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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Carbon-storage payments on a REIT's timberlands are REIT-qualifying income
A real estate investment trust (REIT) owns large tracts of timberland through an operating partnership. It agreed to let an unrelated company inject and permanently store captured carbon dioxide (CO2)…
REIT excludes double-counted "prime rents" from data-center joint ventures for the REIT income tests
A real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns carrier-neutral colocation data centers forms joint ventures (JVs) with capital partners to build a more capital-intensive type of data center. Because …
IRS grants a late Qualified Opportunity Fund self-certification after an accountant's engagement omission caused a missed Form 8996
A company was set up specifically to be a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF), a vehicle that invests in economically distressed "opportunity zones" and lets investors defer and reduce capital gains taxe…
IRS consents to a retroactive QEF election after the taxpayer's accountant failed to flag a foreign holding as a PFIC
A U.S. taxpayer owned shares in a foreign corporation. That corporation was a "passive foreign investment company" (PFIC), a category of foreign holding that carries harsh U.S. tax rules unless the sh…
IRS grants a REIT more time to file a late election treating a subsidiary as a taxable REIT subsidiary
A real estate investment trust (REIT) can jointly elect with a subsidiary to treat that subsidiary as a "taxable REIT subsidiary" (TRS), which lets the subsidiary run activities a REIT itself cannot w…
IRS grants a parent company 75 more days to make a late election for its affiliated group to file a consolidated return
A parent company heads an affiliated group of corporations that wanted to file a single consolidated federal income tax return, with the parent as the common parent, for a given tax year. To do that, …
IRS grants extra time to make a late Section 336(e) election so an S corporation stock sale can be taxed as an asset sale
When someone buys all the stock of an S corporation, the parties can elect under Section 336(e) to treat the stock sale as if the company had instead sold all its assets, which often gives the buyer a…
An S corporation's status terminated when trusts holding its shares missed their QSST elections, but the lapse was inadvertent and S status is restored
An S corporation can only have certain kinds of shareholders. A trust generally does not qualify unless its beneficiary files a "Qualified Subchapter S Trust" (QSST) election, which treats the benefic…
An LLC's S election was invalid because its operating agreement created a second class of stock, but the defect was inadvertent, so S status is preserved
An LLC that had been taxed as a partnership elected to become an S corporation. To qualify as an S corporation, a company can have only "one class of stock," meaning all owners get identical rights to…
Extending a pension plan's 401(h) retiree-medical account to in-service participants over age 59½ does not jeopardize the plan's qualified status
An employer runs a pension plan that includes a Section 401(h) account, a separate pot inside the pension used to pay retiree medical benefits. That account is overfunded, and the employer has not con…
A utility gets more time to withdraw an overfunded nuclear-decommissioning contribution, plus an approved revised schedule of deductible funding amounts
An investor-owned electric utility owns part of a nuclear power plant and funds its eventual teardown through a Section 468A "qualified nuclear decommissioning fund," which lets it deduct contribution…
A utility gets more time to withdraw an overfunded nuclear-decommissioning contribution, plus an approved revised schedule of deductible funding amounts
An investor-owned electric utility owns part of a nuclear power plant and funds its eventual teardown through a Section 468A "qualified nuclear decommissioning fund," which lets it deduct contribution…
A utility gets more time to pull an overfunded contribution out of its nuclear decommissioning fund, and a revised schedule of deductible funding amounts
An investor-owned electric utility owns part of a nuclear power plant and sets aside money in a special "qualified nuclear decommissioning fund" under Section 468A, which lets it deduct contributions …
IRS grants an LLC partnership a 120-day extension to make a late Section 754 basis-adjustment election
An LLC taxed as a partnership wanted to make a Section 754 election, which lets a partnership adjust the tax basis of its assets when interests change hands or property is distributed, so the inside b…
IRS grants a foreign entity a 120-day extension to file a late election to be treated as a partnership
