Form 982 Reduction of Tax Attributes Due to Discharge of Indebted

Form

982

(Rev. March 2009)
Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service

Reduction of Tax Attributes Due to Discharge of
Indebtedness (and Section 1082 Basis Adjustment)
©

Part I
1
a
b
c
d
e
f
2
3

Attachment
Sequence No.

Attach this form to your income tax return.

Name shown on return

OMB No. 1545-0046

Identifying number

General Information (see instructions)

Amount excluded is due to (check applicable box(es)):
Discharge of indebtedness in a title 11 case
Discharge of indebtedness to the extent insolvent (not in a title 11 case)
Discharge of qualified farm indebtedness
Discharge of qualified real property business indebtedness
Discharge of qualified principal residence indebtedness
Discharge of certain indebtedness of a qualified individual because of Midwestern disasters
2
Total amount of discharged indebtedness excluded from gross income
Do you elect to treat all real property described in section 1221(a)(1), relating to property held for sale to
customers in the ordinary course of a trade or business, as if it were depreciable property?

Part II

Yes

No

Reduction of Tax Attributes. You must attach a description of any transactions resulting in the reduction in
basis under section 1017. See Regulations section 1.1017-1 for basis reduction ordering rules, and, if applicable,
required partnership consent statements. (For additional information, see the instructions for Part II.)

Enter amount excluded from gross income:
4 For a discharge of qualified real property business indebtedness, applied to reduce the basis of
depreciable real property
5 That you elect under section 108(b)(5) to apply first to reduce the basis (under section 1017) of
depreciable property
6 Applied to reduce any net operating loss that occurred in the tax year of the discharge or carried
over to the tax year of the discharge
7
8

Applied to reduce any general business credit carryover to or from the tax year of the discharge
Applied to reduce any minimum tax credit as of the beginning of the tax year immediately after
the tax year of the discharge
9 Applied to reduce any net capital loss for the tax year of the discharge including any capital loss
carryovers to the tax year of the discharge
10a Applied to reduce the basis of nondepreciable and depreciable property if not reduced on line
5. DO NOT use in the case of discharge of qualified farm indebtedness
b Applied to reduce the basis of your principal residence. Enter amount here ONLY if line 1e is
checked
11 For a discharge of qualified farm indebtedness, applied to reduce the basis of:
a Depreciable property used or held for use in a trade or business, or for the production of income, if
not reduced on line 5

4
5
6
7
8
9
10a
10b

11a

b Land used or held for use in a trade or business of farming

11b

c Other property used or held for use in a trade or business, or for the production of income

11c

12

Applied to reduce any passive activity loss and credit carryovers from the tax year of the discharge

12

13

Applied to reduce any foreign tax credit carryover to or from the tax year of the discharge

13

Part III

94

Consent of Corporation to Adjustment of Basis of Its Property Under Section 1082(a)(2)

Under section 1081(b), the corporation named above has excluded $
from its gross income
for the tax year beginning
, and ending
.
Under that section, the corporation consents to have the basis of its property adjusted in accordance with the regulations prescribed
under section 1082(a)(2) in effect at the time of filing its income tax return for that year. The corporation is organized under the laws
of
.
(State of incorporation)

Note. You must attach a description of the transactions resulting in the nonrecognition of gain under section 1081.
For Paperwork Reduction Act Notice, see page 5 of this form.

Cat. No. 17066E

Form

982

(Rev. 3-2009)

Page

Form 982 (Rev. 3-2009)

General Instructions
Section references are to the Internal Revenue Code unless
otherwise noted.

What’s New
● The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008
extended the exclusion from gross income for the discharge
of qualified principal residence indebtedness by an additional
3 years. This exclusion now applies to debt discharged after
2006 and before 2013.
● The Heartland Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2008 allows
qualified individuals to exclude from gross income discharges
of certain indebtedness because of Midwestern disasters. See
the instructions for line 1f for more information.
● The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
allows certain businesses to elect to defer and include ratably
over five tax years any income from the discharge of business

2

debt arising from the reacquisition of certain types of business
debt repurchased in 2009 and 2010. If you make this election,
you cannot exclude for the taxable year of the election or any
subsequent taxable year the income from the discharge of
such indebtedness based on a title 11 bankruptcy case,
insolvency, qualified farm indebtedness, or qualified real
property business indebtedness. For more details, including
how to make the election, see section 108(i).

