Publication 4681

Cat. No. 51508F

Contents
Whats New for 2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Reminder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Common Situations Covered In This Publication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 1. Canceled Debts . . . . . . . . . . . . . Exceptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gifts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Student Loans . . . . . . . . . . . Deductible Debt . . . . . . . . . . Price Reduced After Purchase . . . . . . . . . . . Home Affordable Modification Program . . . . . . . . . . . . Exclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bankruptcy . . . . . . . . . . . . . Insolvency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Qualified Farm Indebtedness . Qualified Real Property Business Indebtedness . . Qualified Principal Residence Indebtedness . . . . . . . . . Reduction of Tax Attributes . . . . . Qualified Principal Residence Indebtedness . . . . . . . . . Bankruptcy and Insolvency . . Qualified Farm Indebtedness . Qualified Real Property Business Indebtedness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 7 1 1 2 2

Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service

Canceled Debts, Foreclosures, Repossessions, and Abandonments

(for Individuals)
For use in preparing

... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2010 Returns

. . . .

...

... 8 ....8 ... 8 ....8 ....9 . . . 10

2. Foreclosures and Repossessions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 3. Abandonments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 4. Detailed Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 5. How To Get Tax Help . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Whats New for 2010

Midwestern disaster relief expired. The exclusion for discharge of indebtedness of a qualified individual because of Midwestern disasters does not apply to discharges after 2009. Abandonment of property subject to debt. The abandonment section has been revised to discuss the tax consequences of abandoning property subject to debt.

Reminder
Get forms and other information faster and easier by: Internet
Apr 20, 2011 Photographs of missing children. The Internal Revenue Service is a proud partner with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Photographs of missing children selected by the Center may appear in this publication on pages that otherwise would be blank. You can help bring these children home by looking at the photographs and calling 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) if you recognize a child.

IRS.gov

Introduction
This publication explains the federal tax treatment of canceled debts, foreclosures, repossessions, and abandonments. Generally, if you owe a debt to someone else and they cancel or forgive that debt, you are treated for income tax purposes as having income and may have to pay tax on this income. Note. This publication refers to the discharge of indebtedness or debt that is canceled or forgiven as canceled debt. Sometimes a debt, or part of a debt, that you do not have to pay is not considered canceled debt. These exceptions are discussed later under Exceptions. And sometimes a canceled debt may be excluded from your income. But, if you do exclude canceled debt from income, you may be required to reduce your tax attributes. These exclusions and the reduction of tax attributes are discussed later under Exclusions. Foreclosure and repossession are remedies that your lender may exercise if you fail to make payments on your loan and you have previously granted that lender a security interest in some of your property. These remedies allow the lender to seize or sell the property securing the loan. When your property is foreclosed upon or repossessed and sold, you are treated as having sold the property and you may recognize taxable gain. Whether you also recognize income from canceled debt depends in part on whether you are personally liable for the debt and whether the outstanding loan balance is more than the fair market value (FMV) of the property. Figuring your gain or loss and canceled debt arising from a foreclosure or repossession is discussed later under Foreclosures and Repossessions. Generally, you abandon property when you voluntarily and permanently give up possession and use of property you own with the intention of ending your ownership but without passing it on to anyone else. Figuring your gain or loss and canceled debt arising from an abandonment is discussed later under Abandonments. This publication also includes detailed examples with filled-in forms. Comments and suggestions. We welcome your comments about this publication and your suggestions for future editions. You can write to us at the following address: Internal Revenue Service Individual Forms and Publications Branch SE:W:CAR:MP:T:I 1111 Constitution Ave. NW, IR-6526 Washington, DC 20224 We respond to many letters by telephone. Therefore, it would be helpful if you would include your daytime phone number, including the area code, in your correspondence. You can email us at *[email protected]. (The asterisk must be included in the address.) Please put Publications Comment on the subject line. You can also send us comments from www.irs.gov/formspubs/; select Comment on Tax Forms and Publications under Information about. Ordering forms and publications. Visit www.irs.gov/formspubs to download forms and publications, call 1-800-829-3676, or write to the Page 2 Chapter 1 Canceled Debts

address below and receive a response within 10 days after your request is received. Internal Revenue Service 1201 N. Mitsubishi Motorway Bloomington, IL 61705-6613 Tax questions. If you have a tax question, check the information available on IRS.gov or call 1-800-829-1040. We cannot answer tax questions sent to either of the above addresses.

exclude the canceled debt from income if the cancellation occurred in a title 11 bankruptcy case or you were insolvent immediately before the cancellation. You should read Bankruptcy or Insolvency under Exclusions in chapter 1 to see if you can exclude the canceled debt from income under one of those provisions. If you can exclude part or all of the canceled debt from income, you should also read Bankruptcy and Insolvency under Reduction of Tax Attributes in chapter 1. Main home foreclosure or abandonment. If a lender foreclosed on your main home during the year, you will need to determine your gain or loss on the foreclosure. Foreclosures are explained in chapter 2 and abandonments are explained in chapter 3. If the lender also canceled all or part of the remaining amount on the mortgage loan and you were personally liable for the debt, you should also read Qualified Principal Residence Indebtedness under Exclusions in chapter 1 to see if you can exclude part or all of the canceled debt from income. Detailed Example 2 and Example 3 in chapter 4 use filled-in forms to help explain these provisions. Main home loan modification (workout agreement). If a lender agrees to a mortgage loan modification (a workout) that includes a reduction in the principal balance of the loan, you should read Qualified Principal Residence Indebtedness under Exclusions in chapter 1 to see if you can exclude part or all of the canceled debt from income. If you can exclude part or all of the canceled debt from income, you should also read Qualified Principal Residence Indebtedness under Reduction of Tax Attributes in chapter 1. Detailed Example 1 in chapter 4 uses filled-in forms to help explain the tax implications of a mortgage workout scenario.

Useful Items
Publication t 225 t 334

You may want to see:

Farmers Tax Guide Tax Guide for Small Business (For Individuals Who Use Schedule C or C-EZ) Selling Your Home Taxable and Nontaxable Income Sales and Other Dispositions of Assets Basis of Assets Bankruptcy Tax Guide

t 523 t 525 t 544 t 551 t 908

Form (and Instructions) t 982 Reduction of Tax Attributes Due to Discharge of Indebtedness (and Section 1082 Basis Adjustment)

Common Situations Covered In This Publication

The sections of this publication that apply to you depend on the type of debt canceled, the tax attributes you have, and whether or not you continue to own the property that was subject to the debt. Some examples of common circumstances are provided in the following paragraphs to help guide you through this publication. These examples do not cover every canceled debt situation, but are intended to provide general guidance for the most common situations. Nonbusiness credit card debt cancellation. If you had a nonbusiness credit card debt canceled, you may be able to exclude the canceled debt from income if the cancellation occurred in a title 11 bankruptcy case or you were insolvent immediately before the cancellation. You should read Bankruptcy or Insolvency under Exclusions in chapter 1 to see if you can exclude the canceled debt from income under one of those provisions. If you can exclude part or all of the canceled debt from income, you should also read Bankruptcy and Insolvency under Reduction of Tax Attributes in chapter 1. Personal vehicle repossession. If you had a personal vehicle repossessed and disposed of by the lender during the year, you will need to determine your gain or nondeductible loss on the disposition. This is explained in chapter 2 . If the lender also canceled all or part of the remaining amount of the loan, you may be able to

1. Canceled Debts
Generally, if a debt for which you are personally liable is canceled or forgiven, other than as a gift or bequest, you must include the canceled amount in your income. However, exceptions to the general rule that canceled debt is included in income may apply. See Exceptions, later. And, even if no exception applies, you still may be allowed to exclude the canceled debt from your income. See Exclusions, later. A debt includes any indebtedness:

For which you are liable, or Subject to which you hold property.
Debt for which you are personally liable is recourse debt. All other debt is nonrecourse debt. If you are not personally liable for the debt, you do not have ordinary income from the cancellation of debt unless you retain the collateral and either:

The lender offers a discount for the early

payment of the debt or

 The lender agrees to a loan modification

that results in the reduction of the principal balance of the debt.

See Discounts and loan modifications, later. Also, upon the disposition of the property securing a nonrecourse debt, the amount realized includes the entire unpaid amount of the debt, not just the FMV of the property. As a result, you may realize a gain or loss if the outstanding debt immediately before the disposition is more or less than your adjusted basis in the property. For more details on figuring your gain or loss, see chapter 2 of this publication or see Publication 544. There are several exceptions and exclusions that may result in part or all of a canceled debt being nontaxable. See Exceptions and Exclusions, later. You must report any taxable cancelled debt as ordinary income on:

you do not meet any other exception or exclusion discussed later, include in your income the net amount of the canceled debt (the amount shown in box 2 minus the interest amount shown in box 3). Discounts and loan modifications. If a lender offers to discount (reduce) the principal balance of a loan if the loan is paid off early, or agrees to a loan modification (a workout) that includes a reduction in the principal balance of a loan, the amount of the discount or the amount of principal reduction is canceled debt whether or not you are personally liable for the debt. However, if the debt is nonrecourse and you did not retain the collateral, you do not have cancellation of debt income. The amount of the canceled debt must be included in income unless one of the exceptions or exclusions described later applies. For more details, see Exceptions and Exclusions, later. Sales or other dispositions (such as foreclosures and repossessions). If you owned property that was subject to a recourse debt in excess of the FMV of the property, the lenders foreclosure or repossession of the property is treated as a sale or disposition of the property by you and may result in your realization of gain or loss. If the lender forgives all or part of the amount of the debt in excess of the FMV of the property, the cancellation of the excess debt may result in ordinary income. The gain or loss on the disposition of the property is measured by the difference between the FMV of the property at the time of the disposition and your adjusted basis (usually your cost) in the property. The character of the gain or loss (such as ordinary or capital) is determined by the character of the property. The ordinary income from the cancellation of debt (the excess of the canceled debt over the FMV of the property) must be included in your gross income reported on your tax return unless one of the exceptions or exclusions described later applies. For more details, see Exceptions and Exclusions, later. If you owned property that was subject to a nonrecourse debt in excess of the FMV of the property, the lenders foreclosure on the property does not result in ordinary income from the cancellation of debt. The entire amount of the nonrecourse debt is treated as an amount realized on the disposition of the property. The gain or loss on the disposition of the property is measured by the difference between the total amount realized (the entire amount of the nonrecourse debt plus the amount of cash and the FMV of any property received) and your adjusted basis in the property. The character of the gain or loss is determined by the character of the property. See Publications 523, 544, and 551, and chapter 2 of this publication for more details. Abandonments. If the abandoned property secures a debt for which you are personally liable (recourse debt) and the debt is canceled, you will realize ordinary income equal to the canceled debt. You must report this income on your tax return unless one of the exceptions or exclusions described later applies. For more details, see Exceptions and Exclusions, later. This income is separate from any amount realized from the abandonment of the property. For more details, see chapter 3. If the abandoned property secures debt for which you are not personally liable (nonrecourse

debt), you may realize gain or loss but will not have cancellation of indebtedness income. Stockholder debt. If you are a stockholder in a corporation and the corporation cancels or forgives your debt to it, the canceled debt is a constructive distribution that is generally treated as dividend income to you. For more information, see Publication 542, Corporations. Persons who each receive a Form 1099-C showing the full amount of debt. If you and another person were jointly and severally liable for a debt that is canceled, each of you may get a Form 1099-C showing the entire amount of the canceled debt. However, you may not have to report that entire amount as income. The amount, if any, you must report depends on all the facts and circumstances, including:

Form 1040 or Form 1040NR, line 21, if the

debt is a nonbusiness debt;

State law, The amount of debt proceeds each person

received,

Schedule C (Form 1040), line 6 (or Schedule C-EZ (Form 1040), line 1), if the debt is related to a nonfarm sole proprietorship; is related to nonfarm rental of real property;

How much of any interest deduction from

the debt was claimed by each person,

Schedule E (Form 1040), line 3, if the debt Form 4835, line 6, if the debt is related to

How much of the basis of any co-owned

property bought with the debt proceeds was allocated to each co-owner, and any of the exceptions or exclusions described in this publication.

Whether the canceled debt qualifies for

See Example 3 under Insolvency, later.

a farm rental activity for which you use Form 4835 to report farm rental income based on crops or livestock produced by a tenant; or debt is farm debt and you are a farmer.

Schedule F (Form 1040), line 10, if the

Exceptions
There are several exceptions to the inclusion of canceled debt in income. These exceptions apply before the exclusions discussed later and do not require you to reduce your tax attributes.

Form 1099-C. If an applicable entity cancels or forgives a debt you owe of $600 or more, you will receive a Form 1099-C, Cancellation of Debt. The amount of the canceled debt is shown in box 2. Unless you meet one of the exceptions or exclusions discussed later, this canceled debt is ordinary income and must be reported on the appropriate form shown above. Even if you did not receive a Form 1099-C, you must report canceled debt CAUTION as gross income on your tax return unless one of the exceptions or exclusions described later applies. An applicable entity includes:

Gifts
Generally, you do not have income from canceled debt if the cancellation or forgiveness of the debt is a gift.

Student Loans
Certain student loans provide that all or part of the debt incurred to attend a qualified educational institution will be canceled if the person who received the loan works for a certain period of time in certain professions for any of a broad class of employers. If your student loan is canceled as the result of this type of provision, the cancellation of this debt is not included in your gross income. To qualify for this treatment, the loan must have been made by: 1. The federal government, a state or local government, or an instrumentality, agency, or subdivision thereof, 2. A tax-exempt public benefit corporation that has assumed control of a state, county, or municipal hospital, and whose employees are considered public employees under state law, or 3. An educational institution (defined later): a. Under an agreement with an entity described in (1) or (2) that provided the Chapter 1 Canceled Debts Page 3

A federal government agency, A financial institution, A credit union, or Any organization a significant trade or business of which is lending money.

