Information for Owners of OID Debt Instruments

This section is for persons who prepare their own tax returns. It discusses the income tax rules for figuring and reporting OID on long-term debt instruments. It also includes a similar discussion for stripped bonds and coupons, such as zero coupon instruments available through the Department of the Treasury's STRIPS program and government-sponsored enterprises such as the Resolution Funding Corporation. However, the information provided does not cover every situation. More information can be found in the regulations under sections 1271 through 1275 of the Internal Revenue Code.

Reporting OID. Generally, you report OID as it accrues each year, whether or not you receive any payments from the bond issuer.

Exceptions. The rules for reporting OID on long-term instruments do not apply to the following debt instruments.

• U.S. savings bonds.
• Tax-exempt obligations. (However, see Tax-Exempt Bonds and Coupons, later.)
• Obligations issued by individuals before March 2, 1984.
• Loans of $10,000 or less between individuals who are not in the business of lending money. (The dollar limit includes outstanding prior loans by the lender to the borrower.) This exception does not apply if a principal purpose of the loan is to avoid any federal tax.

See chapter 1 of Publication 550 for information about the rules for these and other types of discounted instruments, such as short-term and market discount obligations. Publication 550 also discusses rules for holders of REMIC interests and CDOs.

De minimis rule. You can treat OID as zero if the total OID on a debt instrument is less than one-fourth of 1% (.0025) of the stated redemption price at maturity multiplied by the number of full years from the date of original issue to maturity. Long-term instruments with de minimis OID are not listed in this publication.

Example 2. You bought at issuance a 10-year bond with a stated redemption price at maturity of $1,000, issued at $980 with OID of $20. One-fourth of 1% of $1,000 (the stated redemption price) times 10 (the number of full years from the date of original issue to maturity) equals $25. Under the de minimis rule, you can treat the OID as zero because the $20 discount is less than $25.

Example 3. Assume the same facts as Example 2, except the bond was issued at $950. You must report part of the $50 OID each year because it is more than $25.

Choice to report all interest as OID. Generally, you can choose to treat all interest on a debt instrument acquired after April 3, 1994, as OID and include it in gross income by using the constant yield method. See Figuring OID using the constant yield method under Debt Instruments Issued After 1984, later, for more information.

For this choice, interest includes stated interest, acquisition discount, OID, de minimis OID, market discount, de minimis market discount, and unstated interest, as adjusted by any amortizable bond premium or acquisition premium. See section 1.1272-3 of the regulations for more information.

Purchase after date of original issue. A debt instrument you purchased after the date of original issue may have premium, acquisition premium, or market discount. If so, the OID reported to you on Form 1099-OID may have to be adjusted. For more information, see Showing an OID adjustment under How To Report OID, later.

Adjustment for premium. If your debt instrument (other than a contingent payment debt instrument or an inflation-indexed debt instrument) has premium, do not report any OID as ordinary income. Your adjustment is the total OID shown on your Form 1099-OID.

Adjustment for acquisition premium. If your debt instrument has acquisition premium, reduce the OID you report. Your adjustment is the difference between the OID shown on your Form 1099-OID and the reduced OID amount figured using the rules explained later under Figuring OID on Long-Term Debt Instruments.

Adjustment for market discount. If your debt instrument has market discount that you choose to include in income currently, increase the OID you report. Your adjustment is the accrued market discount for the year.

See Market Discount Bonds in chapter 1 of Publication 550 for information on how to figure accrued market discount and include it in your income currently and for other information about market discount bonds. If you choose to use the constant yield method to figure accrued market discount, also see Figuring OID on Long-Term Debt Instruments, later. The constant yield method of figuring accrued OID, explained in those discussions under Figuring OID using the constant yield method, is also used to figure accrued market discount.

Sale, exchange, or redemption. Generally, you treat your gain or loss from the sale, exchange, or redemption of a discounted bond or other debt instrument as a capital gain or loss if you held the bond as a capital asset. If you sold the bond through a broker, you should receive Form 1099-B or an equivalent statement from the broker. Use the Form 1099-B or other statement and your brokerage statements to complete Schedule D (Form 1040).

Your gain or loss is the difference between the amount you realized on the sale, exchange, or redemption and your basis in the debt instrument. Your basis, generally, is your cost increased by the OID you have included in income each year you held it. To determine your gain or loss on a tax-exempt bond, figure your basis in the bond by adding to your cost the OID you would have included in income if the bond had been taxable.

