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.
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IRS approves a private foundation's grant procedures for emerging craft artists
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve its procedures for grants supporting emerging craft artists. Eligible applicants must be adults in the first seven years of professional practice, submit …
IRS approves scholarships for female high school athletes
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve a scholarship program for graduating female high school athletes in specified Texas school districts. Applicants must be in good standing, appear on an of…
IRS approves an employer-related scholarship program for employees' dependents
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve scholarships for children and legal dependents of employees of affiliated companies. Applicants must be graduating high school seniors or current college …
IRS waives the 60-day IRA rollover deadline for a fraud victim
An IRA owner withdrew funds after fraudsters impersonated financial-institution employees, a police officer, and a prosecutor. They falsely told her that she was under investigation and had to pay bai…
IRS revokes a charity's exemption after it failed to provide audit records
The IRS revoked an organization's § 501(c)(3) status after it did not provide records requested during an audit. The IRS repeatedly mailed examination and delinquency notices and made numerous telepho…
REIT receives more time to elect taxable subsidiary status
A real estate investment trust acquired a hotel property through subsidiaries and planned to operate the hotel briefly before redevelopment. Its advisers initially recommended a structure that relied …
Late taxable REIT subsidiary election is treated as timely
A real estate investment trust indirectly owned a subsidiary used in a senior living project. The parties planned to elect taxable REIT subsidiary status when construction ended and the project became…
REIT gets more time for a taxable subsidiary election missed after a scheduling conflict
A real estate investment trust acquired a senior living facility through a newly formed subsidiary and intended to elect taxable REIT subsidiary status as of the acquisition date. The accounting firm …
IRS permits an entity classification change within the 60-month limit
A foreign entity had changed its federal tax classification to an association taxable as a corporation and later came under entirely new ownership. It wanted to change again to a disregarded entity be…
Two foreign entities receive 120 days to make late disregarded-entity elections
Two foreign eligible entities intended to elect disregarded-entity status from their respective formation dates but did not timely file Form 8832. They requested discretionary relief under the regulat…
Foreign entity receives 120 days to make a late disregarded-entity election
A foreign eligible entity intended to be treated as disregarded from its owner for federal tax purposes from its formation date but failed to file Form 8832 on time. It sought discretionary extension …
Foreign entity receives 120 days to make a late partnership election
A foreign eligible entity intended to elect partnership classification for federal tax purposes but failed to file Form 8832 on time. It requested discretionary extension relief under the regulatory-e…
REIT gets 90 days to correct a missed taxable subsidiary election after an acquisition
A real estate investment trust indirectly acquired a subsidiary that had already been a taxable REIT subsidiary of the seller's REIT. The buyer intended the subsidiary to remain a taxable REIT subsidi…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate that was not otherwise required to file Form 706 failed to make a timely portability election for the decedent's unused estate and gift tax exclusion. Portability allows a surviving spouse t…
Foreign company receives 120 days to make a late disregarded-entity election
A company formed under the laws of a foreign territory intended to elect treatment as an entity disregarded from its owner but failed to file Form 8832 on time. It sought discretionary relief under th…
Taxpayer receives 120 days to elect GST-trust treatment for an irrevocable trust
A taxpayer created an irrevocable trust for children and later descendants and intended the transfer to be exempt from generation-skipping transfer tax. The taxpayer's accountant prepared the gift-tax…
S corporation termination from a missed ESBT election is treated as inadvertent
A trust became a shareholder of an S corporation, but its trustees failed to make a timely electing small business trust election. That made the trust an ineligible shareholder and automatically termi…
Grantor receives 120 days to elect GST-trust treatment after a return-preparation error
A grantor created an irrevocable trust primarily for a spouse, with descendants as later beneficiaries, and intended the transfer to be exempt from generation-skipping transfer tax. An attorney's plan…
Foreign company receives 120 days for a late disregarded-entity election
A foreign eligible company intended to elect treatment as an entity disregarded from its owner but did not timely file Form 8832. It requested discretionary relief under the regulatory-election extens…