Interest included in canceled debt. If any interest is forgiven and included in the amount of canceled debt in box 2, the interest portion that is included in box 2 will be shown in box 3. Whether the interest portion of the canceled debt must be included in your income depends on whether the interest would be deductible if you paid it. See Deductible Debt under Exceptions, later. If the interest would not be deductible (such as interest on a personal loan) and you do not meet any other exception or exclusion discussed later, include in your income the amount from Form 1099-C, box 2. If the interest would be deductible (such as on a business loan) and

funds to the institution to make the loan, or b. As part of a program of the institution designed to encourage students to serve in occupations or areas with unmet needs and under which the services provided are for or under the direction of a governmental unit or a tax-exempt section 501(c)(3) organization (defined later). A loan to refinance a qualified student loan also will qualify if it was made by an educational institution or a tax-exempt section 501(a) organization under its program designed as described in (3)(b) above. Exception. The cancellation of a student loan made by an educational institution because of services you performed for that institution or another organization that provided funds for the loan must be included in the gross income on your tax return unless one of the other exceptions or exclusions described in this publication applies. Education loan repayment assistance. Education loan repayments made to you by the National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program or a state education loan repayment program eligible for funds under the Public Health Service Act are not taxable if you agree to provide primary health services in health professional shortage areas. Amounts you received after 2008 under any other state loan repayment or loan forgiveness program also are not taxable if the program is intended to increase the availability of health care services in underserved areas or areas with a shortage of health professionals. Educational institution. An educational institution is an organization with a regular faculty and curriculum and a regularly enrolled body of students in attendance at the place where the educational activities are carried on. Section 501(c)(3) organization. A section 501(c)(3) organization is any corporation, community chest, fund, or foundation organized and operated exclusively for one or more of the following purposes.

Example. You get accounting services for your farm on credit. Later, you have trouble paying your farm debts and your accountant forgives part of the amount you owe for the accounting services. How you treat the canceled debt depends on your method of accounting.

Bankruptcy
Debt canceled in a title 11 bankruptcy case is not included in your income. A title 11 bankruptcy case is a case under title 11 of the United States Code (including all chapters in title 11 such as chapters 7, 11, and 13), but only if the debtor is under the jurisdiction of the court and the cancellation of the debt is granted by the court or occurs as a result of a plan approved by the court. How to report the bankruptcy exclusion. To show that your debt was canceled in a bankruptcy case and is excluded from income, attach Form 982 to your federal income tax return and check the box on line 1a. Lines 1b through 1f do not apply to a cancellation that occurs in a title 11 bankruptcy case. Enter the total amount of debt canceled in your title 11 bankruptcy case on line 2. You must also reduce your tax attributes in Part II of Form 982 as explained under Reduction of Tax Attributes, later.

Cash method. You do not include the canceled debt in income because payment of the debt would have been deductible as a business expense.

Accrual method. Unless another exception

or exclusion applies, you must include the canceled debt in ordinary income because the expense was deductible when you incurred the debt.

Price Reduced After Purchase

If debt you owe the seller for the purchase of property is reduced by the seller at a time when you are not insolvent and the reduction does not occur in a title 11 bankruptcy case, the reduction does not result in cancellation of debt income. However, you must reduce your basis in the property by the amount of the reduction of your debt to the seller. The rules that apply to bankruptcy and insolvency are explained in the next section, Exclusions.

Insolvency
Do not include a canceled debt in income to the extent that you were insolvent immediately before the cancellation. You were insolvent immediately before the cancellation to the extent that the total of all of your liabilities was more than the FMV of all of your assets immediately before the cancellation. For purposes of determining insolvency, assets include the value of everything you own (including assets that serve as collateral for debt and exempt assets which are beyond the reach of your creditors under the law, such as your interest in a pension plan and the value of your retirement account). Liabilities include:

Home Affordable Modification Program

Any Pay-for-Performance Success Payments that reduce the principal balance of your home mortgage under the Home Affordable Modification Program are not taxable.

The entire amount of recourse debts, The amount of nonrecourse debt that is The amount of nonrecourse debt in ex-

Exclusions
After you have applied any exceptions to the general rule that a canceled debt is included in your income, there are several reasons why you might still be able to exclude a canceled debt from your income. These exclusions are explained next. If a canceled debt is excluded from your income, that means it is nontaxable. Generally, however, if you exclude canceled debt from income under one of these provisions, you must also reduce your tax attributes (certain credits, losses, and basis of assets) as explained later under Reduction of Tax Attributes. Reacquisition of business debt. If you make an election under section CAUTION 108(i) of the Internal Revenue Code to defer and ratably include income from the cancellation of business debt arising from the reacquisition of certain business debt repurchased in 2009 and 2010, you cannot exclude that income, for the tax year of the election or any later tax year, based on a title 11 bankruptcy case, insolvency, qualified farm indebtedness, or qualified real property business indebtedness. For more details, see section 108(i) of the Internal Revenue Code and Revenue Procedure 2009-37, 2009-36 I.R.B. 309, available at www. irs.gov/irb/2009-36_IRB/ar07.html.

not in excess of the FMV of the property that is security for the debt, and cess of the FMV of the property subject to the nonrecourse debt to the extent nonrecourse debt in excess of the FMV of the property subject to the debt is forgiven.

Charitable. Educational. Fostering national or international amateur

sports competition (but only if none of the organizations activities involve providing athletic facilities or equipment). Literary. Preventing cruelty to children or animals. Religious. Scientific. Testing for public safety.

You can use the worksheet on page 6 to help calculate the extent that you were insolvent immediately before the cancellation.

TIP

Note. This exclusion does not apply to a cancellation of debt that occurs in a title 11 bankruptcy case. It also does not apply if the debt is qualified principal residence indebtedness (defined in this section under Qualified Principal Residence Indebtedness, later) unless you elect to apply the insolvency exclusion instead of the qualified principal residence indebtedness exclusion. How to report the insolvency exclusion. To show that you are excluding canceled debt from income under the insolvency exclusion, attach Form 982 to your federal income tax return and check the box on line 1b. On line 2, include the smaller of the amount of the debt canceled or the amount by which you were insolvent immediately before the cancellation. You can use the worksheet on page 6 to help calculate the extent that you were insolvent immediately before the

Deductible Debt
If you use the cash method of accounting, you do not realize income from the cancellation of debt if the payment of the debt would have been a deductible expense. This exception applies before the price reduction exception discussed next. Page 4 Chapter 1 Canceled Debts

cancellation. You must also reduce your tax attributes in Part II of Form 982 as explained under Reduction of Tax Attributes, later. Example 1 amount of insolvency more than canceled debt. In 2010, Greg was released from his obligation to pay his personal credit card debt in the amount of $5,000. Greg received a 2010 Form 1099-C from his credit card lender showing canceled debt of $5,000 in box 2. None of the exceptions to the general rule that canceled debt is included in income apply. Greg uses the insolvency worksheet to determine that his total liabilities immediately before the cancellation were $15,000 and the FMV of his total assets immediately before the cancellation was $7,000. This means that immediately before the cancellation, Greg was insolvent to the extent of $8,000 ($15,000 total liabilities minus $7,000 FMV of his total assets). Because the amount by which Greg was insolvent immediately before the cancellation was more than the amount of his debt canceled, Greg can exclude the entire $5,000 canceled debt from income. When completing his tax return, Greg checks the box on line 1b of Form 982 and enters $5,000 on line 2. Greg completes Part II to reduce his tax attributes as explained under Reduction of Tax Attributes, later. Greg does not include any of the $5,000 canceled debt on line 21 of his Form 1040. None of the canceled debt is included in his income. Example 2 amount of insolvency less than canceled debt. The facts are the same as in Example 1 except that Gregs total liabilities immediately before the cancellation were $10,000 and the FMV of his total assets immediately before the cancellation was $7,000. In this case, Greg is insolvent to the extent of $3,000 ($10,000 total liabilities minus $7,000 FMV of his total assets) immediately before the cancellation. Because the amount of the canceled debt was more than the amount by which Greg was insolvent immediately before the cancellation, Greg can exclude only $3,000 of the $5,000 canceled debt from income under the insolvency exclusion. Greg checks the box on line 1b of Form 982 and includes $3,000 on line 2. Also, Greg completes Part II to reduce his tax attributes as explained under Reduction of Tax Attributes, later. Additionally, Greg must include $2,000 of canceled debt on line 21 of his Form 1040 (unless another exclusion applies). Example 3 joint debt and separate returns. In 2010, James and his wife Robin were released from their obligation to pay a debt of $10,000 for which they were jointly and severally liable. None of the exceptions to the general rule that canceled debt is included in income apply. They incurred the debt (originally $12,000) to finance James purchase of a $9,000 motorcycle and Robins purchase of a laptop computer and software for personal use for $3,000. They each received a 2010 Form 1099-C from the bank showing the entire canceled debt of $10,000 in box 2. Based on the use of the loan proceeds, they agreed that James was responsible for 75% of the debt and Robin was responsible for the remaining 25%. Therefore, James share of the debt is $7,500 (75% of $10,000), and Robins share is $2,500 (25% of $10,000). By completing the insolvency worksheet, James

determines that, immediately before the cancellation of the debt, he was insolvent to the extent of $5,000 ($15,000 total liabilities minus $10,000 FMV of his total assets). He can exclude $5,000 of his $7,500 canceled debt. Robin completes a separate insolvency worksheet and determines she was insolvent to the extent of $4,000 ($9,000 total liabilities minus $5,000 FMV of her total assets). She can exclude her entire canceled debt of $2,500. When completing his separate tax return, James checks the box on line 1b of Form 982 and enters $5,000 on line 2. He completes Part II to reduce his tax attributes as explained under Reduction of Tax Attributes, later. He must include the remaining $2,500 ($7,500 $5,000) of canceled debt on line 21 of his Form 1040 (unless another exclusion applies). When completing her return, Robin checks the box on line 1b of Form 982 and enters $2,500 on line 2. She completes Part II to reduce her tax attributes as explained under Reduction of Tax Attributes, later. She does not include any of the canceled debt on line 21 of her Form 1040. None of the canceled debt has to be included in her income.

Your adjusted tax attributes, and The total adjusted bases of qualified property you held at the beginning of 2011. If you excluded canceled debt under the insolvency exclusion, the adjusted basis of any qualified property and adjusted tax attributes are determined after any reduction of tax attributes required under the insolvency exclusion. Any canceled qualified farm debt that is more than this limit must be included in your income. For more information about the basis of property, see Publication 551. Adjusted tax attributes. Adjusted tax attributes means the sum of the following items. 1. Any net operating loss (NOL) for 2010 and any NOL carryover to 2010. 2. Any net capital loss for 2010 and any capital loss carryover to 2010. 3. Any passive activity loss carryover from 2010. 4. Three times the sum of any: a. General business credit carryover to or from 2010, b. Minimum tax credit available as of the beginning of 2011, c. Foreign tax credit carryover to or from 2010, and d. Passive activity credit carryover from 2010. Qualified property. This is any property you use or hold for use in your trade or business or for the production of income. How to report the qualified farm indebtedness exclusion. To show that all or part of your canceled debt is excluded from income because it is qualified farm debt, check the box on line 1c of Form 982 and attach it to your Form 1040. On line 2 of Form 982, include the amount of the qualified farm debt canceled, but not more than the exclusion limit (explained earlier). You must also reduce your tax attributes in Part II of Form 982 as explained under Reduction of Tax Attributes, later. Example 1. In 2010, Chuck was released from his obligation to pay a $10,000 debt that was incurred directly in connection with his trade or business of farming. Chuck received a Form 1099-C from the qualified lender showing canceled debt of $10,000 in box 2. For his 2007, 2008, and 2009 tax years, at least 50% of Chucks total gross receipts were from the trade or business of farming. Chucks adjusted tax attributes are $5,000 and Chuck has $3,000 total adjusted bases in qualified property at the beginning of 2011. Chuck had no other debt canceled during 2010, and no other exception or exclusion relating to canceled debt income applies. Chuck can exclude $8,000 ($5,000 of adjusted tax attributes plus $3,000 total adjusted bases in qualified property at the beginning of 2011) of the $10,000 canceled debt from income. Chuck checks the box on line 1c of Form 982 and enters $8,000 on line 2. Also, Chuck completes Part II to reduce his tax attributes as explained under Reduction of Tax Attributes, Chapter 1 Canceled Debts Page 5

Qualified Farm Indebtedness

You can exclude canceled farm debt from income if all of the following apply.

The debt was incurred directly in connection with your operation of the trade or business of farming.

50% or more of your total gross receipts

for 2007, 2008, and 2009 were from the trade or business of farming.

The cancellation was made by a qualified

person. A qualified person is an individual, organization, partnership, association, corporation, etc., who is actively and regularly engaged in the business of lending money. A qualified person also includes any federal, state, or local government or agency or instrumentality thereof. The United States Department of Agriculture is a qualified person. A qualified person cannot be related to you, cannot be the person from whom you acquired the property (or a person related to this person), and cannot be a person who receives a fee due to your investment in the property (or a person related to this person).