See chapter 4 of Publication 550 for more information about the tax treatment of the sale or redemption of discounted debt instruments.

Example 4. On November 1, 1998, Larry, a calendar year taxpayer, bought a corporate bond at original issue for $86,235.17. The 15-year bond matures on October 31, 2013, at a stated redemption price of $100,000. The bond provides for semiannual payments of interest at 10%. Assume the bond is a capital asset in Larry's hands. The bond has $13,764.83 of OID ($100,000 stated redemption price at maturity minus $86,235.17 issue price).

On November 1, 2001, Larry sold the bond for $90,000. Including the OID he will report for the period he held the bond in 2001, Larry has included $1,214.48 of OID in income and has increased his basis by that amount to $87,449.65. Larry has realized a gain of $2,550.35. All of Larry's gain is capital gain.

Form 1099-OID

The issuer of the debt instrument (or your broker, if you purchased or held the instrument through a broker) should give you a copy of Form 1099-OID or a similar statement if the accrued OID for the calendar year is $10 or more and the term of the instrument is more than 1 year. Form 1099-OID shows all OID income in box 1 except OID on a U.S. Treasury obligation, which is shown in box 6. It also shows, in box 2, any qualified stated interest you must include in income. (However, any qualified stated interest on Treasury inflation-indexed securities that is not OID can be reported in box 3 of Form 1099-INT.) A copy of Form 1099-OID will be sent to the IRS. Do not attach your copy to your tax return. Keep it for your records.

If you are required to file a tax return and you receive Form 1099-OID showing taxable amounts, you must report these amounts on your return. A 20% accuracy-related penalty may be charged for underpayment of tax due to either of the following reasons.

• Negligence or disregard of rules and regulations.
• Substantial understatement of tax.

Form 1099-OID not received. If you held an OID instrument for 2001 but did not receive a Form 1099-OID, refer to the later discussions under Figuring OID on Long-Term Debt Instruments for information on the OID you must report.

Refiguring OID. You must refigure the OID shown in box 1 or box 6 of Form 1099-OID to determine the proper amount to include in income if one of the following applies.

• You bought the debt instrument at a premium or at an acquisition premium.
• The debt instrument is a stripped bond or coupon (including zero coupon instruments backed by U.S. Treasury securities).
• The debt instrument is a contingent payment or inflation-indexed debt instrument.

See the discussions under Figuring OID on Long-Term Debt Instruments or Figuring OID on Stripped Bonds and Coupons, later, for the specific computations

Refiguring interest. If you disposed of a debt instrument or acquired it from another holder between interest dates, see the discussion under Bonds Sold Between Interest Dates in chapter 1 of Publication 550 for information about refiguring the interest shown in box 2 of Form 1099-OID.

Nominee. If you are the holder of an OID instrument and you receive a Form 1099-OID that shows your taxpayer identification number and includes amounts belonging to another person, you are considered a "nominee." You must file another Form 1099-OID for each actual owner, showing the OID for the owner. Show the owner of the instrument as the "recipient" and you as the "payer."

Complete Form 1099-OID and Form 1096 and file the forms with the Internal Revenue Service Center for your area. You must also give a copy of the Form 1099-OID to the actual owner. However, you are not required to file a nominee return to show amounts belonging to your spouse. See the Form 1099 instructions for more information.

When preparing your tax return, follow the instructions under Showing an OID adjustment in the next discussion.

How To Report OID

Generally, you report your taxable interest and OID income on line 2, Form 1040EZ; line 8a, Form 1040A; or line 8a, Form 1040.

Form 1040 or Form 1040A required. You must use Form 1040 or Form 1040A (you cannot use Form 1040EZ) under either of the following conditions.

• You received a Form 1099-OID as a nominee for the actual owner.
• Your total interest and OID income for the year was more than $400.

You must use Form 1040 (you cannot use Form 1040A or Form 1040EZ) if you are reporting more or less OID than the amount shown on Form 1099-OID, other than because you are a nominee. For example, if you paid a premium or an acquisition premium when you purchased the debt instrument, you must use Form 1040 because you will report less OID than shown on Form 1099-OID. Also, you must use Form 1040 if you were charged an early withdrawal penalty.

