Sec. 1.879-1 Treatment of community income.
Treatment of community income
In general.
For taxable years beginning after December 31, 1976, community income of a citizen or resident of the United States who is married to a nonresident alien individual, and the deductions properly allocable to that income, shall be divided between the U.S. citizen or resident spouse in accordance with the rules in section 879 and paragraph (a)(2) through (a)(6) of this section. This section does not apply for any taxable year with respect to which an election under section 6013(g) or (h) is in effect. Community income for this purpose includes all gross income, whether derived from sources within or without the United States, which is treated as community income of the spouses under the community property laws of the State, foreign country, or possession of the United States in which the recipient of the income is domiciled. Income from real property also may be community income if so treated under the laws of the jurisdiction in which the real property is located.
(2) Earned income.
Wages, salaries, or professional fees, and other amounts received as compensation for personal services actually performed, which are community income for the taxable year, shall be treated as the income of the spouse who actually performed the personal services. This paragraph (a)(2) does not apply, however, to the following items of community income:
Community income derived from any trade or business carried on by the husband or the wife.
(ii) Community income attributable to a spouse's distributive share of the income of a partnership to which paragraph (a)(4) of this section applies.
(iii) Community income consisting of compensation for personal services rendered to a corporation which represents a distribution of the earnings and profits of the corporation rather than a reasonable allowance as compensation for the personal services actually performed, but not including any income that would be treated as earned income under the second sentence of section 911(b).
(iv) Community income derived from property which is acquired as consideration for personal services performed.
These items of community income are divided in accordance with the rules in paragraph (a)(3) through (a)(6) of this section.
Trade or business income.
If any income derived from a trade or business carried on by the husband or wife is community income for the taxable year, all of the gross income, and the deductions attributable to that income, shall be treated as the gross income and deductions of the husband. However, if the wife exercises substantially all of the management and control of the trade or business, all of the gross income and deductions shall be treated as the gross income and deductions of the wife. This paragraph (a)(3) does not apply to any income derived from a trade or business carried on by a partnership of which both or one of the spouses is a member (see paragraph (a)(4) of this section). For purposes of this paragraph (a)(3), income derived from a trade or business includes any income derived from a trade or business in which both personal services and capital are material income producing factors. The term "management and control" means management and control in fact, not the management and control imputed to the husband under the community property laws of a State, foreign country or possession of the United States. For example, a wife who operates a pharmacy without any appreciable collaboration on the part of a husband is considered as having substantially all of the management and control of the business despite the provisions of any community property laws of a State, foreign country, or possession of the United States, vesting in the husband the right of management and control of community property. The income and deductions attributable to the operation of the pharmacy are considered the income and deductions of the wife.
(4) Partnership income.
If any portion of a spouse's distributive share of the income of a partnership, of which the spouse is a member, is community income for the taxable year, all of that distributive share shall be treated as the income of that spouse and shall not be taken into account in determining the income of the other spouse. If both spouses are members of the same partnership, the distributive share of the income of each spouse which is community income shall be treated as the income of that spouse. A spouse's distributive share of the income of a partnership that is community income shall be determined as provided in section 704 and the regulations thereunder.
(5) Income from separate property.
Any community income for the taxable year, other than income described in section 879(a) (1) or (2) and paragraph (a) (2), (3), or (4) of this section, which is derived from the separate property of one of the spouses shall be treated as the income of that spouse. The determination of what property is separate property for this purpose shall be made in accordance with the laws of the State, foreign country, or possession of the United States in which, in accordance with paragraph (a)(1) of this section, the recipient of the income is domiciled or, in the case of income from real property, in which the real property is located.
(6) Other community income.
Any community income for the taxable year, other than income described in section 879(a) (1), (2), or (3), and paragraph (a) (2), (3), (4), or (5) of this section, shall be treated as income of that spouse who has a proprietary vested interest in that income under the laws of the state, foreign country, or possession of the United States in which, in accordance with paragraph (a)(1) of this section, the recipient of the income is domiciled or, in the case of income from real property, in which the real property is located. Thus, for example, this paragraph (a)(6) applies to community income not described in paragraph (a) (2), (3), (4), or (5) of this section which consists of dividends, interest, rents, royalties, or gains, from community property or of the earnings of unemancipated minor children.
(7) Illustrations.
The application of this paragraph may be illustrated by the following examples:
Example (1)
. H, a U.S. citizen, and W, a nonresident alien individual, each of whose taxable years is the calendar year, were married throughout 1977. H and W were residents of, and domiciled in, foreign country Z during the entire taxable year. No election under section
6013(g)or (h) is in effect for 1977. During 1977, H earned $10,000 from the performance of personal services as an employee. H also received $500 in dividend income from stock which under the community property laws of country Z is considered to be the separate property of H. W had no separate income for 1977. Under the community property laws of country Z all income earned by either spouse is considered to be community income, and one-half of this income is considered to belong to the other spouse. In addition, the laws of country Z provide that all income derived from property held separately by either spouse is to be treated as community income and treated as belonging one-half to each spouse. Thus, under the community property laws of country Z, H and W are both considered to have realized income of $5,250 during 1977, even though Z's laws recognize the stock as the separate property of H. Under the rules of paragraph (a) (2) and (5) of this section all of the income of $10,500 derived during 1977 is treated, for U.S. income tax purposes, as the income of H.
Example (2). (a) The facts are the same as in example (1), except that H is the sole proprietor of a retail merchandising company, which has a $10,000 profit during 1977. W exercises no management and control over the business. In addition, H is a partner in a wholesale distributing company, and his distributive share of the partnership profit is $5,000. Both of these amounts of income are treated as community income under the community property laws of country Z, and under these laws both H and W are treated as realizing $7,500 of the income. Under the rule of paragraph (a) (3) and (4) of this section all $15,000 of the income is treated as the income of H for U.S. income tax purposes.
(b) If W exercises substantially all of the management and control over the retail merchandising company, then for U.S. income tax purposes the $10,000 profit is treated as the income of W.
Example (3). The facts are the same as in example (1), except that H also received $1,000 in dividends on stock held separately in his name. Under the community property laws of country Z the stock is considered to be community property, the dividends to be community income, and one-half of the income to be the income of each spouse. Under the rule of paragraph (a)(6) of this section, $500 of the dividend income is treated, for U.S. income tax purposes, as the income of each spouse.
Definitions and other special rules
Spouses with different taxable years.
A special rule applies if the nonresident alien and the United States citizen or resident spouse of the alien do not have the same taxable years, as defined in section 441(b) and the regulations thereunder. The special rule is as follows. With respect to the U.S. citizen or resident spouse, section 879 and this section shall apply to each taxable year of the U.S. citizen or resident spouse for which no election under section 6013(g) or (h) is in effect. With respect to the nonresident alien spouse, section 879 and this section apply to each period falling within the consecutive taxable years of the nonresident alien spouse which coincides with a taxable year of the U.S. citizen or resident spouse to which section 879 and this section apply.
(2) Determination of marital status.
For purposes of this section, marital status shall be determined under section 143(a).
[T.D. 7670, 45 FR 6928, Jan. 31, 1980]
