Reg. § 31.3406(a)-2 Definition of payors obligated to backup withhold.
(a) In general. Payor means the person that is required to make an information return under section , , , , , , , , or with respect to any reportable payment (as described in section ), or that is described in of this section.
(b) Persons treated as payors The following persons are treated as payors for purposes of section —
(1) A grantor trust established after December 31, 1995, all of which is owned by two or more grantors (treating for this purpose spouses filing a joint return as one grantor);
(2) A grantor trust with ten or more grantors established on or after January 1, 1984 but before January 1, 1996;
(3) A common trust fund; and
(4) A partnership or an S corporation that makes a reportable payment.
(c) Persons not treated as payors A person on the following list is not treated as a payor for purposes of section if the person does not have a reporting obligation under the section on information reporting to which the payment relates—
(1) A trust (other than a grantor trust as described in or of this section) that files a Form 1041 containing information required to be shown on an information return, including amounts withheld under section ; or
(2) A partnership making a payment of a distributive share or an S corporation making a similar distribution.
(d) Effective date The provisions of this section apply to payments made after December 31, 2002.
[T.D. 9010, 67 FR 48759, July 26, 2002, as amended by T.D. 9496, 75 FR 49835, Aug. 16, 2010]