Title 26 › Subtitle Subtitle A— Income Taxes › Chapter 1— NORMAL TAXES AND SURTAXES › Subchapter N— Tax Based on Income From Sources Within or Without the United States › Part III— INCOME FROM SOURCES WITHOUT THE UNITED STATES › Subpart F— Controlled Foreign Corporations › § 965
For the last tax year that started before January 1, 2018, U.S. owners of certain foreign companies must include in their income an extra amount. That extra is the bigger of the company’s accumulated post‑1986 deferred foreign income measured on November 2, 2017, or on December 31, 2017. If a U.S. owner also has foreign companies with earnings deficits, those deficits reduce the amount the owner must include. Deficits are shared out among the deferred‑income companies in proportion to each company’s deferred income. The law defines key terms in short form: deferred foreign income company (has positive deferred post‑1986 income), accumulated post‑1986 deferred foreign income, post‑1986 earnings and profits, and specified foreign corporation. When a U.S. owner must include that income, they get a special deduction based on two rate parts tied to 8% and 15.5%. How big that deduction is depends on the owner’s “aggregate foreign cash position,” which is basically cash, net receivables, and certain marketable short‑term assets held by the foreign companies at dates around late 2017. Foreign tax credits are limited for the part of the tax covered by the deduction. Taxpayers may elect to pay the new tax in eight annual installments (5 at 8% each, then 15%, 20%, and 25%). S‑corporation shareholders can defer their personal payments until a “triggering event” like selling shares or the S corporation ending, with reporting rules and joint liability rules for the S corporation. A real estate investment trust can elect to spread the inclusion over several years using the same 8%/15%/20%/25% pattern. The Secretary of the Treasury must issue rules to carry out these rules and to prevent avoidance.
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Internal Revenue Code — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
Legislative History
Reference
Citation
26 U.S.C. § 965
Title 26 — Internal Revenue Code
Last Updated
Apr 5, 2026
Release point: 119-73not60