For the definition of the term related person, see Related persons under At-Risk Amounts in Publication 925, Passive Activity and At-Risk Rules. Note. This exclusion does not apply to a cancellation of debt in a title 11 bankruptcy case or to the extent you were insolvent immediately before the cancellation. If qualified farm debt is canceled in a title 11 case, you must apply the bankruptcy exclusion rather than the exclusion for canceled qualified farm debt. If you were insolvent immediately before the cancellation of qualified farm debt, you must apply the insolvency exclusion before applying the exclusion for canceled qualified farm debt. Exclusion limit. The amount of canceled qualified farm debt you can exclude from income under this exclusion is limited. It cannot be more than the sum of:

Insolvency Worksheet
Date debt was canceled (mm/dd/yy) Part I. Total liabilities immediately before the cancellation (do not include the same liability in more than one category) Liabilities (debts) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. Credit card debt $

Keep for Your Records

Amount Owed Immediately Before the Cancellation

Mortgage(s) on real property (including first and second mortgages and home equity loans) (mortgage(s) can be on personal residence, any additional residence, or property held for investment or used in a trade or business) $ Car and other vehicle loans Medical bills owed Student loans Accrued or past-due mortgage interest Accrued or past-due real estate taxes Accrued or past-due utilities (water, gas, electric) Accrued or past-due child care costs Federal or state income taxes remaining due (for prior tax years) Judgments Business debts (including those owed as a sole proprietor or partner) Margin debt on stocks and other debt to purchase or secured by investment assets other than real property Other liabilities (debts) not included above Total liabilities immediately before the cancellation. Add lines 1 through 14. $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $

Part II. Fair market value (FMV) of assets owned immediately before the cancellation (do not include the FMV of the same asset in more than one category) Assets 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. Cash and bank account balances Homes (including the value of land) (can be main home, any additional home, or property held for investment or used in a trade or business) Cars and other vehicles Computers Household goods and furnishings (for example, appliances, electronics, furniture, etc.) Tools Jewelry Clothing Books Stocks and bonds Investments in coins, stamps, paintings, or other collectibles Firearms, sports, photographic, and other hobby equipment Interest in retirement accounts (IRA accounts, 401(k) accounts, and other retirement accounts) Interest in a pension plan Interest in education accounts Cash value of life insurance Security deposits with landlords, utilities, and others Interests in partnerships Value of investment in a business Other investments (for example, annuity contracts, guaranteed investment contracts, mutual funds, commodity accounts, interests in hedge funds, and options) Other assets not included above FMV of total assets immediately before the cancellation. Add lines 16 through 36. $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ FMV Immediately Before the Cancellation

Part III. Insolvency 38. Amount of Insolvency. Subtract line 37 from line 15. If zero or less, you are not insolvent. $

Page 6

Chapter 1

Canceled Debts

later. The remaining $2,000 of canceled qualified farm debt is included in Chucks income on Schedule F, line 10. Example 2. On March 1, 2010, Bob was released from his obligation to pay a $10,000 business credit card debt that was used directly in connection with his farming business. For his 2007, 2008, and 2009 tax years, at least 50% of Bobs total gross receipts were from the trade or business of farming. Bob received a 2010 Form 1099-C from the qualified lender showing canceled debt of $10,000 in box 2. The FMV of Bobs total assets on March 1, 2010, (immediately before the cancellation of the credit card debt) was $7,000 and Bobs total liabilities at that time were $11,000. Bobs adjusted tax attributes (a 2010 NOL) are $7,000 and Bob has $4,000 total adjusted bases in qualified property at the beginning of 2011. Bob qualifies to exclude $4,000 of the canceled debt under the insolvency exclusion because he is insolvent to the extent of $4,000 immediately before the cancellation ($11,000 total liabilities minus $7,000 FMV of total assets). Bob must reduce his tax attributes under the insolvency rules before applying the rules for qualified farm debt. Bob also qualifies to exclude the remaining $6,000 of canceled qualified farm debt. The limit on Bobs exclusion from income of canceled qualified farm debt is $7,000, the sum of his adjusted tax attributes of $3,000 (the $7,000 NOL minus the $4,000 reduction of tax attributes required because of the $4,000 exclusion of canceled debt under the insolvency exclusion) plus $4,000 (Bobs total adjusted bases in qualified property at the beginning of 2011). Bob checks the boxes on lines 1b and 1c of Form 982 and enters $10,000 on line 2. Bob completes Part II to reduce his tax attributes as explained under Reduction of Tax Attributes, later. Bob does not include any of his canceled debt in income. Example 3. The facts are the same as in Example 2 except that immediately before the cancellation Bob was insolvent to the extent of the full $10,000 canceled debt. Because the exclusion for qualified farm debt does not apply to the extent that you were insolvent immediately before the cancellation, Bob checks only the box on line 1b of Form 982 and enters $10,000 on line 2. Bob completes Part II to reduce his tax attributes based on the insolvency exclusion as explained under Reduction of Tax Attributes, later. Bob does not include any of the canceled debt in income.

b. After 1992, if the debt is either (i) qualified acquisition indebtedness (defined next), or (ii) debt incurred to refinance qualified real property business debt incurred or assumed before 1993 (but only to the extent the amount of such debt does not exceed the amount of debt being refinanced). 4. It is debt to which you elect to apply these rules. Definition of qualified acquisition indebtedness. Qualified acquisition indebtedness is:

Debt incurred or assumed to acquire, construct, reconstruct, or substantially improve real property that is used in a trade or business and secures the debt, or ified acquisition indebtedness, to the extent the amount of the debt does not exceed the amount of debt being refinanced.

Debt resulting from the refinancing of qual-

election to exclude canceled qualified real property business debt from gross income. The election must be made on a timely filed (including extensions) federal income tax return for 2010 and can be revoked only with IRS consent. The election is made by completing Form 982 in accordance with its instructions. Attach Form 982 to your federal income tax return for 2010 and check the box on line 1d. Include the amount of canceled qualified real property business debt (but not more than the amount of the exclusion limit, explained above) on line 2 of Form 982. You must also reduce your tax attributes in Part II of Form 982 as explained under Reduction of Tax Attributes, later. If you timely filed your tax return without making this election, you can still make the election by filing an amended return within 6 months of the due date of the return (excluding extensions). Enter Filed pursuant to section 301.9100-2 on the amended return and file it at the same place you filed the original return. Example. In 2005, Curt bought a retail store for use in a business he operated as a sole proprietorship. Curt made a $20,000 down payment and financed the remaining $200,000 of the purchase price with a bank loan. The bank loan was a recourse loan and was secured by the property. Curt used the property in his business continuously since he bought it. Curt had no other debt secured by that depreciable real property. In addition to the retail store, Curt owned depreciable equipment and furniture with an adjusted basis of $50,000. Curts business encountered financial difficulties in 2010. On September 25, 2010, the bank financing the retail store loan entered into a workout agreement with Curt under which it canceled $20,000 of the debt. Immediately before the cancellation, the outstanding principal balance on the retail store loan was $185,000, the FMV of the store was $165,000, and the adjusted basis was $210,000 ($220,000 cost minus $10,000 accumulated depreciation). The bank sent Curt a 2010 Form 1099-C showing canceled debt of $20,000 in box 2. Curt had no tax attributes other than basis to reduce and did not qualify for any exception or exclusion other than the qualified real property business debt exclusion. Curt elects to apply the qualified real property business debt exclusion to the canceled debt. The amount of canceled qualified real property business debt that Curt can exclude from income is limited to $20,000 (the excess of the $185,000 outstanding principal amount of his qualified real property business debt immediately before the cancellation over the $165,000 FMV of the business real property securing the debt). Curts exclusion is also subject to a $210,000 limit equal to the adjusted basis of depreciable real property he held immediately before the cancellation. Thus, Curt can exclude the entire $20,000 of canceled qualified real property business debt from income. Curt checks the box on line 1d of Form 982 and enters $20,000 on line 2. Curt must also use line 4 of Form 982 to reduce his basis in depreciable real property by the $20,000 of canceled qualified real property business debt excluded from his income as explained under Reduction of Tax Attributes, later.

Note. This exclusion does not apply to a cancellation of debt in a title 11 bankruptcy case or to the extent you were insolvent immediately before the cancellation. If qualified real property business debt is canceled in a title 11 bankruptcy case, you must apply the bankruptcy exclusion rather than the exclusion for canceled qualified real property business debt. If you were insolvent immediately before the cancellation of qualified real property business debt, you must apply the insolvency exclusion before applying the exclusion for canceled qualified real property business debt. Exclusion limit. The amount of canceled qualified real property business debt you can exclude from income is limited under this exclusion to the excess (if any) of:

The outstanding principal amount of the

qualified real property business debt (immediately before the cancellation), over lation) of the business real property securing the debt, reduced by the outstanding principal amount of any other qualified real property business debt secured by that property (immediately before the cancellation).

The FMV (immediately before the cancel-

Qualified Real Property Business Indebtedness

You can elect to exclude canceled qualified real property business indebtedness from income. Qualified real property business indebtedness is debt (other than qualified farm debt) that meets all of the following conditions. 1. It was incurred or assumed in connection with real property used in a trade or business. 2. It is secured by that real property. 3. It was incurred or assumed: a. Before 1993, or

In addition to this limit, a second overall limit applies. The amount of canceled qualified real property business debt you can exclude from income cannot be more than the total adjusted bases of depreciable real property you held immediately before the cancellation of the qualified real property business indebtedness (other than depreciable real property acquired in contemplation of the cancellation). When figuring this overall limit, use the adjusted basis of the depreciable real property after any reductions in basis required because of the exclusion of debt canceled under the bankruptcy, insolvency, or farm debt provisions described in this publication. For more information about the basis of property, see Publication 551. How to elect the qualified real property business debt exclusion. You must make an

Chapter 1

Canceled Debts

Page 7

Qualified Principal Residence Indebtedness

You can exclude canceled debt from income if it is qualified principal residence indebtedness. Qualified principal residence indebtedness is any mortgage you took out to buy, build, or substantially improve your main home. It also must be secured by your main home. Qualified principal residence indebtedness also includes any debt secured by your main home that you used to refinance a mortgage you took out to buy, build, or substantially improve your main home, but only up to the amount of the old mortgage principal just before the refinancing. Example 1. In 2004, Becky bought a main home for $315,000. Becky took out a $300,000 mortgage loan to buy the home and made a down payment of $15,000. The loan was secured by the home. In 2005, Becky took out a second mortgage loan in the amount of $50,000 that she used to add a garage to her home. In 2010, when the outstanding principal of her first and second mortgage loans was $325,000, Becky refinanced the two loans into one loan in the amount of $400,000. The FMV of the home at the time of the refinancing was $430,000. Becky used the additional $75,000 debt proceeds ($400,000 new mortgage loan minus $325,000 outstanding principal balances of Beckys first and second mortgage loans immediately before the refinancing) to pay off personal credit cards and to pay college tuition for her daughter. After the refinancing, Beckys qualified principal residence indebtedness is $325,000 because the debt resulting from the refinancing is qualified principal residence indebtedness only to the extent it is not more than the old mortgage principal just before the refinancing. Example 2. In 2003, Steve acquired his main home for $200,000, subject to a mortgage of $175,000. In 2004, he took out a home equity loan for $10,000, secured by his main home, which he used to pay off personal credit cards. In 2005, when the outstanding principal on his mortgage was $170,000 and the outstanding principal on his home equity loan was $9,000, he refinanced the two loans into one loan in the amount of $200,000. The FMV of the home at the time of refinancing was $210,000. He used the additional $21,000 ($200,000 new mortgage loan minus $179,000 outstanding principal balances on the mortgage and home equity loan) to cover medical expenses. After refinancing, Steves qualified principal residence indebtedness is $170,000 because the debt resulting from the refinancing is qualified principal residence indebtedness only to the extent it refinances debt that had been secured by the main home and was used to buy, build, or substantially improve the main home. Main home. Your main home is the home where you ordinarily live most of the time. You can have only one main home at any one time. Note. This exclusion does not apply to a cancellation of debt in a title 11 bankruptcy case. If qualified principal residence indebtedness is canceled in a title 11 bankruptcy case, you must apply the bankruptcy exclusion rather than the exclusion for qualified principal residence indebtedness. If you were insolvent immediately before the cancellation, you can elect to apply Page 8 Chapter 1 Canceled Debts

the insolvency exclusion (as explained under Insolvency, earlier) instead of applying the qualified principal residence indebtedness exclusion. To do this, check the box on line 1b of Form 982 instead of the box on line 1e. Exclusion limit. The maximum amount you can treat as qualified principal residence indebtedness is $2 million ($1 million if married filing separately). You cannot exclude canceled qualified principal residence indebtedness from income if the cancellation was for services performed for the lender or on account of any other factor not directly related to a decline in the value of your home or to your financial condition. Ordering rule. If only a part of a loan is qualified principal residence indebtedness, the exclusion applies only to the extent the amount canceled is more than the amount of the loan (immediately before the cancellation) that is not qualified principal residence indebtedness. The remaining part of the loan may qualify for another exclusion. Example. Ken incurred recourse debt of $800,000 when he bought his main home for $880,000. When the FMV of the property was $1,000,000, Ken refinanced the debt for $850,000. At the time of the refinancing, the principal balance of the original mortgage loan was $740,000. Ken used the $110,000 he obtained from the refinancing ($850,000 minus $740,000) to pay off his credit cards and to buy a new car. About 2 years after the refinancing, Ken lost his job and was unable to get another job paying a comparable salary. Kens home had declined in value to between $700,000 and $750,000. Based on Kens circumstances, the lender agreed to allow a short sale of the property for $735,000 and to cancel the remaining $115,000 of the $850,000 debt. Under the ordering rule, Ken can exclude only $5,000 of the canceled debt from his income under the exclusion for canceled qualified principal residence indebtedness ($115,000 canceled debt minus the $110,000 amount of the debt that was not qualified principal residence indebtedness). Ken must include the remaining $110,000 of canceled debt in income on line 21 of his Form 1040 (unless another exclusion applies). How to report the qualified principal residence indebtedness exclusion. To show that all or part of your canceled debt is excluded from income because it is qualified principal residence indebtedness, attach Form 982 to your federal income tax return and check the box on line 1e. On line 2 of Form 982, include the amount of canceled qualified principal residence indebtedness, but not more than the amount of the exclusion limit (explained earlier). If you continue to own your home after a cancellation of qualified principal residence indebtedness, you must reduce your basis in the home as explained under Reduction of Tax Attributes, next.

Form 982 to reduce your tax attributes. The order in which the tax attributes are reduced depends on the reason the canceled debt was excluded from income. If the total amount of canceled debt excluded from income (line 2 of Form 982) was more than your total tax attributes, the total reduction of tax attributes in Part II of Form 982 will be less than the amount on line 2.

Qualified Principal Residence Indebtedness

If you exclude canceled qualified principal residence indebtedness from income and you continue to own the home after the cancellation, you must reduce the basis of the home (but not below zero) by the amount of the canceled qualified principal residence indebtedness excluded from income. Enter the amount of the basis reduction on line 10b of Form 982. For more details on determining the basis of your main home, see Publication 523.

Bankruptcy and Insolvency

No tax attributes other than basis of personal-use property. If the canceled debt you are excluding is a debt other than qualified principal residence indebtedness (such as a car loan or credit card debt) and you have no tax attributes other than the adjusted basis of personal-use property you own (see the list of seven tax attributes, later), you must reduce the basis of the personal-use property you held at the beginning of 2011 (in proportion to adjusted basis). Personal-use property is any property that is not used in your trade or business nor held for investment (such as your home, home furnishings, and car). Include on line 10a of Form 982 the smallest of:

The bases of your personal-use property

held at the beginning of 2011,

The amount of canceled nonbusiness debt

(other than qualified principal residence indebtedness) that you are excluding from income on line 2 of Form 982, or erty and the amount of money you held immediately after the cancellation over your total liabilities immediately after the cancellation.