Where to report. List each payer's name (if a brokerage firm gave you a Form 1099, list the brokerage firm as the payer) and the amount received from each payer on line 1 of Schedule 1 (Form 1040A) or line 1 of Schedule B (Form 1040). Include all OID and periodic interest shown in boxes 1, 2, and 6 of any Form 1099-OID you received for the tax year. Also include any other OID and interest income for which you did not receive a Form 1099.

Showing an OID adjustment. If you use Form 1040 to report more or less OID than shown on Form 1099-OID, list the full OID on line 1, Part I of Schedule B and follow the instructions under (1) or (2), next.

If you use Form 1040A to report the OID shown on a Form 1099-OID you received as a nominee for the actual owner, list the full OID on line 1, Part I of Schedule 1 and follow the instructions under (1).

1. If the OID, as adjusted, is less than the amount shown on Form 1099-OID, show the adjustment as follows.
   1. Under your last entry on line 1, subtotal all interest and OID income listed on line 1.
   2. Below the subtotal, write "Nominee Distribution" or "OID Adjustment" and show the OID you are not required to report.
   3. Subtract that OID from the subtotal and enter the result on line 2.
2. If the OID, as adjusted, is more than the amount shown on Form 1099-OID, show the adjustment as follows.
   1. Under your last entry on line 1, subtotal all interest and OID income listed on line 1.
   2. Below the subtotal, write "OID Adjustment" and show the additional OID.
   3. Add that OID to the subtotal and enter the result on line 2.

Figuring OID on Long-Term Debt Instruments

How you figure the OID on a long-term debt instrument depends on the date it was issued. It also may depend on the type of the instrument. There are different rules for each of the following debt instruments.

1. Corporate debt instruments issued after 1954 and before May 28, 1969, and government instruments issued after 1954 and before July 2, 1982.
2. Corporate debt instruments issued after May 27, 1969, and before July 2, 1982.
3. Debt instruments issued after July 1, 1982, and before 1985.
4. Debt instruments issued after 1984 (other than debt instruments described in (5) and (6)).
5. Contingent payment debt instruments issued after August 12, 1996.
6. Inflation-indexed debt instruments (including Treasury inflation-indexed securities) issued after January 5, 1997.

Zero coupon instrument. The rules for figuring OID on zero coupon instruments backed by U.S. Treasury securities are discussed later under Figuring OID on Stripped Bonds and Coupons.

Corporate Debt Instruments Issued After 1954 and Before May 28, 1969, and Government Instruments Issued After 1954 and Before July 2, 1982

If you hold these debt instruments as capital assets, you include OID in income only in the year the instrument is sold, exchanged, or redeemed, and only if you have a gain. The OID, which is taxed as ordinary income, generally equals the following amount.

The balance of the gain is capital gain. If there is a loss on the sale of the instrument, the entire loss is a capital loss and no OID is reported.

Corporate Debt Instruments Issued After May 27, 1969, and Before July 2, 1982

If you hold these debt instruments as capital assets, you must include part of the discount in income each year you own the instruments. For information about showing the correct OID on your tax return, see the discussion under How To Report OID, earlier. Your basis in the instrument is increased by the OID you include in income.

Form 1099-OID. You should receive a Form 1099-OID showing OID for the part of the year you held the bond. However, if you paid an acquisition premium, you may need to refigure the OID to report on your tax return. See Reduction for acquisition premium, later.

Form 1099-OID not received. If you held an OID instrument in 2001 but did not receive a Form 1099-OID, refer to Section I-A later in this publication. The OID listed is for each $1,000 of redemption price. You must adjust the listed amount if your debt instrument has a different principal amount. For example, if you have an instrument with a $500 principal amount, use one-half the listed amount to figure your OID.

If you held the instrument the entire year, use the OID shown in Section I-A for calendar year 2001. (If your instrument is not listed in Section I-A, consult the issuer for information about the issue price and the OID that accrued for 2001.) If you did not hold the instrument the entire year, figure your OID using the following method.

1. Divide the OID shown for 2001 by 12.
2. Multiply the result in (1) by the number of complete and partial months (for example, 6 1/2 months) you held the debt instrument in 2001. This is the OID to include in income unless you paid an acquisition premium. The reduction for acquisition premium is discussed next.

Reduction for acquisition premium. If you bought the debt instrument at an acquisition premium, figure the OID to include in income as follows.