Division of a grandfathered family trust preserves GST status and causes no gift or income tax
A family trust derived from an irrevocable trust created before September 25, 1985, proposed to divide into four family-line trusts, one for each grandchild and that grandchild's descendants. A state …
Corporate group receives 75 days to make a late consolidated-return election
A corporation was the common parent of an affiliated group but did not timely make the election to file a consolidated federal income-tax return for the group. The parent requested an extension under …
Partnership receives 120 days to make a late section 754 election
A limited partnership failed to make a timely IRC § 754 election for the year in which a buyer purchased an interest from existing partners. The partnership represented that the omission was inadverte…
IRS approves a revised nuclear decommissioning fund contribution schedule
A utility group requested a revised schedule of deductible contributions to a qualified nuclear decommissioning reserve fund after the operating license for a generating unit was extended. Completion …
Utility receives more time to request revised nuclear decommissioning fund amounts
A utility was required to request a revised schedule of deductible nuclear decommissioning fund contributions after the operating license for a generating unit was extended. It could not complete the …
IRS approves another revised nuclear decommissioning fund schedule
A utility group requested a revised schedule of deductible contributions to a qualified nuclear decommissioning reserve fund after the operating license for a generating unit was extended. An updated …
Utility receives an extension for another decommissioning schedule request
A utility was required to seek a revised schedule of deductible nuclear decommissioning fund contributions after a generating unit's operating license was extended. The utility could not complete the …
Foundation set-aside approved for an education building
A private foundation asked to treat funds reserved for constructing a multi-purpose education building as a qualifying distribution under IRC § 4942(g)(2). The building will consolidate and expand an …
Educational prototype contest grant procedures approved
A private foundation sought advance approval under IRC § 4945(g)(3) for grants awarded through an educational prototype-design competition. Teams will build a prototype and develop a related fundraisi…
College scholarship procedures approved
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve a scholarship program for undergraduate and graduate students at accredited United States colleges and universities. Recipients will be selected using aca…
Individual artist grant procedures approved
A private foundation requested advance approval for grants supporting individual working artists across visual, performing, literary, media, and interdisciplinary fields. Applicants must show a sustai…
Community business and recreation group denied charity status
An organization formerly exempt as a business league sought recognition as a charity under IRC § 501(c)(3). Its governing documents continued to authorize promoting local business activity and communi…
Veteran business network denied social-welfare exemption
A mutual benefit corporation sought exemption under IRC § 501(c)(4) for a membership network serving veteran business owners, executives, and professionals. Its programs offered members referrals, sha…
Angel investor club denied business-league exemption
An accredited-investor membership club sought exemption as a business league under IRC § 501(c)(6). The club screened startup applications, hosted pitch dinners, shared investment information, and off…
Religious education organization denied Section 501(d) exemption
A religious education organization sought exemption under IRC § 501(d) as a religious or apostolic organization. It trained church members for ministry and leadership, but its members did not live com…
Gated homeowners association denied social-welfare exemption
A gated homeowners association sought exemption as a social-welfare organization under IRC § 501(c)(4). It owned and maintained the subdivision's streets, sidewalks, and other common areas, but access…
Estate receives 120-day extension to elect portability
An estate that was not otherwise required to file an estate tax return missed the deadline to elect portability of the decedent's unused estate and gift tax exclusion to the surviving spouse. The esta…
Pension surplus transfer qualifies for replacement-plan treatment
An employer terminated a qualified defined benefit pension plan after transferring remaining employees within its controlled group. It proposed to transfer at least 25 percent of the pension plan's su…
Estate receives 120-day extension to elect portability
An estate that was not otherwise required to file an estate tax return missed the deadline to elect portability of the decedent's unused estate and gift tax exclusion to the surviving spouse. The esta…
S corporation receives extra time for QSub election
An S corporation acquired all of a subsidiary and intended to treat it as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary, or QSub, as of the acquisition date. It failed to file Form 8869 on time and requested re…
