Internal Revenue Code · 26 U.S.C.
§ 864. Definitions and special rules
Official text, no changes From the Office of the Law Revision Counsel, release point 119-121 (current through Public Law 119-121 (October 9, 2026)). Compare it with the official text at uscode.house.gov (external site).
Cite as 26 U.S.C. § 864
At a glance
Read from the text, the source credit and the official notes. Not part of the law.
- Status
- In force
- Enacted
- November 13, 1966 by Pub. L. 89–809
- Last amended
- July 4, 2025 by Pub. L. 119–21
- Amendments
- 22 dated changes in the source credit
- Length
- 7 subsections · 5,301 words · about 23 min to read
- Defines
- 8 terms
- Cross-references
- cites 24; cited by 8 Code sections and 71 other regulations
- Regulations
- 10 issued under this section
For purposes of this part, the term “produced” includes created, fabricated, manufactured, extracted, processed, cured, or aged.
Trading in stocks or securities through a resident broker, commission agent, custodian, or other independent agent.
Trading in stocks or securities for the taxpayer’s own account, whether by the taxpayer or his employees or through a resident broker, commission agent, custodian, or other agent, and whether or not any such employee or agent has discretionary authority to make decisions in effecting the transactions. This clause shall not apply in the case of a dealer in stocks or securities.
Trading in commodities through a resident broker, commission agent, custodian, or other independent agent.
Trading in commodities for the taxpayer’s own account, whether by the taxpayer or his employees or through a resident broker, commission agent, custodian, or other agent, and whether or not any such employee or agent has discretionary authority to make decisions in effecting the transactions. This clause shall not apply in the case of a dealer in commodities.
Clauses (i) and (ii) shall apply only if the commodities are of a kind customarily dealt in on an organized commodity exchange and if the transaction is of a kind customarily consummated at such place.
Subparagraphs (A)(i) and (B)(i) shall apply only if, at no time during the taxable year, the taxpayer has an office or other fixed place of business in the United States through which or by the direction of which the transactions in stocks or securities, or in commodities, as the case may be, are effected.
All income, gain, or loss from sources within the United States (other than income, gain, or loss to which paragraph (2) applies) shall be treated as effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business within the United States.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this subtitle, if a nonresident alien individual or foreign corporation owns, directly or indirectly, an interest in a partnership which is engaged in any trade or business within the United States, gain or loss on the sale or exchange of all (or any portion of) such interest shall be treated as effectively connected with the conduct of such trade or business to the extent such gain or loss does not exceed the amount determined under subparagraph (B).
If a partnership described in subparagraph (A) holds any United States real property interest (as defined in section 897(c)) at the time of the sale or exchange of the partnership interest, then the gain or loss treated as effectively connected income under subparagraph (A) shall be reduced by the amount so treated with respect to such United States real property interest under section 897.
For purposes of this paragraph, the term “sale or exchange” means any sale, exchange, or other disposition.
The Secretary shall prescribe such regulations or other guidance as the Secretary determines appropriate for the application of this paragraph, including with respect to exchanges described in section 332, 351, 354, 355, 356, or 361.
For purposes of the provisions set forth in paragraph (2), if any person acquires (directly or indirectly) a trade or service receivable from a related person, any income of such person from the trade or service receivable so acquired shall be treated as if it were interest on a loan to the obligor under the receivable.
The Secretary shall prescribe such regulations as may be necessary to prevent the avoidance of the provisions of this subsection or section 956(c)(3).
The taxable income of each member of an affiliated group shall be determined by allocating and apportioning interest expense of each member as if all members of such group were a single corporation.
All allocations and apportionments of interest expense shall be determined using the adjusted bases of assets rather than on the basis of the fair market value of the assets or gross income.
For purposes of allocating and apportioning any deductible expense, any tax-exempt asset (and any income from such an asset) shall not be taken into account. A similar rule shall apply in the case of the portion of any dividend (other than a qualifying dividend as defined in section 243(b)) equal to the deduction allowable under section 243 or 245(a) with respect to such dividend and in the case of a like portion of any stock the dividends on which would be so deductible and would not be qualifying dividends (as so defined).
If, by reason of holding stock in a nonaffiliated 10-percent owned corporation, the taxpayer is treated under clause (iii) as owning stock in another corporation with respect to which the stock ownership requirements of clause (ii) are met, the adjustment under subparagraph (A) shall include an adjustment for the amount of the earnings and profits (or deficit therein) of such other corporation which are attributable to the stock the taxpayer is so treated as owning and to the period during which the taxpayer is treated as owning such stock.