1. Divide the total OID on the instrument by the number of complete months, and any part of a month, from the date of original issue to the maturity date. This is the monthly OID.
2. Subtract from your cost the issue price and the accumulated OID from the date of issue to the date of purchase. (If the result is zero or less, stop here. You did not pay an acquisition premium.)
3. Divide the amount figured in (2) by the number of complete months, and any part of a month, from the date of your purchase to the maturity date.
4. Subtract the amount figured in (3) from the amount figured in (1). This is the OID to include in income for each month you hold the instrument during the year.

Example 5. On June 1, 1982, Acme Corporation issued 20-year bonds at 90% of the principal amount. On February 1, 2001, you bought Acme bonds with a $10,000 principal amount on the open market for $9,950. The amount you must include in income is figured as follows:

You must include $34.87 ($3.17 × 11 months) in income for 2001 because the acquisition premium reduces the ratable monthly portion of OID.

Example 6. Assume the same facts as in Example 5, except that you bought the bonds for $9,934.08. In this case, your cost equals the original issue price plus accumulated OID. Therefore, you did not pay an acquisition premium. For 2001, include $45.87 ($4.17 × 11 months) of OID in income.

Example 7. Assume the same facts as in Example 5, except that you bought the bonds for $9,400. In this case, you must include $45.87 of OID in your 2001 income. You did not pay an acquisition premium because you bought the bonds for less than the sum of the original issue price plus accumulated OID. The bonds have market discount, which must be reported under the rules explained in chapter 1 of Publication 550.

Transfers during the month. If you buy or sell a debt instrument on any day other than the same day of the month as the date of original issue, the ratable monthly portion of OID for the month of sale is divided between the seller and the buyer according to the number of days each held the instrument. Your holding period for this purpose begins the day you acquire the instrument and ends the day before you dispose of it.

Example 8. Assume the same facts as in Example 5, except that you bought the bonds on September 14, 2000, for $9,915.04 ($9,000 issue price plus $915.04 accumulated OID) and sold them on March 14, 2001. You figure the OID to include in your 2000 income as follows:

You figure the OID to include in your 2001 income as follows.

You increase your basis in the bonds by the OID you include in income. Your basis in the bonds when you sold them is $9,940 ($9,915.04 cost + $14.87 OID for 2000 and $10.09 OID for 2001).

Debt Instruments Issued After July 1, 1982, and Before 1985

If you hold these debt instruments as capital assets, you must include part of the OID in income each year you own the instruments and increase your basis by the amount included. For information about showing the correct OID on your tax return, see How To Report OID, earlier.

Form 1099. You should receive a Form 1099-OID showing OID for the part of the year you held the bond. However, if you paid an acquisition premium, you may need to refigure the OID to report on your tax return. See Figuring OID using the constant yield method and the discussions on acquisition premium that follow, later.

Form 1099-OID not received. If you held an OID instrument in 2001 but did not receive a Form 1099-OID, refer to Section I-A later in this publication. The OID listed is for each $1,000 of redemption price. You must adjust the listed amount if your debt instrument has a different principal amount. For example, if you have an instrument with a $500 principal amount, use one-half the listed amount to figure your OID.

If you held the debt instrument the entire year, use the OID shown in Section I-A for calendar year 2001. (If your instrument is not listed in Section I-A, consult the issuer for information about the issue price, the yield to maturity, and the OID that accrued for 2001.) If you did not hold the debt instrument the entire year, figure your OID using either of the following methods.

Method 1.

1. Divide the total OID for 2001 by 365.
2. Multiply the result in (1) by the number of days you held the debt instrument in 2001.

This computation is an approximation and may result in a slightly higher OID than Method 2.

Method 2.

1. Look up the daily OID for the first 2001 accrual period you held the instrument. (See Accrual period under Figuring OID using the constant yield method, next.)
2. Multiply the daily OID by the number of days in 2001 you held the instrument during that accrual period.
3. If you held the instrument for part of both 2001 accrual periods, repeat (1) and (2) for the second accrual period.
4. Add the results of (2) and (3). This is the OID to include in income for 2001, unless you paid an acquisition premium. (The reduction for acquisition premium is discussed later.)

Figuring OID using the constant yield method. This discussion shows how to figure OID on debt instruments issued after July 1, 1982, and before 1985, using a constant yield method. OID is allocated over the life of the instrument through adjustments to the issue price for each accrual period.

Figure the OID allocable to any accrual period as follows.