The excess of the total bases of the prop-

For general information about the basis of property, see Publication 551. Example. In 2007, Kyra bought a car for personal use. The cost of the car was $12,000. Kyra put down $2,000 and took out a loan of $10,000 to buy the car. The loan was a recourse loan, meaning that Kyra was personally liable for the full amount of the debt. On December 7, 2010, when the balance of the loan was $8,500, the lender repossessed and sold the car because Kyra had stopped making payments on the loan. The FMV of the car was $7,000 at the time the lender repossessed and sold it. The lender applied the $7,000 it received on sale of the car against Kyras loan and forgave the remaining loan balance of $1,500 ($8,500 outstanding balance immediately before the repossession minus the $7,000 FMV of the car).

Reduction of Tax Attributes

If you exclude canceled debt from income, you must reduce certain tax attributes (but not below zero) by the amount excluded. Use Part II of

Kyras only other assets at the time of the cancellation are the furniture in her apartment which has a cost basis of $5,000 and an FMV of $3,000, jewelry with a basis of $500 and an FMV of $1,000, and a $600 balance in her savings account. Thus, the FMV of Kyras total assets immediately before the cancellation was $11,600 ($7,000 car plus $3,000 furniture plus $1,000 jewelry plus $600 savings). Kyra also had an outstanding student loan balance of $6,000 immediately before the cancellation, bringing her total liabilities at that time to $14,500 ($8,500 balance on car loan plus $6,000 student loan balance). Other than the car, which was repossessed, Kyra held all of these assets at the beginning of 2011. The FMV and bases of the assets remained the same at the beginning of 2011. Kyra received a 2010 Form 1099-C showing $1,500 in box 2 (amount of debt canceled) and $7,000 in box 7 (FMV of the property). Kyra can exclude all $1,500 of canceled debt from income because at the time of the cancellation, she was insolvent to the extent of $2,900 ($14,500 of total liabilities immediately before the cancellation minus $11,600 FMV of total assets at that time). Kyra checks box 1b on Form 982 and enters $1,500 on line 2. Kyra enters $100 on line 10a (the smallest of: (a) the $5,500 bases of Kyras personal-use property held at the beginning of 2011 ($5,000 furniture plus $500 jewelry), (b) the $1,500 nonbusiness debt she is excluding from income on line 2 of Form 982, or (c) the $100 excess of the total bases of the property and the amount of money Kyra held immediately after the cancellation over Kyras total liabilities at that time ($5,500 bases of property held immediately after the cancellation plus $600 savings minus $6,000 student loan). Kyra must reduce her bases in each item of property in proportion to her total adjusted bases in all her property. Thus, Kyra reduces her basis in the furniture by $91 ($100 x 5,000/5,500) and her basis in the jewelry by $9 ($100 x 500/ 5,500). All other tax attributes. If the canceled debt is excluded by reason of the bankruptcy or insolvency exclusions, you must use the excluded debt to reduce the following tax attributes (but not below zero) in the order listed unless you elect to reduce the basis of depreciable property first, as explained later. The reduction of tax attributes must be made after figuring your income tax liability for 2010. 1. Net operating loss (NOL). First reduce any 2010 NOL and then reduce any NOL carryover to 2010 (after taking into account any amount used to reduce 2010 taxable income) in the order of the tax years from which the carryovers arose, starting with the earliest year. Reduce the NOL or carryover by one dollar for each dollar of excluded canceled debt. 2. General business credit carryover. Reduce the credit carryover to or from 2010. Reduce the credit carryovers to 2010 in the order in which they are taken into account for 2010. For more information on

the credit ordering rules for 2010, see the Instructions for Form 3800, General Business Credit. Reduce the carryover by 331/3 cents for each dollar of excluded canceled debt. 3. Minimum tax credit. Reduce the minimum tax credit available at the beginning of 2011. Reduce the credit by 331/3 cents for each dollar of excluded canceled debt. 4. Capital loss. First reduce any 2010 net capital loss and then any capital loss carryover to 2010. Reduce the capital loss or carryover by one dollar for each dollar of excluded canceled debt. 5. Basis. Reduce the bases of the property you hold at the beginning of 2011 in the following order (and, within each category, in proportion to adjusted basis). a. Real property (other than real property held for sale in the ordinary course of business) used in your trade or business or held for investment that secured the canceled debt. b. Personal property (except inventory and accounts and notes receivable) used in your trade or business or held for investment that secured the canceled debt. c. Other property (except inventory, accounts receivable, notes receivable, and real property held primarily for sale to customers) used in your trade or business or held for investment. d. Inventory, accounts receivable, notes receivable, and real property held primarily for sale to customers. e. Personal-use property (property not used in your trade or business nor held for investment). Reduce the basis by one dollar for each dollar of excluded canceled debt. However, the reduction cannot be more than the excess of the total bases of the property and the amount of money you held immediately after the debt cancellation over your total liabilities immediately after the cancellation. For allocation rules that apply to basis reductions for multiple canceled debts, see Regulations section 1.1017-1(b)(2). Also see Election to reduce the basis of depreciable property before reducing other tax attributes, later. 6. Passive activity loss and credit carryovers. Reduce the passive activity loss and credit carryovers from 2010. Reduce the loss carryover by one dollar for each dollar of excluded canceled debt. Reduce the credit carryover by 331/3 cents for each dollar of excluded canceled debt. 7. Foreign tax credit. Reduce the credit carryover to or from 2010. Reduce the credit carryovers to 2010 in the order in which they are taken into account for 2010. Reduce the carryover by 331/3 cents for each dollar of excluded canceled debt.

Election to reduce the basis of depreciable property before reducing other tax attributes. You can elect to reduce the bases of depreciable property you held at the beginning of 2011 before reducing other tax attributes. You can reduce the basis of this property by all or part of the canceled debt. Basis of property is reduced in the following order. 1. Depreciable real property used in your trade or business or held for investment that secured the canceled debt. 2. Depreciable personal property used in your trade or business or held for investment that secured the canceled debt. 3. Other depreciable property used in your trade or business or held for investment. 4. Real property held primarily for sale to customers if you elect to treat it as if it were depreciable property on Form 982. Basis reduction is limited to the total adjusted bases of all your depreciable property. Depreciable property for this purpose means any property subject to depreciation or amortization, but only if a reduction of basis will reduce the depreciation or amortization otherwise allowable for the period immediately following the basis reduction. If the amount of canceled debt excluded from income is more than the total bases in depreciable property, you must use the excess to reduce the other tax attributes in the order described earlier under All other tax attributes. In figuring the limit on the basis reduction in (5), Basis, use the remaining adjusted bases of your properties after making this election. See Form 982 for information on how to make this election. The election can be revoked only with IRS consent. Recapture of basis reductions. If you reduce the basis of property under these provisions and later sell or otherwise dispose of the property at a gain, the part of the gain due to this basis reduction is taxable as ordinary income under the depreciation recapture provisions. Treat any property that is not section 1245 or section 1250 property as section 1245 property. For section 1250 property, determine the depreciation adjustments that would have resulted under the straight line method as if there were no basis reduction for debt cancellation. See Publication 544 or Publication 225 for more details on sections 1245 and 1250 property and the recapture of gain as ordinary income.

Qualified Farm Indebtedness

If you exclude canceled debt from income under both the insolvency exclusion and the exclusion for qualified farm indebtedness, you must first reduce your tax attributes by the amount excluded under the insolvency exclusion. Then reduce your remaining tax attributes (but not below zero) by the amount of canceled debt that qualifies for the farm debt exclusion.

Chapter 1

Canceled Debts

Page 9

Generally, when reducing your tax attributes for canceled qualified farm indebtedness excluded from income, reduce them in the same order explained under Bankruptcy and Insolvency, earlier. However, do not follow the rules in item (5), Basis. Instead, reduce only the basis of qualified property. Qualified property is any property you use or hold for use in your trade or business or for the production of income. Reduce the basis of qualified property in the following order. 1. Depreciable qualified property. You can elect on Form 982 to treat real property held primarily for sale to customers as if it were depreciable property. 2. Land that is qualified property and is used or held for use in your farming business. 3. Other qualified property.

Qualified Real Property Business Indebtedness

If you make an election to exclude canceled qualified real property business debt from income, you must reduce the basis of your depreciable real property (but not below zero) by the amount of canceled qualified real property business debt excluded from income. The basis reduction is made at the beginning of 2011. However, if you dispose of your depreciable real property before the beginning of 2011, you must reduce its basis (but not below zero) immediately before the disposition. Enter the amount of the basis reduction on line 4 of Form 982. Example 1. In 2005 Curt bought a retail store for use in a business he operated as a sole proprietorship. Curt made a $20,000 down payment and financed the remaining $200,000 of the purchase price with a bank loan. The bank loan was a recourse loan and was secured by the property. Curt used the property in his business continuously since he bought it. Curt had no other debt secured by that depreciable real property. In addition to the retail store, Curt owned depreciable equipment and furniture with an adjusted basis of $50,000. Curts tax attributes included the basis of depreciable property, a net operating loss, and a capital loss carryover to 2010. Curts business encountered financial difficulties in 2010. On September 25, 2010, the bank financing the retail store loan entered into a workout agreement with Curt under which it canceled $20,000 of the principal amount of the debt. Immediately before the bank entered into the workout agreement, Curt was insolvent to the extent of $12,000. At that time, the outstanding principal balance on the retail store loan was $185,000, the FMV of the store was $165,000, and the adjusted basis was $210,000 ($220,000 cost minus $10,000 accumulated depreciation). The bank sent Curt a 2010 Form 1099-C showing canceled debt of $20,000 in box 2. Curt must apply the insolvency exclusion before applying the exclusion for canceled qualified real property business indebtedness. Under the insolvency exclusion rules, Curt can exclude $12,000 of the canceled debt from income. Curt elects to reduce his basis of depreciable property before reducing other tax attributes. Under that election, Curt must first reduce his basis in the depreciable real property used in his trade or business that secured the canceled debt. After Page 10 Chapter 2

the basis reduction, Curts adjusted basis in that property is $198,000 ($210,000 adjusted basis before entering into the workout agreement minus $12,000 of canceled debt excluded from income under the insolvency exclusion). The exclusion for qualified real property business indebtedness is limited to $20,000, the excess of the outstanding principal amount of the qualified real property business indebtedness (immediately before the cancellation) over the FMV (immediately before the cancellation) of the real property securing the debt ($185,000 minus $165,000). Curts exclusion is also limited to $198,000, the total adjusted basis (determined after reduction for the canceled debt excluded under the insolvency exclusion) of his depreciable real property he held immediately before the cancellation. Since both of these limits exceed the $8,000 of remaining canceled debt ($20,000 minus $12,000), Curt can exclude $8,000 under the qualified real property business indebtedness exclusion. Curt checks the boxes on lines 1b and 1d of Form 982. He completes Part II of Form 982 to reduce his basis in the depreciable real property by $20,000, the amount of the canceled debt excluded from income. Curt enters $8,000 on line 4 and $12,000 on line 5. Example 2. Bob owns depreciable real property used in his retail business. His adjusted basis in the property is $145,000. The FMV of the property is $120,000. The property is subject to $134,000 of recourse debt which is secured by the property. Bob had no other debt secured by that depreciable real property. Bob also had a $15,000 NOL in 2010. During 2010, Bob entered into a workout agreement with the lender under which the lender canceled $14,000 of the debt on the real property used in Bobs business. Immediately before the cancellation, Bob was insolvent to the extent of $10,000. Bob excludes $10,000 of the canceled debt from income under the insolvency exclusion. As a result of that exclusion, Bob reduced his NOL by $10,000. Bob may be able to exclude the remaining $4,000 of canceled debt from income under the qualified real property business indebtedness provision, if he elects to apply it. The amount he can exclude is subject to both of the following limits.

2. Foreclosures and Repossessions

If you do not make payments you owe on a loan secured by property, the lender may foreclose on the loan or repossess the property. The foreclosure or repossession is treated as a sale from which you may realize gain or loss. This is true even if you voluntarily return the property to the lender. If the outstanding loan balance was more than the FMV of the property and the lender cancels all or part of the remaining loan balance, you also may realize ordinary income from the cancellation of debt. You must report this income on your return unless certain exceptions or exclusions apply. See chapter 1 for more details. Borrowers gain or loss. You figure and report gain or loss from a foreclosure or repossession in the same way as gain or loss from a sale. The gain is the difference between the amount realized and your adjusted basis in the transferred property (amount realized minus adjusted basis). The loss is the difference between your adjusted basis in the transferred property and the amount realized (adjusted basis minus amount realized). For more information on figuring gain or loss from the sale of property, see Gain or Loss From Sales and Exchanges in Publication 544. You can use Table 1-1 to figure your ordinary income from the cancellation of debt and your gain or loss from a foreclosure or repossession.

TIP

Amount realized and ordinary income on a recourse debt. If you are personally liable for the debt, the amount realized on the foreclosure or repossession includes the smaller of:

The excess, if any, of the outstanding principal amount of the qualified real property business debt (immediately before the cancellation) over the FMV (immediately before the cancellation) of the business real property securing the debt (the excess of $134,000 over $120,000, which equals $14,000).

The outstanding debt immediately before

the transfer reduced by any amount for which you remain personally liable immediately after the transfer, or

The FMV of the transferred property.

The amount realized also includes any proceeds you received from the foreclosure sale. If the FMV of the transferred property is less than the total outstanding debt immediately before the transfer reduced by any amount for which you remain personally liable immediately after the transfer, the difference is ordinary income from the cancellation of debt. You must report this income on your return unless certain exceptions or exclusions apply. See chapter 1 for more details. Example 1. Tara bought a new car for $15,000. She paid $2,000 down and borrowed the remaining $13,000 from the dealers credit company. Tara is personally liable for the loan (recourse debt) and the car is pledged as security for the loan. On August 1, 2010, the credit company repossessed the car because Tara

The total adjusted bases of depreciable

property held immediately before the cancellation of debt ($145,000).

