§512. Unrelated business taxable income
(a) Definition
For purposes of this title-
(1) General rule
Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, the term "unrelated business taxable income" means the gross income derived by any organization from any unrelated trade or business (as defined in section 513) regularly carried on by it, less the deductions allowed by this chapter which are directly connected with the carrying on of such trade or business, both computed with the modifications provided in subsection (b).
(2) Special rule for foreign organizations
In the case of an organization described in section 511 which is a foreign organization, the unrelated business taxable income shall be-
(A) its unrelated business taxable income which is derived from sources within the United States and which is not effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business within the United States, plus
(B) its unrelated business taxable income which is effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business within the United States.
(3) Special rules applicable to organizations described in paragraph (7), (9), (17), or (20) of section 501(c)
(A) General rule
In the case of an organization described in paragraph (7), (9), (17), or (20) of section 501(c), the term "unrelated business taxable income" means the gross income (excluding any exempt function income), less the deductions allowed by this chapter which are directly connected with the production of the gross income (excluding exempt function income), both computed with the modifications provided in paragraphs (6), (10), (11), and (12) of subsection (b). For purposes of the preceding sentence, the deductions provided by sections 243, 244, and 245 (relating to dividends received by corporations) shall be treated as not directly connected with the production of gross income.
(B) Exempt function income
For purposes of subparagraph (A), the term "exempt function income" means the gross income from dues, fees, charges, or similar amounts paid by members of the organization as consideration for providing such members or their dependents or guests goods, facilities, or services in furtherance of the purposes constituting the basis for the exemption of the organization to which such income is paid. Such term also means all income (other than an amount equal to the gross income derived from any unrelated trade or business regularly carried on by such organization computed as if the organization were subject to paragraph (1)), which is set aside-
(i) for a purpose specified in section 170(c)(4), or
(ii) in the case of an organization described in paragraph (9), (17), or (20) of section 501(c), to provide for the payment of life, sick, accident, or other benefits,
including reasonable costs of administration directly connected with a purpose described in clause (i) or (ii). If during the taxable year, an amount which is attributable to income so set aside is used for a purpose other than that described in clause (i) or (ii), such amount shall be included, under subparagraph (A), in unrelated business taxable income for the taxable year.
(C) Applicability to certain corporations described in section 501(c)(2)
In the case of a corporation described in section 501(c)(2), the income of which is payable to an organization described in paragraph (7), (9), (17), or (20) of section 501(c), subparagraph (A) shall apply as if such corporation were the organization to which the income is payable. For purposes of the preceding sentence, such corporation shall be treated as having exempt function income for a taxable year only if it files a consolidated return with such organization for such year.
(D) Nonrecognition of gain
If property used directly in the performance of the exempt function of an organization described in paragraph (7), (9), (17), or (20) of section 501(c) is sold by such organization, and within a period beginning 1 year before the date of such sale, and ending 3 years after such date, other property is purchased and used by such organization directly in the performance of its exempt function, gain (if any) from such sale shall be recognized only to the extent that such organization's sales price of the old property exceeds the organization's cost of purchasing the other property. For purposes of this subparagraph, the destruction in whole or in part, theft, seizure, requisition, or condemnation of property, shall be treated as the sale of such property, and rules similar to the rules provided by subsections (b), (c), (e), and (j) of section 1034 shall apply.
(E) Limitation on amount of setaside in the case of organizations described in paragraph (9), (17), or (20) of section 501(c)
(i) In general
In the case of any organization described in paragraph (9), (17), or (20) of section 501(c), a set-aside for any purpose specified in clause (ii) of subparagraph (B) may be taken into account under subparagraph (B) only to the extent that such set-aside does not result in an amount of assets set aside for such purpose in excess of the account limit determined under section 419A (without regard to subsection (f)(6) thereof) for the taxable year (not taking into account any reserve described in section 419A(c)(2)(A) for post-retirement medical benefits).
(ii) Treatment of existing reserves for post-retirement medical or life insurance benefits
(I) Clause (i) shall not apply to any income attributable to an existing reserve for post-retirement medical or life insurance benefits.
(II) For purposes of subclause (I), the term "reserve for post-retirement medical or life insurance benefits" means the greater of the amount of assets set aside for purposes of post-retirement medical or life insurance benefits to be provided to covered employees as of the close of the last plan year ending before the date of the enactment of the Tax Reform Act of 1984 or on July 18, 1984.
(III) All payments during plan years ending on or after the date of the enactment of the Tax Reform Act of 1984 of post-retirement medical benefits or life insurance benefits shall be charged against the reserve referred to in subclause (II). Except to the extent provided in regulations prescribed by the Secretary, all plans of an employer shall be treated as 1 plan for purposes of the preceding sentence.
