the other shops and stores, a specific range and variety of goods and services with which to attract customers to the shopping center. The trust may complete construction of the bank: Provided, That the bank and the other buildings and improvements which the trust undertakes to complete, taken together as a unit, were more than 10 percent complete when default became imminent. If the trust chooses not to construct the bank, no actual or estimated construction costs attributable to the bank are to be taken into account in applying the 10-percent test with respect to the other buildings and improvements in the shopping center. For a third example, assume that a defaulting mortgagor had planned to construct two identical apartment buildings, A and B, on the same tract of land, that neither building is to provide substantial facilities or services to be used in connection with the other, and that only building A was more than 10 percent complete when default became imminent. The trust, in this case, may not complete building B. On the other hand, if the facts are the same except that pursuant to the plans of the defaulting mortgagor, one of the buildings is to contain the furnace and central air conditioning machinery for both buildings A and B, the trust may complete both buildings A and B: Provided, That, taken together as a unit, the two buildings meet the more-than10-percent test. (5) Repair and maintenance. Under this paragraph (e), "construction" does not include (1) The repair or maintenance of a building or other improvement (such as the replacement of worn or obsolete furniture and appliances) to offset normal wear and tear or obsolescence, and the restoration of property required because of damage from fire, storm, vandalism or other casualty, (ii) The preparation of leased space for a new tenant which does not substantially extend the useful life of the building or other improvement or significantly increase its value, even though, in the case of commercial space, this preparation includes adapting the property to the conduct of a different business, or (iii) The performing of repair or maintenance described in paragraph (e)(5)(i) of this section after property is acquired that was deferred by the defaulting party and that does not constitute renovation under paragraph (e)(2) of this section. (6) Independent contractor required. If any construction takes place on the foreclosure property more than 90 days after the day on which such property was acquired by the trust, such construction must be performed by an independent contractor (as defined in section 856(d)(3) and §1.856-4(b)(5)(iii)) from whom the trust does not derive or receive any income. Otherwise, the property will cease to be foreclosure property. (7) Failure to complete construction. Property will not cease to be foreclosure property solely because a trust which undertakes the completion of construction of a building or other improvement on the property that was more than 10 percent complete when default became imminent does not complete the construction. Thus, for example, if a trust continues construction of a building that was 20 percent complete when default became imminent, and the trust constructs an additional 40 percent of the building and then sells the property, the property will not lose its status as foreclosure property solely because the trust fails to complete construction of the building. (f) Termination of 2-year grace period; use of foreclosure property in a trade or business-(1) In general. Under section 856(e)(4)(C), all real property (and any incidental personal property) for which a particular election has been made (see paragraph (c)(1) of this section) shall cease to be foreclosure property on the first day (occurring more than 90 days after the day on which the trust acquired the property) on which the property is used in a trade or business conducted by the trust, other than a trade or business conducted by the trust through an independent contractor from whom the trust itself does not derive or receive any income. (See section 856(d)(3) for the definition of independent contractor.) (2) Property held primarily for sale to customers. For the purposes of section 856(e)(4)(C), foreclosure property held by the trust primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of a trade or business is considered to be property used in a trade or business conducted by the trust. Thus, if a trust holds foreclosure property (whether real property or personal property incident to real property) for sale to customers in the ordinary course of a trade or business more than 90 days after the day on which the trust acquired the real property, the trade or business of selling the property must be conducted by the trust through an independent contractor from whom the trust does not derive or receive any income. Otherwise, after such 90th day the property will cease to be foreclosure property. (3) Change in use. Foreclosure property will not cease to be foreclosure property solely because the use of the property in a trade or business by the trust differs from the use to which the property was put by the person from whom it was acquired. Thus, for example, if a trust acquires a rental apartment building on foreclosure, the property will not cease to be foreclosure property solely because the trust converts the building to a condominium apartment building and, through an independent contractor