Treasury Regulations · 26 CFR

§ 53.4946-1. Definitions and special rules.

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. § 4946

Cite as 26 CFR § 53.4946-1

At a glance

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

Status: In the current eCFR
Issued: December 29, 1972 by T.D. 7241
Issued under: 26 U.S.C. § 4946
Length: 3,461 words · about 15 min to read
Defines: 9 terms
Cross-references: cites 10 Code sections and 1 regulation; cited by 1

¶(a) Disqualified person.

¶(1) For purposes of Chapter 42 and the regulations thereunder, the following are disqualified persons with respect to a private foundation:

¶(i) All substantial contributors to the foundation, as defined in section 507 (d)(2) and the regulations thereunder.

¶(ii) All foundation managers of the foundation as defined in section 4946 (b)(1) and paragraph (f)(1)(i) of this section,

¶(iii) An owner of more than 20 percent of:

(a) The total combined voting power of a corporation,

(b) The profits interest of a partnership,

which is (during such ownership) a substantial contributor to the foundation, as defined in section 507(d)(2) and the regulations thereunder,

¶(iv) A member of the family, as defined in section 4946(d) and paragraph (h) of this section, of any of the individuals described in subdivision (i), (ii), or (iii) of this subparagraph,

¶(v) A corporation of which more than 35 percent of the total combined voting power is owned by persons described in subdivision (i), (ii), (iii), or (iv) of this subparagraph,

¶(vi) A partnership of which more than 35 percent of the profits interest is owned by persons described in subdivision (i), (ii), (iii), or (iv) of this subparagraph, and

¶(vii) A trust, estate, or unincorporated enterprise of which more than 35 percent of the beneficial interest is owned by persons described in subdivision (i), (ii), (iii), or (iv) of this subparagraph.

¶(2) For purposes of subparagraphs (1)(iii) (b) and (vi) of this paragraph, the profits interest of a partner shall be equal to his distributive share of income of the partnership, as determined under section 707(b)(3) and the regulations thereunder as modified by section 4946(a)(4).

¶(3) For purposes of subparagraph (1) (iii)(c) and (vii) of this paragraph, the beneficial interest in an unincorporated enterprise (other than a trust or estate) includes any right to receive a portion of distributions from profits of such enterprise, and, if the portion of distributions is not fixed by an agreement among the participants, any right to receive a portion of the assets (if any) upon liquidation of the enterprise, except as a creditor or employee. For purposes of this subparagraph, a right to receive distributions of profits includes a right to receive any amount from such profits other than as a creditor or employee, whether as a sum certain or as a portion of profits realized by the enterprise. Where there is no agreement fixing the rights of the participants in such enterprise, the fraction of the respective interests of each participant in such enterprise shall be determined by dividing the amount of all investments or contributions to the capital of the enterprise made or obligated to be made by such participant by the amount of all investments or contributions to capital made or obligated to be made by all of them.

¶(4) For purposes of subparagraph (1) (iii) (c) and (vii) of this paragraph, a person's beneficial interest in a trust shall be determined in proportion to the actuarial interest of such person in the trust.

¶(5) For purposes of subparagraph (1) (iii) (a) and (v) of this paragraph, the term “combined voting power” includes voting power represented by holdings of voting stock, actual or constructive (under section 4946(a)(3)), but does not include voting rights held only as a director or trustee.

¶(6) For purposes of subparagraph (1) (iii) (a) and (v) of this paragraph, the term “voting power” includes outstanding voting power and does not include voting power obtainable but not obtained, such as, for example, voting power obtainable by converting securities or nonvoting stock into voting stock or by exercising warrants or options to obtain voting stock, and voting power which will vest in preferred stockholders only if and when the corporation has failed to pay preferred dividends for a specified period of time or has otherwise failed to meet specified requirements. Similarly, for purposes of subparagraph (1)(iii) (b) and (c), (vi), and (vii) of this paragraph, the terms “profits interest” and “beneficial interest” include any such interest that is outstanding, but do not include any such interest that is obtainable but has not been obtained.

¶(7) For purposes of sections 170(b) (1)(E)(iii), 507(d)(1), 508(d), 509(a) (1) and (3), and Chapter 42, the term “disqualified person” shall not include an organization which is described in section 509(a) (1), (2), or (3), or any other organization which is wholly owned by such section 509(a) (1), (2), or (3) organization.