The stock ownership requirements of this clause are met with respect to any corporation if members of the taxpayer’s affiliated group own (directly or through the application of clause (iii)) 10 percent or more of the total combined voting power of all classes of stock of such corporation entitled to vote.
For purposes of this subparagraph, stock owned (directly or indirectly) by a corporation, partnership, or trust shall be treated as being owned proportionately by its shareholders, partners, or beneficiaries. Stock considered to be owned by a person by reason of the application of the preceding sentence, shall, for purposes of applying such sentence, be treated as actually owned by such person.
For purposes of this paragraph, proper adjustment shall be made to the earnings and profits of any corporation to take into account any earnings and profits included in gross income under section 951 or under any other provision of this title and reflected in the adjusted basis of the stock.
For purposes of subparagraph (A), any corporation described in subparagraph (C) shall be treated as an includible corporation for purposes of section 1504 only for purposes of applying such section separately to corporations so described. This subparagraph shall not apply for purposes of paragraph (6).
Expenses other than interest which are not directly allocable or apportioned to any specific income producing activity shall be allocated and apportioned as if all members of the affiliated group were a single corporation.
For purposes of this section, the term “qualified research and experimental expenditures” means amounts which are foreign research or experimental expenditures within the meaning of section 174 or domestic research or experimental expenditures within the meaning of section 174A. For purposes of this paragraph, rules similar to the rules of subsection (c) of section 174 shall apply. Any qualified research and experimental expenditures allowed as an amortization deduction under section 174(a) or section 174A(c), shall be taken into account under this subsection for the taxable year for which such expenditures are allowed as a deduction under such section (as the case may be).
The Secretary shall prescribe such regulations as may be appropriate to carry out the purposes of this subsection, including regulations relating to the determination of whether any expenses are attributable to activities conducted in the United States or outside the United States and regulations providing such adjustments to the provisions of this subsection as may be appropriate in the case of cost-sharing arrangements and contract research.
This subsection shall apply to the taxpayer’s first taxable year (beginning on or before August 1, 1994) following the taxpayer’s last taxable year to which Revenue Procedure 92–56 applies or would apply if the taxpayer elected the benefits of such Revenue Procedure.
(Aug. 16, 1954, ch. 736, 68A Stat. 278; Pub. L. 89–809, title I, § 102(d), Nov. 13, 1966, 80 Stat. 1544; Pub. L. 94–455, title XIX, § 1901(a)(113), Oct. 4, 1976, 90 Stat. 1783; Pub. L. 98–369, div. A, title I, §§ 123(a), 127(c), July 18, 1984, 98 Stat. 644, 651; Pub. L. 99–514, title XII, §§ 1201(d)(4), 1211(b)(2), 1215(a), (b)(1), 1221(a)(2), 1223(b)(1), 1242(a), (b), 1275(c)(7), title XVIII, §§ 1810(c)(2), (3), 1899A(21), Oct. 22, 1986, 100 Stat. 2525, 2536, 2544, 2545, 2550, 2558, 2580, 2599, 2824, 2959; Pub. L. 100–203, title X, § 10242(b), Dec. 22, 1987, 101 Stat. 1330–423; Pub. L. 100–647, title I, § 1012(a)(1)(B), (d)(7), (10), (g)(5), (h)(1), (2)(A), (3)–(6), (p)(30), (r), Nov. 10, 1988, 102 Stat. 3494, 3498, 3499, 3501–3503, 3521, 3525; Pub. L. 101–239, title VII, § 7111, Dec. 19, 1989, 103 Stat. 2326; Pub. L. 101–508, title XI, § 11401(a), Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1388–472; Pub. L. 102–227, title I, § 101(a), Dec. 11, 1991, 105 Stat. 1686; Pub. L. 103–66, title XIII, § 13234, Aug. 10, 1993, 107 Stat. 504; Pub. L. 105–34, title XI, § 1162(a), Aug. 5, 1997, 111 Stat. 987; Pub. L. 106–170, title V, § 532(c)(2)(N)–(P), Dec. 17, 1999, 113 Stat. 1931; Pub. L. 106–519, § 4(3), Nov. 15, 2000, 114 Stat. 2432; Pub. L. 108–357, title I, § 101(b)(6), title IV, §§ 401(a), (b), 403(b)(6), 413(c)(12), title VIII, § 894(a), Oct. 22, 2004, 118 Stat. 1423, 1488, 1491, 1494, 1507, 1647; Pub. L. 110–289, div. C, title III, § 3093(a), (b), July 30, 2008, 122 Stat. 2912; Pub. L. 111–92, § 15(a), (b), Nov. 6, 2009, 123 Stat. 2996; Pub. L. 111–147, title V, § 551(a), Mar. 18, 2010, 124 Stat. 117; Pub. L. 111–226, title II, § 216(a), Aug. 10, 2010, 124 Stat. 2400; Pub. L. 111–240, title II, § 2122(c), Sept. 27, 2010, 124 Stat. 2568; Pub. L. 115–97, title I, §§ 13501(a), 14502(a), Dec. 22, 2017, 131 Stat. 2138, 2235; Pub. L. 115–141, div. U, title IV, § 401(a)(152), (d)(1)(D)(x), (xvii)(IV), (V), Mar. 23, 2018, 132 Stat. 1191, 1207, 1208; Pub. L. 117–2, title IX, § 9671(a), Mar. 11, 2021, 135 Stat. 184; Pub. L. 119–21, title VII, § 70302(b)(9), July 4, 2025, 139 Stat. 192.)
