Bonds must be registered to be tax exempt
General rule
Nothing in section 103(a) or in any other provision of law shall be construed to provide an exemption from Federal income tax for interest on any registration-required bond unless such bond is in registered form.
Registration-required bond
Special rules
Book entries permitted
For purposes of paragraph (1), a book entry bond shall be treated as in registered form if the right to the principal of, and stated interest on, such bond may be transferred only through a book entry consistent with regulations prescribed by the Secretary.
Nominees
The Secretary shall prescribe such regulations as may be necessary to carry out the purpose of paragraph (1) where there is a nominee or chain of nominees.
Federally guaranteed bond is not tax exempt
In general
Section 103(a) shall not apply to any State or local bond if such bond is federally guaranteed.
Federally guaranteed defined
Exceptions
Certain insurance programs
Debt service, etc.
Exception for housing programs
In general
Exception not to apply where bond invested in federally insured deposits or accounts
Clause (i) shall not apply to any bond which is federally guaranteed within the meaning of paragraph (2)(B)(ii).
Loans to, or guarantees by, financial institutions
Except as provided in paragraph (2)(B)(ii), a bond which is issued as part of an issue shall not be treated as federally guaranteed merely by reason of the fact that the proceeds of such issue are used in making loans to a financial institution or there is a guarantee by a financial institution unless such guarantee constitutes a federally insured deposit or account.
Safety and soundness requirements for Federal home loan banks
Clause (iv) of subparagraph (A) shall not apply to any guarantee by a Federal home loan bank unless such bank meets safety and soundness collateral requirements for such guarantees which are at least as stringent as such requirements which apply under regulations applicable to such guarantees by Federal home loan banks as in effect on .
Exception for spaceports
A bond shall not be treated as federally guaranteed merely because of the payment of rent, user fees, or other charges by the United States (or any agency or instrumentality thereof) in exchange for the use of the spaceport by the United States (or any agency or instrumentality thereof).
Definitions
Treatment of certain entities with authority to borrow from United States
To the extent provided in regulations prescribed by the Secretary, any entity with statutory authority to borrow from the United States shall be treated as an instrumentality of the United States. Except in the case of an exempt facility bond, a qualified small issue bond, and a qualified student loan bond, nothing in the preceding sentence shall be construed as treating the District of Columbia or any possession of the United States as an instrumentality of the United States.
Federally insured deposit or account
The term “federally insured deposit or account” means any deposit or account in a financial institution to the extent such deposit or account is insured under Federal law by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation, the National Credit Union Administration, or any similar federally chartered corporation.
Tax exemption must be derived from this title
General rule
Except as provided in paragraph (2), no interest on any bond shall be exempt from taxation under this title unless such interest is exempt from tax under this title without regard to any provision of law which is not contained in this title and which is not contained in a revenue Act.
Certain prior exemptions
Prior exemptions continued
For purposes of this title, notwithstanding any provision of this part, any bond the interest on which is exempt from taxation under this title by reason of any provision of law (other than a provision of this title) which is in effect on , shall be treated as a bond described in section 103(a).
Additional requirements for bonds issued after 1983
Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to a bond (not described in subparagraph (C)) issued after 1983 if the appropriate requirements of this part (or the corresponding provisions of prior law) are not met with respect to such bond.
Description of bond
Advance refundings
In general
Nothing in section 103(a) or in any other provision of law shall be construed to provide an exemption from Federal income tax for interest on any bond issued to advance refund another bond.
Advance refunding
For purposes of this part, a bond shall be treated as issued to advance refund another bond if it is issued more than 90 days before the redemption of the refunded bond.
Regulations
The Secretary shall prescribe such regulations as may be necessary or appropriate to carry out the purposes of this subsection.
Information reporting
In general
Nothing in section 103(a) or any other provision of law shall be construed to provide an exemption from Federal income tax for interest on any bond unless such bond satisfies the requirements of paragraph (2).
Information reporting requirements
Extension of time
The Secretary may grant an extension of time for the filing of any statement required under paragraph (2) if the failure to file in a timely fashion is not due to willful neglect.
Treatment of certain pooled financing bonds
In general
Section 103(a) shall not apply to any pooled financing bond unless, with respect to the issue of which such bond is a part, the requirements of paragraphs (2), (3), (4), and (5) are met.
Reasonable expectation requirement
In general
Certain factors may not be taken into account in determining expectations
Expectations as to changes in interest rates or in the provisions of this title (or in the regulations or rulings thereunder) may not be taken into account in determining whether expectations are reasonable for purposes of this paragraph.
Net proceeds
For purposes of subparagraph (A), the term “net proceeds” has the meaning given such term by section 150 but shall not include proceeds used to finance issuance costs and shall not include proceeds necessary to pay interest (during such period) on the bonds which are part of the issue.
Refunding bonds
For purposes of subparagraph (A), in the case of a refunding bond, the date of issuance taken into account is the date of issuance of the original bond.