¶(8) For purposes of section 4941 only, the term “disqualified person” shall not include any organization which is described in section 501(c)(3) (other than an organization described in section 509(a)(4)).

¶(b) Section 4943.

¶(1) For purposes of section 4943 only, the term “disqualified person” includes a private foundation:

¶(i) Which is effectively controlled (within the meaning of § 1.482-1(a)(3) of this chapter), directly or indirectly, by the same person or persons (other than a bank, trust company, or similar organization acting only as a foundation manager) who control the private foundation in question, or

¶(ii) Substantially all the contributions to which were made, directly or indirectly, by persons described in subdivision (i), (ii), (iii), or (iv) of paragraph (a)(1) of this section who made, directly or indirectly, substantially all of the contributions to the private foundation in question.

¶(2) For purposes of subparagraph (1)(ii) of this paragraph, one or more persons will be considered to have made substantially all of the contributions to a private foundation, if such persons have contributed or bequeathed at least 85 percent (and each such person has contributed or bequeathed at least 2 percent) of the total contributions and bequests (within the meaning of section 507(d)(2) and the regulations thereunder) which have been received by such private foundation during its entire existence.

¶(3) Examples. The provisions of this paragraph may be illustrated by the following examples:

¶Example 1.

A, a private foundation, has a board of directors made up of X, Y, Z, M, N, and O. Foundation B's board of directors is made up of Y, M, N, and O. The board of directors in each case has plenary power to determine the manner in which the foundation is operated. For purposes of section 4943, foundation A is a disqualified person with respect to foundation B, and foundation B, is a disqualified person with respect to foundation A.

¶Example 2.

Private foundation A has received contributions of $100,000 throughout its existence: $35,000 from X, $51,000 from Y (who is X's father), and $14,000 from Z (an unrelated person). Private foundation B has received $100,000 in contributions during its existence: $50,000 from X and $50,000 from W, X's wife.

For purposes of section 4943, private foundation A is a disqualified person with respect to private foundation B, and private foundation B is a disqualified person with respect to private foundation A.

¶(c) Section 4941. For purposes of section 4941, a government official, as defined in section 4946(c) and paragraph (g) of this section, is a disqualified person.

¶(d) Attribution of stockholdings.

¶(1) For purposes of paragraph (a)(1)(iii) (a) and (v) of this section, indirect stockholdings shall be taken into account under section 267(c) and the regulations thereunder. However, for purposes of this paragraph:

¶(i) Section 267(c)(4) shall be treated as though it provided that the members of the family of an individual are the members within the meaning of section 4946(d) and paragraph (h) of this section; and

¶(ii) Any stockholdings which have been counted once (whether by reason of actual or constructive ownership) in applying section 4946(a)(1)(E) shall not be counted a second time.

For purposes of paragraph (a)(1)(v) or this section, section 267(c) shall be applied without regard to section 267(c)(3), and stock constructively owned by an individual by reason of the application of section 267(c)(2) shall not be treated as owned by him if he is described in section 4946(a)(1)(D) but not also in section 4946(a)(1) (A), (B), or (C).

¶(2) Examples. The provisions of this paragraph may be illustrated by the following examples:

¶Example 1.

D is a substantial contributor to private foundation Y. D owns 20 percent of the outstanding stock of corporation P. E, D's wife, owns none of the outstanding stock of P. F, E's father, owns 10 percent of the outstanding stock of P. E is treated under section 507(d)(2) as a substantial contributor to Y. E is also treated under section 267(c)(2) as owning both D's 20 percent and F's 10 percent of P, but E is treated as owning nothing for purposes of section 4946(a)(1)(E) because D's 20 percent and F's 10 percent have already been taken into account once (because of their actual ownership of the stock of P) for such purposes. Hence, corporation P is not a disqualified person under section 4946(a)(1)(E) with respect to private foundation Y because persons described in section 4946(a)(1) (A), (B), (C), and (D) own only 30 percent of the stock of P.

¶Example 2.

I, a substantial contributor to private foundation X, is the son of J. I owns 100 percent of the stock of corporation R, which in turn owns 18 percent of the stock of corporation S. J owns 18 percent of the stock of S. I constructively owns 36 percent of the stock of S (J's 18 percent plus R's 18 percent). Both J's actual holdings and R's actual holdings are counted in determining I's constructive holdings because this does not result in counting either of the holdings more than once for purposes of section 4946 (a)(1)(E). Therefore, S is a disqualified person with respect to private foundation X, since I, a substantial contributor, constructively owns more than 35 percent of S's stock.