(iii) Treatment of tax exempt organizations
This subparagraph shall not apply to any organization if substantially all of the contributions to such organization are made by employers who were exempt from tax under this chapter throughout the 5-taxable year period ending with the taxable year in which the contributions are made.
(4) Special rule applicable to organizations described in section 501(c)(19)
In the case of an organization described in section 501(c)(19), the term "unrelated business taxable income" does not include any amount attributable to payments for life, sick, accident, or health insurance with respect to members of such organizations or their dependents which is set aside for the purpose of providing for the payment of insurance benefits or for a purpose specified in section 170(c)(4). If an amount set aside under the preceding sentence is used during the taxable year for a purpose other than a purpose described in the preceding sentence, such amount shall be included, under paragraph (1), in unrelated business taxable income for the taxable year.
(5) Definition of payments with respect to securities loans
(A) The term "payments with respect to securities loans" includes all amounts received in respect of a security (as defined in section 1236(c)) transferred by the owner to another person in a transaction to which section 1058 applies (whether or not title to the security remains in the name of the lender) including-
(i) amounts in respect of dividends, interest, or other distributions,
(ii) fees computed by reference to the period beginning with the transfer of securities by the owner and ending with the transfer of identical securities back to the transferor by the transferee and the fair market value of the security during such period,
(iii) income from collateral security for such loan, and
(iv) income from the investment of collateral security.
(B) Subparagraph (A) shall apply only with respect to securities transferred pursuant to an agreement between the transferor and the transferee which provides for-
(i) reasonable procedures to implement the obligation of the transferee to furnish to the transferor, for each business day during such period, collateral with a fair market value not less than the fair market value of the security at the close of business on the preceding business day,
(ii) termination of the loan by the transferor upon notice of not more than 5 business days, and
(iii) return to the transferor of securities identical to the transferred securities upon termination of the loan.
(b) Modifications
The modifications referred to in subsection (a) are the following:
(1) There shall be excluded all dividends, interest, payments with respect to securities loans (as defined in section 512(a)(5)), amounts received or accrued as consideration for entering into agreements to make loans, and annuities, and all deductions directly connected with such income.
(2) There shall be excluded all royalties (including overriding royalties) whether measured by production or by gross or taxable income from the property, and all deductions directly connected with such income.
(3) In the case of rents-
(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), there shall be excluded-
(i) all rents from real property (including property described in section 1245(a)(3)(C)), and
(ii) all rents from personal property (including for purposes of this paragraph as personal property any property described in section 1245(a)(3)(B)) leased with such real property, if the rents attributable to such personal property are an incidental amount of the total rents received or accrued under the lease, determined at the time the personal property is placed in service.
(B) Subparagraph (A) shall not apply-
(i) if more than 50 percent of the total rent received or accrued under the lease is attributable to personal property described in subparagraph (A)(ii), or
(ii) if the determination of the amount of such rent depends in whole or in part on the income or profits derived by any person from the property leased (other than an amount based on a fixed percentage or percentages of receipts or sales).
(C) There shall be excluded all deductions directly connected with rents excluded under subparagraph (A).
(4) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), (2), (3), or (5), in the case of debt-financed property (as defined in section 514) there shall be included, as an item of gross income derived from an unrelated trade or business, the amount ascertained under section 514(a)(1), and there shall be allowed, as a deduction, the amount ascertained under section 514(a)(2).
(5) There shall be excluded all gains or losses from the sale, exchange, or other disposition of property other than-
(A) stock in trade or other property of a kind which would properly be includible in inventory if on hand at the close of the taxable year, or
(B) property held primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of the trade or business.
There shall also be excluded all gains or losses recognized, in connection with the organization's investment activities, from the lapse or termination of options to buy or sell securities (as defined in section 1236(c)) or real property and all gains or losses from the forfeiture of good-faith deposits (that are consistent with established business practice) for the purchase, sale, or lease of real property in connection with the organization's investment activities. This paragraph shall not apply with respect to the cutting of timber which is considered, on the application of section 631, as a sale or exchange of such timber.
(6) The net operating loss deduction provided in section 172 shall be allowed, except that-
(A) the net operating loss for any taxable year, the amount of the net operating loss carryback or carryover to any taxable year, and the net operating loss deduction for any taxable year shall be determined under section 172 without taking into account any amount of income or deduction which is excluded under this part in computing the unrelated business taxable income; and
(B) the terms "preceding taxable year" and "preceding taxable years" as used in section 172 shall not include any taxable year for which the organization was not subject to the provisions of this part.