Terms defined here
Where the text says “the term … means”. Select a term to jump to its definition.
- affiliated group § 864(e)(5)(A)
- nonaffiliated 10-percent owned corporation § 864(e)(4)(B)
- produced § 864(a)
- qualified research and experimental expenditures § 864(g)(2)
- related person § 864(d)(4)
- sale or exchange § 864(c)(8)(D)
- trade or business within the United States § 864(b)
- trade or service receivable § 864(d)(3)
Regulations under this section
Treasury regulations (26 CFR) issued under § 864
- § 1.864-1 Meaning of sale, etc.
- § 1.864-2 Trade or business within the United States.
- § 1.864-3 Rules for determining income effectively connected with U.S. business of nonresident aliens or foreign corporations.
- § 1.864-4 U.S. source income effectively connected with U.S. business.
- § 1.864-5 Foreign source income effectively connected with U.S. business.
- § 1.864-6 Income, gain, or loss attributable to an office or other fixed place of business in the United States.
- § 1.864-7 Definition of office or other fixed place of business.
- § 1.864-8T Treatment of related person factoring income (temporary).
- § 1.864(c)(8)-1 Gain or loss by foreign persons on the disposition of certain partnership interests.
- § 1.864(c)(8)-2 Notification and reporting requirements.
Cross-references
Computed from the citations in the text of Title 26 and 26 CFR.
This section cites 24 other sections
- § 871(d) Tax on nonresident alien individuals
- § 882(d) Tax on income of foreign corporations connected with United States business
- § 881(a) Tax on income of foreign corporations not connected with United States business
- § 862(a)(4) Income from sources without the United States
- § 1221(a)(1) Capital asset defined
- § 958(a) Rules for determining stock ownership
- § 952(a) Subpart F income defined
- § 897(c) Disposition of investment in United States real property
- § 332 Complete liquidations of subsidiaries
- § 904 Limitation on credit
- § 267(b) Losses, expenses, and interest with respect to transactions between related taxpayers
- § 951(b) Amounts included in gross income of United States shareholders
- § 954(b)(3) Foreign base company income
- § 957(a) Controlled foreign corporations; United States persons
- § 956(c)(3) Investment of earnings in United States property
- § 243(b) Dividends received by corporations
- § 1504 Definitions
- § 581 Definition of bank
- § 246A Dividends received deduction reduced where portfolio stock is debt financed
- § 861(b) Income from sources within the United States
- § 863(b) Special rules for determining source
- § 174 Amortization of research and experimental expenditures
- § 174A Domestic research or experimental expenditures
- § 936 Repealed
Cited by 8 Code sections
- § 199A(c)(3)(A)(i) Qualified business income
- § 865(e)(3) Source rules for personal property sales
- § 871(f)(1)(A)(ii) Tax on nonresident alien individuals
- § 881(c)(3)(C) Tax on income of foreign corporations not connected with United States business
- § 885(2) Cross references
- § 904(b)(6) Limitation on credit
- § 956(c)(3)(B) Investment of earnings in United States property
- § 1446(f)(1) Withholding of tax on foreign partners’ share of effectively connected income
Cited in 71 regulations not issued under it
- § 1.41-3 Base amount for taxable years beginning on or after January 3, 2001.
- § 1.56(g)-1 Adjusted current earnings.