A foreign business entity's default federal tax classification was a corporation, but it wanted to be taxed as a partnership instead. To change that, it had to file Form 8832 (the entity classificatio…
A foreign operating subsidiary that never earned revenue still qualifies for an ordinary worthless-stock deduction under Section 165(g)(3)
A domestic company formed a foreign subsidiary to run a licensed business, won the licenses by committing to invest a large sum, but never managed to generate any revenue because of events outside its…
IRS grants an S corporation a 120-day extension to file a late QSub election for its wholly owned subsidiary
An S corporation owned all of the stock of a subsidiary and wanted that subsidiary treated as a "qualified subchapter S subsidiary" (QSub), meaning the subsidiary is ignored for tax purposes and its i…
A non-pro-rata distribution of a deceased grantor's trust to his private foundation is not self-dealing under the estate administration exception
A man set up a revocable living trust and a private foundation before he died. When he died, the trust became irrevocable and its assets were to be split among his children and the foundation, with th…
IRS rules a non-pro-rata distribution plan to a private foundation is not self-dealing under the estate administration exception
A private foundation was in line to receive the residue of a deceased person's revocable trust, which became irrevocable at death. The family members who serve as the trust's trustees, the estate's pe…
IRS rules a trust's non-pro-rata distribution plan to a private foundation is not self-dealing under the estate administration exception
A private foundation was in line to receive the residue of a deceased person's revocable trust, which became irrevocable at death. The family members who serve as the trust's trustees, the estate's pe…
IRS grants a foreign entity a 120-day extension to file a late election to be a disregarded entity
An eligible business entity can elect how it is classified for U.S. tax by filing Form 8832. Here a foreign entity was eligible to be treated as "disregarded" (ignored as separate from its owner) for …
IRS grants a corporation reasonable-cause relief to file a late S corporation election
A small business corporation must file Form 2553 on time to be taxed as an S corporation. Here the company intended to be an S corporation as of a specific date but inadvertently failed to file the el…
IRS grants a foreign entity a 120-day extension to file a late election to be a disregarded entity
An eligible business entity can elect how it is classified for U.S. tax by filing Form 8832. Here a foreign entity was eligible to be treated as "disregarded" (ignored as separate from its single owne…
IRS grants a limited partnership a 120-day extension to file a late election to be taxed as a corporation
A business can choose how it is taxed by filing an entity classification election (Form 8832), but the election must be filed on time. Here a limited partnership intended to be taxed as an association…
IRS grants an estate a 120-day extension to make a late portability (DSUE) election
A surviving spouse can use the unused part of a deceased spouse's estate-tax exclusion (the DSUE amount), but only if the deceased spouse's estate makes a "portability" election on a timely filed esta…
IRS rules a foreign-government fund's non-U.S.-investment limited partnership with two owners is not classified as a corporation
This is another companion ruling in the same foreign-government investment structure. A foreign sovereign's global investment company built a new global credit fund through a chain of foreign subsidia…
IRS rules a foreign-government fund's U.S.-investment LLC with two owners is not classified as a corporation
This is another companion ruling in the same foreign-government investment structure. A foreign sovereign's global investment company built a new global credit fund through a chain of foreign subsidia…
IRS rules a foreign-government fund's master-fund limited partnership with two owners is not classified as a corporation
This is another companion ruling in the same foreign-government investment structure. A foreign sovereign's global investment company built a new global credit fund through a chain of foreign subsidia…
IRS rules a foreign-government fund company with two owners is not forced to be a corporation under the check-the-box foreign-government rule
This is another companion ruling in the same foreign-government investment structure. A foreign sovereign's global investment company built a new global credit fund through a chain of foreign subsidia…
IRS rules another foreign-government fund limited partnership with two owners is not forced to be a corporation under the check-the-box foreign-government rule
This is another companion ruling in the same foreign-government investment structure. A foreign sovereign's global investment company built a new global credit fund through a chain of foreign subsidia…