¶(e) Attribution of profits or beneficial interests.

¶(1) For purposes of paragraph (a) (1) (iii) (b), (iii) (c) (vi), and (vii) of this section, ownership of profits or beneficial interests shall be taken into account as though such ownership related to stockholdings, if such stockholdings would be taken into account under section 267(c) and the regulations thereunder, except that section 267(c)(3) shall not apply to attribute the ownership of one partner to another solely by reason of such partner relationship. However, for purposes of this paragraph:

¶(ii) Any profits interest or beneficial interest which has been counted once (whether by reason of actual or constructive ownership) in applying section 4946(a)(1) (F) or (G) shall not be counted a second time.

For purposes of paragraph (a)(1) (vi) and (vii) of this section, profits or beneficial interests constructively owned by an individual by reason of the application of section 267(c)(2) shall not be treated as owned by him if he is described in section 4946(a)(1)(D) but not in section 4946(a)(1)(A), (B) or (C).

¶(2) Example. The provisions of this paragraph may be illustrated by the following example:

¶Example.

Partnership S is a substantial contributor to private foundation X. Trust T, of which G is sole beneficiary, owns 12 percent of the profits interest of S. G's husband, H, owns 10 percent of the profits interest of S. H is a disqualified person with respect to X (under section 4946(a)(1)(C)) because he is considered to own 22 percent of the profits interest of S (10 percent actual ownership, plus G's 12 percent constructively under section 267(c)(2)). G is a disqualified person with respect to X (under section 4946(a)(1)(C) because she is considered to own 22 percent of the profits interest of S (12 percent constructively by reason of her beneficial interest in trust T, plus 10 percent constructively under section 267(c)(2) by reason of being a member of the family of H).

¶(f) Foundation manager.

¶(1) For purposes of Chapter 42 and the regulations thereunder, the term “foundation manager” means:

¶(i) An officer, director, or trustee of a foundation (or a person having powers or responsibilities similar to those of officers, directors, or trustees of the foundation), and

¶(ii) With respect to any act or failure to act, any employee of the foundation having final authority or responsibility (either officially or effectively) with respect to such act or failure to act.

¶(2) For purposes of subparagraph (1)(i) of this paragraph, a person shall be considered an officer of a foundation if:

¶(i) He is specifically so designated under the certificate of incorporation, bylaws, or other constitutive documents of the foundation; or

¶(ii) He regularly exercises general authority to make administrative or policy decisions on behalf of the foundation.

With respect to any act or failure to act, any person described in subdivision (ii) of this subparagraph who has authority merely to recommend particular administrative or policy decisions, but not to implement them without approval of a superior, is not an officer. Moreover, such independent contractors as attorneys, accountants, and investment managers and advisers, acting in their capacities as such, are not officers within the meaning of subparagraph (1)(i) of this paragraph.

¶(3) For purposes of subparagraph (1)(ii) of this paragraph, an individual rendering services to a private foundation shall be considered an employee of the foundation only if he is an employee within the meaning of section 3121(d)(2).

¶(4) Since the definition of the term “disqualified person” contained in section 4946(a)(1)(B) incorporates only so much of the definition of the term “foundation manager” as is found in section 4946(b)(1) and subparagraph (1)(i) of this paragraph, any references, in section 4946 and this section, to “disqualified persons” do not constitute references to persons who are “foundation managers” solely by reason of the definition of that term contained in section 4946(b)(2) and subparagraph (1)(ii) of this paragraph.

¶(g) Government official—

¶(1) In general. Except as provided in subparagraph (3) of this paragraph, for purposes of section 4941 and paragraph (c) of this section, the term “government official” means, with respect to an act of selfdealing described in section 4941, an individual who, at the time of such act, is described in subdivision (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), or (v) of this subparagraph (other than a “special Government employee” as defined in 18 U.S.C. 202(a)):

¶(i)(a) An individual who holds an elective public office in the executive or legislative branch of the Government of the United States.

(b) An individual who holds an office in the executive or judicial branch of the Government of the United States, appointment to which was made by the President.

¶(ii) An individual who holds a position in the executive, legislative or judicial branch of the Government of the United States:

(a) Which is listed in schedule C of rule VI of the Civil Service Rules, or

(b) The compensation for which is equal to or greater than the lowest rate prescribed for GS-16 of the General Schedule under 5 U.S.C. 5332.