(7) There shall be excluded all income derived from research for (A) the United States, or any of its agencies or instrumentalities, or (B) any State or political subdivision thereof; and there shall be excluded all deductions directly connected with such income.
(8) In the case of a college, university, or hospital, there shall be excluded all income derived from research performed for any person, and all deductions directly connected with such income.
(9) In the case of an organization operated primarily for purposes of carrying on fundamental research the results of which are freely available to the general public, there shall be excluded all income derived from research performed for any person, and all deductions directly connected with such income.
(10) In the case of any organization described in section 511(a), the deduction allowed by section 170 (relating to charitable etc. contributions and gifts) shall be allowed (whether or not directly connected with the carrying on of the trade or business), but shall not exceed 10 percent of the unrelated business taxable income computed without the benefit of this paragraph.
(11) In the case of any trust described in section 511(b), the deduction allowed by section 170 (relating to charitable etc. contributions and gifts) shall be allowed (whether or not directly connected with the carrying on of the trade or business), and for such purpose a distribution made by the trust to a beneficiary described in section 170 shall be considered as a gift or contribution. The deduction allowed by this paragraph shall be allowed with the limitations prescribed in section 170(b)(1)(A) and (B) determined with reference to the unrelated business taxable income computed without the benefit of this paragraph (in lieu of with reference to adjusted gross income).
(12) Except for purposes of computing the net operating loss under section 172 and paragraph (6), there shall be allowed a specific deduction of $1,000. In the case of a diocese, province of a religious order, or a convention or association of churches, there shall also be allowed, with respect to each parish, individual church, district, or other local unit, a specific deduction equal to the lower of-
(A) $1,000, or
(B) the gross income derived from any unrelated trade or business regularly carried on by such local unit.
(13) Notwithstanding paragraphs (1), (2), or (3), amounts of interest, annuities, royalties, and rents derived from any organization (in this paragraph called the "controlled organization") of which the organization deriving such amounts (in this paragraph called the "controlling organization") has control (as defined in section 368(c)) shall be included as an item of gross income (whether or not the activity from which such amounts are derived represents a trade or business or is regularly carried on) in an amount which bears the same ratio as-
(A)(i) in the case of a controlled organization which is not exempt from taxation under section 501(a), the excess of the amount of taxable income of the controlled organization over the amount of such organization's taxable income which if derived directly by the controlling organization would not be unrelated business taxable income, or
(ii) in the case of a controlled organization which is exempt from taxation under section 501(a), the amount of unrelated business taxable income of the controlled organization, bears to
(B) the taxable income of the controlled organization (determined in the case of a controlled organization to which subparagraph (A)(ii) applies as if it were not an organization exempt from taxation under section 501(a)), but not less than the amount determined in clause (i) or (ii), as the case may be, of subparagraph (A),
both amounts computed without regard to amounts paid directly or indirectly to the controlling organization. There shall be allowed all deductions directly connected with amounts included in gross income under the preceding sentence.
[(14) Repealed.
(15) Except as provided in paragraph (4), in the case of a trade or business-
(A) which consists of providing services under license issued by a Federal regulatory agency,
(B) which is carried on by a religious order or by an educational organization described in section 170(b)(1)(A)(ii) maintained by such religious order, and which was so carried on before May 27, 1959, and
(C) less than 10 percent of the net income of which for each taxable year is used for activities which are not related to the purpose constituting the basis for the religious order's exemption,
there shall be excluded all gross income derived from such trade or business and all deductions directly connected with the carrying on of such trade or business, so long as it is established to the satisfaction of the Secretary that the rates or other charges for such services are competitive with rates or other charges charged for similar services by persons not exempt from taxation.
(16)(A) Notwithstanding paragraph (5)(B), there shall be excluded all gains or losses from the sale, exchange, or other disposition of any real property described in subparagraph (B) if-
(i) such property was acquired by the organization from-
(I) a financial institution described in section 581 or 591(a) which is in conservatorship or receivership, or
(II) the conservator or receiver of such an institution (or any government agency or corporation succeeding to the rights or interests of the conservator or receiver),
(ii) such property is designated by the organization within the 9-month period beginning on the date of its acquisition as property held for sale, except that not more than one-half (by value determined as of such date) of property acquired in a single transaction may be so designated,
(iii) such sale, exchange, or disposition occurs before the later of-
(I) the date which is 30 months after the date of the acquisition of such property, or
(II) the date specified by the Secretary in order to assure an orderly disposition of property held by persons described in subparagraph (A), and
(iv) while such property was held by the organization, the aggregate expenditures on improvements and development activities included in the basis of the property are (or were) not in excess of 20 percent of the net selling price of such property.
