CFR > Title 26 - Internal Revenue > CHAPTER I—INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY > SUBCHAPTER A—INCOME TAX (Parts 1–19) > PART 1—INCOME TAXES > 1.617-2—Limitation on amount deductible.

1.617-2—Limitation on amount deductible.

(a) Expenditures paid or incurred before January 1, 1970. In the case of expenditures paid or incurred before January 1, 1970, a taxpayer may deduct exploration expenditures paid or incurred during the taxable year with respect to any deposit of ore or other mineral for which a deduction for percentage depletion is allowable under section 613 (other than oil or gas) in the United States or on the Outer Continental Shelf (within the meaning of section 2 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, as amended and supplemented; 43 U.S.C. 1331 ).
(b) Expenditures paid or incurred after December 31, 1969. In the case of exploration expenditures paid or incurred after December 31, 1969, with respect to any deposit of ore or other mineral for which a deduction for percentage depletion is allowable under section 613 (other than oil or gas), a taxpayer may deduct:
(1) The amount of such expenditures paid or incurred during the taxable year with respect to any such deposit in the United States (as defined in section 638 and the regulations thereunder), and
(2) With respect to any such deposit located outside the United States (as defined in section 638 and the regulations thereunder) the lesser of:
(i) The amount of the exploration expenditures paid or incurred with respect to such deposits during the taxable year, or
(ii) $400,000 minus the sum of the amount to be deducted under subparagraph (1) of this paragraph for the taxable year and all amounts deducted or treated as deferred expenses during all preceding taxable years under section 617 and section 615 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 and section 23(ff) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1939. See paragraph (d) of this section for application of the limitation in the case of a transferee of a mining property.
(c) Examples. The application of the provisions of paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section may be illustrated by the following examples:

Code of Federal Regulations

Example 1. A, a calendar-year taxpayer who has claimed the benefits of section 615, expended $100,000 for exploration expenditures during the year 1966. For each of the years 1967, 1968, 1969, and 1970 A had exploration costs of $80,000 all with respect to coal deposits located within the United States. A deducted or deferred the maximum amounts allowable for each of the years 1966 ($100,000), 1967 ($80,000), 1968 ($80,000), and 1969 ($80,000). The $80,000 of exploration expenditures for 1970 may be deducted under section 617 by A.

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Example 2. B, a calendar-year taxpayer claimed deductions of $100,000 per year under section 615 for the years 1968 and 1969. In 1970, B deducted $150,000 under section 617 for exploration conducted with respect to coal deposits in the United States. In 1971, B paid $150,000 with respect to exploration of tin deposits outside the United States. The maximum amount B may deduct with respect to the foreign exploration in 1971 is $50,000 computed as follows: (a) Add all amounts deducted or deferred for exploration expenditures by B for all years:
Year Expenditures Deducted or deferred
1968 $100,000 $100,000
1969 100,000 100,000
1970 150,000 150,000
Total 350,000
(b) Subtract from $400,000 (the maximum amount allowable to B for deduction of foreign exploration expenditures) the sum of the amounts obtained in (a) $350,000:
Maximum amount allowable to taxpayer $400,000
Sum of amounts obtained in (a) 350,000
50,000