Since both limits ($14,000 and $145,000) are more than the remaining $4,000 of canceled debt, Bob can also exclude that $4,000 of canceled debt. Bob checks the boxes on lines 1b and 1d of Form 982 and enters $14,000 on line 2. Bob completes Part II of Form 982 to reduce his basis of depreciable real property and his 2010 NOL by entering $4,000 on line 4 and $10,000 on line 6. None of the canceled debt is included in Bobs income.

Foreclosures and Repossessions

Table 1-1. Worksheet for Foreclosures and Repossessions

Keep for Your Records

Part 1. Complete Part 1 only if you were personally liable for the debt (even if none of the debt was canceled). Otherwise, go to Part 2. 1. Enter the amount of outstanding debt immediately before the transfer of property reduced by any amount for which you remain personally liable immediately after the transfer of property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2. Enter the fair market value of the transferred property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3. Ordinary income from the cancellation of debt upon foreclosure or repossession.* Subtract line 2 from line 1. If less than zero, enter zero. Next, go to Part 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Part 2. Gain or loss from foreclosure or repossession. 4. Enter the smaller of line 1 or line 2. If you did not complete Part 1 (because you were not personally liable for the debt), enter the amount of outstanding debt immediately before the transfer of property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5. Enter any proceeds you received from the foreclosure sale . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6. Add line 4 and line 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7. Enter the adjusted basis of the transferred property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8. Gain or loss from foreclosure or repossession. Subtract line 7 from line 6
*

Example 2. Lili paid $200,000 for her home. She paid $15,000 down and borrowed the remaining $185,000 from a bank. Lili is not personally liable for the loan, but pledges the house as security. The bank foreclosed on the mortgage because Lili stopped making payments. When the bank foreclosed on the loan, the balance due was $180,000, the FMV of the house was $170,000, and Lilis adjusted basis was $175,000 due to a casualty loss she had deducted. The amount Lili realized on the foreclosure is $180,000, the outstanding debt immediately before the foreclosure. She figures her gain or loss by comparing the $180,000 amount realized with her $175,000 adjusted basis. Lili has a $5,000 realized gain. See Publication 523 to figure and report any taxable amount. Forms 1099-A and 1099-C. A lender who acquires an interest in your property in a foreclosure or repossession should send you Form 1099-A, Acquisition or Abandonment of Secured Property, showing information you need to figure your gain or loss. However, if the lender also cancels part of your debt and must file Form 1099-C, the lender can include the information about the foreclosure or repossession on that form instead of on Form 1099-A. The lender must file Form 1099-C and send you a copy if the amount of debt canceled is $600 or more and the lender is a financial institution, credit union, federal government agency, or any organization that has a significant trade or business of lending money. For foreclosures or repossessions occurring in 2010, these forms should have been sent to you by February 1, 2011.

The income may not be taxable. See chapter 1 for more details.

had stopped making loan payments. The balance due after taking into account the payments Tara made was $10,000. The FMV of the car when it was repossessed was $9,000. On November 15, 2010, the credit company forgave the remaining $1,000 balance on the loan due to insufficient assets. In this case, the amount Tara realizes is $9,000. This is the smaller of:

The $10,000 outstanding debt immediately

before the repossession reduced by the $1,000 for which she remains personally liable immediately after the repossession ($10,000 $1,000 = $9,000), or

The $9,000 FMV of the car.

Tara figures her gain or loss on the repossession by comparing the $9,000 amount realized with her $15,000 adjusted basis. She has a $6,000 nondeductible loss. After the cancellation of the remaining balance on the loan in November, Tara also has ordinary income from cancellation of debt in the amount of $1,000 (the remaining balance on the $10,000 loan after the $9,000 amount satisfied by the FMV of the repossessed car). Tara must report this $1,000 on her return unless one of the exceptions or exclusions described in chapter 1 applies. Example 2. Lili paid $200,000 for her home. She paid $15,000 down and borrowed the remaining $185,000 from a bank. Lili is personally liable for the loan and the house is pledged as security for the loan. In 2010, the bank foreclosed on the loan because Lili stopped making payments. When the bank foreclosed the mortgage, the balance due was $180,000, the FMV of the house was $170,000, and Lilis adjusted basis was $175,000 due to a casualty loss she had deducted. At the time of the foreclosure, the bank forgave $2,000 of the $10,000 debt in excess of the FMV ($180,000 minus $170,000). Lili remained personally liable for the $8,000 balance. In this case, Lili has ordinary income from the cancellation of debt in the amount of $2,000. The $2,000 income from the cancellation of debt is figured by subtracting the $170,000 FMV of the house from the $172,000 difference between Lilis total outstanding debt immediately

before the transfer of property reduced by the amount for which she remains personally liable immediately after the transfer ($180,000 minus $8,000). Lili is able to exclude the $2,000 of canceled debt from her income under the qualified principal residence indebtedness rules discussed earlier. Lili must also determine her gain or loss from the foreclosure. In this case, the amount that Lili realizes is $170,000. This is the smaller of: (a) the $180,000 outstanding debt immediately before the transfer reduced by the $8,000 for which she remains personally liable immediately after the transfer ($180,000 $8,000 = $172,000) or (b) the $170,000 FMV of the house. Lili figures her gain or loss on the foreclosure by comparing the $170,000 amount realized with her $175,000 adjusted basis. She has a $5,000 nondeductible loss. Amount realized on a nonrecourse debt. If you are not personally liable for repaying the debt secured by the transferred property, the amount you realize includes the full amount of the outstanding debt immediately before the transfer. This is true even if the FMV of the property is less than the outstanding debt immediately before the transfer. Example 1. Tara bought a new car for $15,000. She paid $2,000 down and borrowed the remaining $13,000 from the dealers credit company. Tara is not personally liable for the loan (nonrecourse), but pledged the new car as security for the loan. On August 1, 2010, the credit company repossessed the car because Tara had stopped making loan payments. The balance due after taking into account the payments Tara made was $10,000. The FMV of the car when it was repossessed was $9,000. The amount Tara realized on the repossession is $10,000. That is the outstanding amount of debt immediately before the repossession, even though the FMV of the car is less than $10,000. Tara figures her gain or loss on the repossession by comparing the $10,000 amount realized with her $15,000 adjusted basis. Tara has a $5,000 nondeductible loss.

3. Abandonments
You abandon property when you voluntarily and permanently give up possession and use of the property with the intention of ending your ownership but without passing it on to anyone else. Whether an abandonment has occurred is determined in light of all the facts and circumstances. You must both show an intention to abandon the property and affirmatively act to abandon the property. A voluntary conveyance of the property in lieu of foreclosure is not an abandonment and is treated as the exchange of property to satisfy a debt; for more information see Sales and Exchanges in Publication 544. The tax consequences of abandonment of property that secures a debt depend on whether you were personally liable for the debt (recourse debt) or were not personally liable for the debt (nonrecourse debt). See Publication 544 instead if you abandoned property that did not secure debt. This publication only discusses the tax consequences of abandoning property securing a debt.

TIP

Chapter 3

Abandonments

Page 11

Abandonment of property securing recourse debt. Generally, if you abandon property that secures debt for which you are personally liable (recourse debt), you do not have gain or loss until the later foreclosure is completed. For details on figuring gain or loss on the foreclosure, see chapter 2. Example 1 abandonment of personal-use property securing recourse debt. In 2006, Anne purchased a home for $200,000. She borrowed the entire purchase price, for which she was personally liable, and gave the bank a mortgage on the home. In 2010, Anne lost her job and was unable to continue making her mortgage loan payments. Because her mortgage loan balance was $185,000 and the FMV of her home was only $150,000, Anne decided to abandon her home by permanently moving out on August 1, 2010. Because Anne was personally liable for the debt, Anne has neither gain nor loss in tax year 2010 from abandoning the home. The bank sells the house at a foreclosure sale in 2011. Anne will have to figure her gain or nondeductible loss for tax year 2011 as discussed earlier in chapter 2. Example 2 abandonment of business or investment property securing recourse debt. In 2006, Sue purchased business property for $200,000. She borrowed the entire purchase price, for which she was personally liable, and gave the lender a security interest in the property. In 2010, Sue was unable to continue making her loan payments. Because her loan balance was $185,000 and the FMV of the property was only $150,000, Sue abandoned the property on August 1, 2010. Because Sue was personally liable for the debt, Sue has neither gain nor loss in tax year 2010 from abandoning the property. The lender sells the property at a foreclosure sale in 2011. Sue will have to figure her gain or deductible loss for tax year 2011 as discussed earlier in chapter 2. Abandonment of property securing nonrecourse debt. If you abandon property that secures debt for which you are not personally liable (nonrecourse debt), the abandonment is treated as a sale or exchange. The amount you realize on the abandonment of property that secured nonrecourse debt is the amount of the nonrecourse debt. If the amount you realize is more than your adjusted basis, then you have a gain. If your adjusted basis is more than the amount you realize, then you have a loss. For more information on how to figure gain and loss, see Gain or Loss from Sales or Exchanges in Publication 544. Loss from abandonment of business or investment property is deductible as a loss. The character of the loss depends on the character of the property. The amount of deductible capital loss may be limited. For more information, see Treatment of Capital Losses in Publication 544. You cannot deduct any loss from abandonment of your home or other property held for personal use. Example 1 abandonment of personal-use property securing nonrecourse debt. In 2006, Timothy purchased a home for $200,000. He borrowed the entire purchase price, for which he was not personally liable, and gave the bank a mortgage on the home. In 2010, Timothy lost his job and was unable to continue making his mortgage loan payments. Because Page 12 Chapter 4 Detailed Examples

his mortgage loan balance was $185,000 and the FMV of his home was only $150,000, Timothy decided to abandon his home by permanently moving out on August 1, 2010. Because Timothy was not personally liable for the debt, the abandonment is treated as a sale or exchange of the home in tax year 2010. Timothys amount realized is $185,000 and his adjusted basis in the home is $200,000. Timothy has a $15,000 nondeductible loss in tax year 2010. (Had Timothys adjusted basis been less than the amount realized, Timothy would have had a gain that he would have to include in gross income.) The bank sells the house at a foreclosure sale in 2011. Timothy has neither gain nor loss from the foreclosure sale. Because he was not personally liable for the debt, he also has no cancellation of debt income. Example 2 abandonment of business or investment property securing nonrecourse debt. In 2006, Robert purchased business property for $200,000. He borrowed the entire purchase price, for which he was not personally liable, and gave the lender a security interest in the property. In 2010, Robert was unable to continue making his loan payments. Because his loan balance was $185,000 and the FMV of the property was only $150,000, Robert decided to abandon the property on August 1, 2010. Because Robert was not personally liable for the debt, the abandonment is treated as a sale or exchange of the property in tax year 2010. Roberts amount realized is $185,000 and his adjusted basis in the property is $180,000 (as a result of $20,000 of depreciation deductions on the property). Robert has a $5,000 gain in tax year 2010. (Had Roberts adjusted basis been greater than the amount realized, he would have had a deductible loss.) The lender sells the property at a foreclosure sale in 2011. Robert has neither gain nor loss from the foreclosure sale. Because he was not personally liable for the debt, he also has no cancellation of debt income. Canceled debt. If the abandoned property secures a debt for which you are personally liable and the debt is canceled, you will realize ordinary income equal to the canceled debt. This income is separate from any amount realized from abandonment of the property. You must report this income on your return unless one of the exceptions or exclusions described in chapter 1 applies. See chapter 1 for more details. Forms 1099-A and 1099-C. Generally, if you abandon

credit union, federal government agency, or any organization that has a significant trade or business of lending money. For abandonments of property and debt cancellations occurring in 2010, these forms should have been sent to you by February 1, 2011.

4. Detailed Examples
These examples use actual forms to help you prepare your income tax return. However, the information shown on the filled-in forms is not from any actual person or scenario. Example 1 Mortgage loan modification. In 2004, Nancy Oak bought a main home for $435,000. Nancy took out a $420,000 mortgage loan to buy the home and made a down payment of $15,000. The loan was secured by the home. The mortgage loan was a recourse debt, meaning that Nancy was personally liable for the debt. In 2005, Nancy took out a second mortgage loan (also a recourse debt) in the amount of $30,000 that was used to substantially improve her kitchen. In 2008, when the outstanding principal of the first and second mortgage loans was $440,000, Nancy refinanced the two recourse loans into one recourse loan in the amount of $475,000. The FMV of Nancys home at the time of the refinancing was $500,000. Nancy used the additional $35,000 debt ($475,000 new mortgage loan minus $440,000 outstanding principal of Nancys first and second mortgage loans immediately before the refinancing) to pay off personal credit cards and to pay college tuition for her son. After the refinancing, Nancy has qualified principal residence indebtedness in the amount of $440,000 because the refinanced debt is qualified principal residence indebtedness only to the extent the amount of debt is not more than the old mortgage principal just before the refinancing. In 2010, Nancy was unable to make her mortgage loan payments. On August 31, 2010, when the outstanding balance of her refinanced mortgage loan was still $475,000 and the FMV of the property was $425,000, Nancys bank agreed to a loan modification (a workout) that resulted in a $40,000 reduction in the principal balance of her loan. Nancy was neither insolvent nor in bankruptcy at the time of the loan modification. Nancy received a 2010 Form 1099-C from her bank in January 2011 showing canceled debt of $40,000 in box 2. To determine if she must include the canceled debt in her income, Nancy must determine whether she meets any of the exceptions or exclusions that apply to canceled debts. Nancy determines that the only exception or exclusion that applies to her is the qualified principal residence indebtedness exclusion.

real property (such as a home), intangible property, or tangible personal property held (wholly or

partly) for use in a trade or business or for investment,

that secures a loan and the lender knows the property has been abandoned, the lender should send you Form 1099-A showing information you need to figure your gain or loss from the abandonment. Also, if your debt is canceled and the lender must file Form 1099-C, the lender can include the information about the abandonment on that form instead of on Form 1099-A. The lender must file Form 1099-C and send you a copy if the amount of debt canceled is $600 or more and the lender is a financial institution,

Next, Nancy determines the amount, if any, of the $40,000 of canceled debt that was qualified principal residence indebtedness. Although Nancy has $440,000 of qualified principal residence indebtedness, part of her loan ($35,000) was not qualified principal residence indebtedness because it was used to pay off personal credit cards and college tuition for her son. Applying the ordering rule, the qualified principal residence indebtedness exclusion applies only to the extent the amount canceled is more than

the amount of the debt (immediately before the cancellation) that is not qualified principal residence indebtedness. Thus, Nancy can exclude only $5,000 of the canceled debt as qualified principal residence indebtedness ($40,000 amount canceled minus $35,000 nonqualified debt). Because Nancy does not meet any other exception or exclusion, Nancy checks only the box on line 1e of Form 982 and enters $5,000 on

line 2. Nancy must also enter $5,000 on line 10b and reduce the basis of her main home by the $5,000 she excluded from income, bringing the adjusted basis in her home to $460,000 ($435,000 purchase price plus $30,000 substantial improvement minus $5,000). Nancy must also include the $35,000 nonqualified debt portion in income on Form 1040, line 21. Following are Nancys sample forms.