(B) Property is described in this subparagraph if it is real property which-
(i) was held by the financial institution at the time it entered into conservatorship or receivership, or
(ii) was foreclosure property (as defined in section 514(c)(9)(H)(v)) which secured indebtedness held by the financial institution at such time.
For purposes of this subparagraph, real property includes an interest in a mortgage.
(c) Special rules for partnerships
(1) In general
If a trade or business regularly carried on by a partnership of which an organization is a member is an unrelated trade or business with respect to such organization, such organization in computing its unrelated business taxable income shall, subject to the exceptions, additions, and limitations contained in subsection (b), include its share (whether or not distributed) of the gross income of the partnership from such unrelated trade or business and its share of the partnership deductions directly connected with such gross income.
(2) Special rule where partnership year is different from organization's year
If the taxable year of the organization is different from that of the partnership, the amounts to be included or deducted in computing the unrelated business taxable income under paragraph (1) shall be based upon the income and deductions of the partnership for any taxable year of the partnership ending within or with the taxable year of the organization.
(Aug. 16, 1954, ch. 736,
References in Text
The date of the enactment of the Tax Reform Act of 1984, referred to in subsec. (a)(3)(E)(ii)(II), (III), is the date of enactment of division A of
Amendments
1993-Subsec. (b)(1).
Subsec. (b)(5).
Subsec. (b)(16).
Subsec. (c)(2), (3).
"(A) any organization's share (whether or not distributed) of the gross income of a publicly traded partnership (as defined in section 469(k)(2)) shall be treated as gross income derived from an unrelated trade or business, and
"(B) such organization's share of the partnership deductions shall be allowed in computing unrelated business taxable income."
1990-Subsec. (b)(14).
1988-Subsec. (a)(3)(E)(ii)(II).
1987-Subsec. (c).
1986-Subsec. (a)(3)(E)(i).
Subsec. (a)(3)(E)(ii).
Subsec. (a)(3)(E)(iii), (iv).
1984-Subsec. (a)(3).
Subsec. (a)(3)(B)(ii).
Subsec. (a)(3)(C), (D).
Subsec. (a)(3)(E).
1983-Subsec. (b)(10).
1978-Subsec. (a)(5).
Subsec. (b)(1).
1976-Subsec. (a)(3)(A).
Subsec. (b).
Subsec. (b)(5).
Subsec. (b)(13), (14).
Subsec. (b)(15).
Subsec. (b)(16), (17).
1972-Subsec. (a)(4).
1969-Subsec. (a).
Subsec. (b).
Subsec. (b)(3)(A).
Subsec. (b)(3)(B).
Subsec. (b)(3)(C).
Subsec. (b)(4).
Subsec. (b)(12).
Subsec. (b)(15) to (17).
1966-Subsec. (a).
1964-Subsec. (b)(14).
1958-Subsec. (b)(13).
Effective Date of 1993 Amendment
Section 13145(b) of
Section 13147(b) of
Section 13148(c) of
Effective Date of 1988 Amendment
Amendment by
Effective Date of 1987 Amendment
Section 10213(b) of
Effective Date of 1986 Amendment
Amendment by
Effective Date of 1984 Amendment
Amendment by
Effective Date of 1983 Amendment
Amendment by
Effective Date of 1978 Amendment
Amendment by
Effective Date of 1976 Amendments
Amendment by
Amendment by section 1901(b)(8)(F) of
Amendment by section 1951(b)(8)(A) of
Section 1(b) of
Effective Date of 1972 Amendment
Amendment by
Effective Date of 1969 Amendment
Amendment by
Effective Date of 1966 Amendment
Amendment by
Effective Date of 1964 Amendment
Section 2 of
Effective Date of 1958 Amendment
Section 1(b) of
Savings Provision
For provisions that nothing in amendment by
Section 1951(b)(8)(B) of
Plan Amendments Not Required Until January 1, 1989
For provisions directing that if any amendments made by subtitle A or subtitle C of title XI [§§1101–1147 and 1171–1177] or title XVIII [§§1800–1899A] of
Cross References
Limitation on charitable deduction, see section 681 of this title.
Nonresident aliens and foreign corporations, income taxes of, see section 871 et seq. of this title.
Withholding of tax on foreign tax-exempt organizations, see section 1443 of this title.
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in sections 263, 419A, 502, 509, 511, 513, 514, 664, 681, 851, 856, 878, 995, 1443, 4940, 4943, 4976, 6031 of this title.