26 USC 814 - Contiguous country branches of domestic life insurance companies

View all text of Subpart D [§ 811 - § 815]

§ 814. Contiguous country branches of domestic life insurance companies

(a) Exclusion of items

In the case of a domestic mutual insurance company which—

(1) is a life insurance company,

(2) has a contiguous country life insurance branch, and

(3) makes the election provided by subsection (g) with respect to such branch,

there shall be excluded from each item involved in the determination of life insurance company taxable income the items separately accounted for in accordance with subsection (c).

(b) Contiguous country life insurance branch

For purposes of this section, the term contiguous country life insurance branch means a branch which—

(1) issues insurance contracts insuring risks in connection with the lives or health of residents of a country which is contiguous to the United States,

(2) has its principal place of business in such contiguous country, and

(3) would constitute a mutual life insurance company if such branch were a separate domestic insurance company.

For purposes of this section, the term “insurance contract” means any life, health, accident, or annuity contract or reinsurance contract or any contract relating thereto.

Any taxpayer which makes the election provided by subsection (g) shall establish and maintain a separate account for the various income, exclusion, deduction, asset, reserve, liability, and surplus items properly attributable to the contracts described in subsection (b). Such separate accounting shall be made—

(1) in accordance with the method regularly employed by such company, if such method clearly reflects income derived from, and the other items attributable to, the contracts described in subsection (b), and

(2) in all other cases, in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary.

(d) Recognition of gain on assets in branch account

(e) Transactions between contiguous country branch and domestic life insurance company

(1) Reimbursement for home office services, etc.

(2) Repatriation of income

(A) In general

(B) Limitation

The addition provided by subparagraph (A) for the taxable year with respect to any contiguous country life insurance branch shall not exceed the amount by which—

(i) the aggregate decrease in the tentative LICTI of the domestic life insurance company for the taxable year and for all prior taxable years resulting solely from the application of subsection (a) of this section with respect to such branch, exceeds

(ii) the amount of additions to tentative LICTI pursuant to subparagraph (A) with respect to such contiguous country branch for all prior taxable years.

(f) Other rules

(1) Treatment of foreign taxes

(2) United States source income allocable to contiguous country branch

(g) Election

(h) Special rule for domestic stock life insurance companies

(Added Pub. L. 98–369, div. A, title II, § 211(a), July 18, 1984, 98 Stat. 744; amended Pub. L. 105–34, title XI, § 1131(c)(1), Aug. 5, 1997, 111 Stat. 980; Pub. L. 115–97, title I, § 14301(c)(5), Dec. 22, 2017, 131 Stat. 2222.)