CORRECTED (if checked)

CREDITORS name, street address, city, state, ZIP code, and telephone no. 1 Date canceled OMB No. 1545-1424

Goodold Bank 54 Happy Street Anytown, FL 00000

CREDITORS federal identification number DEBTORS identification number

8-31-2010
2 Amount of debt canceled

2010
Form

$ 40,000.00
3 Interest if included in box 2

Cancellation of Debt
Copy B
For Debtor

$
4 Debt description

1099-C

10-6543210
DEBTORS name

123-00-6789

Nancy Oak
Street address (including apt. no.)

360 Degree Circle

City, state, and ZIP code

Anyplace, FL 00000
Account number (see instructions)

This is important tax information and is being furnished to the Internal Revenue Service. If you are required to file a 5 Was borrower personally liable for repayment of the debt? return, a negligence penalty or other sanction may be imposed on you if taxable income results Yes No from this transaction 6 Bankruptcy (if checked) 7 Fair market value of property and the IRS determines that it has not been reported. $

Home mortgage loan

Form

1099-C
14 15a 16a 17 18 19 20a 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

(keep for your records)

Other gains or (losses). Attach Form 4797 . . . . . IRA distributions . 15a Pensions and annuities 16a Rental real estate, royalties, partnerships, S corporations, Farm income or (loss). Attach Schedule F . Unemployment compensation . . . . Social security benefits 20a . . . . . . . .

Department of the Treasury - Internal Revenue Service

If you did not get a W-2, see page 20.

. . . . . . . . . b Taxable amount . . . b Taxable amount . . . trusts, etc. Attach Schedule E . . . . . . . . . . . . b Taxable amount . . . . . . . . .

14 15b 16b 17 18 19 20b 21 22

Enclose, but do not attach, any payment. Also, please use Form 1040-V.

Other income. List type and amount (see page 29) Cancellation of debt Add the amounts in the far right column for lines 7 through 21. This is your total income Educator expenses . . . . . . . . . . . 23 24 25 26 27 28 Certain business expenses of reservists, performing artists, and fee-basis government officials. Attach Form 2106 or 2106-EZ Health savings account deduction. Attach Form 8889 . Moving expenses. Attach Form 3903 . . . . . One-half of self-employment tax. Attach Schedule SE Self-employed SEP, SIMPLE, and qualified plans . . . .

35,000

00

Adjusted Gross Income

Form

1040

(2010)

Chapter 4

Detailed Examples

Page 13

Form

(Rev. February 2011) Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service Name shown on return

982

Reduction of Tax Attributes Due to Discharge of Indebtedness (and Section 1082 Basis Adjustment)
Attach this form to your income tax return.

OMB No. 1545-0046 Attachment Sequence No. 94

Identifying number

Nancy Oak Part I

1 a b c d e 2 3

123-00-6789 General Information (see instructions)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 for sale . . . . . . . . to . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Amount excluded is due to (check applicable box(es)): Discharge of indebtedness in a title 11 case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Discharge of indebtedness to the extent insolvent (not in a title 11 case) . . . . . . . . Discharge of qualified farm indebtedness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Discharge of qualified real property business indebtedness . . . . . . . . . . . . Discharge of qualified principal residence indebtedness . . . . . . . . . . . . . Total amount of discharged indebtedness excluded from gross income . . . . . . . . Do you elect to treat all real property described in section 1221(a)(1), relating to property held customers in the ordinary course of a trade or business, as if it were depreciable property? . .

5,000.00
Yes No

Part II

Reduction of Tax Attributes. You must attach a description of any transactions resulting in the reduction in basis under section 1017. See Regulations section 1.1017-1 for basis reduction ordering rules, and, if applicable, required partnership consent statements. (For additional information, see the instructions for Part II.)

Enter amount excluded from gross income: 4 For a discharge of qualified real property business indebtedness applied to reduce the basis of depreciable real property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . That you elect under section 108(b)(5) to apply first to reduce the basis (under section 1017) of 5 depreciable property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Applied to reduce any net operating loss that occurred in the tax year of the discharge or carried over to the tax year of the discharge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 8 9 10a b 11 a Applied to reduce any general business credit carryover to or from the tax year of the discharge . Applied to reduce any minimum tax credit as of the beginning of the tax year immediately after the tax year of the discharge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Applied to reduce any net capital loss for the tax year of the discharge, including any capital loss carryovers to the tax year of the discharge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Applied to reduce the basis of nondepreciable and depreciable property if not reduced on line 5. DO NOT use in the case of discharge of qualified farm indebtedness . . . . . . . . . . Applied to reduce the basis of your principal residence. Enter amount here ONLY if line 1e is checked . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . For a discharge of qualified farm indebtedness applied to reduce the basis of: Depreciable property used or held for use in a trade or business or for the production of income if not reduced on line 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Land used or held for use in a trade or business of farming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

4 5 6 7 8 9 10a 10b

5000.00

11a 11b 11c 12 13

b c 12 13

Other property used or held for use in a trade or business or for the production of income

Applied to reduce any passive activity loss and credit carryovers from the tax year of the discharge Applied to reduce any foreign tax credit carryover to or from the tax year of the discharge . . .

Part III

Consent of Corporation to Adjustment of Basis of Its Property Under Section 1082(a)(2)

Under section 1081(b), the corporation named above has excluded $ from its gross income and ending . for the tax year beginning Under that section, the corporation consents to have the basis of its property adjusted in accordance with the regulations prescribed under section 1082(a)(2) in effect at the time of filing its income tax return for that year. The corporation is organized under the laws of
(State of incorporation)

Note. You must attach a description of the transactions resulting in the nonrecognition of gain under section 1081.
For Paperwork Reduction Act Notice, see page 5 of this form.
Cat. No. 17066E Form 982 (Rev. 2-2011)

Page 14

Chapter 4

Detailed Examples

Example 2 Mortgage loan foreclosure. In 2002, John and Mary Elm bought a main home for $335,000. John and Mary took out a $320,000 mortgage loan to buy the home and made a down payment of $15,000. The loan was secured by the home and is a recourse debt, meaning John and Mary are personally liable for the debt. John and Mary became unable to make their mortgage loan payments and on March 1, 2010, when the outstanding balance of the mortgage loan was $315,000 and the FMV of the property was $290,000, the bank foreclosed on the property and simultaneously canceled the remaining mortgage debt. Immediately before the foreclosure, John and Marys only other assets and liabilities were a checking account with a balance of $6,000, retirement savings of $13,000, and credit card debt of $5,500. John and Mary received a 2010 Form 1099-C showing canceled debt of $25,000 in box 2 ($315,000 outstanding balance minus $290,000 FMV) and an FMV of $290,000 in box 7. In order to determine if John and Mary must

include the canceled debt in income, they must first determine whether they meet any of the exceptions or exclusions that apply to canceled debts. In this example, John and Mary meet both the insolvency and qualified principal residence indebtedness exclusions. John and Mary complete the insolvency worksheet and determine that they were insolvent immediately before the cancellation because at that time their liabilities exceeded the FMV of their assets by $11,500 ($320,500 total liabilities minus $309,000 FMV of total assets). However, because the entire debt canceled is qualified principal residence indebtedness, the insolvency exclusion only applies if John and Mary elect to apply the insolvency exclusion instead of the qualified principal residence exclusion. John and Mary do not elect to apply the insolvency exclusion instead of the qualified principal residence exclusion because under the insolvency exclusion their exclusion would be limited to the amount by which they were insolvent ($11,500). Instead, John and Mary check

box 1e of Form 982 to exclude the canceled debt under the qualified principal residence exclusion. Under the qualified principal residence exclusion, the amount that John and Mary can exclude is not limited because their qualified principal residence indebtedness is not more than $2 million and no portion of the loan was nonqualified debt. As a result, John and Mary enter the full $25,000 of canceled debt on line 2 of Form 982. Because John and Mary no longer own the home due to the foreclosure, John and Mary have no remaining basis in the home at the time of the debt cancellation. Thus, John and Mary leave line 10b of Form 982 blank. John and Mary must also determine whether they have a gain or loss from the foreclosure. John and Mary complete Table 1-1 and find that they have a $45,000 loss from the foreclosure. Because this loss relates to their home, it is a nondeductible loss. Following are John and Marys sample forms and worksheets.

CORRECTED (if checked)

CREDITORS name, street address, city, state, ZIP code, and telephone no. 1 Date canceled OMB No. 1545-1424

Birch Bank 76 Spruce Lane Treetown, KS 00000

CREDITORS federal identification number DEBTORS identification number

3-1-2010
2 Amount of debt canceled

2010
Form

$ 25,000.00
3 Interest if included in box 2

Cancellation of Debt
Copy B
For Debtor

$
4 Debt description

1099-C

10-7890123
DEBTORS name

234-00-7890

John and Mary Elm

Street address (including apt. no.)

11 Siberian Street
City, state, and ZIP code

Treetown, KS 00000
Account number (see instructions)

(keep for your records) Department of the Treasury - Internal Revenue Service Table 1-1. Worksheet for Foreclosures and Repossessions (for John and Mary Elm)
Form
Part 1. Complete Part 1 only if you were personally liable for the debt (even if none of the debt was canceled). Otherwise, go to Part 2. 1. Enter the amount of outstanding debt immediately before the transfer of property reduced by any amount for which you remain personally liable immediately after the transfer of property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2. Enter the fair market value of the transferred property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3. Ordinary income from the cancellation of debt upon foreclosure or repossession.* Subtract line 2 from line 1. If less than zero, enter zero. Next, go to Part 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Part 2. Gain or loss from foreclosure or repossession. 4. Enter the smaller of line 1 or line 2. If you did not complete Part 1 (because you were not personally liable for the debt), enter the amount of outstanding debt immediately before the transfer of property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5. Enter any proceeds you received from the foreclosure sale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6. Add line 4 and line 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7. Enter the adjusted basis of the transferred property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8. Gain or loss from foreclosure or repossession. Subtract line 7 from line 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
*

505050 1099-C

This is important tax information and is being furnished to the Internal Revenue Service. If you are required to file a 5 Was borrower personally liable for repayment of the debt? return, a negligence penalty or other sanction may be imposed on you if taxable income results Yes No from this transaction 6 Bankruptcy (if checked) 7 Fair market value of property and the IRS determines that it has not been reported. $ 290,000.00

Home mortgage loan

$315,000.00 $290,000.00 $ 25,000.00

. . . . .

. . . . .

. . . . .

$290,000.00 $290,000.00 $335,000.00 ($ 45,000.00)

The income may not be taxable. See chapter 1 for more details.

Chapter 4

Detailed Examples

Page 15

Insolvency WorksheetJohn and Mary Elm

Date debt was canceled (mm/dd/yy) Part I. Total liabilities immediately before the cancellation (do not include the same liability in more than one category) Liabilities (debts) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. Credit card debt $

Keep for Your Records

03/01/10

Amount Owed Immediately Before the Cancellation 5,500

Mortgage(s) on real property (including first and second mortgages and home equity loans) (mortgage(s) can be on personal residence, any additional residence, or property held for investment or used in a trade or business) $ 315,000 Car and other vehicle loans Medical bills owed Student loans Accrued or past-due mortgage interest Accrued or past-due real estate taxes Accrued or past-due utilities (water, gas, electric) Accrued or past-due child care costs Federal or state income taxes remaining due (for prior tax years) Judgments Business debts (including those owed as a sole proprietor or partner) Margin debt on stocks and other debt to purchase or secured by investment assets other than real property Other liabilities (debts) not included above Total liabilities immediately before the cancellation. Add lines 1 through 14. $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ 320,500

Part II. Fair market value (FMV) of assets owned immediately before the cancellation (do not include the FMV of the same asset in more than one category) Assets 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. Cash and bank account balances Homes (including the value of land) (can be main home, any additional home, or property held for investment or used in a trade or business) Cars and other vehicles Computers Household goods and furnishings (for example, appliances, electronics, furniture, etc.) Tools Jewelry Clothing Books Stocks and bonds Investments in coins, stamps, paintings, or other collectibles Firearms, sports, photographic, and other hobby equipment Interest in retirement accounts (IRA accounts, 401(k) accounts, and other retirement accounts) Interest in a pension plan Interest in education accounts Cash value of life insurance Security deposits with landlords, utilities, and others Interests in partnerships Value of investment in a business Other investments (for example, annuity contracts, guaranteed investment contracts, mutual funds, commodity accounts, interests in hedge funds, and options) Other assets not included above FMV of total assets immediately before the cancellation. Add lines 16 through 36. $ FMV Immediately Before the Cancellation 6,000

$ 290,000 $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ 13,000 $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ 309,000

Part III. Insolvency 38. Amount of Insolvency. Subtract line 37 from line 15. If zero or less, you are not insolvent. $ 11,500

Page 16

Chapter 4

Detailed Examples

Form

(Rev. February 2011) Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service Name shown on return

982

Reduction of Tax Attributes Due to Discharge of Indebtedness (and Section 1082 Basis Adjustment)
Attach this form to your income tax return.

