1.79-3—Determination of amount equal to cost of group-term life insurance.
(a) In general.
This section prescribes the rules for determining the amount equal to the cost of group-term life insurance on an employee's life which is to be included in his gross income pursuant to the rule of inclusion set forth in section 79(a). Such amount is determined by—
(1)
Computing the cost of the portion of the group-term life insurance on the employee's life to be taken into account (determined in accordance with the rules set forth in paragraph (b) of this section) for each “period of coverage” (as defined in paragraph (c) of this section) and aggregating the costs so determined, then
(2)
Reducing the amount determined under subparagraph (1) of this paragraph by the amount determined in accordance with the rules set forth in paragraph (e) of this section, relating to the amount paid by the employee toward the purchase of group-term life insurance.
(b) Determination of the portion of the group-term life insurance on the employee's life to be taken into account.
(1)
For each “period of coverage” (as defined in paragraph (c) of this section), the portion of the group-term life insurance to be taken into account in computing the amount includible in an employee's gross income for purposes of paragraph (a)(1) of this section is the sum of the proceeds payable upon the death of the employee under each policy, or portion of a policy, of group-term life insurance on such employee's life to which the rule of inclusion set forth in section 79(a) applies, less $50,000 of such insurance. Thus, the amount of any proceeds payable under a policy, or portion of a policy, which qualifies for one of the exceptions to the rule of inclusion provided by section 79(b) is not taken into account. For the regulations relating to such exceptions to the rule of inclusion, see § 1.79-2.
(2)
For purposes of making the computation required by subparagraph (1) of this paragraph in any case in which the amount payable under the policy, or portion thereof, varies during the period of coverage, the amount payable under such policy during such period is considered to be the average of the amount payable under such policy at the beginning and the end of such period.
(3)
(i)
For purposes of making the computation required by subparagraph (1) of this paragraph in any case in which the amount payable under the policy is not payable as a specific amount upon the death of the employee in full discharge of the liability of the insurer, and such form of payment is not one of alternative methods of payment, the amount payable under such policy is the present value of the agreement by the insurer under the policy to make the payments to the beneficiary or beneficiaries entitled to such amounts upon the employee's death. For each period of coverage, such present value is to be determined as if the first and last day of such period is the date of death of the employee.
(ii)
The present value of the agreement by the insurer under the policy to make payments shall be determined by the use of the mortality tables and interest rate employed by the insurer with respect to such a policy in calculating the amount held by the insurer (as defined in section 101(d)(2) ), unless the Commissioner otherwise determines that a particular mortality table and interest rate, representative of the mortality table and interest rate used by commercial insurance companies with respect to such policies, shall be used to determine the present value of the policy for purposes of this subdivision.
(iii)
For purposes of making the computation required by subdivision (i) of this subparagraph in any case in which it is necessary to determine the age of an employee's beneficiary and such beneficiary remains the same (under the policy, or the portion of the policy, with respect to which the determination of the present value of the agreement of the insurer to pay benefits is being made) for the entire period during the employee's taxable year for which such policy is in effect, the age of such beneficiary is such beneficiary's age at his nearest birthday on June 30th of the calendar year.
(iv)
If the policy of group-term life insurance on the employee's life is such that the present value of the agreement by the insurer under the policy to pay benefits cannot be determined by the rules prescribed in this subparagraph, the taxpayer may submit with his return a computation of such present value, consistent with the actuarial and other assumptions set forth in this subparagraph, showing the appropriate factors applied in his case. Such computation shall be subject to the approval of the Commissioner upon examination of such return.
(c) Period of coverage.
For purposes of this section, the phrase “period of coverage” means any one calendar month period, or part thereof, during the employee's taxable year during which the employee is provided group-term life insurance on his life to which the rule of inclusion set forth in section 79(a) applies. The phrase “part thereof” as used in the preceding sentence means any continuous period which is less than the one calendar month period referred to in the preceding sentence for which premiums are charged by the insurer.
(d) The cost of the portion of the group-term life insurance on an employee's life.
(1)
This paragraph sets forth the rules for determining the cost, for each period of coverage, of the portion of the group-term life insurance on the employee's life to be taken into account in computing the amount includible in the employee's gross income for purposes of paragraph (a)(1) of this section. The portion of the group-term life insurance on the employee's life to be taken into account is determined in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (b) of this section. Table I, which is set forth in subparagraph (2) of this paragraph, determines the cost for each $1,000 of such portion of the group-term life insurance on the employee's life for each one-month period. The cost of the portion of the group-term life insurance on the employee's life for each period of coverage of one month is obtained by multiplying the number of thousand dollars of such insurance computed to the nearest tenth which is provided during such period by the appropriate amount set forth in Table I. In any case in which group-term life insurance is provided for a period of coverage of less than one month, the amount set forth in Table I is prorated over such period of coverage.
(2)
For the cost of group-term life insurance provided after June 30, 1999, the following table sets forth the cost of $1,000 of group-term life insurance provided for one month, computed on the basis of 5-year age brackets. See 26 CFR 1.79-3(d)(2) in effect prior to July 1, 1999, and contained in the 26 CFR part 1 edition revised as of April 1, 1999, for a table setting forth the cost of group-term life insurance provided before July 1, 1999. For purposes of Table I, the age of the employee is the employee's attained age on the last day of the employee's taxable year.
| 5-year age bracket | Cost per $1,000 of protection for one month |
|---|---|
| Under 25 | $0.05 |
| 25 to 29 | .06 |
| 30 to 34 | .08 |
| 35 to 39 | .09 |
| 40 to 44 | .10 |
| 45 to 49 | .15 |
| 50 to 54 | .23 |
| 55 to 59 | .43 |
| 60 to 64 | .66 |
| 65 to 69 | 1.27 |
| 70 and above | 2.06 |
(3)
The net premium cost of group-term life insurance as provided in Table I of subparagraph (2) of this paragraph applies only to the cost of group-term life insurance subject to the rule of inclusion set forth in section 79(a). Therefore, such net premium cost is not applicable to the determination of the cost of group-term life insurance provided under a policy which is not subject to such rule of inclusion.
