Title 26, Internal Revenue CodeRelease 119-110
§814 Contiguous Country Branches of Domestic Life Insurance Companies
Title 26 › Subtitle A — Income Taxes › CHAPTER 1 — NORMAL TAXES AND SURTAXES › Subchapter L — Insurance Companies › PART I — LIFE INSURANCE COMPANIES › Subpart D — Accounting, Allocation, and Foreign Provisions › § 814
Summary
A U.S. mutual life insurance company that has a life-insurance branch in a neighboring country can elect to keep that branch’s income, assets, reserves, and related items separate and exclude them from the company’s U.S. life insurance taxable income. A qualifying branch must sell life or health type contracts to residents of a contiguous country, have its main office there, and, if it were separate, would be a mutual life insurer. “Insurance contract” here means life, health, accident, annuity, reinsurance, or similar contracts. The company must keep a separate set of books for the branch items, using its usual accounting method if that clearly shows the branch amounts, or follow IRS rules otherwise. If the branch’s assets taken at fair market value are more than their tax basis, the company is treated as if it sold those assets on the first day the election applies and must recognize the gain. Money moved from the branch account to other company accounts as reimbursement is treated like it came from an unrelated party. Other transfers or credits from the branch to the company generally must be added back to income, but additions are limited by a formula tied to prior tax effects (with a special rule for years before January 1, 1984). Foreign taxes on income excluded this way are not allowed as credits or deductions. For certain U.S. tax rules (sections 881, 882, 1442) each branch is treated like a foreign corporation. The election must be made by the company’s tax-filing deadline (including extensions), stays in effect until revoked with IRS consent, and must follow IRS filing instructions. A domestic stock life company may instead move branch assets into a foreign corporation in the contiguous country without applying section 367, with similar accounting and a proportional limit on recognized gain.
Full Legal Text
Title 26, §814
Internal Revenue Code, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(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.
(c)Separate accounting required
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
If the aggregate fair market value of all the invested assets and tangible property which are separately accounted for by the domestic life insurance company in the branch account established pursuant to subsection (c) exceeds the aggregate adjusted basis of such assets for purposes of determining gain, then the domestic life insurance company shall be treated as having sold all such assets on the first day of the first taxable year for which the election is in effect at their fair market value on such first day. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the net gain shall be recognized to the domestic life insurance company on the deemed sale described in the preceding sentence.
(e)Transactions between contiguous country branch and domestic life insurance company
(1)Reimbursement for home office services, etc.
Any payment, transfer, reimbursement, credit, or allowance which is made from a separate account established pursuant to subsection (c) to one or more other accounts of a domestic life insurance company as reimbursement for costs incurred for or with respect to the insurance (or reinsurance) of risks accounted for in such separate account shall be taken into account by the domestic life insurance company in the same manner as if such payment, transfer, reimbursement, credit, or allowance had been received from a separate person.
(2)Repatriation of income
(A)In general
Except as provided in subparagraph (B), any amount directly or indirectly transferred or credited from a branch account established pursuant to subsection (c) to one or more other accounts of such company shall, unless such transfer or credit is a reimbursement to which paragraph (1) applies, be added to the income of the domestic life insurance company.
(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.
(C)Transitional rule
For purposes of this paragraph, in the case of a prior taxable year beginning before January 1, 1984, the term “tentative LICTI” means life insurance company taxable income determined under this part (as in effect for such year) without regard to this paragraph.
(f)Other rules
(1)Treatment of foreign taxes
No income, war profits, or excess profits taxes paid or accrued to any foreign country or possession of the United States which is attributable to income excluded under subsection (a) shall be taken into account for purposes of subpart A of part III of subchapter N (relating to foreign tax credit) or allowable as a deduction.