IRS rules another foreign-government fund limited partnership with two owners is not forced to be a corporation under the check-the-box foreign-government rule
This is another companion ruling in the same foreign-government investment structure. A foreign sovereign's global investment company built a new global credit fund through a chain of foreign subsidia…
IRS rules a foreign-government fund's limited partnership with two owners is not forced to be a corporation under the check-the-box foreign-government rule
This is a companion ruling in the same foreign-government investment structure as the one covering a sister entity. A foreign sovereign's global investment company built a new global credit fund throu…
IRS rules a foreign-government-owned fund entity with two owners is not forced to be a corporation under the check-the-box foreign-government rule
A foreign government's global investment company (a sovereign-wealth-style structure) set up a new global credit fund through a chain of foreign subsidiaries. One of the fund entities is owned by two …
IRS grants an LLC a late Section 754 election to adjust the basis of partnership property
An LLC taxed as a partnership meant to make a Section 754 election but its tax advisors inadvertently failed to file it on time. A Section 754 election lets a partnership adjust the inside tax basis o…
IRS rules a closely held S corporation's spin-off of a second business qualifies as a tax-free Section 355 distribution and Section 368(a)(1)(D) reorganization
A closely held S corporation owned equally by three related shareholders ran two separate businesses. It wanted to split them apart: it would drop one business into a newly formed corporation and then…
IRS grants a consolidated group more time to make a late Section 362(e)(2)(C) election on a built-in-loss property transfer to a foreign subsidiary
A member of a consolidated corporate group transferred property to a foreign corporation in a Section 351 exchange, and the property's tax basis was higher than its value (a built-in loss). Section 36…
IRS grants a partnership more time to fix a Form 3115 and make a late election recognizing its full Section 481(a) adjustment in the year of an acquisition
A partnership (an LLC taxed as a partnership) was sold to a buyer. After the sale, a C corporation sat in its ownership chain and its receipts were too high to keep using the cash method under Section…
IRS rules a nuclear plant acquisition transfers the decommissioning trust funds tax-free with carryover basis under Section 468A
A company acquired the corporate owner of four nuclear power plants, and with them the qualified nuclear decommissioning funds set aside to pay for eventually dismantling those plants. Section 468A an…
IRS approves a utility's revised schedule of ruling amounts for a nuclear decommissioning fund under Section 468A
A public utility that co-owns a nuclear generating unit set aside money in a nuclear decommissioning fund, the reserve used to pay for eventually dismantling the plant. Section 468A lets a utility ded…
IRS grants an LLC a late Section 754 election to adjust the basis of partnership property
An LLC taxed as a partnership meant to make a Section 754 election but inadvertently missed it. A Section 754 election lets a partnership adjust the tax basis of its assets when interests change hands…
IRS grants a tax-exempt-owned LLC late elections to be taxed as a corporation and to opt out of tax-exempt controlled entity status
An LLC owned entirely by four Section 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations missed two related tax elections it needed for a building-rehabilitation investment. First, it was supposed to elect (on Form 8…
A large building-plus-cash bequest counts as an "unusual grant," so it will not cost a public charity its publicly supported status
A charity that is tax exempt under Section 501(c)(3) and classified as a publicly supported organization under Section 509(a)(2) asked the IRS to treat a large incoming gift as an "unusual grant." The…
A recreational sports club does not qualify as a 501(c)(6) business league
A nonprofit mutual-benefit corporation applied to be recognized as a tax-exempt business league under Section 501(c)(6). It was organized to promote recreational indoor and racquet sports (table tenni…
A private road-maintenance homeowners association does not qualify for 501(c)(4) social-welfare exemption
A homeowners association applied to be recognized as a tax-exempt social-welfare organization under Section 501(c)(4). Its only activity was maintaining a private access road serving the lots of its m…
A workplace social club for lab employees does not qualify for 501(c)(3) exemption
A group that describes itself as a social club supporting and celebrating the anatomic and clinical laboratories of an employer applied for tax-exempt charitable status under Section 501(c)(3) using t…
IRS revoked a dormant supporting foundation's section 501(c)(3) exemption
