IRS and Treasury Issue Proposed Regulations for Spin‑Off Transactions

On January 29, 2025, Cravath prepared a memo for its clients entitled “IRS and Treasury Issue Proposed Regulations for Spin‑Off Transactions.” The memo examines the Internal Revenue Service’s recently released proposed regulations, which focus on tax‑free spin‑off transactions. The proposed regulations reflect the IRS’s detailed consideration of the relevant issues in these transactions since its publication last year of Rev. Proc. 2024‑24 and Notice 2024‑38, which provided updated guidelines for taxpayers requesting private letter rulings from the IRS for tax‑free spin‑off and split‑off transactions under Section 355. The memo explores how the proposed regulations address those issues and present new ones, including updates related to retentions of Spinco stock, debt‑for‑equity exchange structuring, the use of proceeds in “boot purges” and contingent liabilities.

Please click here to read the memo.