- § 1.59A-3 Base erosion payments and base erosion tax benefits.
- § 1.199A-1 Operational rules.
- § 1.199A-3 Qualified business income, qualified REIT dividends, and qualified PTP income.
- § 1.199A-4 Aggregation.
- § 1.267(f)-1 Controlled groups.
- § 1.367(e)-2 Distributions described in section 367(e)(2).
- § 1.414(r)-5 Qualified separate line of business—administrative scrutiny requirement—safe harbors.
- § 1.861-2 Interest.
- § 1.861-3 Dividends and income inclusions under sections 951, 951A, and 1293 and associated section 78 dividends.
- § 1.861-8 Computation of taxable income from sources within the United States and from other sources and activities.
- § 1.861-8T Computation of taxable income from sources within the United States and from other sources and activities (temporary).
- § 1.861-9 Allocation and apportionment of interest expense and rules for asset-based apportionment.
- § 1.861-10 Special allocations of interest expense.
- § 1.861-11 Special rules for allocating and apportioning interest expense of an affiliated group of corporations.
- § 1.861-11T Special rules for allocating and apportioning interest expense of an affiliated group of corporations (temporary).
- § 1.861-14T Special rules for allocating and apportioning certain expenses (other than interest expense) of an affiliated group of corporations (temporary).
- § 1.861-17 Allocation and apportionment of research and experimental expenditures.
- § 1.863-8 Source of income derived from space and ocean activity under section 863(d).
- § 1.863-9 Source of income derived from communications activity under section 863(a), (d), and (e).
- § 1.865-3 Source of gross income from sales of personal property (including inventory property) by a nonresident attributable to an office or other fixed place of business in the United States.
- § 1.871-1 Classification and manner of taxing alien individuals.
- § 1.871-7 Taxation of nonresident alien individuals not engaged in U.S. business.
Show 47 more
- § 1.871-8 Taxation of nonresident alien individuals engaged in U.S. business or treated as having effectively connected income.
- § 1.872-1 Gross income of nonresident alien individuals.
- § 1.872-2 Exclusions from gross income of nonresident alien individuals.
- § 1.881-1 Manner of taxing foreign corporations.
- § 1.881-2 Taxation of foreign corporations not engaged in U.S. business.
- § 1.882-1 Taxation of foreign corporations engaged in U.S. business or of foreign corporations treated as having effectively connected income.
- § 1.882-3 Gross income of a foreign corporation.
- § 1.884-0 Overview of regulation provisions for section 884.
- § 1.884-1 Branch profits tax.
- § 1.884-2T Special rules for termination or incorporation of a U.S. trade or business or liquidation or reorganization of a foreign corporation or its domestic subsidiary (temporary).
- § 1.884-4 Branch-level interest tax.
- § 1.892-3 Income of foreign governments.
- § 1.892-3T Income of foreign governments (temporary regulations).
- § 1.892-4 Commercial activities.
- § 1.894-1 Income affected by treaty.
- § 1.897-7 Treatment of certain partnership interests, trusts and estates under section 897(g).
- § 1.897-7T Treatment of certain partnership interests as entirely U.S. real property interests under sections 897(g) and 1445(e) (temporary).
- § 1.901-2 Income, war profits, or excess profits tax paid or accrued.
- § 1.904-4 Separate application of section 904 with respect to certain categories of income.
- § 1.932-1 Coordination of United States and Virgin Islands income taxes.
- § 1.937-2 Income from sources within a possession.
- § 1.937-3 Income effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business in a possession.
- § 1.954-1 Foreign base company income.
- § 1.954-2 Foreign personal holding company income.
- § 1.956-3 Certain trade or service receivables acquired from United States persons.
- § 1.964-1 Determination of the earnings and profits of a foreign corporation.
- § 1.965-6 Computation of foreign income taxes deemed paid and allocation and apportionment of deductions.
- § 1.987-2 Attribution of items to eligible QBUs; definition of a transfer and related rules.
- § 1.988-0 Taxation of gain or loss from a section 988 transaction; Table of Contents.
- § 1.988-4 Source of gain or loss realized on a section 988 transaction.
- § 1.1441-1 Requirement for the deduction and withholding of tax on payments to foreign persons.
- § 1.1446-2 Determining a partnership's effectively connected taxable income allocable to foreign partners under section 704.
- § 1.1446-6 Special rules to reduce a partnership's 1446 tax with respect to a foreign partner's allocable share of effectively connected taxable income.
