Title 26 — Internal Revenue CodeRelease 119-73
§1272 Current inclusion in income of original issue discount
Title 26 › Subtitle Subtitle A— - Income Taxes › Chapter CHAPTER 1— - NORMAL TAXES AND SURTAXES › Subchapter Subchapter P— - Capital Gains and Losses › Part PART V— - SPECIAL RULES FOR BONDS AND OTHER DEBT INSTRUMENTS › Subpart Subpart A— - Original Issue Discount › § 1272
Summary
You must report as income each year the part of the original issue discount (OID) that accrues each day on a debt you own. You only report the days you held the debt. The rule does not apply to tax-exempt obligations, U.S. savings bonds, debts that mature within 1 year of issue, and certain personal loans between individuals that total $10,000 or less (unless the loan’s main purpose was to avoid tax; married couples count as one person unless they lived apart all year). To figure the daily amount, spread the increase in the debt’s adjusted issue price over each day of an accrual period. An accrual period is normally 6 months (or shorter from issue to the next matching date). The increase equals the beginning adjusted issue price times the yield to maturity (compounded at the end of each accrual period and adjusted for the period length) minus interest paid that period. Special rules use present-value and prepayment assumptions for things like REMIC interests or loans affected by prepayments. If you buy the debt after it was issued, your daily accrual is reduced to reflect what you paid. People who bought the debt at a premium and certain life insurance companies are not subject to these rules. A “purchase” means you got the debt with a basis not based on the seller’s basis. Any OID you include in income increases your basis in the debt by the same amount.
Full Legal Text
Title 26, §1272
Internal Revenue Code — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)(1)For purposes of this title, there shall be included in the gross income of the holder of any debt instrument having original issue discount, an amount equal to the sum of the daily portions of the original issue discount for each day during the taxable year on which such holder held such debt instrument.
(2)Paragraph (1) shall not apply to—
(A)Any tax-exempt obligation.
(B)Any United States savings bond.
(C)Any debt instrument which has a fixed maturity date not more than 1 year from the date of issue.
(D)(i)Any loan made by a natural person to another natural person if—
(I)such loan is not made in the course of a trade or business of the lender, and
(II)the amount of such loan (when increased by the outstanding amount of prior loans by such natural person to such other natural person) does not exceed $10,000.
(ii)Clause (i) shall not apply if the loan has as 1 of its principal purposes the avoidance of any Federal tax.
(iii)For purposes of this subparagraph, a husband and wife shall be treated as 1 person. The preceding sentence shall not apply where the spouses lived apart at all times during the taxable year in which the loan is made.
(3)For purposes of paragraph (1), the daily portion of the original issue discount on any debt instrument shall be determined by allocating to each day in any accrual period its ratable portion of the increase during such accrual period in the adjusted issue price of the debt instrument. For purposes of the preceding sentence, the increase in the adjusted issue price for any accrual period shall be an amount equal to the excess (if any) of—
(A)the product of—
(i)the adjusted issue price of the debt instrument at the beginning of such accrual period, and
(ii)the yield to maturity (determined on the basis of compounding at the close of each accrual period and properly adjusted for the length of the accrual period), over
(B)the sum of the amounts payable as interest on such debt instrument during such accrual period.
(4)For purposes of this subsection, the adjusted issue price of any debt instrument at the beginning of any accrual period is the sum of—
(A)the issue price of such debt instrument, plus
(B)the adjustments under this subsection to such issue price for all periods before the first day of such accrual period.
(5)Except as otherwise provided in regulations prescribed by the Secretary, the term “accrual period” means a 6-month period (or shorter period from the date of original issue of the debt instrument) which ends on a day in the calendar year corresponding to the maturity date of the debt instrument or the date 6 months before such maturity date.
(6)(A)In the case of any debt instrument to which this paragraph applies, the daily portion of the original issue discount shall be determined by allocating to each day in any accrual period its ratable portion of the excess (if any) of—
(i)the sum of (I) the present value determined under subparagraph (B) of all remaining payments under the debt instrument as of the close of such period, and (II) the payments during the accrual period of amounts included in the stated redemption price of the debt instrument, over
(ii)the adjusted issue price of such debt instrument at the beginning of such period.
(B)For purposes of subparagraph (A), the present value shall be determined on the basis of—
(i)the original yield to maturity (determined on the basis of compounding at the close of each accrual period and properly adjusted for the length of the accrual period),
(ii)events which have occurred before the close of the accrual period, and
(iii)a prepayment assumption determined in the manner prescribed by regulations.