1. Multiply the adjusted issue price at the beginning of the accrual period by the instrument's yield to maturity.
2. Subtract from the result in (1) any qualified stated interest allocable to the accrual period.

Accrual period. An accrual period for any OID instrument issued after July 1, 1982, and before 1985 is each 1-year period beginning on the date of the issue of the obligation and each anniversary thereafter, or the shorter period to maturity for the last accrual period. Your tax year will usually include parts of two accrual periods.

Daily OID. The OID for any accrual period is allocated equally to each day in the accrual period. You must include in income the sum of the OID amounts for each day you hold the instrument during the year. If your tax year includes parts of two or more accrual periods, you must include the proper daily OID amounts for each accrual period.

Figuring daily OID. The daily OID for the initial accrual period is figured using the following formula.

The daily OID for subsequent accrual periods is figured the same way except the adjusted issue price at the beginning of each period is used in the formula instead of the issue price.

Example 9. On January 1, 1984, you bought a 20-year, 13% bond for $90,000 at original issue. The redemption price of the bond is $100,000. The qualified stated interest is $13,000 (13% × $100,000), which is unconditionally payable each year. The bond has a yield to maturity of 14.5587%. The daily OID for the first accrual period is figured as follows.

You would have included in income $.28096 for each day you held the bond during 1984. If you held the bond for all of 1984, you would have included OID of $102.83 ($.28096 × 366).

The following table shows the adjusted issue price, daily OID, and OID per accrual period through 2001.

The daily OID for the 19th accrual period is figured as follows.

If you hold the bond for all of 2002, you would include $1,187.48 in income ($3.25338 × 365).

Example 10. Assume the same facts as in Example 9, except that you bought the bond at original issue on May 1, 1983. The daily OID for the first accrual period (May 1, 1983 - April 30, 1984) was $.28096, as figured in Example 9. If you held the bond until the end of 1983, you would have included $68.84 in income for 1983 ($.28096 × 245 days). If you continued to hold the bond, you would have included in income, for 1984 through 2000, the following amounts of OID.

If you sold the bond on August 30, 2001, you would figure the amount to include in your 2001 income as follows.

However, if you held the bond the entire year of 2001, the total OID to report is $1,137.87 [$340.79 + $797.08 ($3.25338 × 245 days)].

Reduction in acquisition premium on debt instruments purchased before July 19, 1984. If you bought the debt instrument at an acquisition premium before July 19, 1984, figure the OID includible in income by reducing the daily OID by the daily acquisition premium. Figure the daily acquisition premium by dividing the total acquisition premium by the number of days in the period beginning on your purchase date and ending on the day before the date of maturity.

Example 11. Assume the same facts as in Example 10, except that you bought the bond for $92,000 on May 1, 1984, after its original issue on May 1, 1983. In this case, you paid more for the bond than its $90,102.83 adjusted issue price ($90,000 + $102.83). You paid $1,897.17 ($92,000 - $90,102.83) acquisition premium. The daily OID for the accrual period May 1, 1984, through April 30, 1985, reduced for the acquisition premium, is figured as follows.

The OID you would have included in income for 1984 is $12.09 ($.04933 × 245 days).

Assuming you still owned the bond in 2001, you would have reduced the total OID for each year (as determined in Example 10) by the allocable portion of the acquisition premium for that year. You would have included the following amounts of OID in income.

If you held the bond all of 2001, reduce the total OID for that year, $1,137.87 (as determined in Example 10), by the allocable part of the acquisition premium for 2001, $99.79 ($.27341 × 365 days). The difference, $1,038.08, is the total OID to include in income for 2001.

Example 12. Assume the same facts as in Example 11, except that you bought the bond for $90,102.83. In this case, you bought the bond for an amount equal to the original issue price plus accumulated OID. Therefore, you did not pay an acquisition premium. You would have included $79.07 ($.32274 × 245 days) in income for 1984. For the remaining years, you would have included the amounts figured in Example 10.

Example 13. Assume the same facts as in Example 11, except that you bought the bond for $89,500. You did not pay an acquisition premium because your cost was less than the adjusted issue price. You must include in income each year the amounts of OID figured in Example 12. The bonds have market discount, which must be reported under the rules explained in chapter 1 of Publication 550.