Cost of issuance payment requirements
Written loan commitment requirement
In general
The requirement of this paragraph is met with respect to an issue if the issuer receives prior to issuance written loan commitments identifying the ultimate potential borrowers of at least 30 percent of the net proceeds of such issue.
Exception
Redemption requirement
Pooled financing bond
In general
The term “pooled financing bond” means any bond issued as part of an issue more than $5,000,000 of the proceeds of which are reasonably expected (at the time of the issuance of the bonds) to be used (or are intentionally used) directly or indirectly to make or finance loans to 2 or more ultimate borrowers.
Exceptions
Definition of loan; treatment of mixed use issues
Loan
Portion of issue to be used for loans treated as separate issue
If only a portion of the proceeds of an issue is reasonably expected (at the time of issuance of the bond) to be used (or is intentionally used) as described in paragraph (6)(A), such portion and the other portion of such issue shall be treated as separate issues for purposes of determining whether such portion meets the requirements of this subsection.
Treatment of hedge bonds
In general
Reasonable expectations as to when proceeds will be spent
Hedge bond
In general
Exception for investment in tax-exempt bonds not subject to minimum tax
In general
Amounts in bona fide debt service fund
Amounts in a bona fide debt service fund shall be treated as invested in bonds described in clause (i).
Amounts held pending reinvestment or redemption
Amounts held for not more than 30 days pending reinvestment or bond redemption shall be treated as invested in bonds described in clause (i).
Exception for refunding bonds
In general
A refunding bond shall be treated as meeting the requirements of this subsection only if the original bond met such requirements.
General rule for refunding of pre-effective date bonds
Refunding of pre-effective date bonds entitled to 5-year temporary period
Special rules
Construction period in excess of 5 years
The Secretary may, at the request of any issuer, provide that the requirement of paragraph (2) shall be treated as met with respect to the portion of the spendable proceeds of an issue which is to be used for any construction project having a construction period in excess of 5 years if it is reasonably expected that such proceeds will be spent over a reasonable construction schedule specified in such request.
Rules for determining expectations
The rules of subsection (f)(2)(B) shall apply.
Regulations
The Secretary may prescribe regulations to prevent the avoidance of the rules of this subsection, including through the aggregation of projects within a single issue.
Pub. L. 99–514, title XIII, § 1301(b)100 Stat. 2646Pub. L. 100–647, title I, § 1013(a)(20)102 Stat. 3542Pub. L. 101–239, title VII, § 7651(a)103 Stat. 2383Pub. L. 104–188, title I, § 1704(b)(1)110 Stat. 1878Pub. L. 109–222, title V, § 508(a)120 Stat. 361Pub. L. 110–289, div. C, title I, § 3023(a)122 Stat. 2894Pub. L. 111–147, title V, § 502(a)(2)(A)124 Stat. 107Pub. L. 115–97, title I, § 13532(a)131 Stat. 2154Pub. L. 115–141, div. U, title IV, § 401(a)(2)(A)132 Stat. 1184Pub. L. 119–21, title VII, § 70309(d)139 Stat. 202(Added , , ; amended –(22), title V, § 5051(a), , , 3676; , , ; , , ; , (b), (d)(1), (2), , , 362; , (b), , , 2895; , , ; , (b)(1), , ; , , ; , , .)
Editorial Notes
References in Text
Pub. L. 96–501section 839 of Title 16The Northwest Power Act, referred to in subsecs. (b)(3)(A)(iii) and (c)(2)(C)(i), probably means the Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation Act, , , 94 Stat 2697, which is classified principally to chapter 12H (§ 839 et seq.) of Title 16, Conservation. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under and Tables.
Pub. L. 98–369, div. AThe date of the enactment of the Tax Reform Act of 1984, referred to in subsec. (b)(3)(A)(iii), is the date of enactment of , which was approved .
Pub. L. 110–289The date of the enactment of this clause, referred to in subsec. (b)(3)(A)(iv), is the date of enactment of , which was approved .
section 1473i(b) of Title 42Section 11(b) of the United States Housing Act of 1937, referred to in subsecs. (b)(3)(C)(i)(I) and (c)(2)(C)(iii), is classified to , The Public Health and Welfare.
Section 608(a)(6)(A) of Pub. L. 97–468section 1207(a)(6)(A) of Title 45, referred to in subsec. (c)(2)(C)(ii), is classified to , Railroads.
Pub. L. 99–514The date of the enactment of the Tax Reform Act of 1986, referred to in subsec. (c)(2)(C)(ii), is the date of enactment of , which was approved .
Amendments
Pub. L. 119–212025—Subsec. (b)(3)(F). added subpar. (F).
Pub. L. 115–1412018—Subsec. (b)(3)(A)(i). substituted “Department of Veterans Affairs” for “Veterans’ Administration”.
Pub. L. 115–97, § 13532(a)2017—Subsec. (d)(1). , substituted “to advance refund another bond.” for “as part of an issue described in paragraph (2), (3), or (4).”
