The Application of Section 482 Transfer Pricing Principles to Financial Transactions, Including Guarantees and Credit Support Arrangements

The issue is the proper tax treatment of a financial guarantee from a parent company to a wholly-owned subsidiary for Federal income tax purposes. The Service issued Treas. Reg. § 1.482-9 to provide guidance with respect to controlled services transactions, but the regulations carve-out financial guarantees from the regulations’ applicability.3 This raises the question as to how to treat guarantees under Section 482. Because financial guarantees are relatively common transactions, taxpayers need specific guidance as to the proper tax treatment of guarantees for tax planning and compliance.