Sections 951A and 951B After OBBBA: Different Rules, Different Analyses
Section 951B concerns foreign-controlled US shareholders; it is not renamed GILTI. Section 951A and section 250 remain central to the net CFC tested income calculation.
Editorial source review — November 1, 2026. This machine-generated article has been reviewed, but is not certified accurate. Source-backed corrections are incorporated where established. Other legal, survey and product claims may remain unverified; check applicable primary authorities before relying on a deadline or tax position.
Findings in the original version: section 951B is not “renamed GILTI”. Section 951A and section 250 remain essential; 12.6% is a simplified pre-credit illustration, not a universal effective rate.
Section 951B is not a renumbering of GILTI. Section 951A governs net CFC tested income, formerly described as GILTI. New section 951B addresses specified amounts included by foreign-controlled US shareholders. These rules must be analysed separately.
Identify the shareholder and inclusion before computing tax
Public Law 119-21 added section 951B with application to foreign-corporation tax years beginning after December 31, 2025, and corresponding US-shareholder years. Determine ownership, relevant tax years and the statutory definitions rather than applying section 951B indiscriminately to every CFC inclusion.
Section 250 is a separate deduction
For tax years beginning after December 31, 2025, section 250 provides a 40% deduction for eligible domestic corporations' net CFC tested income and the related section 78 amount, subject to applicable limitations. At a 21% corporate rate, 21% multiplied by 60% is 12.6% before foreign tax credits. That arithmetic is not a universal actual effective tax rate and does not define section 951B.
Credit limitations, deduction limitations, ownership facts and the nature of each inclusion matter. Do not assume every QDMTT payment is fully creditable, or that a historic high-tax election applies unchanged, without the relevant statutory and regulatory analysis.
Proposed guidance is not enacted legislation
A report that officials are preparing regulations is a forecast. Identify the actual proposed or final instrument, publication date, effective date and reliance conditions before using it in a provision calculation. Inclusion on a priority guidance plan does not itself change enacted tax law.
Provision controls
- Separate section 951A, section 951B and section 250 workpapers.
- Document which corporate and shareholder years each amendment affects.
- Compute foreign tax credits under the applicable rules rather than a flat offset assumption.
- Distinguish current-law measurements, uncertain positions and possible future-rule scenarios.