Purpose of Form
Generally, the amount by which you benefit from the
discharge of indebtedness is included in your gross income.
However, under certain circumstances described in section
108, you can exclude the amount of discharged indebtedness
from your gross income.
You must file Form 982 to report the exclusion and the
reduction of certain tax attributes either dollar for dollar or
331⁄ 3 cents per dollar (as explained below).

How To Complete the Form
IF the discharged debt
you are excluding is . . .

THEN follow these steps . . .

Qualified principal
residence indebtedness

1. Be sure to read the definition of qualified principal residence indebtedness in the instructions for line 1e on page
4. Part or all of your debt may not qualify for the exclusion on line 1e but may qualify for one of the other exclusions.
2. Check the box on line 1e.
3. Include on line 2 the amount of discharged qualified principal residence indebtedness that is excluded from
gross income. Any amount in excess of the excluded amount may result in taxable income. See Pub. 4681, for more
information. If you disposed of your residence, you may also be required to recognize a gain on its disposition. For
details, see Pub. 523, Selling Your Home.
4. If you continue to own your residence after the discharge, enter on line 10b the smaller of (a) the amount of
qualified principal residence indebtedness included on line 2 or (b) the basis (generally, your cost plus
improvements) of your principal residence.
If the discharge occurs in a title 11 case, you cannot check box 1e. You must check box 1a and
complete the form as discussed below under A nonbusiness debt. If you are insolvent (and not in a title
11 case), you can elect to follow the insolvency rules by checking box 1b instead of box 1e and
CAUTION
completing the form as discussed below under A nonbusiness debt.

A nonbusiness debt (other
than qualified principal
residence indebtedness,
such as a car loan or credit
card debt)

Follow these instructions if you do not have any of the tax attributes listed in Part II (other than a basis
in nondepreciable property). Otherwise, follow the instructions for Any other debt below.
1. Check the box on line 1a if the discharge was made in a title 11 case (see the definition in the instructions on
page 3), the box on line 1b if the discharge occurred when you were insolvent (see the definition in the instructions
for line 1b on page 3), or the box on line 1f if you are a qualified individual whose indebtedness was discharged by
an applicable entity because of a Midwestern disaster (see the definitions in the instructions for line 1f on page 4).
2. Include on line 2 the amount of discharged nonbusiness debt that is excluded from gross income. If you were
insolvent, do not include more than the excess of your liabilities over the fair market value of your assets.
3. Include on line 10a the smallest of (a) the basis of your nondepreciable property, (b) the amount of the
nonbusiness debt included on line 2, or (c) the excess of the aggregate bases of the property and the amount of
money you held immediately after the discharge over your aggregate liabilities immediately after the discharge.

Any other debt

Use Part I of Form 982 to indicate why any amount received from the discharge of indebtedness should be
excluded from gross income and the amount excluded.
Use Part II to report your reduction of tax attributes. The reduction must be made in the following order unless you
check the box on line 1d for qualified real property business indebtedness or make the election on line 5 to reduce
basis of depreciable property first.
1. Any net operating loss (NOL) for the tax year of the discharge (and any NOL carryover to that year) (dollar for
dollar);
2. Any general business credit carryover to or from the tax year of the discharge (331⁄ 3 cents per dollar);
3. Any minimum tax credit as of the beginning of the tax year immediately after the tax year of the discharge (331⁄ 3
cents per dollar);
4. Any net capital loss for the tax year of the discharge (and any capital loss carryover to that tax year) (dollar for
dollar);
5. The basis of property (dollar for dollar);
6. Any passive activity loss (dollar for dollar) and credit (331⁄ 3 cents per dollar) carryovers from the tax year of the
discharge; and
7. Any foreign tax credit carryover to or from the tax year of the discharge (331⁄ 3 cents per dollar).
Use Part III to exclude from gross income under section 1081(b) any amounts of income attributable to the transfer
of property described in that section.

Page

Form 982 (Rev. 3-2009)

Certain individuals may need to complete only a
few lines on Form 982. For example, if you are
TIP
completing this form because of a discharge of
indebtedness on a personal loan (such as a car loan
or credit card debt) or a loan for the purchase of your principal
residence, follow the chart on page 2 to see which lines you
need to complete. Also, see Pub. 4681, Canceled Debts,
Foreclosures, Repossessions, and Abandonments, for
additional information including many examples and
completed forms.

Definitions
Title 11 Case
A title 11 case is a case under title 11 of the United States
Code (relating to bankruptcy), but only if you are under the
jurisdiction of the court in the case and the discharge of
indebtedness is granted by the court or is under a plan
approved by the court.

Discharge of Indebtedness
The term discharge of indebtedness conveys forgiveness of,
or release from, an obligation to repay.