from whom the trust derives no income, engages in the trade or business of selling the individual condominium units. (g) Extension of 2-year grace period—(1) In general. A real estate investment trust may apply to the district director of the internal revenue district in which is located the principal place of business (or principal office or agency) of the trust for an extension of the 2year grace period. If the trust establishes to the satisfaction of the district director that an extension of the grace period is necessary for the orderly liquidation of the trust's interest in foreclosure property, or for an orderly renegotiation of a lease or leases of the property, the district director may extend the 2-year grace period. See section 856(e)(3) (as in effect with respect to the particular extension) for rules relating to the maximum length of an extension, and the number of extensions which may be granted. An extension of the grace period may be granted by the district director either before or after the date on which the grace period, but for the extension, would expire. The extension shall be effective as of the date on which the grace period, but for the extension, would expire. (2) Showing required. Generally, in order to establish the necessity of an extension, the trust must demonstrate that it has made good faith efforts to renegotiate leases with respect to, or dispose of, the foreclosure property. In certain cases, however, the trust may establish the necessity of an extension even though it has not made such efforts. For example, if the trust demonstrates that, for valid business reasons, construction of the foreclosure property could not be completed before the expiration of the grace period, the necessity of the extension could be established even though the trust had made no effort to sell the property. For another example, if the trust demonstrates that due to a depressed real estate market, it could not sell the foreclosure property before the expiration of the grace period except at a distress price, the necessity of an extension could be established even though the trust had made no effort to sell the property. The fact that property was acquired as foreclosure property prior to January 3, 1975 (the date of enactment of section 856(e)), generally will be considered as a factor (but not a controlling factor) which tends to establish that an extension of the grace period is necessary. (3) Time for requesting an extension of the grace period. A request for an extension of the grace period must be filed with the appropriate district director more than 60 days before the day on which the grace period would otherwise expire. In the case of a grace period which would otherwise expire before August 6, 1976, a request for an extension will be considered to be timely filed if filed on or before June 7, 1976. (4) Information required. The request for an extension of the grace period shall identify the property with respect to which the request is being made and shall also include the following information: (i) The name, address, and taxpayer identification number of the trust, (ii) The date the property was acquired as foreclosure property by the trust, (iii) The taxable year of the trust in which the property was acquired, (iv) If the trust has been previously granted an extension of the grace period with respect to the property, a statement to that effect (which shall include the date on which the grace period, as extended, expires) and a copy of the information which accompanied the request for the previous extension, (v) A statement of the reasons why the grace period should be extended, (vi) A description of any efforts made by the trust after the acquisition of the property to dispose of the property or to renegotiate any lease with respect to the property, and (vii) A description of any other factors which tend to establish that an extension of the grace period is necessary for the orderly liquidation of the trust's interest in the property, or for an orderly renegotiation of a lease or leases of the property. The trust shall also furnish any additional information requested by the district director after the request for extension is filed. (5) Automatic extension. If a real estate investment trust files a request for an extension with the district director more than 60 days before the expiration of the grace period, the grace period shall be considered to be extended until the end of the 30th day after the date on which the district director notifies the trust by certified mail sent to its last known address that the period of extension requested by the trust is not granted. For further guidance regarding the definition of last known address, see §301.6212-2 of this chapter. In no event, however, shall the rule in the preceding sentence extend the grace period beyond the expiration of (i) the period of extension requested by the trust, or (ii) the 1-year period following the date that the grace period (but for the automatic extension) would expire. The date of the postmark on the sender's receipt is considered to be the date of the certified mail for purposes of this subparagraph. This subparagraph does not apply, however, if the date of the notification by certified mail described in the first sen tence is more than 30 days before the date that the grace period (determined without regard to this subparagraph) expires. Moreover, this subparagraph