Tap any paragraph to write a margin note. Your notes collect in the Desk below the text and file under cases with @. The side-by-side margin rail opens on a larger screen.

Code · CFR · Title 26 — Internal Revenue · Part 1 · § 1.801-5

§ 1.801-5. Total reserves.

606 words·~3 min read·/us/cfr/t26/s§ 1.801-5·

A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.

(a)Total reserves defined. For purposes of section 801(a) and § 1.801-3, the term “total reserves” is defined in section 801(c) as the sum of:
(1)Life insurance reserves (as defined in section 801(b) and § 1.801-4),
(2)Unearned premiums (as defined in paragraph
(e)of § 1.801-3), and unpaid losses (whether or not ascertained) (as defined in paragraph
(g)of § 1.801-3), not included in life insurance reserves, and
(3)All other insurance reserves required by law. The term “total reserves” does not, however, include deficiency reserves (within the meaning of section 801(b)(4), and paragraph (e)(4) of § 1.801-4), even though such deficiency reserves are required by State law. In determining total reserves, a company is permitted to make use of the highest aggregate reserve required by any State or Territory or the District of Columbia in which it transacts business, but the reserve must have been actually held during the taxable year for which the reserve is claimed. For example, during the taxable year 1958 a life insurance company sells life insurance and annuity contracts in States A and B. State A requires reserves of 10 against the life and 5 against the annuity business. State B requires reserves of 9 against the life and 7 against the annuity business. Assuming the company actually holds these reserves during the taxable year 1958, its highest aggregate reserve for such taxable year is the 16 required by State B. Thus, the company is not permitted to compute its highest aggregate reserve by taking State A's requirement of 10 against its life insurance business and adding it to State B's requirement of 7 against its annuity business.
(b)Reserves required by law defined. For purposes of part I, subchapter L, chapter 1 of the Code, the term reserves required by law means reserves which are required either by express statutory provisions or by rules and regulations of the insurance department of a State, Territory, or the District of Columbia when promulgated in the exercise of a power conferred by statute, and which are reported in the annual statement of the company and accepted by state regulatory authorities as held for the fulfillment of the claims of policyholders or beneficiaries.
(c)[Reserved]
(d)Illustration of principles. The provisions of section 801 relating to the percentage requirements for qualification as a life insurance company may be illustrated by the following example: Example.The books of Y, an insurance company, selling life insurance, noncancellable health and accident insurance, and cancellable accident and health insurance, reflect (after adjustment under sections 806(a) and 801(d)) the following facts for the taxable year 1958: Jan. 1 Dec. 31 Mean of year 1. Life insurance reserves$3,000$5,000$4,000 2. Unearned premiums, and unpaid losses (whether or not ascertained), on noncancellable accident and health insurance not included in life insurance reserves400600500 3. Unearned premiums, and unpaid losses (whether or not ascertained), on cancellable accident and health insurance1,8002,2002,000 4. All other insurance reserves required by law9001,1001,000 5. Total reserves7,500 The rules provided by section 801 require that the sum of the mean of the year figures in items 1 and 2 comprise more than 50 percent of the mean of the year figure in item 5 for an insurance company to qualify as a life insurance company. Thus, Y would qualify as a life insurance company for the taxable year 1958 as the sum of the mean of the year figures in items 1 and 2 ($4,500) comprise 60 percent of the mean of the year figure in item 5 ($7,500). [T.D. 6513, 25 FR 12657, Dec. 10, 1960, as amended by T.D. 9911, 85 FR 64392, Oct. 13, 2020]
Connections2 off-index
2 references not yet in our index
  • T.D. 6513
  • T.D. 9911
Citation graph
cites case law
§ 1.801-5
Total reserves.
Treas. Dec.T.D. 6513
Treas. Dec.T.D. 9911
Cites 2Cited by 0 across 0 sources
★   the supreme law of the land   ★
Don't Tread on Me
E Pluribus Unum — out of many, one

"If you don't know your rights, you don't have any."

Marginalia · a citizen's law index
A research desk, not legal advice. Always read the cited source before relying on a summary.
Questions or an issue? support@self-law.org
disclaimerMarginalia is a research index, not a law firm. Nothing on this site is legal, tax, or financial advice and no attorney–client relationship is formed by using it. Statutes, regulations, and case law change; summaries, search results, AI output, and member posts may be incomplete, out of date, or wrong. Any interpretation drawn from material on this site should be validated by a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction before you act on it.