When To File
File Form 982 with your federal income tax return for a year a
discharge of indebtedness is excluded from your income
under section 108(a).
The election to reduce the basis of depreciable property
under section 108(b)(5) and the election made on line 1d of
Part I regarding the discharge of qualified real property
business indebtedness must be made on a timely-filed return
(including extensions) and can be revoked only with the
consent of the IRS.

3

Line 1c
Check this box if the income you exclude is from the
discharge of qualified farm indebtedness. The exclusion
relating to qualified farm indebtedness does not apply to a
discharge that occurs in a title 11 case or to the extent you
were insolvent.
Qualified farm indebtedness is the amount of indebtedness
incurred directly in connection with the trade or business of
farming. In addition, 50% or more of your aggregate gross
receipts for the 3 tax years preceding the tax year in which the
discharge of such indebtedness occurs must be from the
trade or business of farming. For more information, see
sections 108(g) and 1017(b)(4).
The discharge must have been made by a qualified person.
Generally, a qualified person is an individual, organization,
etc., who is actively and regularly engaged in the business of
lending money. This person cannot be related to you, be the
person from whom you acquired the property, or be a person
who receives a fee with respect to your investment in the
property. Also, a qualified person includes any federal, state,
or local government or agency or instrumentality thereof.
If you checked line 1c and did not make the election on line
5, the debt discharge amount will be applied to reduce the tax
attributes in the order listed on lines 6 through 9. Any
remaining amount will be applied to reduce the tax attributes
in the order listed on lines 11a through 13.
You cannot exclude more than the total of your: (a) tax
attributes (determined under section 108(g)(3)(B)); and (b)
basis of property used or held for use in a trade or business or
for the production of income. Any excess is included in
income.

Line 1d

If you timely filed your tax return without making either of
these elections, you can still make either election by filing an
amended return within 6 months of the due date of the return
(excluding extensions). Write “Filed pursuant to section
301.9100-2” on the amended return and file it at the same
place you filed the original return.

If you check this box, the discharge of qualified real property
business indebtedness is applied to reduce the basis of
depreciable real property on line 4. The exclusion relating to
qualified real property business indebtedness does not apply
to a discharge that occurs in a title 11 case or to the extent
you were insolvent.

Specific Instructions

Qualified real property business indebtedness is
indebtedness (other than qualified farm indebtedness) that:
(a) is incurred or assumed in connection with real property
used in a trade or business; (b) is secured by that real
property; and (c) with respect to which you have made an
election under this provision. This provision does not apply to
a corporation (other than an S corporation).
Indebtedness incurred or assumed after 1992 is not
qualified real property business indebtedness unless it is
either: (a) debt incurred to refinance qualified real property
business indebtedness incurred or assumed before 1993 (but
only to the extent the amount of such debt does not exceed
the amount of debt being refinanced) or (b) qualified
acquisition indebtedness.
Qualified acquisition indebtedness is (a) debt incurred or
assumed to acquire, construct, reconstruct, or substantially
improve real property that is secured by such debt; and (b)
debt resulting from the refinancing of qualified acquisition
indebtedness, to the extent the amount of such debt does
not exceed the amount of debt being refinanced.
You cannot exclude more than the excess of the
outstanding principal amount of the debt (immediately before
the discharge) over the net FMV (as of that time) of the
property securing the debt, reduced by the outstanding
principal amount of other qualified real property business
indebtedness secured by that property (as of that time). The
amount excluded is further limited to the aggregate adjusted
basis (as of the first day of the next tax year, or if earlier, the
date of disposition) of depreciable real property (determined

Part I
If you made an election under section 108(i) to
defer income from the discharge of business debt
arising from the reacquisition of a debt instrument,
CAUTION you cannot exclude on lines 1a through 1d the
income from the discharge of such indebtedness for the
taxable year of the election or any subsequent taxable year.

Line 1b
The insolvency exclusion does not apply to any discharge
that occurs in a title 11 case. It also does not apply to a
discharge of qualified principal residence indebtedness (see
the instructions for line 1e on page 4) unless you elect to
have the insolvency exclusion apply instead of the exclusion
for qualified principal residence indebtedness.
Check the box on line 1b if the discharge of indebtedness
occurred while you were insolvent. You were insolvent to the
extent that your liabilities exceeded the fair market value
(FMV) of your assets immediately before the discharge. For
details and a worksheet to help calculate insolvency, see
Pub. 4681.
Example. You were released from your obligation to pay
your credit card debt in the amount of $5,000. The FMV of
your total assets immediately before the discharge was
$7,000 and your liabilities were $10,000. You were insolvent
to the extent of $3,000 ($10,000 of total liabilities minus
$7,000 of total assets). Check the box on line 1b and include
$3,000 on line 2.