shall not operate to allow any period of extension that is prohibited by the last sentence of section 856(e)(3) (as in effect with respect to the particular extension). (6) Extension of time for filing. If a real estate investment trust fails to file the request for an extension of the grace period within the time provided in paragraph (g)(3) of this section, then the district director shall grant a reasonable extension of time for filing such request, provided (i) it is established to the satisfaction of the district director that there was reasonable cause for failure to file the request within the prescribed time and (ii) a request for such extension is filed within such time as the district director considers reasonable under the cir cumstances. (7) Status of taxpayer. The reference to "real estate investment trust" or "trust" in this paragraph (g) shall be considered to include a taxpayer that is not a qualified real estate investment trust, if the taxpayer establishes to the satisfaction of the district director that its failure to be a qualified real estate investment trust for the taxable year was due to reasonable cause and not due to willful neglect. The principles of §1.856-7(c) and §1.8568(d) (including the principles relating to expert advice) shall apply for determining reasonable cause (and absence of willful neglect) for this purpose. (Sec. 856(d)(4) (90 Stat. 1750; 26 U.S.C. 856(d)(4)); sec. 856(e)(5) (88 Stat. 2113; 26 U.S.C. 856(e)(5)); sec. 856(f)(2) (90 Stat. 1751; 26 U.S.C. (856(f)(2)); sec. 856(g)(2) (90 Stat. 1753; 26 U.S.C. 856(g)(2)); sec. 858(a) (74 Stat. 1008; 26 U.S.C. 858(a)); sec. 859(c) (90 Stat. 1743; 26 U.S.C. 859(c)); sec. 859(e) (90 Stat. 1744; 26 U.S.C. 859(e)); sec. 6001 (68A Stat. 731; 26 U.S.C. 6001); sec. 6011 (68A Stat. 732; 26 U.S.C. 6011); sec. 6071 (68A Stat. 749, 26 U.S.C. 6071); sec. 6091 (68A Stat. 752; 26 U.S.C. 6091); sec. 7805 (68A Stat. 917; 26 U.S.C. 7805), Internal Revenue Code of 1954)) [T.D. 7767, 46 FR 11269, Feb. 6, 1981; 46 FR 15263, Mar. 5, 1981, as amended by T.D. 8939, 66 FR 2819, Jan. 12, 2001] $1.856-7 Certain corporations, etc., that are considered to meet the gross income requirements. (a) In general. A corporation, trust, or association which fails to meet the requirements of paragraph (2) or (3) of section 856(c), or of both such paragraphs, for any taxable year nevertheless is considered to have satisfied these requirements if the corporation, trust, or association meets the requirements of subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) of section 856(c)(7) (relating to a schedule attached to the return, the absence of fraud, and reasonable cause). a (b) Contents of the schedule. The schedule required by subparagraph (A) of section 856(c)(7) must contain breakdown, or listing, of the total amount of gross income falling under each of the separate subparagraphs of section 856(c) (2) and (3). Thus, for example, the real estate investment trust, for purposes of listing its income from the sources described in section 856(c)(2), would list separately the total amount of dividends, the total amount of interest, the total amount of rents from real property, etc. The listing is not required to be on a lease-by-lease, loan-by-loan, or project-by-project basis, but the real estate investment trust must maintain adequate records on such a basis with which to substantiate each total amount listed in the schedule. (c) Reasonable cause-(1) In general. The failure to meet the requirements of paragraph (2) or (3) of section 856(c) (or of both paragraphs) will be considered due to reasonable cause and not due to willful neglect if the real estate investment trust exercised ordinary business care and prudence in attempting to satisfy the requirements. Such care and prudence must be exercised at the time each transaction is entered into by the trust. However, even if the trust exercised ordinary business care and prudence in entering into a transaction, if the trust later determines that the transaction results in the receipt or accrual of nonqualified income and that the amounts of such nonqualified income, in the context of the trust's overall portfolio, reasonably can be expected to cause a source-of-income requirement to be failed, the 26 CFR Ch. I (4-1-01 Edition) trust must use ordinary business care and prudence in an effort to renegotiate the terms of the transaction, dispose of property acquired or leased in the transaction, or alter other elements of its portfolio. In any case, failure to meet an income source requirement will be considered due to willful neglect and not due to reasonable cause if the failure is willful and the trust could have avoided such failure by taking actions not inconsistent with ordinary business care and prudence. For example, if the trust enters into a lease knowing that it will produce nonqualified income which reasonably can be expected to cause a source-of-income requirement to be failed, the failure is due to willful neglect even if the trust has a legitimate business purpose for entering into the lease. (2) Expert advice-(i) In general. The reasonable reliance on a reasoned, written opinion as to the characterization for purposes of section 856 of gross income to be derived (or being derived) from a transaction generally constitutes "reasonable cause" if income from that transaction causes the trust to fail to meet the requirements of paragraph (2) or (3) of section 