Reduction for acquisition premium on debt instruments purchased after July 18, 1984. If you bought the debt instrument at an acquisition premium after July 18, 1984, figure the OID includible in income by reducing the daily OID by the daily acquisition premium. However, the method of figuring the daily acquisition premium is different from the method described in the preceding discussion. To figure the daily acquisition premium under this method, multiply the daily OID by the following fraction.

• The numerator is the acquisition premium.
• The denominator is the total OID remaining for the instrument after your purchase date.

Example 14. Assume the same facts as in Example 9, except that you bought the bond for $99,000 on August 1, 2001, after its original issue on August 1, 1983. In this case, you paid more for the bond than its $97,450.21 adjusted issue price ($90,000 + $7,450.21 accrued OID). You paid $1,549.79 ($99,000 - $97,450.21) acquisition premium. The daily OID for the accrual period August 1, 2001, to July 31, 2002, reduced for the acquisition premium, is figured as follows:

The total OID to include in income for 2001 (August 1 - December 31) is $195.22 ($1.27594 × 153 days).

If you hold the bond for all of 2002, multiply the total OID for the year by 1.97744 and subtract the result from the total OID. The reduced amount is the total OID to be included in income for 2002.

Using Section I-A to figure accumulated OID. If you bought your corporate debt instrument in 2001 or 2002 and it is listed in Section I-A, you can figure the accumulated OID to the date of purchase by adding the following amounts.

1. The amount from the "Total OID to January 1, 2001" column for your debt instrument.
2. The OID from January 1, 2001, to the date of purchase, figured as follows.
   1. Multiply the daily OID for the first accrual period in 2001 by the number of days from January 1 to the date of purchase, or the end of the accrual period if the instrument was purchased in the second or third accrual period.
   2. Multiply the daily OID for each subsequent accrual period by the number of days in the period to the date of purchase or the end of the accrual period, whichever applies.
   3. Add the amounts figured in (2a) and (2b).

Debt Instruments Issued After 1984

If you hold debt instruments issued after 1984, you must report part of the discount in gross income each year that you own the instruments. You must include the OID in gross income whether or not you hold the instrument as a capital asset. Your basis in the instrument is increased by the OID you include in income. For information about showing the correct OID on your tax return, see How To Report OID, earlier.

Form 1099-OID. You should receive a Form 1099-OID showing OID for the part of 2001 you held the bond. However, if you paid an acquisition premium, you may need to refigure the OID to report on your tax return. See Figuring OID using the constant yield method and Reduction for acquisition premium, later.

You may also need to refigure the OID for a contingent payment or inflation-indexed debt instrument on which the amount reported on Form 1099-OID is inaccurate. See Contingent Payment Debt Instruments or Inflation-Indexed Debt Instruments, later.

Form 1099-OID not received. If you held an OID instrument in 2001 but did not receive a Form 1099-OID, refer to Section I-B later in this publication. The OID listed is for each $1,000 of redemption price. You must adjust the listed amount if your debt instrument has a different principal amount. For example, if you have an instrument with a $500 principal amount, use one-half the listed amount to figure your OID.

Use the OID shown in Section I-B for the calendar year if you held the instrument the entire year. (If your instrument is not listed in Section I-B, consult the issuer for information about the issue price, the yield to maturity, and the OID that accrued for 2001.) If you did not hold the debt instrument the entire year, figure your OID as follows.

1. Look up the daily OID for the first 2001 accrual period in which you held the instrument. (See Accrual period under Figuring OID using the constant yield method, later.)
2. Multiply the daily OID by the number of days in 2001 you held the instrument during that accrual period.
3. Repeat (1) and (2) for any remaining 2001 accrual periods in which you held the instrument.
4. Add the results of (2) and (3). This is the OID to include in income for 2001, unless you paid an acquisition premium. (The reduction for acquisition premium is discussed later.)

Tax-exempt bond. If you own a tax-exempt bond, figure your basis in the bond by adding to your cost the OID you would have included in income if the bond had been taxable. You need to make this adjustment to determine if you have a gain or loss on a later disposition of the bond. Use the rules that follow to determine your OID.

Figuring OID using the constant yield method. This discussion shows how to figure OID on debt instruments issued after 1984 using a constant yield method. (The special rules that apply to contingent payment debt instruments and inflation-indexed debt instruments are explained later.) OID is allocated over the life of the instrument through adjustments to the issue price for each accrual period.

Figure the OID allocable to any accrual period as follows.