Page

Form 982 (Rev. 3-2009)

after any reductions under sections 108(b) and (g)) you held
immediately before the discharge (other than property
acquired in contemplation of the discharge). Any excess is
included in income.

Line 1e
Check this box if the income you exclude is from discharge
of qualified principal residence indebtedness. Also, be sure
you complete line 2 (and line 10b if you continue to own the
residence after discharge). However, if the discharge occurs
in a title 11 case, you must check the box on line 1a and not
this box. If you are insolvent (and not in a title 11 case), you
can elect to follow the insolvency rules by checking box 1b
instead of checking this box. For more information, see Pub.
4681.
Principal residence. Your principal residence is the home
where you ordinarily live most of the time. You can have only
one principal residence at any one time.
Qualified principal residence indebtedness. This
indebtedness is a mortgage you took out to buy, build, or
substantially improve your principal residence. It also must be
secured by your principal residence. If the amount of your
original mortgage is more than the cost of your principal
residence plus the cost of any substantial improvements, only
the debt that is not more than the cost of your principal
residence plus improvements is qualified principal residence
indebtedness. Any debt secured by your principal residence
that you use to refinance qualified principal residence
indebtedness is treated as qualified principal residence
indebtedness, but only up to the amount of the old mortgage
principal just before the refinancing. Any additional debt you
incurred to substantially improve your principal residence is
also treated as qualified principal residence indebtedness.
Amount eligible for the exclusion. The exclusion applies only
to debt discharged after 2006 and before 2013. The maximum
amount you can treat as qualified principal residence
indebtedness is $2 million ($1 million if married filing
separately). You cannot exclude from gross income discharge
of qualified principal residence indebtedness if the discharge
was for services performed for the lender or on account of any
other factor not directly related to a decline in the value of
your residence or to your financial condition.
Ordering rule. If only a part of a loan is qualified principal
residence indebtedness, the exclusion applies only to the
extent the amount discharged exceeds the amount of the loan
(immediately before the discharge) that is not qualified
principal residence indebtedness. For example, assume your
principal residence is secured by a debt of $1 million, of which
$800,000 is qualified principal residence indebtedness. If your
residence is sold for $700,000 and $300,000 of debt is
discharged, only $100,000 of the debt discharged can be
excluded (the $300,000 that was discharged minus the
$200,000 of nonqualified debt). The remaining $200,000 of
nonqualified debt may qualify in whole or in part for one of the
other exclusions, such as the insolvency exclusion.

Line 1f
Check this box, if the income you exclude is nonbusiness
debt that is discharged by an applicable entity and you are a
qualified individual. This exclusion only applies to discharges
made on or after the applicable disaster date and before
2010, and does not apply to any indebtedness secured by
real property located outside of the Midwestern disaster area.
Any amount excluded from gross income must be used to
reduce certain tax attributes as explained earlier under How
To Complete the Form.
Qualified individual. To be a qualified individual, you must be
an individual whose principal residence on the applicable
disaster date, was located in:

4

● The Midwestern disaster area as listed in Table 1 of Pub.
4492-B, Information for Affected Taxpayers in the
Midwestern Disaster Areas, or
● The area listed in Table 2 of Pub. 4492-B and you suffered
an economic loss because of a Midwestern disaster.
Applicable entity. An applicable entity includes:
● A financial institution described in section 581 or 591(a)
(such as a domestic bank, trust company, building and loan
or savings and loan association).
● A credit union.
● A federal government agency including a department, an
agency, a court or court administrative office, or an
instrumentality in the executive, judicial, or legislative branch
of the government, including government corporations.
● Any of the following, its successor, or subunit of one of the
following:
a. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation,
b. Resolution Trust Corporation,
c. National Credit Union Administration,
d. Any military department,
e. U.S. Postal Service, or
f. Postal Rate Commission.
● Certain subsidiaries of a financial institution or credit union.
● Any organization whose significant trade or business is the
lending of money, such as a finance company or credit card
company (whether or not affiliated with a financial institution).

TIP

An entity that is required to file Form 1099-C,
Cancellation of Debt, is an applicable entity.

