26 CFR § 1.816-1 - Life insurance reserves.

---
identifier: "/us/cfr/t26/s1.816-1"
source: "ecfr"
legal_status: "authoritative_unofficial"
title: "26 CFR § 1.816-1 - Life insurance reserves."
title_number: 26
title_name: "Internal Revenue"
section_number: "1.816-1"
section_name: "Life insurance reserves."
chapter_name: "INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY"
subchapter_number: "A"
subchapter_name: "INCOME TAX"
part_number: "1"
part_name: "INCOME TAXES"
positive_law: false
currency: "2026-04-05"
last_updated: "2026-04-05"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
authority: "26 U.S.C. 7805, unless otherwise noted."
regulatory_source: "T.D. 6500, 25 FR 11402, Nov. 26, 1960; 25 FR 14021, Dec. 21, 1960; T.D. 9989, 89 FR 17606, Mar. 11, 2024, unless otherwise noted."
cfr_part: "1"
---


# 1.816-1 Life insurance reserves.

(a) *Definition of life insurance reserves.* Except as provided in section 816(h), a reserve that meets the requirements of section 816(b)(1) and (2) will not be disqualified as a life insurance reserve solely because the method used to compute the reserve takes into account other factors, provided that the method used to compute the reserve is a tax reserve method as defined in section 807(d)(3) and that such reserve is not an asset adequacy reserve as described in § 1.807-1(b).

(b) *Applicability date.* The section applies to taxable years beginning after *October 13, 2020.*

However, a taxpayer may choose to apply the rules of this section for a taxable year beginning after December 31, 2017, the effective date of the revision of section 807 by Public Law 115-97, and on or before *October 13, 2020,* provided the taxpayer consistently applies the rules of this section to that taxable year and all subsequent taxable years. See section 7805(b)(7).

[T.D. 9911, 85 FR 64393, Oct. 13, 2020]