IRS Written Determinations
Free IRS private letter rulings, technical advice memoranda, and Chief Counsel advice with plain-English summaries and the official IRS release on every page.
No determinations match these filters
Try fewer or different words, check the spelling, or clear the filters to browse everything.
Church auxiliary need not file Form 990
An organization asked the IRS for an exemption from filing Form 990. Based on the information it supplied, the IRS classified it as an integrated auxiliary of a church. Treasury regulations exempt…
Grant qualifies as an unusual grant for public support testing
A public charity focused on local history expected a large grant for a three-year planning and capacity project. It asked the IRS to treat the contribution as an unusual grant so its size would not…
Foundation's grants for young amateur athletes approved
A private foundation proposed grants to help young amateur athletes from underrepresented communities pay for training and related needs while continuing their education. Applicants would be…
Foundation's grants for women artists approved
A private foundation proposed grants for women working in visual art, choreography, and performance art. A committee would nominate artists using stated criteria, and the board would choose…
Arts scholarships for high school graduates approved
A private foundation proposed one-time scholarships for graduating high school students in a specified school district who plan to attend college. Applicants would submit artwork and a written…
Merit scholarships for high school graduates approved
A private foundation proposed one-time merit scholarships for graduates of a specified high school who plan to attend college. Its officers would score complete applications using academic, work,…
Renewable school tuition scholarships approved
A private foundation proposed renewable tuition scholarships for middle and upper school students at a specified school. It would select recipients using academic performance, test results,…
Renewable college scholarships approved
A private foundation proposed scholarships for financially needy students pursuing full-time undergraduate or graduate study. Selection would weigh applicants' backgrounds, fields of study,…
Church auxiliary need not file Form 990
An organization asked the IRS for an exemption from filing Form 990. Based on the information it supplied, the IRS classified it as an integrated auxiliary of a church. Treasury regulations exempt…
IRS revokes tax exemption after records were not produced
The IRS issued a final adverse determination revoking an organization's federal tax exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3). During an examination, the organization did not produce records needed to…
202641008: Hockey officiating group denied social welfare exemption
An organization that trains and assigns ice hockey officials sought exemption as a social welfare organization under IRC § 501(c)(4). It collected game fees from leagues, paid the officials after…
202641007: Condominium association denied charitable exemption
A condominium association sought exemption as a charitable organization under IRC § 501(c)(3). It maintained common property, collected mandatory assessments from unit owners, and enforced the…
Inactive emergency services group loses social welfare exemption
An organization formerly provided fire protection and emergency medical services. It transferred its operations and most assets to a government entity, stopped operating, and planned to dissolve.…
Company gets more time to elect corporate tax classification
A limited liability company intended to be taxed as a corporation but did not file the required Form 8832. The IRS found that the company met the standards for discretionary relief from the filing…
Estate gets 120 days to elect unused estate tax exclusion for surviving spouse
An estate missed the deadline to file a return electing to pass the deceased spouse's unused estate tax exclusion to the surviving spouse. Based on the estate's representations, no estate tax return…
Corporation gets time to make tax-exempt controlled entity election
A corporation owned through an exempt parent intended to elect out of treatment as a tax-exempt entity under the depreciation rules. It filed its tax return on time but omitted the required election…
Taxpayer gets more time to identify currency hedges
A U.S. corporation made euro-denominated loans to a foreign subsidiary and entered into swaps to hedge its currency risk. It intended to treat each loan and its hedge as one integrated transaction…
Trust may divide into three shares without specified tax consequences
A trustee proposed dividing a longstanding trust into three equal shares, each mainly benefiting one great-grandchild's family. The IRS ruled that the division, if valid under state law, would…
Church-affiliated organization need not file Form 990
An organization asked the IRS to excuse it from filing annual Form 990 returns. The IRS said its information qualified it as a church-affiliated organization covered by Revenue Procedure 96-10.…
IRS approves scholarships and educational grants for students
A private foundation proposed a program for students in a specified field. Selected students would receive scholarships limited to tuition and separate grants for activities such as conferences,…
IRS approves need-based scholarships and charitable grants
A private foundation proposed an annual scholarship program intended to reduce barriers to higher education. It also proposed grants for charitable purposes including medical assistance, travel,…
