PolicyEngine / PolicyEngine/policyengine-us

NIIT source list omits passive partnership/S-corp and estate income (section 1411(c)(1)(A)(ii))

Open
#9,304 1 comment 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub
Dominant language
Python
Stars
162
Forks
212
Avg merge
3d 3h
Merged PRs (30d)
97

Description

Found while preparing the business-income crosswalk memo for the TAXSIM collaboration (Microcosm #530 arc), verified against the formulas on current main.

`net_investment_income` adds the parameterized source list `gov.irs.investment.income.sources`: taxable_interest_income, dividend_income, rental_income, loss_limited_net_capital_gains, non_sch_d_capital_gains. Rental income is therefore the only business-income input in the NIIT base.

Per section 1411(c)(1)(A)(ii) and Form 8960 line 4a-4b, net investment income also includes income from passive trades or businesses — passive partnership/S-corp interests and estate/trust income retaining that character. The engine has no passive/active split on `partnership_income`/`s_corp_income`/`estate_income` today, so a full fix needs either a passivity input or a documented assumption; either way the current silent exclusion understates the NIIT base for pass-through-heavy filers.

Flagged in the crosswalk memo to Sabelhaus/Feenberg as an engine-scope note ('we flag rather than paper over it').

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

Research direction

Start at net_investment_income and the gov.irs.investment.income.sources parameter, then inspect how partnership_income, s_corp_income, and estate_income are represented. Compare the current source list with section 1411(c)(1)(A)(ii) and Form 8960 lines 4a-4b; done requires either a passivity input or a documented assumption that avoids silently excluding these amounts.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
python
Domain
backend
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Active
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
35/100

Get new issues in your inbox

A short digest of beginner-friendly GitHub issues.