The IRS revoked a foundation's recognition as a tax-exempt organization under IRC § 501(c)(3). The foundation had been classified as a Type III non-functionally integrated supporting organization, but…
A rural tourism marketing group that promotes its members' attractions and businesses does not qualify for 501(c)(3) exemption
To be exempt under Section 501(c)(3), an organization must operate exclusively for charitable or educational purposes and serve the public, not the common business interests of its members. Here, a me…
A members-only mutual aid society that pays funeral benefits to its dues-paying members does not qualify for 501(c)(3) exemption
To be exempt under Section 501(c)(3), an organization must operate exclusively for public charitable purposes and serve a broad public interest, not just the private interests of its own members. Here…
A homeowners' association that keeps its common areas members-only does not qualify as a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization
A civic or social welfare organization can be exempt under Section 501(c)(4) only if it is operated primarily to promote the common good and general welfare of a community, not just its own members. A…
A property owners' association that maintains its own community's grounds for member fees does not qualify for 501(c)(3) exemption
To be exempt under Section 501(c)(3), an organization must operate exclusively for public purposes, not to serve the private interests of a limited group. Here, a property owners' association applied …
IRS grants advance approval of a foundation's scholarship-award procedures for high school students at three schools under 4945(g)(1)
A private foundation's grants directly to individuals for study are "taxable expenditures" subject to an excise tax under Section 4945 unless the IRS approves the foundation's award procedures in adva…
A church-affiliated school is excused from filing Form 990, but must file the annual Form 5578 racial-nondiscrimination certification instead
Most tax-exempt organizations must file an annual Form 990 information return, but there are exceptions. Treasury Regulation § 1.6033-2(g)(1)(vii) excuses a below-college educational organization that…
IRS grants advance approval of a foundation's tiered scholarship-award procedures under 4945(g)(1)
When a private foundation makes grants directly to individuals for study, those payments are "taxable expenditures" subject to an excise tax under Section 4945 unless the IRS approves the foundation's…
IRS grants advance approval of a foundation's scholarship-award procedures under 4945(g)(1)
When a private foundation gives grants directly to individuals for study, the payments can be "taxable expenditures" that trigger an excise tax under Section 4945 unless the IRS approves the foundatio…
The IRS moves to revoke a charity's 501(c)(3) exemption after its officers refused the examination and it failed to keep or produce required records
A tax-exempt charity has to keep adequate books and records and file complete, accurate annual returns (Forms 990), and it must cooperate with an IRS examination so the IRS can confirm it still deserv…
A nonprofit that sells discounted branding and marketing consulting to startups and nonprofits does not qualify for 501(c)(3) exemption
To be exempt under Section 501(c)(3), an organization must pass both an "organizational test" (its founding documents must limit it to exempt purposes) and an "operational test" (it must actually oper…
An organization that develops free open-source internet censorship-circumvention software does not qualify for 501(c)(3) exemption
To be tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3), an organization must be operated exclusively for exempt purposes (charitable, educational, scientific, and the like), and even one substantial non-exempt purp…
A dancing club that took in all of its money from nonmembers does not qualify as a tax-exempt 501(c)(7) social club
A social club can be exempt from federal income tax under Section 501(c)(7) only if substantially all of its activities are for the pleasure and recreation of its members, and it is largely supported …
A private foundation's 501(c)(3) exemption is revoked for distributing only a tiny fraction of the minimum charitable amount it was required to pay out
A private foundation must actually pay out money for charitable purposes each year: Section 4942 requires it to make "qualifying distributions" equal to roughly 5% of its non-charitable assets (its "d…
A parent corporation gets a 60-day extension to make a late election for its affiliated group to file a consolidated return
A group of affiliated corporations can elect to file one combined ("consolidated") federal income tax return, with the parent company as the common parent. That election is made by actually filing the…
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.