Reg. § 1.691(c)-2 Estates and trusts.
(a) In the case of an estate or trust, the deduction prescribed in section is determined in the same manner as described in , with the following exceptions:
(1) If any amount properly paid, credited, or required to be distributed by an estate or trust to a beneficiary consists of income in respect of a decedent received by the estate or trust during the taxable year:
(i) Such income shall be excluded in determining the income in respect of the decedent with respect to which the estate or trust is entitled to a deduction under section , and
(ii) Such income shall be considered income in respect of a decedent to such beneficiary for purposes of allowing the deduction under section to such beneficiary.
(2) For determination of the amount of income in respect of a decedent received by the beneficiary, see sections and , and and . However, for this purpose, distributable net income as defined in section (a) and the regulations thereunder shall be computed without taking into account the estate tax deduction provided in section and this section. Distributable net income as modified under the preceding sentence shall be applied for other relevant purposes of subchapter J, chapter 1 of the Code, such as the deduction provided by section or , or subpart D, part I of subchapter J, relating to excess distributions by trusts.
(3) The rule stated in subparagraph (1) of this paragraph does not apply to income in respect of a decedent which is properly allocable to corpus by the fiduciary during the taxable year but which is distributed to a beneficiary in a subsequent year. The deduction provided by section in such a case is allowable only to the estate or trust. If any amount properly paid, credited, or required to be distributed by a trust qualifies as a distribution under section , the fact that a portion thereof constitutes income in respect of a decedent shall be disregarded for the purposes of determining the deduction of the trust and of the beneficiaries under section since the deduction for estate taxes was taken into consideration in computing the undistributed net income of the trust for the preceding taxable year.
(b) This section shall apply only to amounts properly paid, credited, or required to be distributed in taxable years of an estate or trust beginning after December 31, 1953, and ending after August 16, 1954, except as otherwise provided in of this section.
(c) In the case of an estate or trust heretofore taxable under the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1939, amounts paid, credited, or to be distributed during its first taxable year subject to the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 which would have been treated as paid, credited, or to be distributed on the last day of the preceding taxable year if the Internal Revenue Code of 1939 were still applicable shall not be subject to the provisions of section or this section. See section and the regulations thereunder.
(d) The provisions of this section may be illustrated by the following example, in which it is assumed that the estate and the beneficiary make their returns on the calendar year basis:
Example.
(1) The fiduciary of an estate receives taxable interest of $5,500 and income in respect of a decedent of $4,500 during the taxable year. Neither the will of the decedent nor local law requires the allocation to corpus of income in respect of a decedent. The estate tax attributable to the income in respect of a decedent is $1,500. In his discretion, the fiduciary distributes $2,000 (falling within sections and ) to a beneficiary during that year. On these facts the fiduciary and beneficiary are respectively entitled to estate tax deductions of $1,200 and $300, computed as follows:
(2) Distributable net income computed under section without regard to the estate tax deduction under section is $10,000, computed as follows:
| Taxable interest | $5,500 |
| Income in respect of a decedent | 4,500 |
| Total | 10,000 |
(3) Inasmuch as the distributable net income of $10,000 exceeds the amount of $2,000 distributed to the beneficiary, the deduction allowable to the estate under section and the amount taxable to the beneficiary under section is $2,000.
(4) The character of the amounts distributed to the beneficiary under section (b) is shown in the following table:
| Taxable interest | Income in respect of a decedent | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Distributable net income | $5,500 | $4,500 | $10,000 |
| Amount deemed distributed under section 662(b) | 1,100 | 900 | 2,000 |
(5) Accordingly, the beneficiary will be entitled to an estate tax deduction of $300 (900/4,500 × $1,500) and the estate will be entitled to an estate tax deduction of $1,200 (3,600/4,500 × $1,500).
(6) The taxable income of the estate is $6,200, computed as follows:
| Gross income | $10,000 | |
| Less: | ||
| Distributions to the beneficiary | $2,000 | |
| Estate tax deduction under section 691(c) | 1,200 | |
| Personal exemption | 600 | |
| 3,800 | ||
| Taxable income | 6,200 |