(a) In general. (1) Section 682(a) provides rules in certain cases for determining the taxability of income of trusts as between spouses who are divorced, or who are separated under a decree of separate maintenance or a written separation agreement. In such cases, the spouse actually entitled to receive payments from the trust is considered the beneficiary rather than the spouse in discharge of whose obligations the payments are made, except to the extent that the payments are specified to be for the support of the obligor spouse's minor children in the divorce or separate maintenance decree, the separation agreement or the governing trust instrument. For convenience, the beneficiary spouse will hereafter in this section and in § 1.682(b)-1 be referred to as the “wife” and the obligor spouse from whom she is divorced or legally separated as the “husband”. (See section 7701(a)(17).) Thus, under section 682(a) income of a trust:

(i) Which is paid, credited, or required to be distributed to the wife in a taxable year of the wife, and

(ii) Which, except for the provisions of section 682, would be includible in the gross income of her husband,

is includible in her gross income and is not includible in his gross income.

(2) Section 682(a) does not apply in any case to which section 71 applies. Although section 682(a) and section 71 seemingly cover some of the same situations, there are important differences between them. Thus, section 682(a) applies, for example, to a trust created before the divorce or separation and not in contemplation of it, while section 71 applies only if the creation of the trust or payments by a previously created trust are in discharge of an obligation imposed upon or assumed by the husband (or made specific) under the court order or decree divorcing or legally separating the husband and wife, or a written instrument incident to the divorce status or legal separation status, or a written separation agreement. If section 71 applies, it requires inclusion in the wife's income of the full amount of periodic payments received attributable to property in trust (whether or not out of trust income), while, if section 71 does not apply, section 682(a) requires amounts paid, credited, or required to be distributed to her to be included only to the extent they are includible in the taxable income of a trust beneficiary under subparts A through D (section 641 and following), part I, subchapter J, chapter 1 of the Code.

(3) Section 682(a) is designed to produce uniformity as between cases in which, without section 682(a), the income of a so-called alimony trust would be taxable to the husband because of his continuing obligation to support his wife or former wife, and other cases in which the income of a so-called alimony trust is taxable to the wife or former wife because of the termination of the husband's obligation. Furthermore, section 682(a) taxes trust income to the wife in all cases in which the husband would otherwise be taxed not only because of the discharge of his alimony obligation but also because of his retention of control over the trust income or corpus. Section 682(a) applies whether the wife is the beneficiary under the terms of the trust instrument or is an assignee of a beneficiary.

(4) The application of section 682(a) may be illustrated by the following examples, in which it is assumed that both the husband and wife make their income tax returns on a calendar year basis:

Example 1.Upon the marriage of H and W, H irrevocably transfers property in trust to pay the income to W for her life for support, maintenance, and all other expenses. Some years later, W obtains a legal separation from H under an order of court. W, relying upon the income from the trust payable to her, does not ask for any provision for her support and the decree recites that since W is adequately provided for by the trust, no further provision is being made for her. Under these facts, section 682(a), rather than section 71, is applicable. Under the provisions of section 682(a), the income of the trust which becomes payable to W after the order of separation is includible in her income and is deductible by the trust. No part of the income is includible in H's income or deductible by him. Example 2.H transfers property in trust for the benefit of W, retaining the power to revoke the trust at any time. H, however, promises that if he revokes the trust he will transfer to W property in the value of $100,000. The transfer in trust and the agreement were not incident to divorce, but some years later W divorces H. The court decree is silent as to alimony and the trust. After the divorce, income of the trust which becomes payable to W is taxable to her, and is not taxable to H or deductible by him. If H later terminates the trust and transfers $100,000 of property to W, the $100,000 is not income to W nor deductible by H.

(b) Alimony trust income designated for support of minor children. Section 682(a) does not require the inclusion in the wife's income of trust income which the terms of the divorce or separate maintenance decree, separation agreement, or trust instrument fix in terms of an amount of money or a portion of the income as a sum which is payable for the support of minor children of the husband. The portion of the income which is payable for the support of the minor children is includible in the husband's income. If in such a case trust income fixed in terms of an amount of money is to be paid but a lesser amount becomes payable, the trust income is considered to be payable for the support of the husband's minor children to the extent of the sum which would be payable for their support out of the originally specified amount of trust income. This rule is similar to that provided in the case of periodic payments under section 71. See § 1.71-1.