856(c) (or of both paragraphs). The absence of such a reasoned, written opinion with respect to a transaction does not, by itself, give rise to any inference that the failure to meet a percentage of income requirement was without reasonable cause. An opinion as to the character of income from a transaction includes an opinion pertaining to the use of a standard form of transaction or standard operating procedure in a case where such standard form or procedure is in fact used or followed. (ii) If the opinion indicates that a portion of the income from a transaction will be nonqualifed income, the trust must still exercise ordinary business care and prudence with respect to the nonqualified income and determine that the amount of that income, in the context of its overall portfolio, reasonably cannot be expected to cause source-of-income requirement to be failed. Reliance on an opinion is not reasonable if the trust has reason to believe that the opinion is incorrect a (for example, because the trust withholds facts from the person rendering the opinion). (iii) Reasoned written opinion. For purposes of this subparagraph (2), a written opinion means an opinion, in writing, rendered by a tax advisor (including house counsel) whose opinion would be relied on by a person exercising ordinary business care and prudence in the circumstances of the particular transaction. A written opinion is considered "reasoned" even if it reaches a conclusion which is subsequently determined to be incorrect, so long as the opinion is based on a full disclosure of the factual situation by the real estate investment trust and is addressed to the facts and law which the person rendering the opinion believes to be applicable. However, an opinion is not considered "reasoned" if it does nothing more than recite the facts and express a conclusion. (d) Application of section 856(c)(7) to taxable years beginning before October 5, 1976. Pursuant to section 1608(b) of the Tax Reform Act of 1976, paragraph (7) of section 856(c) and this section apply to a taxable year of a real estate investment trust which begins before October 5, 1976, only if as the result of a determination occurring after October 4, 1976, the trust does not meet the requirements of paragraph (2) or (3) of section 856(c), or both paragraphs, as in effect for the taxable year. The requirement that the schedule described in subparagraph (A) of section 856(c)(7) be attached to the income tax return of a real estate investment trust in order for section 856(c)(7) to apply is not applicable to taxable years beginning before October 5, 1976. For purposes of section 1608(b) of the Tax Reform Act of 1976 and this paragraph, the rules relating to determinations prescribed in section 860(e) and §1.860-2(b)(1) (other than the second, third, and last sentences of §1.860–2(b)(1)(ii)) shall apply. However, a determination consisting of an agreement between the taxpayer and the district director (or other official to whom authority to sign the agreement is delegated) shall set forth the amount of gross income for the taxable year to which the determination applies, the amount of the 90 percent and 75 percent source-of-income requirements for the taxable year to which the determination applies, and the amount by which the real estate investment trust failed to meet either or both of the requirements. The agreement shall also set forth the amount of tax for which the trust is liable pursuant to section 857(b)(5). The agreement shall also contain a finding as to whether the failure to meet the requirements of paragraph (2) or (3) of section 856(c) (or of both paragraphs) was due to reasonable cause and not due to willful neglect. (Sec. 856(d)(4) (90 Stat. 1750; 26 U.S.C. 856(d)(4)); sec. 856(e)(5) (88 Stat. 2113; 26 U.S.C. 856(e)(5)); sec. 856(f)(2) (90 Stat. 1751; 26 U.S.C. (856(f)(2)); sec. 856(g)(2) (90 Stat. 1753; 26 U.S.C. 856(g)(2)); sec. 858(a) (74 Stat. 1008; 26 U.S.C. 858(a)); sec. 859(c) (90 Stat. 1743; 26 U.S.C. 859(c)); sec. 859(e) (90 Stat. 1744; 26 U.S.C. 859(e)); sec. 6001 (68A Stat. 731; 26 U.S.C. 6001); sec. 6011 (68A Stat. 732; 26 U.S.C. 6011); sec. 6071 (68A Stat. 749, 26 U.S.C. 6071); sec. 6091 (68A Stat. 752; 26 U.S.C. 6091); sec. 7805 (68A Stat. 917; 26 U.S.C. 7805), Internal Revenue Code of 1954); sec. 860(e) (92 Stat. 2849, 26 U.S.C. 860(e)); sec. 860(g) (92 Stat. 2850, 26 U.S.C. 860(g))) [T.D. 7767, 46 FR 11274, Feb. 6, 1981, as amended by T.D. 7936, 49 FR 2106, Jan. 18, 1984] $1.856-8 Revocation or termination of election. (a) Revocation of an election to be a real estate investment trust. A corporation, trust, or association that has made an election under section 856(c)(1) to be a real estate investment trust may revoke the election for any taxable year after the first taxable year for which the election is effective. The revocation must be made by filing a statement with the district director for the internal revenue district in which the taxpayer maintains its principal place of business or principal office or agency. The statement must be filed on or before the 90th day after the first day of the first taxable year for which the revocation is to be effective. The statement must be signed by an official authorized to sign the income tax return of the taxpayer and must (1) Contain the name, address, and taxpayer identification number of the taxpayer, (2) Specify the taxable year for which the election was made, and |