Nature and effect of election.

Official textecfr.govlast amended Jul 27, 2026

# (a) Alternative elections.

(1) A taxpayer entitled to the benefits of section 1071 in respect of a sale or exchange of property may elect—

(i) To treat such sale or exchange as an involuntary conversion under the provisions of section 1033; or

(ii) To treat such sale or exchange as an involuntary conversion under the provisions of section 1033, and in addition elect to reduce the basis of property, in accordance with the regulations prescribed in § 1.1071-3, by all or part of the gain that would otherwise be recognized under section 1033; or

(iii) To reduce the basis of property, in accordance with the regulations prescribed in § 1.1071-3, by all or part of the gain realized upon the sale or exchange.

(2) The effect of the provisions of subparagraph (1) of this paragraph is, in general, to grant the taxpayer an election to treat the proceeds of the sale or exchange as the proceeds of an involuntary conversion subject to the provisions of section 1033, and a further election to reduce the basis of certain property owned by the taxpayer by the amount of the gain realized upon the sale or exchange to the extent of that portion of the proceeds which is not treated as the proceeds of an involuntary conversion.

(3) An election in respect to a sale or exchange under section 1071 shall be irrevocable and binding for the taxable year in which the sale or exchange takes place and for all subsequent taxable years.

# (b) Application of section 1033.

(1) If the taxpayer elects, under either paragraph (a)(1) (i) or (ii) of this section, to treat the sale or exchange as an involuntary conversion, the provisions of section 1033, as modified by section 1071, together with the regulations prescribed under such sections, shall be applicable in determining the amount of recognized gain and the basis of property required as a result of such sale or exchange. For the purposes of section 1071 and the regulations thereunder, stock of a corporation operating a radio broadcasting station shall be treated as property similar or related in service or use to the property sold or exchanged. Securities of such a corporation other than stock, or securities of a corporation not operating a radio broadcasting station, do not constitute property similar or related in service or use to the property sold or exchanged. If the taxpayer exercises the election referred to in paragraph (a)(1)(i) of this section, the gain realized upon such sale or exchange shall be recognized to the extent of that part of the money received upon the sale or exchange which is not expended in the manner prescribed in section 1033 and the regulations thereunder. If, however, the taxpayer exercises the elections referred to in paragraph (a)(1)(ii) of this section, the amount of the gain which would be recognized, determined in the same manner as in the case of an election under paragraph (a)(1)(i) of this section, shall not be recognized but shall be applied to reduce the basis of property, remaining in the hands of the taxpayer after such sale or exchange or acquired by him during the same taxable year, which is of a character subject to the allowance for depreciation under section 167. Such reduction of basis shall be made in accordance with and under the conditions prescribed by § 1.1071-3.

(2) In the application of section 1033 to determine the recognized gain and the basis of property acquired as a result of a sale or exchange pursuant to an election under paragraph (a)(1) (i) or (ii) of this section, the entire amount of the proceeds of such sale or exchange shall be taken into account.

# (c) Example.

The application of the provisions of section 1071 may be illustrated by the following example:

Example:

A, who makes his return on a calendar year basis, sold in 1954, for $100,000 cash, stock of X Corporation, which operates a radio broadcasting station. A's basis of this stock was $75,000. The sale was certified by the Federal Communications Commission as provided in section 1071. Soon after, in the same taxable year, A used $50,000 of the proceeds of the sale to purchase stock in Y Corporation, which operates a radio broadcasting station. A elected in his 1954 return to treat such sale and purchase as an involuntary conversion subject to the provisions of section 1033. He also elected at the same time to reduce the basis of depreciable property by the amount of the gain that otherwise would be recognized under the provisions of section 1033, as made applicable by section 1071. The sale results in a recognized gain of $25,000 under section 1033. However, this gain is not recognized in this case because the taxpayer elected to reduce the basis of other property by the amount of the gain. This may be shown as follows:

(1) Sale price of X Corporation stock	$100,000
Basis for gain or loss	75,000
Gain realized	25,000
Proceeds of sale	100,000
Amount expended to replace property sold	50,000
Amount not expended in manner prescribed in section 1033	50,000
Realized gain, recognized under section 1033 (not to exceed the unexpended portion of proceeds of sale)	25,000
Less: Amount applied as a reduction of basis of depreciable property	25,000
Recognized gain for tax purposes	None

(2) The basis of Y Corporation stock in the hands of A is $50,000, computed in accordance with section 1033 and the regulations prescribed under that section. The $50,000 basis is computed as follows:

Basis of property sold (converted)	$75,000
Less: Amount of proceeds not expended	50,000
Balance	25,000
Plus amount of gain recognized under section 1033	25,000
Basis of Y Corporation stock in A's hands	50,000

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