1. Multiply the adjusted issue price at the beginning of the accrual period by a fraction. The numerator of the fraction is the instrument's yield to maturity and the denominator is the number of accrual periods per year. The yield must be stated appropriately taking into account the length of the particular accrual period.
2. Subtract from the result in (1) any qualified stated interest allocable to the accrual period.

Accrual period. For debt instruments issued after 1984 and before April 4, 1994, an accrual period is each 6-month period that ends on the day that corresponds to the stated maturity date of the debt instrument or the date 6 months before that date. For example, a debt instrument maturing on March 31 has accrual periods that end on September 30 and March 31 of each calendar year. Any short period is included as the first accrual period.

For debt instruments issued after April 3, 1994, accrual periods may be of any length and may vary in length over the term of the instrument, as long as each accrual period is no longer than 1 year and all payments are made on the first or last day of an accrual period. However, the OID listed for these debt instruments in Section I-B has been figured using 6-month accrual periods.

Daily OID. The OID for any accrual period is allocated equally to each day in the accrual period. Figure the amount to include in income by adding the OID for each day you hold the debt instrument during the year. Since your tax year will usually include parts of two or more accrual periods, you must include the proper daily OID for each accrual period. If your debt instrument has 6-month accrual periods, your tax year will usually include one full 6-month accrual period and parts of two other 6-month periods.

Figuring daily OID. The daily OID for the initial accrual period is figured using the following formula.

The daily OID for subsequent accrual periods is figured the same way except the adjusted issue price at the beginning of each period is used in the formula instead of the issue price.

Example 15. On January 1, 2001, you bought a 15-year, 10% bond of A Corporation at original issue for $86,235.17. According to the prospectus, the bond matures on December 31, 2015, at a stated redemption price of $100,000. The yield to maturity is 12%, compounded semiannually. The bond provides for qualified stated interest payments of $5,000 on June 30 and December 31 of each calendar year. The accrual periods are the 6-month periods ending on each of these dates. The daily OID for the first accrual period is figured as follows.

The adjusted issue price at the beginning of the second accrual period is the issue price plus the OID previously includible in income ($86,235.17 + $174.11), or $86,409.28. The daily OID for the second accrual period is figured as follows.

Since the first and second accrual periods coincide exactly with your tax year, you include in income for 2001 the OID allocable to the first two accrual periods, $174.11 ($.96193 × 181 days) plus $184.56 ($1.00303 × 184 days), or $358.67. Add the OID to the $10,000 interest you report in 2001.

Example 16. Assume the same facts as in Example 15, except that you bought the bond at original issue on May 1, 2001. Also, the interest payment dates are October 31 and April 30 of each calendar year. The accrual periods are the 6-month periods ending on each of these dates.

The daily OID for the first accrual period (May 1, 2001 - October 31, 2001) is figured as follows.

The daily OID for the second accrual period (November 1, 2001 - April 30, 2002) is figured as follows.

If you hold the bond through the end of 2001, you must include $236.31 of OID in income. This is $174.11 ($.94625 × 184 days) for the period May 1 through October 31 plus $62.20 ($1.01967 × 61 days) for the period November 1 through December 31. The OID is added to the $5,000 interest income paid on October 31, 2001. Your basis in the bond is increased by the OID you include in income. On January 1, 2002, your basis in the A Corporation bond is $86,471.48 ($86,235.17 + $236.31).

Short first accrual period. You may have to make adjustments if a debt instrument has a short first accrual period. For example, a debt instrument with 6-month accrual periods that is issued on February 15 and matures on October 31 has a short first accrual period that ends April 30. (The remaining accrual periods begin on May 1 or November 1.) For this short period, figure the daily OID as described earlier, but adjust the yield for the length of the short accrual period. You may use any reasonable compounding method in determining OID for a short period. Examples of reasonable compounding methods include continuous compounding and monthly compounding (that is, simple interest within a month). Consult your tax advisor for more information about making this computation.

The OID for the final accrual period is the difference between the amount payable at maturity (other than a payment of qualified stated interest) and the adjusted issue price at the beginning of the final accrual period.

Reduction for acquisition premium. If you bought the debt instrument at an acquisition premium, figure the OID includible in income by reducing the daily OID by the daily acquisition premium. To figure the daily acquisition premium, multiply the daily OID by the following fraction.

• The numerator is the acquisition premium.
• The denominator is the total OID remaining for the instrument after your purchase date.

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