Pension plan may use substitute mortality tables for annuitants
A pension plan sponsor asked to use mortality tables based on its own experience when calculating funding obligations under IRC § 430. The IRS approved substitute tables for Plan 1's combined male…
IRS approves employer-related scholarships for dependents
A private foundation proposed scholarships for children or legal dependents of an employer's workers. Eligible students must pursue undergraduate degrees, and a professional outside firm will select…
Integrated church auxiliary need not file Form 990
An exempt organization asked whether it must file annual Form 990 returns. Based on the information the organization provided, the IRS classified it as an integrated auxiliary of a church. Treasury…
Homeowners association denied social welfare exemption
A homeowners association sought recognition as a social welfare organization under IRC § 501(c)(4). It maintained a gated development's common areas and sometimes provided emergency exterior…
Private roadway association denied social welfare exemption
A homeowners association sought recognition as a social welfare organization under IRC § 501(c)(4). Its stated purposes included maintaining private shared roads and protecting property values in a…
Partnership gets 120 days to file late basis election
A partnership missed the deadline to elect optional adjustments to the basis of partnership property under IRC § 754 after a partner died. The IRS found that the partnership met the requirements for…
Spouse gets more time to allocate GST tax exemption
A donor transferred assets to a trust for descendants, and the donor and spouse elected to split the gift on their gift tax returns. Their preparer mistakenly opted out of the automatic allocation…
LLC gets more time to elect corporate tax classification
A domestic limited liability company intended to be taxed as a corporation but missed the deadline to file Form 8832. The IRS found that the company met the requirements for relief under Treasury…
Estate gets 120 days to elect unused exclusion portability
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect to let the surviving spouse use the decedent's unused estate tax exclusion. The estate represented that its value and taxable gifts did not…
Donor gets more time to allocate GST tax exemption
A donor transferred assets to a trust for descendants, and the donor and spouse elected to split the gift on their gift tax returns. Their preparer mistakenly opted out of the automatic allocation…
Partnership gets more time for basis adjustment election
A partnership intended to elect basis adjustments under IRC § 754 for the year in which another party bought partnership interests. It filed its return consistently with that intention but omitted…
IRS approves a private foundation's scholarship procedures
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve its procedures for awarding scholarships to students pursuing further education. It proposed selecting applicants using academic performance, character,…
Church affiliated school need not file Form 990
An organization asked to be excused from filing Form 990. Based on the information it provided, the IRS classified it as a school below college level that is affiliated with a church or operated by…
IRS approves a private foundation's scholarship procedures
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve its procedures for awarding scholarships to students pursuing further education. It proposed selecting applicants using academic performance, character,…
IRS approves scholarships tied to financial need and religious vocation
A private foundation sought advance approval for a scholarship program serving college students from low- to moderate-income households who want to develop a religious vocation. Applicants must show…
IRS approves substitute mortality tables for a pension plan
A plan sponsor asked to use substitute mortality tables for its defined benefit pension plan instead of the standard tables used for calculations under IRC § 430. The IRS approved tables for the…
IRS approves educational grants for medical trainees
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve four educational grant programs for medical trainees working on cancer treatment. The programs fund international clinical electives, research projects,…
Church auxiliary need not file Form 990
An organization asked the IRS for an exception to the Form 990 filing requirement. Based on the information it supplied, the IRS classified it as an integrated auxiliary of a church. Under Treasury…
Farmers market denied charitable tax exemption
A nonprofit asked the IRS to recognize its farmers market as a tax-exempt charity under section 501(c)(3). It also offered nutrition education and food access programs, including acceptance of SNAP…
LLC funding a medical fellowship denied tax exemption
An LLC with two individual members sought recognition as a tax-exempt charity for funding a medical fellowship. The IRS denied the application because its members did not meet the membership…
Angel investor network denied business league exemption
An angel investor network applied for federal tax exemption as a business league under section 501(c)(6). It screened startup companies and presented investment opportunities to members, who made…
Commercial property association denied cooperative exemption