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Example 3. Assume the same facts as in example 2 except that in 1971 in addition to the $150,000 paid with respect to exploration outside the United States, B paid $100,000 with respect to exploration within the United States. As the following computation indicates, B may not deduct any amount with respect to the foreign exploration: (a) Add all amounts deducted or deferred for exploration expenditures in prior years and the exploration expenditures with respect to exploration in the United States to be deducted in 1971:
Year Expenditures Deducted or deferred
1968 $100,000 $100,000
1969 100,000 100,000
1970 150,000 150,000
1971 250,000 1 100,000
Total 450,000
1 Domestic.
(b)Because the sum of the amounts obtained in (a), $450,000, exceeds $400,000 no deduction would be allowable to B with respect to foreign exploration expenditures for 1971.
(d) Transferee of mineral property. (1) Where an individual or corporation transfers any mining property to the taxpayer, the taxpayer shall take into account for purposes of the $400,000 limitation described in paragraph (b)(ii) of this section all amounts deducted and amounts treated as deferred expenses by the transferor if:
(i) The taxpayer acquired any mineral property from the transferor in a transaction described in section 23(ff)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1939, excluding the reference therein to section 113(a)(13) ,
(ii) The taxpayer acquired any mineral property by reason of the acquisition of assets of a corporation in a transaction described in section 381(a) as a result of which the taxpayer succeeds to and takes into account the items described in section 381(c) ,
(iii) The taxpayer acquired any mineral property under circumstances which make applicable any of the following sections of the Internal Revenue Code:
(a) Section 334(b)(1), relating to the liquidation of a subsidiary where the basis of the property in the hands of the distributee is the same as it would be in the hands of the transferor.
(b) Section 362 (a) and (b), relating to property acquired by a corporation as paid-in surplus or as a contribution to capital, or in connection with a transaction to which section 351 applies.
(c) Section 372(a), relating to reorganization in certain receiverships and bankruptcy proceedings.
(d) Section 373(b)(1), relating to property of a railroad corporation acquired in certain bankruptcy or receivership proceedings.
(e) Section 1051, relating to property acquired by a corporation that is a member of an affiliated group.
(f) Section 1082, relating to property acquired pursuant to a Securities Exchange Commission order.
(2) For purposes of applying the limitations imposed by section 617(h) :
(i) The partner, and not the partnership, shall be considered as the taxpayer (see paragraph (a)(8)(iii) of § 1.702-1 ), and
(ii) An electing small business corporation, as defined in section 1371(b), and not its shareholders, shall be considered as the taxpayer.
(3) For purposes of subparagraph (1)(iii) (b) of this paragraph, relating to a transaction to which section 362 (a) and (b) applies or to which section 351 applies:
(i) If mineral property is acquired from a partnership, the transfer shall be considered as having been made by the individual partners, so that the amounts which each partner has deducted or deferred under sections 615 and 617 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 and section 23(ff) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1939 shall be taken into account, or
(ii) If an interest in a partnership having mineral property is transferred, the transfer shall be considered as a transfer of mineral property by the partner or partners relinquishing an interest, so that the amounts which each such partner has deducted or deferred under sections 615 and 617 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 and section 23(ff) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1939 shall be taken into account.
(e) Examples. The application of the provisions of this section may be illustrated by the following example:

Code of Federal Regulations

Example 1. A calendar year taxpayer (who has never claimed the benefits of section 617) received in 1970 a mineral deposit from X Corporation upon a distribution in complete liquidation of the latter under conditions which make the provisions of section 334(b)(1) applicable in determining the basis of the property in the hands of the taxpayer. During the year 1969, X Corporation expended $60,000 for exploration expenditures which it elected to treat under section 615(b) as deferred expenses. Subsequent to the transfer the taxpayer made similar expenditures for domestic exploration of $250,000 and $140,000, for the years 1970, and 1971, respectively, which the taxpayer elected to deduct. In 1972, the taxpayer made expenditures for domestic exploration of $100,000 and for foreign exploration of $50,000. The taxpayer may deduct the $100,000 domestic exploration expenditures but may not deduct any portion of the $50,000 of foreign exploration expenditures because the $400,000 limitation of section 617(h) applies.

Code of Federal Regulations

Example 2. In 1971, A and B transfer assets to a corporation in a transfer to which section 351 applied. Among the assets transferred by A is a mineral lease with respect to certain coal lands. A has deducted exploration expenditures under section 615 for the years 1968 and 1969 in the amounts of $50,000 and $100,000, respectively, made with respect to other deposits not included in the transfer to the corporation. The corporation is required to take into account the deductions previously made by A for purpose of applying the $400,000 limitation on deduction of foreign exploration expenditures. Thus, if in 1970 the corporation incurred $400,000 of foreign exploration expenditures, the maximum which it could deduct under section 617(a) is $250,000.

Code of Federal Regulations

[T.D. 7192, 37 FR 12944, June 30, 1972]