Sec. 1.818-2 Accounting provisions.

(i) An election to use any of the special methods of accounting referred to in subparagraph (2) of this paragraph which was made pursuant to any provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 or prior revenue laws for purposes of determining a company's tax liabilities for prior years, shall have the same force and effect in determining the items of gross investment income under section 804(b) and the items of deduction under section 804(c) of the Life Insurance Company Income Tax Act of 1959 (73 Stat. 112) as if such Act had not been enacted.

(ii) For purposes of determining gain or loss from operations under section 809(b), in computing the life insurance company's share of investment yield under section 809(b)(1)(A) and (2)(A), an election with respect to any of the special methods of accounting referred to in subparagraph (2) of this paragraph which was made pursuant to any provision of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 or prior revenue laws, shall not be affected in any way by the enactment of the Life Insurance Company Income Tax Act of 1959 (73 Stat. 112).

(iii) For purposes of determining gain or loss from operations under section 809(b), in computing the items of gross amount under section 809(c) and the deduction items under section 809(d), an election to use any of the special methods of accounting referred to in subparagraph (2) of this paragraph must be made in accordance with the specific statutory provisions of the sections containing such elections and the regulations thereunder. However, where a particular election may be made only with the consent of the Commissioner (either because the time for making the election without the consent of the Commissioner has expired or because the particular section contained no provision for making an election without consent), and the time prescribed by the applicable regulations for submitting a request for permission to make such an election for the taxable year 1958 has expired, a life insurance company may make such an election for the year 1958 at the time of filing its return for that year (including extensions thereof). For example, a life insurance company may elect any of the methods of depreciation prescribed in section 167 (to the extent permitted under that section and the regulations thereunder) with respect to those assets, or any portion thereof, for which no depreciation was allowable under prior revenue laws, for example, furniture and fixtures used in the underwriting department. Similarly, a life insurance company shall be permitted to make an election under section 461(c) (relating to the accrual of real property taxes) with respect to real property for which no deduction was allowable under prior revenue laws. Any such election shall be made in the manner and form prescribed in the applicable regulations.

(iv) For purposes of subdivision (ii) of this subparagraph, the method used under section 1016(a)(3)(C) (relating to adjustments to basis) in determining the amount of exhaustion, wear and tear, obsolescence, and amortization actually sustained shall not preclude a taxpayer from electing any of the methods prescribed in section 167 in accordance with the provisions of that section and the regulations thereunder for determining the amount of such exhaustion, wear and tear, obsolescence, and amortization for the year 1958. For example, if the amount of depreciation actually sustained, under section 1016(a)(3)(C), on a life insurance company's home office building (other than that portion for which depreciation was allowable under prior revenue laws) is determined on the straight line method, the life insurance company may elect for the year 1958 to use any of the methods prescribed in section 167 for determining its depreciation allowance for 1958. However, such election shall be binding for 1958, and for all subsequent taxable years, unless consent to change such election, if required, is obtained from the Commissioner in accordance with the provisions of section 167 and the regulations thereunder.

(i) For purposes of section 805(b)(3)(B)(i) (relating to the determination of the current earnings rate for any taxable year beginning before January 1, 1958), the determination for any year of the investment yield and the assets shall be made as though the taxpayer had been on the accrual method prescribed in subparagraph (1) of this paragraph for such year, or the accrual method in combination with the other methods of accounting prescribed in subparagraph (2) of this paragraph, if these other methods of accounting are used by the taxpayer in determining the investment yield and assets for the taxable year 1958. However, where the method used for determining the deduction under section 167 for the year 1958 differs from the method used in prior years, the amount of the deduction actually allowed or allowable for such prior years for purposes of section 1016(a)(2) (relating to adjustments to basis) shall be the amount to be taken into account in determining the current earnings rate under section 805(b)(3)(B)(i).

(ii) For purposes of section 812(b)(1)(C) (relating to operations loss carrybacks and carryovers for years prior to 1958), the determination for those years of the gain or loss from operations shall be made as though the taxpayer had been on the accrual method of accounting prescribed in subparagraph (1) of this paragraph for such year, or the accrual method in combination with the other methods of accounting prescribed in subparagraph (2) of this paragraph, if these other methods of accounting are used by the taxpayer in the determination of gain or loss from operations for the taxable year 1958. However, where any adjustment to basis is required under section 1016(a)(3)(C) on account of exhaustion, wear and tear, obsolescence, amortization, and depletion sustained, the amount actually sustained as determined under section 1016(a)(3)(C) for each of the years involved shall be the amount allowed in the determination of gain or loss from operations for purposes of section 812(b)(1)(C).