Pub. L. 115–97, § 13532(b)(1)Subsec. (d)(2) to (7). , redesignated pars. (5) and (7) as (2) and (3), respectively, and struck out former pars. (2), (3), (4), and (6) which described issuing of certain private activity bonds, other refunding bonds, and bonds involved in abusive transactions and provided special rules for refunding occurring and for bonds issued before 1986.
Pub. L. 111–1472010—Subsec. (a)(2). inserted “or” at end of subpar. (A), substituted period for “, or” in subpar. (B), and struck out subpar. (C) which read as follows: “is described in section 163(f)(2)(B).”
Pub. L. 110–289, § 3023(a)2008—Subsec. (b)(3)(A)(iv). , added cl. (iv).
Pub. L. 110–289, § 3023(b)Subsec. (b)(3)(E). , added subpar. (E).
Pub. L. 109–222, § 508(d)(1)2006—Subsec. (f)(1). , substituted “paragraphs (2), (3), (4), and (5)” for “paragraphs (2) and (3)”.
Pub. L. 109–222, § 508(a)Subsec. (f)(2)(A). , amended subpar. (A) generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “The requirements of this paragraph are met with respect to an issue if the issuer reasonably expects that as of the close of the 3-year period beginning on the date of issuance of the issue, at least 95 percent of the net proceeds of the issue (as of the close of such period) will have been used directly or indirectly to make or finance loans to ultimate borrowers.”
Pub. L. 109–222, § 508(b)Subsec. (f)(4) to (6). , added pars. (4) and (5) and redesignated former par. (4) as (6). Former par. (5) redesignated (7).
Pub. L. 109–222, § 508(b)Subsec. (f)(7). , redesignated par. (5) as (7).
Pub. L. 109–222, § 508(d)(2)Subsec. (f)(7)(B). , substituted “paragraph (6)(A)” for “paragraph (4)(A)”.
Pub. L. 104–188Investment earnings held pending reinvestment1996—Subsec. (g)(3)(B)(iii). amended cl. (iii) generally. Prior to amendment, cl. (iii) read as follows: “.—Investment earnings held for not more than 30 days pending reinvestment shall be treated as invested in bonds described in clause (i).”
Pub. L. 101–2391989—Subsec. (g). added subsec. (g).
Pub. L. 100–647, § 1013(a)(20)1988—Subsec. (b)(3)(A)(iii). , struck out “with respect to any bond issued before ” after “1984”.
Pub. L. 100–647, § 1013(a)(21)Subsec. (b)(4)(A). , substituted “and a qualified student loan bond” for “a qualified student loan bond, and a qualified redevelopment bond”.
Pub. L. 100–647, § 1013(a)(22)Subsec. (e)(3). , substituted “the failure to file in a timely fashion is not due to willful neglect” for “there is reasonable cause for the failure to file such statement in a timely fashion”.
Pub. L. 100–647, § 5051(a)Subsec. (f). , added subsec. (f).
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date of 2025 Amendment
Pub. L. 119–21section 70309(f) of Pub. L. 119–21section 142 of this titleAmendment by applicable to obligations issued after , see , set out as a note under .
Effective Date of 2017 Amendment
Pub. L. 115–97section 13532(c) of Pub. L. 115–97section 148 of this titleAmendment by applicable to advance refunding bonds issued after , see , set out as a note under .
Effective Date of 2010 Amendment
Pub. L. 111–147, title V, § 502(f)124 Stat. 108
Effective Date of 2008 Amendment
Pub. L. 110–289, div. C, title I, § 3023(c)122 Stat. 2895
Effective Date of 2006 Amendment
Pub. L. 109–222section 508(e) of Pub. L. 109–222section 148 of this titleAmendment by applicable to bonds issued after , see , set out as a note under .
Effective Date of 1996 Amendment
Pub. L. 104–188, title I, § 1704(b)(2)110 Stat. 1878
Effective Date of 1989 Amendment
Pub. L. 101–239, title VII, § 7651(b)103 Stat. 2385
In general .—
Bonds sold before .—
Bonds with respect to which preliminary offering materials mailed .—
Certain other bonds .—
Bonds issued to finance self-insurance funds .—
Effective Date of 1988 Amendment
Pub. L. 100–647Pub. L. 99–514section 1019(a) of Pub. L. 100–647section 1 of this titleAmendment by section 1013(a)(20)–(22) of effective, except as otherwise provided, as if included in the provision of the Tax Reform Act of 1986, , to which such amendment relates, see , set out as a note under .
Pub. L. 100–647, title V, § 5051(b)102 Stat. 3677
In general .—
Special rule for refunding bonds .—
Effective Date
section 1311(d) of Pub. L. 99–514section 141 of this titleSubsec. (e) applicable to bonds issued after , see , as amended, set out as an Effective Date; Transitional Rules note under .
Transfer of Functions
Pub. L. 101–73section 1437 of Title 12Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation abolished and its functions transferred, see sections 401 to 406 of set out as a note under , Banks and Banking.