Publication 550 |
2000 Tax Year |
Nondeductible Expenses
Some expenses that you incur as an investor are not deductible.
Stockholders' meetings.
You cannot deduct transportation and other expenses that you pay to
attend stockholders' meetings of companies in which you have no
interest other than owning stock. This is true even if your purpose in
attending is to get information that would be useful in making further
investments.
Investment-related seminar.
You cannot deduct expenses for attending a convention, seminar, or
similar meeting for investment purposes.
Single-premium life insurance, endowment, and annuity
contracts.
You cannot deduct interest on money you borrow to buy or carry a
single-premium life insurance, endowment, or annuity contract.
Single premium annuity contract as collateral.
If you use a single premium annuity contract as collateral to
obtain or continue a mortgage loan, you cannot deduct any interest on
the loan that is collateralized by the annuity contract. Figure the
amount of interest expense disallowed by multiplying the current
interest rate on the mortgage loan by the lesser of the amount of the
annuity contract used as collateral or the amount of the loan.
Systematic borrowing on insurance.
Generally, you cannot deduct interest on money you borrow to buy or
carry a life insurance, endowment, or annuity contract if you plan to
systematically borrow part or all of the increases in the cash value
of the contract. This rule applies to the interest on the total amount
borrowed to buy or carry the contract, not just the interest on the
borrowed increases in the cash value.
Tax-exempt income.
You cannot deduct expenses you incur to produce tax-exempt income.
Nor can you deduct interest on money you borrow to buy tax-exempt
securities or shares in a regulated investment company (mutual fund)
that distributes only exempt-interest dividends.
Short-sale expenses.
The rule disallowing a deduction for interest expenses on
tax-exempt securities applies to amounts you pay in connection with
personal property used in a short sale or amounts paid by others for
the use of any collateral in connection with the short sale. However,
it does not apply to the expenses you incur if you deposit cash as
collateral for the property used in the short sale and the cash does
not earn a material return during the period of the sale. Short sales
are discussed in chapter 4.
Expenses for both tax-exempt and taxable income.
You may have expenses that are for both tax-exempt and taxable
income. If you cannot specifically identify what part of the expenses
is for each type of income, you can divide the expenses, using
reasonable proportions based on facts and circumstances. You must
attach a statement to your return showing how you divided the expenses
and stating that each deduction claimed is not based on tax-exempt
income.
One accepted method for dividing expenses is to do it in the same
proportion that each type of income is to the total income. If the
expenses relate in part to capital gains and losses, include the
gains, but not the losses, in figuring this proportion. To find the
part of the expenses that is for the tax-exempt income, divide your
tax-exempt income by the total income and multiply your expenses by
the result.
Example.
You received $6,000 interest; $4,800 was tax-exempt and $1,200 was
taxable. In earning this income, you had $500 of expenses. You cannot
specifically identify the amount of each expense item that is for each
income item, so you must divide your expenses. 80% ($4,800 tax-exempt
interest divided by $6,000 total interest) of your expenses is for the
tax-exempt income. You cannot deduct $400 (80% of $500) of the
expenses. You can deduct $100 (the rest of the expenses) because they
are for the taxable interest.
State income taxes.
If you itemize your deductions, you can deduct, as taxes, state
income taxes on interest income that is exempt from federal income
tax. But you cannot deduct, as either taxes or investment expenses,
state income taxes on other exempt income.
Interest expense and carrying charges on straddles.
You cannot deduct interest and carrying charges that are allocable
to personal property that is part of a straddle. The nondeductible
interest and carrying charges are added to the basis of the straddle
property. However, this treatment does not apply if:
- All the offsetting positions making up the straddle either
consist of one or more qualified covered call options and the optioned
stock or consist of section 1256 contracts (and the straddle is not
part of a larger straddle), or
- The straddle is a hedging transaction.
For information about straddles, including definitions of the
terms used in this discussion, see chapter 4.
Interest includes any amount you pay or incur in connection with
personal property used in a short sale. However, you must first apply
the rules discussed in Short Sale Expenses under Short
Sales in chapter 4.
To determine the interest on market discount bonds and short-term
obligations that are part of a straddle, you must first apply the
rules discussed under Deferral of interest deduction for market
discount bonds and Deferral of interest deduction for
short-term obligations (both under Interest Expenses,
earlier).
Nondeductible amount and basis adjustment.
Figure the nondeductible amount of interest and carrying charges
that must be added to the basis of the straddle property as follows.
- Add together:
- Interest on indebtedness incurred or continued to buy or
carry the personal property, and
- All other amounts (including charges to insure, store, or
transport the personal property) paid or incurred to carry the
personal property.
- Subtract from the amount in (1):
- Interest (including OID) includible in gross income for the
year on the personal property,
- Any income from the personal property treated as ordinary
income on the disposition of of short-term government obligations or
as ordinary income under the market discount and short-term bond
provisions -- see Discount on Debt Instruments in
chapter 1,
- The dividends includible in gross income for the year from
the personal property, and
- Any payment on a loan of the personal property for use in a
short sale that is includible in gross income.
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