(e) Effective date—
(1) General effective date for table.
Except as provided in paragraph (e)(2) of this section, the table in paragraph (d)(2) of this section is applicable July 1, 1999. Until January 1, 2000, an employer may calculate imputed income for all its employees under age 30 using the 5-year age bracket for ages 25 to 29.
(2) Effective date for table for purposes of
For a policy of life insurance issued under a plan in existence on June 30, 1999, which would not be treated as carried directly or indirectly by an employer under § 1.79-0 (taking into account the Table I in effect on that date), until January 1, 2003, an employer may use either the table in paragraph (d)(2) of this section or the table in effect prior to July 1, 1999 (as described in paragraph (d)(2) of this section) for determining if the policy is carried directly or indirectly by the employer.
(f) Amount paid by the employee toward the purchase of group-term life insurance.
(1)
Except as otherwise provided in subparagraph (2) of this paragraph, if an employee pays any amount toward the purchase of group-term life insurance provided for a taxable year which is subject to the rule of inclusion set forth in paragraph (a)(2) of § 1.79-1, the sum of all such amounts is the amount referred to in section 79(a)(2) and paragraph (a)(2) of this section. The rule of the preceding sentence applies even though the payments made by the employee are made with respect to a period of coverage during which no portion of the group-term life insurance on his life is taken into account under paragraph (b)(1) of this section.
(2)
In determining the amount paid by the employee for purposes of section 79(a)(2) and paragraph (a)(2) of this section, there is not taken into account any amounts paid by the employee for group-term life insurance provided (or to be provided) for a different taxable year (other than amounts applicable to regular pay periods extending into the next taxable year). Thus, for example, if part of an employee's payment during a taxable year represents a prepayment for insurance to be provided after his retirement, such part does not reduce the amount includible in his gross income for the current taxable year. Furthermore, in determining such amount, there is not taken into account any amount paid by an employee toward the purchase of group-term life insurance which qualifies for one of the exceptions described in section 79(b). The amount paid by an employee toward the purchase of group-term life insurance which qualifies for one of the exceptions described in section 79(b) is determined under the rules of paragraph (a)(2) of § 1.79-2.
(3)
If payments are made by the employer and his employees to provide group-term life insurance which is subject to the rule of inclusion set forth in section 79(a) as well as to provide other benefits for the employees, and if the amount paid by the employee toward the purchase of such insurance cannot be determined by the provisions of the policy or plan under which such benefits are provided, then the determination of the portion of the cost of group-term life insurance (computed in accordance with the provisions of this section) which is attributable to the contributions of the employee shall be made in accordance with the provisions of this subparagraph. The amount paid by the employee toward the purchase of all the group-term life insurance on his life for his taxable year (or for the portion of his taxable year if such portion is the basis of the computation) under such group policy shall be an amount determined first by ascertaining the total amount paid by all employees who are covered for multiple benefits which is allocable toward the purchase of group-term life insurance on their lives for the year, and then by ascertaining the pro rata portion of such total amount attributable to the individual employee. The total amount paid by all employees who are covered for multiple benefits which is allocable toward the purchase of group-term life insurance on their lives with respect to such year shall be an amount which bears the same ratio to the total amount paid by all employees for multiple benefits with respect to such year as the aggregate premiums paid to the insurer for group-term life insurance on such employees' lives with respect to such year bears to the aggregate premiums paid to the insurer for such multiple benefits with respect to such year. The pro rata portion of such total amount attributable to the individual employee for the cost of group-term life insurance on his life shall be an amount which bears the same ratio to the total amount paid by all employees which is allocable toward the purchase of group-term insurance on their lives with respect to such year as the amount of group-term life insurance on the life of the employee at a specified time during the year, as determined by the employer, bears to the total amount of group-term life insurance on the lives of all employees insured for such multiple benefits at such time.
(g) Effect of provision of other benefits—
(1) In general.
This paragraph discusses the effect of the provision of certain benefits other than group-term life insurance on the life of the employee if the provision of such benefits is contingent upon the underwriting of group-term life insurance on the employee's life to which the rule of inclusion set forth in section 79(a) applies.
(2) Dependent coverage.
An amount equal to the cost of group-term life insurance on the life of the spouse or other family member of the employee which is provided under a policy of group-term life insurance carried directly or indirectly by his employer is not subject to the provisions of section 79 since it is not on the life of the employee. See paragraph (d)(2)(ii)(b) of § 1.61-2 for rules regarding the tax treatment of such insurance.
(3) Disability provisions.
Payments made for disability benefits provided under a group-term life insurance contract are considered to constitute payments made for accident and health insurance. Thus, employer contributions to provide such benefits are excluded from gross income by reason of the provisions of section 106.
(4) Cost of other benefits.
If a benefit described in this paragraph is provided under a policy under which both the employer and his employees contribute, then, except as otherwise provided in this subparagraph, the employer and the employees will be treated as contributing toward the payment of such benefit at the same rate as they contribute toward the cost of group-term life insurance on the employees' lives. A separate allocation of employer and employee contributions for such benefits is permissible only if—
(i)
Such separate allocation is set forth in the group policy and is applicable to all the employees covered under such policy;
(ii)
Such separate allocation is followed in transactions between the insurer and the group-policyholder; and
(iii)
The allocation set forth in the policy satisfies the requirements of the law of the jurisdiction which is applicable to the contract regarding any minimum or maximum contribution rate by the employer or the employees.