OMB No. 1545-0046 Attachment Sequence No. 94

Identifying number

John and Mary Elm Part I

1 a b c d e 2 3

234-00-7890

General Information (see instructions)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 for sale . . . . . . . . to . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Amount excluded is due to (check applicable box(es)): Discharge of indebtedness in a title 11 case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Discharge of indebtedness to the extent insolvent (not in a title 11 case) . . . . . . . . Discharge of qualified farm indebtedness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Discharge of qualified real property business indebtedness . . . . . . . . . . . . Discharge of qualified principal residence indebtedness . . . . . . . . . . . . . Total amount of discharged indebtedness excluded from gross income . . . . . . . . Do you elect to treat all real property described in section 1221(a)(1), relating to property held customers in the ordinary course of a trade or business, as if it were depreciable property? . .

25,000.00
Yes No

Part II

Reduction of Tax Attributes. You must attach a description of any transactions resulting in the reduction in basis under section 1017. See Regulations section 1.1017-1 for basis reduction ordering rules, and, if applicable, required partnership consent statements. (For additional information, see the instructions for Part II.)

Enter amount excluded from gross income: 4 For a discharge of qualified real property business indebtedness applied to reduce the basis of depreciable real property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . That you elect under section 108(b)(5) to apply first to reduce the basis (under section 1017) of 5 depreciable property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Applied to reduce any net operating loss that occurred in the tax year of the discharge or carried over to the tax year of the discharge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 8 9 10a b 11 a Applied to reduce any general business credit carryover to or from the tax year of the discharge . Applied to reduce any minimum tax credit as of the beginning of the tax year immediately after the tax year of the discharge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Applied to reduce any net capital loss for the tax year of the discharge, including any capital loss carryovers to the tax year of the discharge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Applied to reduce the basis of nondepreciable and depreciable property if not reduced on line 5. DO NOT use in the case of discharge of qualified farm indebtedness . . . . . . . . . . Applied to reduce the basis of your principal residence. Enter amount here ONLY if line 1e is checked . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . For a discharge of qualified farm indebtedness applied to reduce the basis of: Depreciable property used or held for use in a trade or business or for the production of income if not reduced on line 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Land used or held for use in a trade or business of farming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

4 5 6 7 8 9 10a 10b

11a 11b 11c 12 13

b c 12 13

Other property used or held for use in a trade or business or for the production of income

Applied to reduce any passive activity loss and credit carryovers from the tax year of the discharge Applied to reduce any foreign tax credit carryover to or from the tax year of the discharge . . .

Part III

Consent of Corporation to Adjustment of Basis of Its Property Under Section 1082(a)(2)

Under section 1081(b), the corporation named above has excluded $ from its gross income and ending . for the tax year beginning Under that section, the corporation consents to have the basis of its property adjusted in accordance with the regulations prescribed under section 1082(a)(2) in effect at the time of filing its income tax return for that year. The corporation is organized under the laws of
(State of incorporation)

Note. You must attach a description of the transactions resulting in the nonrecognition of gain under section 1081.
For Paperwork Reduction Act Notice, see page 5 of this form.
Cat. No. 17066E Form 982 (Rev. 2-2011)

Chapter 4

Detailed Examples

Page 17

Example 3 Mortgage loan foreclosure with debt exceeding $2 million limit. In 2008, Kathy and Frank Willow got married and entered into a contract with Hive Construction Corporation to build a house for $3,000,000 to be used as their main home. Kathy and Frank made a $400,000 down payment and took out a $2,600,000 mortgage to finance the remaining cost of the house. Kathy and Frank are personally liable for the mortgage loan, which is secured by the home. In November 2010, when the outstanding principal balance on the mortgage loan was $2,500,000, the FMV of the property fell to $1,750,000 and Kathy and Frank abandoned the property by permanently moving out. The lender foreclosed on the property and, on December 3, 2010, sold the property to another buyer for $1,750,000. On December 26, 2010, the lender canceled the remaining debt. Kathy and Frank have no tax attributes other than basis of personal-use property. The lender issued a 2010 Form 1099-C to Kathy and Frank showing canceled debt of $750,000 in box 2 (the remaining balance on the $2,500,000 mortgage debt after application of the foreclosure sale proceeds) and $1,750,000 in box 7 (FMV of the property). Although Kathy and Frank abandoned the property, the lender did not need to also file a Form 1099-A because the lender canceled the debt in connection with the foreclosure in the same calendar year. Kathy and Frank are filing a joint return for 2010. Because the foreclosure occurred prior to the debt cancellation, Kathy and Frank first calculate their gain or loss from the foreclosure using Table 1-1. Because Kathy and Frank remained personally liable for the $750,000 debt remaining after the foreclosure ($2,500,000 outstanding debt immediately before the foreclosure minus $1,750,000 satisfied through the sale of the home), Kathy and Frank enter $1,750,000 on line 1 of Table 1-1 ($2,500,000 outstanding debt immediately before the foreclosure minus the $750,000 for which they remained liable). Completing Table 1-1, Kathy and Frank find that they have no ordinary income from the cancellation of debt upon foreclosure and that they have a $1,250,000 loss. Because this loss relates to their home, it is a nondeductible loss. Because the lender later canceled the remaining amount of the debt, Kathy and Frank must also determine whether that canceled debt is taxable. Immediately before the cancellation, Kathy and Frank had $15,000 in a savings account, household furnishings with an FMV of

$17,000, a car with an FMV of $10,000, and $18,000 in credit card debt. Kathy and Frank also had the $750,000 remaining balance on the mortgage loan at that time. The household furnishings originally cost $30,000. The car had been fully paid off (so there was no related outstanding debt) and was originally purchased for $16,000. Kathy and Frank had no adjustments to the cost basis of the car. Kathy and Frank had no other assets or liabilities at the time of the cancellation. Kathy and Frank complete the insolvency worksheet to calculate that they were insolvent to the extent of $726,000 immediately before the cancellation ($768,000 of total liabilities minus $42,000 FMV of total assets). At the beginning of 2011, Kathy and Frank had $9,000 in their savings account and $15,000 in credit card debt. Kathy and Frank also owned the same car at that time (still with an FMV of $10,000 and basis of $16,000) and the same household furnishings (still with an FMV of $17,000 and a basis of $30,000). Kathy and Frank had no other assets or liabilities at that time. Kathy and Frank no longer own the home because the lender foreclosed on it in 2010. The insolvency exclusion does not apply if the indebtedness is qualified principal residence indebtedness unless Kathy and Frank elect to apply the insolvency exclusion instead of the qualified principal residence indebtedness exclusion. The maximum amount that Kathy and Frank can treat as qualified principal residence indebtedness is $2,000,000. The remaining $500,000 ($2,500,000 outstanding mortgage loan minus $2,000,000 limit on qualified principal residence indebtedness) is not qualified principal residence indebtedness. Because only a part of the loan is qualified principal residence indebtedness, Kathy and Frank must apply the ordering rule to the canceled debt. Under the ordering rule, the qualified principal residence indebtedness exclusion applies only to the extent that the amount canceled ($750,000) exceeds the amount of the loan (immediately before the cancellation) that is not qualified principal residence indebtedness ($500,000). This means that Kathy and Frank can only exclude $250,000 ($750,000 amount canceled minus $500,000 nonqualified debt) under the qualified principal residence indebtedness exclusion. Kathy and Frank do not elect to have the insolvency exclusion apply instead of the qualified principal residence exclusion. Nonetheless,

they can still apply the insolvency exclusion to the $500,000 nonqualified debt because such debt is not qualified principal residence indebtedness. Kathy and Frank can exclude the remaining $500,000 canceled debt under the insolvency exclusion because they were insolvent immediately before the cancellation to the extent of $726,000. Thus, Kathy and Frank check the boxes on lines 1b and 1e of Form 982 and enter $750,000 on line 2 ($250,000 excluded under the qualified principal residence indebtedness exclusion plus $500,000 excluded under the insolvency exclusion). Next, Kathy and Frank reduce their tax attributes using Part II of Form 982. Because Kathy and Frank no longer own the home due to the foreclosure, Kathy and Frank have no remaining basis in the home at the time of the debt cancellation. Thus, Kathy and Frank leave line 10b of Form 982 blank. However, Kathy and Frank are also excluding nonqualified debt under the insolvency exclusion. As a result, Kathy and Frank must reduce the basis of property they own based on the amount of canceled debt they are excluding from income under the insolvency rules. Because Kathy and Frank have no tax attributes other than basis of personal-use property to reduce, Kathy and Frank figure the amount they must include on line 10a of Form 982 by taking the smallest of:

The $46,000 bases of their personal-use

property held at the beginning of 2011 ($16,000 basis in the car plus $30,000 basis in household furnishings), (other than qualified principal residence indebtedness) that they are excluding from income on line 2 of Form 982, or the property and the amount of money they held immediately after the cancellation over their total liabilities immediately after the cancellation ($15,000 in savings account plus $30,000 basis in household furnishings plus $16,000 adjusted basis in car minus $18,000 credit card debt).

The $500,000 of the nonbusiness debt

The $43,000 excess of the total bases of

Kathy and Frank enter $43,000 on Form 982, line 10a and reduce their bases in the car and the household furnishings to $0. Following are Kathy and Franks sample forms and worksheets.

Page 18

Chapter 4

Detailed Examples

Insolvency WorksheetFrank and Kathy Willow

Date debt was canceled (mm/dd/yy) Part I. Total liabilities immediately before the cancellation (do not include the same liability in more than one category) Liabilities (debts) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. Credit card debt

Keep for Your Records

12/26/10

Amount Owed Immediately Before the Cancellation $ 18,000

Mortgage(s) on real property (including first and second mortgages and home equity loans) (mortgage(s) can be on personal residence, any additional residence, or property held for investment or used in a trade or business) $ 750,000 Car and other vehicle loans Medical bills owed Student loans Accrued or past-due mortgage interest Accrued or past-due real estate taxes Accrued or past-due utilities (water, gas, electric) Accrued or past-due child care costs Federal or state income taxes remaining due (for prior tax years) Judgments Business debts (including those owed as a sole proprietor or partner) Margin debt on stocks and other debt to purchase or secured by investment assets other than real property Other liabilities (debts) not included above Total liabilities immediately before the cancellation. Add lines 1 through 14. $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ 768,000

Part II. Fair market value (FMV) of assets owned immediately before the cancellation (do not include the FMV of the same asset in more than one category) Assets 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. Cash and bank account balances Homes (including the value of land) (can be main home, any additional home, or property held for investment or used in a trade or business) Cars and other vehicles Computers Household goods and furnishings (for example, appliances, electronics, furniture, etc.) Tools Jewelry Clothing Books Stocks and bonds Investments in coins, stamps, paintings, or other collectibles Firearms, sports, photographic, and other hobby equipment Interest in retirement accounts (IRA accounts, 401(k) accounts, and other retirement accounts) Interest in a pension plan Interest in education accounts Cash value of life insurance Security deposits with landlords, utilities, and others Interests in partnerships Value of investment in a business Other investments (for example, annuity contracts, guaranteed investment contracts, mutual funds, commodity accounts, interests in hedge funds, and options) Other assets not included above FMV of total assets immediately before the cancellation. Add lines 16 through 36. FMV Immediately Before the Cancellation $ 15,000 $ $ 10,000 $ $ 17,000 $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ 42,000

Part III. Insolvency 38. Amount of Insolvency. Subtract line 37 from line 15. If zero or less, you are not insolvent. $ 726,000

Chapter 4

Detailed Examples

Page 19

CORRECTED (if checked)

CREDITORS name, street address, city, state, ZIP code, and telephone no. 1 Date canceled OMB No. 1545-1424

Bumble Bank 5 Market Street Buzztown, NJ 07000

CREDITORS federal identification number DEBTORS identification number

12-26-2010
2 Amount of debt canceled

2010
Form

$ 750,000.00
3 Interest if included in box 2

Cancellation of Debt
Copy B
For Debtor

$
4 Debt description

1099-C

10-7654321
DEBTORS name

987-00-4321

Frank and Kathy Willow

Street address (including apt. no.)

21 Honeytree Lane, Apt. 5B

City, state, and ZIP code

Buzztown, NJ 07000
Account number (see instructions)

(keep for your records) Department of the Treasury - Internal Revenue Service Table 1-1. Worksheet for Foreclosures and Repossessions (for Frank and Kathy Willow)
Form
Part 1. Complete Part 1 only if you were personally liable for the debt (even if none of the debt was canceled). Otherwise, go to Part 2. 1. 2. 3. Enter the amount of outstanding debt immediately before the transfer of property reduced by any amount for which you remain personally liable immediately after the transfer of property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Enter the fair market value of the transferred property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ordinary income from the cancellation of debt upon foreclosure or repossession.* Subtract line 2 from line 1. If less than zero, enter zero. Next, go to Part 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,750,000.00 $1,750,000.00 $0.00

5551212 1099-C

This is important tax information and is being furnished to the Internal Revenue Service. If you are required to file a 5 Was borrower personally liable for repayment of the debt? return, a negligence penalty or other sanction may be imposed on you if taxable income results Yes No from this transaction 6 Bankruptcy (if checked) 7 Fair market value of property and the IRS determines that it has not been reported. $ 1,750,000.00

Home mortgage loan

Part 2. Gain or loss from foreclosure or repossession. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

*

Enter the smaller of line 1 or line 2. If you did not complete Part 1 (because you were not personally liable for the debt), enter the amount of outstanding debt immediately before the transfer of property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Enter any proceeds you received from the foreclosure sale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Add line 4 and line 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Enter the adjusted basis of the transferred property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gain or loss from foreclosure or repossession. Subtract line 7 from line 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . .

. . . . .

. . . . .

$1,750,000.00 $1,750,000.00 $3,000,000.00 ($1,250,000.00)

The income may not be taxable. See chapter 1 for more details.

Page 20

Chapter 4

Detailed Examples

Form

(Rev. February 2011) Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service Name shown on return

982

Reduction of Tax Attributes Due to Discharge of Indebtedness (and Section 1082 Basis Adjustment)
Attach this form to your income tax return.