Applicable disaster date. This is the date on which the
severe storms, tornadoes, or flooding occurred in the
Midwestern disaster areas.
Midwestern disaster areas. A Midwestern disaster area is an
area for which a major disaster was declared by the President
during the period beginning on May 20, 2008, and ending on
July 31, 2008, in the state of Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa,
Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, or
Wisconsin as a result of severe storms, tornadoes or flooding
that occurred on the applicable disaster date. See Tables 1
and 2 in Pub. 4492-B for a list of the counties included in the
Midwestern disaster areas.

Line 2
Enter the total amount excluded from your gross income due
to discharge of indebtedness under section 108. If you
checked any box on lines 1b through 1e, do not enter more
than the limit explained in the instructions for those lines. If
you checked line 1a, 1b, 1c, or 1f, this amount will not
necessarily equal the total reductions on lines 5 through 13
(excluding line 10b) because the debt discharge amount may
exceed the total tax attributes. If you checked line 1e, this
amount will not necessarily equal the total basis reduction on
line 10b (which is required only if you continue to own the
residence after the discharge).
See section 382(l)(5) for a special rule regarding a
reduction of a corporation’s tax attributes after certain
ownership changes.

Line 3
You can elect under section 1017(b)(3)(E) to treat all real
property held primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary
course of a trade or business as if it were depreciable
property. This election does not apply to the discharge of
qualified real property business indebtedness. To make the
election, check the “Yes” box.

Form 982 (Rev. 3-2009)

Part II
Basis Reduction
If you check any of the boxes on lines 1a through 1c and 1f,
you can elect, by completing line 5, to apply all or a part of the
debt discharge amount to first reduce the basis of depreciable
property (including property you elected on line 3 to treat as
depreciable property). Any balance of the debt discharge
amount will then be applied to reduce the tax attributes in the
order listed on lines 6 through 13 (excluding line 10b). You
must attach a statement describing the transactions that
resulted in the reduction in basis under section 1017 and
identifying the property for which you reduced the basis. If you
do not make the election on line 5, complete lines 6 through
13 (excluding line 10b) to reduce your attributes. See section
1017(b)(2) and (c) for limitations of reductions in basis on
line 10a.

Line 7
If you have a general business credit carryover to or from the
tax year of the discharge, you must reduce that carryover by
331⁄ 3 cents for each dollar excluded from gross income. See
Form 3800, General Business Credit, for more details on the
general business credit, including rules for figuring any
carryforward or carryback.

Line 10a
In the case of a title 11 case or insolvency (except when an
election under section 108(b)(5) is made), the reduction in
basis is limited to the aggregate of the basis of your property
immediately after the discharge over the aggregate of your
liabilities immediately after the discharge.

Line 10b
If box 1e is checked and you continue to own the residence
after discharge, enter the smaller of:
● The part of line 2 that is attributable to the exclusion of
qualified principal residence indebtedness, or
● The basis of your principal residence.

Part III
Adjustment to Basis
Unless it specifically states otherwise, the corporation, by
filing this form, agrees to apply the general rule for adjusting
the basis of property (as described in Regulations section
1.1082-3(b)).

Page

5

If the corporation desires to have the basis of its property
adjusted in a manner different from the general rule, it must
attach a request for variation from the general rule. The
request must show the precise method used and the
allocation of amounts.
Consent to the request for variation from the general rule
will be effective only if it is incorporated in a closing
agreement entered into by the corporation and the
Commissioner of Internal Revenue under the rules of section
7121. If no agreement is entered into, then the general rule will
apply in determining the basis of the corporation’s property.
Paperwork Reduction Act Notice. We ask for the
information on this form to carry out the Internal Revenue
laws of the United States. You are required to give us the
information. We need it to ensure that you are complying
with these laws and to allow us to figure and collect the right
amount of tax.
You are not required to provide the information requested
on a form that is subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act
unless the form displays a valid OMB control number. Books
or records relating to a form or its instructions must be
retained as long as their contents may become material in
the administration of any Internal Revenue law. Generally, tax
returns and return information are confidential, as required by
section 6103.
The time needed to complete and file this form will vary
depending on individual circumstances. The estimated
burden for individual taxpayers filing this form is approved
under OMB control number 1545-0074 and is included in the
estimates shown in the instructions for their individual
income tax return. The estimated burden for all other
taxpayers who file this form is shown as follows:
Recordkeeping, 5 hr., 58 min.; Learning about the law or
the form, 2 hr., 17 min.; Preparing and sending the form
to the IRS, 2 hr., 28 min.
If you have comments concerning the accuracy of these
time estimates or suggestions for making this form simpler,
we would be happy to hear from you. See the instructions for
the tax return with which this form is filed.