section 75. No adjustment is necessary with respect to bonds E and G because they were sold at a gain. An adjustment to “cost of securities sold” is required with respect to bonds F and H because they were sold at a loss. As in the case of bond D, an adjustment with respect to bond F is made in 1958 in accordance with section 75(a)(1); however, the adjustment with respect to bond H is made entirely in 1960, the taxable year in which Y sold that bond, in accordance with the last sentence of section 75(a). If Y had acquired bonds before January 1, 1958, it would be unnecessary to determine whether they were disposed of at a loss since that factor is significant only with respect to bonds acquired on or after that date.

Z, a dealer in securities who values his inventories on the basis of cost, makes his income tax returns on the calendar year basis. On January 1, 1954, he buys, for $1,060 each, three municipal bonds (I, J, and K) having a face obligation of $1,000, and maturing on January 1, 1959. Bond I is sold on December 31, 1954, bond J is sold on June 30, 1955, and bond K is sold on December 31, 1956. For each bond, the amortizable bond premium to maturity is $60, the period from the date of acquisition to maturity is 60 months, and the amortizable bond premium per month is $1.