An association of two owners of commercial property sought exemption under section 501(c)(12). It collected money from its members to maintain shared areas, including parking lots, sidewalks,…
Veterans therapy program denied charitable exemption
An organization sought charitable tax exemption for a program offering combat veterans therapy, peer support, and adventure activities. Participation generally required a supervised ayahuasca…
Foreign entity gets more time to elect partnership status
A foreign entity missed the deadline to file Form 8832 to elect partnership treatment for U.S. federal tax purposes. It asked the IRS for extra time to make the election effective on its requested…
IRS denies a fraternity's application because substantial recreational activities serve nonexempt purposes
A college agriculture fraternity applied for recognition as a tax-exempt educational organization under Section 501(c)(3). It offered scholarships, study support, and leadership development, but it…
Joint filers may make a retroactive qualified electing fund election
A married couple jointly filing U.S. returns acquired a small interest in a foreign corporation through one spouse's employment. They did not know the corporation was a passive foreign investment…
An LLC receives extensions for corporate classification, S corporation, and QSub elections
An LLC intended to elect association status and S corporation treatment from its formation date but inadvertently missed the filing deadline. After a reorganization made it the sole owner of two…
Subsidiary is treated as joining its parent's consolidated return
A parent corporation acquired a subsidiary and included the subsidiary's income, gains, deductions, and losses on its return, but did not mark the return as consolidated or attach Forms 851 and…
IRS revokes exemption for serving a private residential area
A public charity raised donations to repair property used only by residents of a private community and their guests. The IRS examination found that access was restricted, the proposed repairs were…
IRS revokes exemption after improper asset distribution and inactivity
A tax-exempt organization became inactive and dissolved after it stopped conducting its educational activity. Its governing document required assets remaining at dissolution to go to another section…
Unidentified taxpayers' information may be shown in whistleblower file review
A whistleblower identified an entity and one officer, and the resulting IRS audit expanded to other officers unknown to the whistleblower. The administrative claim file used to determine the…
Taxpayers receive 60 days to elect capitalization of property carrying costs
An individual bought and renovated property, deducted carrying costs on self-prepared returns for two years, and later filed a joint return with a spouse for a third year. A later tax preparer found…
Trust reformation adds a stepchild without adverse tax consequences
Two settlors intended an irrevocable trust to benefit all their descendants, including a son's stepchild and that stepchild's descendants, but the trust instrument omitted them because of a drafting…
S corporation receives relief after a missed ESBT election
An S corporation's election terminated when shares passed to a trust whose trustee failed to make a timely electing small business trust election. The IRS accepted the corporation's representation…
LLC receives 120 days to file a late corporate classification election
A limited liability company intended to elect treatment as an association taxable as a corporation but failed to file Form 8832 on time. It represented that it acted reasonably and in good faith and…
Eight LLCs receive 120 days to file late corporate classification elections
Eight limited liability companies intended to elect treatment as associations taxable as corporations but failed to file Form 8832 on time. Each represented that it acted reasonably and in good…
Corporation receives relief for missing S election consent and ESBT election
A corporation's S election was ineffective because one deemed shareholder of a grantor trust did not consent. A later transfer of stock to another trust also would have terminated the election…
Partnership receives 120 days to make a late section 754 election
A limited liability company taxed as a partnership intended to make an IRC § 754 election but did not attach a valid election to its timely partnership return. The IRS found that the requirements…
IRS approves a foundation's scholarship procedures for medical students
The private foundation requested advance approval for a scholarship program for third- and fourth-year medical students with financial need. The scholarships will support students at qualifying…
What these documents are
- Private letter rulings (PLRs): A taxpayer asked the IRS to rule on a planned transaction before doing it. The ruling shows exactly how the IRS applied the Code to those facts.
- Technical advice memoranda (TAMs): The IRS National Office answering a question raised during an audit or other proceeding.
- Chief Counsel advice (CCAs): IRS lawyers advising their own field staff on how to apply the law.
- Determination letters: Rulings on exempt-organization matters, such as whether an organization qualifies under § 501(c)(3) or a foundation's grant procedures pass § 4945.
- Not precedent, still useful: Under 26 U.S.C. § 6110(k)(3) none of these can be cited as precedent. They remain the best public window into how the IRS actually rules on facts like yours, and practitioners read them for exactly that.