¶(iii) An individual who holds a position under the House of Representatives or the Senate of the United States, as an employee of either of such bodies, who receives gross compensation therefrom at an annual rate of $15,000 or more.

¶(iv) The holder of an elective or appointive public office in the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of the government of a State, possession of the United States, or political subdivision or other area of any of the foregoing, or of the District of Columbia, for which the gross compensation is at an annual rate of $15,000 or more, who is described in subparagraph (2) of this paragraph.

¶(v) The holder of a position as personal or executive assistant or secretary to any individual described in subdivision (i), (ii), (iii), or (iv) of this subparagraph.

¶(2) Public office—

¶(i) Definition. In defining the term “public office” for purposes of section 4946(c)(5) and subparagraph (1)(iv) of this paragraph, such term must be distinguished from mere public employment. Although holding a public office is one form of public employment, not every position in the employ of a State or other governmental subdivision (as described in section 4946 (c)(5)) constitutes a “public office”. Although a determination whether a public employee holds a public office depends on the facts and circumstances of the case, the essential element is whether a significant part of the activities of a public employee is the independent performance of policymaking functions. In applying this subparagraph, several factors may be considered as indications that a position in the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of the government of a State, possession of the United States, or political subdivision or other area of any of the foregoing, or of the District of Columbia, constitutes a “public office”. Among such factors to be considered in addition to that set forth above, are that the office is created by the Congress, a State constitution, or the State legislature, or by a municipality or other governmental body pursuant to authority conferred by the Congress, State constitution, or State legislature, and the powers conferred on the office and the duties to be discharged by such office are defined either directly or indirectly by the Congress, State constitution, or State legislature, or through legislative authority.

¶(ii) Illustrations. The following are illustrations of positions of public employment which do not involve policymaking functions within the meaning of subdivision (i) of this subparagraph and which are thus not a “public office” for purposes of section 4946(c)(5) and subparagraph (1)(iv) of this paragraph:

(a) The chancellor, president, provost, dean, and other officers of a State university who are appointed, elected, or otherwise hired by a State Board of Regents or equivalent public body and who are subject to the direction and supervision of such body;

(b) Professors, instructors, and other members of the faculty of a State educational institution who are appointed, elected, or otherwise hired by the officers of the institution or by the State Board of Regents or equivalent public body;

(c) The superintendent of public schools and other public school officials who are appointed, elected, or otherwise hired by a Board of Education or equivalent public body and who are subject to the direction and supervision of such body;

(d) Public school teachers who are appointed, elected, or otherwise hired by the superintendent of public schools or by a Board of Education or equivalent public body;

(e) Physicians, nurses, and other professional persons associated with public hospitals and State boards of health who are appointed, elected, or otherwise hired by the governing board or officers of such hospitals or agencies; and

(f) Members of police and fire departments, except for those department heads who, under the facts and circumstances of the case, independently perform policymaking functions as a significant part of their activities.

¶(3) Certain government officials on leave of absence. For purposes of this paragraph, an individual who is otherwise described in section 4946(c) and this paragraph who was on leave of absence without pay on December 31, 1969, from his position or office pursuant to a commitment entered into on or before such date to engage in certain activities for which he is paid by one or more private foundations, is not to be treated as holding such position or office for any continuous period after December 31, 1969, and prior to January 1, 1971, during which such individual remains on leave of absence to engage in the same activities for which he is paid by such foundations. For purposes of this subparagraph, a commitment is considered entered into on or before December 31, 1969, if on or before such date, the amount and nature of the payments to be made and the name of the individual receiving such payments were entered on the records of the payor, or were otherwise adequately evidenced, or the notice of the payment to be received was communicated to the payee orally or in writing.

¶(h) Members of the family. For purposes of this section, the members of the family of an individual include only:

¶(1) His spouse,

¶(2) His ancestors,

¶(3) His lineal descendants, and

¶(4) Spouses of his lineal descendants.

For example, a brother or sister of an individual is not a member of his family for purposes of this section. However, for example, the wife of a grandchild of an individual is a member of his family for such purposes. For purposes of this paragraph, a legally adopted child of an individual shall be treated as a child of such individual by blood.

[T.D. 7241, 37 FR 28744, Dec. 29, 1972]