(C)This paragraph applies to—
(i)any regular interest in a REMIC or qualified mortgage held by a REMIC,
(ii)any other debt instrument if payments under such debt instrument may be accelerated by reason of prepayments of other obligations securing such debt instrument (or, to the extent provided in regulations, by reason of other events), or
(iii)any pool of debt instruments the yield on which may be affected by reason of prepayments (or to the extent provided in regulations, by reason of other events).
(7)(A)For purposes of this subsection, in the case of any purchase after its original issue of a debt instrument to which this subsection applies, the daily portion for any day shall be reduced by an amount equal to the amount which would be the daily portion for such day (without regard to this paragraph) multiplied by the fraction determined under subparagraph (B).
(B)For purposes of subparagraph (A), the fraction determined under this subparagraph is a fraction—
(i)the numerator of which is the excess (if any) of—
(I)the cost of such debt instrument incurred by the purchaser, over
(II)the issue price of such debt instrument, increased by the portion of original issue discount previously includible in the gross income of any holder (computed without regard to this paragraph), and
(ii)the denominator of which is the sum of the daily portions for such debt instrument for all days after the date of such purchase and ending on the stated maturity date (computed without regard to this paragraph).
(b)This section shall not apply to any holder—
(1)who has purchased the debt instrument at a premium, or
(2)which is a life insurance company to which section 811(b) applies.
(c)(1)For purposes of this section, the term “purchase” means—
(A)any acquisition of a debt instrument, where
(B)the basis of the debt instrument is not determined in whole or in part by reference to the adjusted basis of such debt instrument in the hands of the person from whom acquired.
(2)The basis of any debt instrument in the hands of the holder thereof shall be increased by the amount included in his gross income pursuant to this section.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
Amendments
2018—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 115–141, § 401(c)(1)(F)(i), struck out “on debt instruments issued after
July 1, 1982,” after “discount” in heading. Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 115–141, § 401(c)(1)(F)(ii), struck out “issued after
July 1, 1982” before “, an amount equal to”. Subsec. (a)(2)(D), (E). Pub. L. 115–141, § 401(c)(3)(A), redesignated subpar. (E) as (D) and struck out former subpar. (D). Prior to amendment, text of subpar. (D) read as follows: “Any obligation issued by a natural person before
March 2, 1984.” Subsecs. (b) to (d). Pub. L. 115–141, § 401(c)(1)(B), redesignated subsecs. (c) and (d) as (b) and (c), respectively, and struck out former subsec. (b) which related to ratable inclusion retained for corporate debt instruments issued before
July 2, 1982. 1997—Subsec. (a)(6)(C). Pub. L. 105–34 added cl. (iii) and concluding provisions. 1986—Subsec. (a)(6), (7). Pub. L. 99–514 added par. (6) and redesignated former par. (6) as (7).
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date
of 2018 AmendmentAmendment by section 401(c)(1)(B), (F) of Pub. L. 115–141 applicable to debt instruments issued on or after July 2, 1982, see section 401(c)(1)(H) of Pub. L. 115–141, set out as a note under section 163 of this title. Amendment by section 401(c)(3)(A) of Pub. L. 115–141 applicable to obligations issued on or after Mar. 2, 1984, see section 401(c)(3)(C) of Pub. L. 115–141, set out as a note under section 163 of this title.
Effective Date
of 1997 Amendment Pub. L. 105–34, title X, § 1004(b)(1), Aug. 5, 1997, 111 Stat. 911, provided that: “The amendment made by this section [amending this section] shall apply to taxable years beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act [Aug. 5, 1997].”
Effective Date
of 1986 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 99–514 applicable to debt instruments issued after Dec. 31, 1986, in taxable years ending after such date, see section 675(b) of Pub. L. 99–514, set out as an
Effective Date
note under section 860A of this title.
Effective Date
Section applicable to taxable years ending after
July 18, 1984, but not applicable to any obligation issued on or before Dec. 31, 1984, which is not a capital asset in the hands of the taxpayer, and subsec. (a)(6) of this section not applicable to any purchase on or before
July 18, 1984, see section 44 of Pub. L. 98–369, as amended, set out as a note under section 1271 of this title. Change in Method of Accounting Pub. L. 105–34, title X, § 1004(b)(2), Aug. 5, 1997, 111 Stat. 911, provided that: “In the case of any taxpayer required by this section [amending this section and enacting provisions set out as a note above] to change its method of accounting for its first taxable year beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act [Aug. 5, 1997]— “(A) such change shall be treated as initiated by the taxpayer, “(B) such change shall be treated as made with the consent of the Secretary of the Treasury, and “(C) the net amount of the adjustments required to be taken into account by the taxpayer under section 481 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 shall be taken into account ratably over the 4-taxable year period beginning with such first taxable year.”
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
26 U.S.C. § 1272
Title 26 — Internal Revenue Code
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73