OMB No. 1545-0046 Attachment Sequence No. 94

Identifying number

Frank and Kathy Willow Part I

1 a b c d e 2 3

987-00-4321

General Information (see instructions)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 for sale . . . . . . . . to . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Amount excluded is due to (check applicable box(es)): Discharge of indebtedness in a title 11 case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Discharge of indebtedness to the extent insolvent (not in a title 11 case) . . . . . . . . Discharge of qualified farm indebtedness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Discharge of qualified real property business indebtedness . . . . . . . . . . . . Discharge of qualified principal residence indebtedness . . . . . . . . . . . . . Total amount of discharged indebtedness excluded from gross income . . . . . . . . Do you elect to treat all real property described in section 1221(a)(1), relating to property held customers in the ordinary course of a trade or business, as if it were depreciable property? . .

750,000.00
Yes No

Part II

Reduction of Tax Attributes. You must attach a description of any transactions resulting in the reduction in basis under section 1017. See Regulations section 1.1017-1 for basis reduction ordering rules, and, if applicable, required partnership consent statements. (For additional information, see the instructions for Part II.)

Enter amount excluded from gross income: 4 For a discharge of qualified real property business indebtedness applied to reduce the basis of depreciable real property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . That you elect under section 108(b)(5) to apply first to reduce the basis (under section 1017) of 5 depreciable property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Applied to reduce any net operating loss that occurred in the tax year of the discharge or carried over to the tax year of the discharge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 8 9 10a b 11 a Applied to reduce any general business credit carryover to or from the tax year of the discharge . Applied to reduce any minimum tax credit as of the beginning of the tax year immediately after the tax year of the discharge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Applied to reduce any net capital loss for the tax year of the discharge, including any capital loss carryovers to the tax year of the discharge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Applied to reduce the basis of nondepreciable and depreciable property if not reduced on line 5. DO NOT use in the case of discharge of qualified farm indebtedness . . . . . . . . . . Applied to reduce the basis of your principal residence. Enter amount here ONLY if line 1e is checked . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . For a discharge of qualified farm indebtedness applied to reduce the basis of: Depreciable property used or held for use in a trade or business or for the production of income if not reduced on line 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Land used or held for use in a trade or business of farming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

4 5 6 7 8 9 10a 10b

43,000.00

11a 11b 11c 12 13

b c 12 13

Other property used or held for use in a trade or business or for the production of income

Applied to reduce any passive activity loss and credit carryovers from the tax year of the discharge Applied to reduce any foreign tax credit carryover to or from the tax year of the discharge . . .

Part III

Consent of Corporation to Adjustment of Basis of Its Property Under Section 1082(a)(2)

Under section 1081(b), the corporation named above has excluded $ from its gross income and ending . for the tax year beginning Under that section, the corporation consents to have the basis of its property adjusted in accordance with the regulations prescribed under section 1082(a)(2) in effect at the time of filing its income tax return for that year. The corporation is organized under the laws of
(State of incorporation)

Note. You must attach a description of the transactions resulting in the nonrecognition of gain under section 1081.
For Paperwork Reduction Act Notice, see page 5 of this form.
Cat. No. 17066E Form 982 (Rev. 2-2011)

Chapter 4

Detailed Examples

Page 21

5. How To Get Tax Help

You can get help with unresolved tax issues, order free publications and forms, ask tax questions, and get information from the IRS in several ways. By selecting the method that is best for you, you will have quick and easy access to tax help. Contacting your Taxpayer Advocate. The Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) is an independent organization within the IRS. We help taxpayers who are experiencing economic harm, such as not being able to provide necessities like housing, transportation, or food; taxpayers who are seeking help in resolving tax problems with the IRS; and those who believe that an IRS system or procedure is not working as it should. Here are seven things every taxpayer should know about TAS:

IRS and whose income is below a certain level. LITCs are independent from the IRS. Most LITCs can provide representation before the IRS or in court on audits, tax collection disputes, and other issues for free or a small fee. If an individuals native language is not English, some clinics can provide multilingual information about taxpayer rights and responsibilities. For more information, see Publication 4134, Low Income Taxpayer Clinic List. This publication is available at IRS.gov, by calling 1-800-TAX-FORM (1-800-829-3676), or at your local IRS office. Free tax services. Publication 910, IRS Guide to Free Tax Services, is your guide to IRS services and resources. Learn about free tax information from the IRS, including publications, services, and education and assistance programs. The publication also has an index of over 100 TeleTax topics (recorded tax information) you can listen to on the telephone. The majority of the information and services listed in this publication are available to you free of charge. If there is a fee associated with a resource or service, it is listed in the publication. Accessible versions of IRS published products are available on request in a variety of alternative formats for people with disabilities. Free help with your return. Free help in preparing your return is available nationwide from IRS-trained volunteers. The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program is designed to help low-income taxpayers and the Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) program is designed to assist taxpayers age 60 and older with their tax returns. Many VITA sites offer free electronic filing and all volunteers will let you know about credits and deductions you may be entitled to claim. To find the nearest VITA or TCE site, call 1-800-829-1040. As part of the TCE program, AARP offers the Tax-Aide counseling program. To find the nearest AARP Tax-Aide site, call 1-888-227-7669 or visit AARPs website at www.aarp.org/money/taxaide. For more information on these programs, go to IRS.gov and enter keyword VITA in the upper right-hand corner. Internet. You can access the IRS website at IRS.gov 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to:

Use the online Internal Revenue Code,

regulations, or other official guidance. published in the last few years.

View Internal Revenue Bulletins (IRBs) Figure your withholding allowances using
the withholding calculator online at www. irs.gov/individuals.

Determine if Form 6251 must be filed by Sign up to receive local and national tax
news by email.

using our Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) Assistant.

Get information on starting and operating

a small business.

Phone. Many services are available by phone.

Ordering forms, instructions, and publications. Call 1-800-TAX-FORM (1-800-829-3676) to order current-year forms, instructions, and publications, and prior-year forms and instructions. You should receive your order within 10 days. your tax questions at 1-800-829-1040.

The Taxpayer Advocate Service is your

voice at the IRS.

Asking tax questions. Call the IRS with Solving problems. You can get
face-to-face help solving tax problems every business day in IRS Taxpayer Assistance Centers. An employee can explain IRS letters, request adjustments to your account, or help you set up a payment plan. Call your local Taxpayer Assistance Center for an appointment. To find the number, go to www.irs.gov/localcontacts or look in the phone book under United States Government, Internal Revenue Service. to TTY/TDD equipment, call 1-800-829-4059 to ask tax questions or to order forms and publications. ten to pre-recorded messages covering various tax topics.

Our service is free, confidential, and tailored to meet your needs.

You may be eligible for our help if you

have tried to resolve your tax problem through normal IRS channels and have gotten nowhere, or you believe an IRS procedure just isnt working as it should. causing financial difficulty or significant cost, including the cost of professional representation. This includes businesses as well as individuals. navigate it. If you qualify for our help, well assign your case to an advocate who will listen to your problem, help you understand what needs to be done to resolve it, and stay with you every step of the way until your problem is resolved. cate in every state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. You can call your local advocate, whose number is in your phone book, in Pub. 1546, Taxpayer Advocate Service Your Voice at the IRS, and on our website at www.irs.gov/advocate. You can also call our toll-free line at 1-877-777-4778 or TTY/TDD 1-800-829-4059.

We help taxpayers whose problems are

TTY/TDD equipment. If you have access

Our employees know the IRS and how to

TeleTax topics. Call 1-800-829-4477 to lis Refund information. To check the status of
your 2010 refund, call 1-800-829-1954 or 1-800-829-4477 (automated refund information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week). Wait at least 72 hours after the IRS acknowledges receipt of your e-filed return, or 3 to 4 weeks after mailing a paper return. If you filed Form 8379 with your return, wait 14 weeks (11 weeks if you filed electronically). Have your 2010 tax return available so you can provide your social security number, your filing status, and the exact whole dollar amount of your refund. If you check the status of your refund and are not given the date it will be issued, please wait until the next week before checking back. status of a prior-year refund or amended return refund, call 1-800-829-1040.

We have at least one local taxpayer advo-

E-file your return. Find out about commercial tax preparation and e-file services available free to eligible taxpayers.

Check the status of your 2010 refund. Go

You can learn about your rights and re-

sponsibilities as a taxpayer by visiting our online tax toolkit at www.taxtoolkit.irs.gov. You can get updates on hot tax topics by visiting our YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/tasnta and our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/YourVoiceAtIRS, or by following our tweets at www.twitter. com/YourVoiceAtIRS.

to IRS.gov and click on Wheres My Refund. Wait at least 72 hours after the IRS acknowledges receipt of your e-filed return, or 3 to 4 weeks after mailing a paper return. If you filed Form 8379 with your return, wait 14 weeks (11 weeks if you filed electronically). Have your 2010 tax return available so you can provide your social security number, your filing status, and the exact whole dollar amount of your refund. forms, instructions, and publications.

Download forms, including talking tax Order IRS products online. Research your tax questions online. Search publications online by topic or
keyword.

Other refund information. To check the

Low Income Taxpayer Clinics (LITCs). The Low Income Taxpayer Clinic program serves individuals who have a problem with the Page 22 Chapter 5 How To Get Tax Help

Evaluating the quality of our telephone services. To ensure IRS representatives give accurate, courteous, and professional answers,

we use several methods to evaluate the quality of our telephone services. One method is for a second IRS representative to listen in on or record random telephone calls. Another is to ask some callers to complete a short survey at the end of the call. Walk-in. Many products and services are available on a walk-in basis.

Products. You can walk in to many post

offices, libraries, and IRS offices to pick up certain forms, instructions, and publications. Some IRS offices, libraries, grocery stores, copy centers, city and county government offices, credit unions, and office supply stores have a collection of products available to print from a CD or photocopy from reproducible proofs. Also, some IRS offices and libraries have the Internal Revenue Code, regulations, Internal Revenue Bulletins, and Cumulative Bulletins available for research purposes. Taxpayer Assistance Center every business day for personal, face-to-face tax help. An employee can explain IRS letters, request adjustments to your tax account, or help you set up a payment plan. If you need to resolve a tax problem, have questions about how the tax law applies to your individual tax return, or you are more comfortable talking with someone in person, visit your local Taxpayer Assistance Center where you can spread out your

records and talk with an IRS representative face-to-face. No appointment is necessary just walk in. If you prefer, you can call your local Center and leave a message requesting an appointment to resolve a tax account issue. A representative will call you back within 2 business days to schedule an in-person appointment at your convenience. If you have an ongoing, complex tax account problem or a special need, such as a disability, an appointment can be requested. All other issues will be handled without an appointment. To find the number of your local office, go to www.irs.gov/localcontacts or look in the phone book under United States Government, Internal Revenue Service. Mail. You can send your order for forms, instructions, and publications to the address below. You should receive a response within 10 days after your request is received. Internal Revenue Service 1201 N. Mitsubishi Motorway Bloomington, IL 61705-6613 DVD for tax products. You can order Publication 1796, IRS Tax Products DVD, and obtain:

Prior-year forms, instructions, and publications.

Tax Map: an electronic research tool and

finding aid.

Tax law frequently asked questions. Tax Topics from the IRS telephone response system. U.S. Code. forms.

Internal Revenue Code Title 26 of the Fill-in, print, and save features for most tax Internal Revenue Bulletins. Toll-free and email technical support. Two releases during the year.

The first release will ship the beginning of January 2011. The final release will ship the beginning of March 2011.

Services. You can walk in to your local

Purchase the DVD from National Technical Information Service (NTIS) at www.irs.gov/ cdorders for $30 (no handling fee) or call 1-877-233-6767 toll free to buy the DVD for $30 (plus a $6 handling fee).

Current-year forms, instructions, and publications.

Chapter 5

How To Get Tax Help

Page 23

Index

To help us develop a more useful index, please let us know if you have ideas for index entries. See Comments and Suggestions in the Introduction for the ways you can reach us.

D
501(c)(3) organizations . . . . . . . 4

I
Income from canceled debt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Insolvency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Reduction of tax attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Interest: Canceled debt including . . . . . 2 4 8 3

A
Abandonments . . . . . . . . . . . . 3, 11 Canceled debt . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Assistance (See Tax help)

B
Bankruptcy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Reduction of tax attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Business: Real property indebtedness . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Debts: Stockholders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Definitions: Adjusted tax attributes . . . . . . . 5 Main home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Qualified acquisition indebtedness . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Qualified farm indebtedness . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Qualified principal residence indebtedness . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Qualified real property business indebtedness . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Discounts: Mortgage loan for early payment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Qualified principal residence indebtedness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Reduction of tax attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Qualified real property business indebtedness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Reduction of tax attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

L
Limits: Excluded farm debt . . . . . . . . . . 5 Excluded principal residence indebtedness . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Qualified real property business indebtedness . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Loans (See also Mortgage) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Student . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

R
Real property business indebtedness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Recapture: Basis reductions . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Repossessions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

C
Canceled debt: Co-owners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Exceptions: Deductible debt . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Gifts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Price reduced after purchase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Student loans . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Exclusions: Bankruptcy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Insolvency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Qualified farm indebtedness . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Qualified principal residence indebtedness . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Qualified real property business indebtedness . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Income from . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Midwestern disaster areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Comments on publication . . . . 2

S
Sales or other dispositions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Stockholder debts . . . . . . . . . . . . Student loans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Suggestions for publication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 3 3 2

E
Educational loans . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Exceptions: Home Affordable Modification Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

M
Midwestern disaster areas . . . 1 Missing children, photographs of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 More information (See Tax help) Mortgage: Discounted loan . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

F
Farm indebtedness . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Reduction of tax attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Foreclosures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3, 10 Form: 1099-A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11, 12 1099-C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3, 11, 12 Free tax services . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

T
Tax attributes, reduction of: Bankruptcy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Insolvency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Qualified farm indebtedness . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Qualified principal residence indebtedness . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Qualified real property business indebtedness . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Tax help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Taxpayer Advocate . . . . . . . . . . 22 TTY/TDD information . . . . . . . . 22

P
Principal residence indebtedness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Publications (See Tax help)

G
Gifts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Q
Qualified farm indebtedness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Reduction of tax attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

H
Help (See Tax help) Home Affordable Modification Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Page 24

Publication 4681 (2010)