(2)United States source income allocable to contiguous country branch
For purposes of section 881, 882, and 1442, each contiguous country life insurance branch shall be treated as a foreign corporation. Such sections shall be applied to each such branch in the same manner as if such sections contained the provisions of any treaty to which the United States and the contiguous country are parties, to the same extent such provisions would apply if such branch were incorporated in such contiguous country.
(g)Election
A taxpayer may make the election provided by this subsection with respect to any contiguous country for any taxable year. An election made under this subsection for any taxable year shall remain in effect for all subsequent taxable years, except that it may be revoked with the consent of the Secretary. The election provided by this subsection shall be made not later than the time prescribed by law for filing the return for the taxable year (including extensions thereof) with respect to which such election is made, and such election and any approved revocation thereof shall be made in the manner provided by the Secretary.
(h)Special rule for domestic stock life insurance companies
At the election of a domestic stock life insurance company which has a contiguous country life insurance branch described in subsection (b) (without regard to the mutual requirement in subsection (b)(3)), the assets of such branch may be transferred to a foreign corporation organized under the laws of the contiguous country without the application of section 367. Subsection (a) shall apply to the stock of such foreign corporation as if such domestic company were a mutual company and as if the stock were an item described in subsection (c). Subsection (e)(2) shall apply to amounts transferred or credited to such domestic company as if such domestic company and such foreign corporation constituted one domestic mutual life insurance company. The insurance contracts which may be transferred pursuant to this subsection shall include only those which are similar to the types of insurance contracts issued by a mutual life insurance company. Notwithstanding the first sentence of this subsection, if the aggregate fair market value of the invested assets and tangible property which are separately accounted for by the domestic life insurance company in the branch account exceeds the aggregate adjusted basis of such assets for purposes of determining gain, the domestic life insurance company shall be deemed to have sold all such assets on the first day of the taxable year for which the election under this subsection applies and the net gain shall be recognized to the domestic life insurance company on the deemed sale, but not in excess of the proportion of such net gain which equals the proportion which the aggregate fair market value of such assets which are transferred pursuant to this subsection is of the aggregate fair market value of all such assets.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
Amendments
2017—Subsec. (f)(1). Pub. L. 115–97 redesignated subpar. (A) as par. (1), struck out subpar. (A) heading “In general”, and struck out subpar. (B). Prior to amendment, text of subpar. (B) read as follows: “For purposes of section 78 and 902, where any amount is added to the life insurance company taxable income of the domestic life insurance company by reason of subsection (e)(2), the contiguous country life insurance branch shall be treated as a foreign corporation. Any amount so added shall be treated as a dividend paid by a foreign corporation, and the taxes paid to any foreign country or possession of the United States with respect to such amount shall be deemed to have been paid by such branch.” 1997—Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 105–34 struck out “or 1491” after “section 367”.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
New section 814 Treated as Continuation of section 819A Pub. L. 98–369, div. A, title II, § 217(a),
July 18, 1984, 98 Stat. 762, as amended by Pub. L. 99–514, § 2, Oct. 22, 1986, 100 Stat. 2095, provided that: “For purposes of section 814 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 [formerly I.R.C. 1954] (relating to contiguous country branches of domestic life insurance companies)— “(1) any election under section 819A of such Code (as in effect on the day before the date of the enactment of this Act [
July 18, 1984]) shall be treated as an election under such section 814, and “(2) any reference to a provision of such section 814 shall be treated as including a reference to the corresponding provision of such section 819A.”
Effective Date
of 2017 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 115–97 applicable to taxable years of foreign corporations beginning after Dec. 31, 2017, and to taxable years of United States shareholders in which or with which such taxable years of foreign corporations end, see section 14301(d) of Pub. L. 115–97, set out as a note under section 78 of this title.
Effective Date
Section applicable to taxable years beginning after Dec. 31, 1983, see section 215 of Pub. L. 98–369, set out as a note under section 801 of this title.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
26 U.S.C. § 814
Title 26, Internal Revenue Code
Last Updated
Sep 22, 2026
Release point: 119-110