- § 1.1446(f)-2 Withholding on the transfer of a non-publicly traded partnership interest.
- § 1.1446(f)-3 Partnership's requirement to withhold under section 1446(f)(4) on distributions to transferee.
- § 1.1446(f)-4 Withholding on the transfer of a publicly traded partnership interest.
- § 1.1446(f)-5 Liability for failure to withhold.
- § 1.1503(d)-5 Attribution of items and basis adjustments.
- § 1.1503(d)-7 Examples.
- § 1.1504-4 Treatment of warrants, options, convertible obligations, and other similar interests.
- § 1.6050K-1 Returns relating to sales or exchanges of certain partnership interests.
- § 1.6050Y-3 Information reporting by 6050Y(b) issuers for reportable policy sales and transfers of life insurance contracts to foreign persons.
- § 1.7872-5T Exempted loans (temporary).
- § 4.954-1 Foreign base company income; taxable years beginning after December 31, 1986.
- § 4.954-2 Foreign personal holding company income; taxable years beginning after December 31, 1986.
- § 301.7701-2 Business entities; definitions.
- § 301.7705-2 CPEO certification process.
Amendment history
From the source credit and the official notes, newest first.
- Amended by Pub. L. 119–21Parts changed in 2025: (g)(2)
- Amended by Pub. L. 117–2Parts changed in 2021: (f)
- Amended by Pub. L. 115–141Parts changed in 2018: (d)(5) (d)(8) (e)(5)(A) (f)(1)(C)(i) (f)(2)
- Amended by Pub. L. 115–97Parts changed in 2017: (c)(1)(A) (c)(1)(B) (c)(8) (e)(2)
- Amended by Pub. L. 111–240Parts changed in 2010: (c)(4)(B)(ii) (e)(5)(A) (f)(5)(D)
- Amended by Pub. L. 111–226
- Amended by Pub. L. 111–147
- Amended by Pub. L. 111–92Parts changed in 2009: (f)(5)(D) (f)(7)
- Amended by Pub. L. 110–289Parts changed in 2008: (f)(5)(D) (f)(7)
- Amended by Pub. L. 108–357Parts changed in 2004: (c)(4)(B) (d)(2) (d)(5)(A)(i) (e)(3) (e)(7)(B) (e)(7)(F) (f)
- Amended by Pub. L. 106–519Parts changed in 2000: (e)(3)
- Amended by Pub. L. 106–170Parts changed in 1999: (c)(4)(B)(iii)
- Amended by Pub. L. 105–34Parts changed in 1997: (b)(2)(A)(ii)
- Amended by Pub. L. 103–66Parts changed in 1993: (f)(1)(B) (f)(4)(D) (f)(5)
- Amended by Pub. L. 102–227Parts changed in 1991: (f)(5)
- Amended by Pub. L. 101–508Parts changed in 1990: (f)(5)
- Amended by Pub. L. 101–239Parts changed in 1989: (f)
- Amended by Pub. L. 100–647Parts changed in 1988: (b)(2)(A)(ii) (c)(2) (c)(4)(B)(i) (c)(4)(B)(iii) (c)(6) (c)(7) (d)(5)(A)(i) (e) (e)(1) (e)(3) (e)(4) (e)(5)(B) (e)(5)(D) (e)(6) (e)(7)(D)
- Amended by Pub. L. 100–203Parts changed in 1987: (c)(4)(C)
- Amended by Pub. L. 99–514Parts changed in 1986: (c)(1)(A) (c)(1)(B) (c)(2) (c)(4)(B)(iii) (c)(6) (d)(5)(A)(i) (d)(5)(A)(ii) (d)(5)(A)(iii) (d)(5)(A)(iv) (d)(5)(B) (d)(7) (e)
- Amended by Pub. L. 98–369Parts changed in 1984: (c)(2) (d)
- Amended by Pub. L. 94–455Parts changed in 1976: (a) (c)(4)(B)(i) (c)(4)(B)(iii) (c)(5)(C)
- Enacted by Pub. L. 89–809
Where it sits in the Code
- Subtitle A Income Taxes
- Chapter 1 NORMAL TAXES AND SURTAXES
- Subchapter N Tax Based on Income From Sources Within or Without the United States
- Part I SOURCE RULES AND OTHER GENERAL RULES RELATING TO FOREIGN INCOME
Nearby sections
Official notes
The Law Revision Counsel's notes for this section (amendments, effective dates and related laws) are long, so they have their own page.