LLC receives extra time for 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 requested discretionary relief under Treas. Reg. §§ 301.9100…
Fund receives 60 days to make late QOF self-certification
A partnership formed to invest in qualified opportunity zone property intended to self-certify as a qualified opportunity fund, or QOF. Its accounting firm failed to attach Form 8996 to the partnershi…
County deferred compensation plan qualifies under Section 457(b)
A county adopted a deferred compensation plan for its employees and beneficiaries and requested confirmation that it qualified under IRC § 457(b). The plan included automatic enrollment, elective Roth…
S corporation split-off qualifies as tax-free reorganization
A closely held S corporation proposed dividing its business between its shareholders through a corporate split-off. It would form a qualified subchapter S subsidiary, transfer selected business assets…
Estate may divide inherited IRAs through direct trustee transfers
A decedent died without naming beneficiaries for a traditional IRA and a Roth IRA, so the estate became the beneficiary of both accounts. The will left the accounts equally to two individual beneficia…
IRS approves a foundation's scholarship procedures
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve its procedures for a scholarship program serving graduating seniors from a particular school. Eligible students must meet a grade-point threshold, partici…
Church auxiliary is exempt from filing Form 990
A section 501(c)(3) organization asked to be excused from filing the annual Form 990 information return. The IRS determined that the organization qualifies as an integrated auxiliary of a church under…
Church auxiliary is exempt from filing Form 990
A section 501(c)(3) organization asked to be excused from filing the annual Form 990 information return. The IRS determined that the organization qualifies as an integrated auxiliary of a church under…
IRS approves an employer-related scholarship program
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve a scholarship program for dependents of employees of a related employer. The program will make non-renewable awards to graduating high school seniors purs…
Governmental affiliate is exempt from filing Form 990
A section 501(c)(3) organization asked the IRS to excuse it from filing the annual Form 990 information return. Section 6033(a)(3)(B) gives the IRS discretion to exempt certain organizations from that…
IRS approves two children's mental health research fellowship programs
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve two fellowship programs for children's mental health research. One program supports researchers studying the causes, prevention, and treatment of ADHD and…
IRS approves student travel and hardship fellowships
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve a fellowship program for students who show promise but lack the resources to pursue educational and career opportunities. Awards may cover travel for stud…
Church-affiliated school is exempt from filing Form 990
A section 501(c)(3) school asked to be excused from filing the annual Form 990 information return. The IRS determined that it is an educational organization below college level with a general academic…
IRS revokes a member death-benefit association's 501(c)(4) status
A membership association collected dues and additional amounts when a member died, then paid the collected funds to the deceased member's family after deducting certain costs and retaining a percentag…
IRS revokes an inactive charity's 501(c)(3) status
A charity had been recognized under section 501(c)(3) for a national movement, fundraising to assist other charities, and related administrative and promotional activities. During an IRS examination, …
Dog club denied 501(c)(7) status because public revenue exceeded the limit
A dog club applied for exemption as a section 501(c)(7) social and recreational club. It held dog-sport demonstrations, public classes, pet photo events, and an amateur dog show, and it received most …
IRS revokes an inactive charity's tax exemption
A charity had been recognized under section 501(c)(3), but state records showed that it had been dissolved and its representative confirmed that it had been inactive since a redacted date. The organiz…
IRS denies charity status to a grant program benefiting a related business
An organization proposed to give financially needy young people grants for animal-assisted mental health coaching. Each grant could be used only at a for-profit business owned by a person holding a po…
IRS denies charity status to a retriever training club
A retriever club sought section 501(c)(3) status as an educational organization. It offered public classes on human and animal first aid, conservation, and search and rescue, but it also trained hunti…
IRS denies charity status to a private road association
A membership organization maintained dirt roads in a mountain community by collecting annual dues from local property owners. Its volunteers repaired roads, dug drainage ditches, spread road base, and…
IRS denies agricultural exemption to a farmers' market operator
An organization operated a community farmers' market for local farms, small businesses, and nonprofits. Vendors paid a fee for promotion and a place to sell agricultural goods as well as books, clothi…
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.