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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Estate received more time to elect portability
A decedent's estate missed the Form 706 deadline for electing portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion. The estate represented that the gross estate, including…
Estate received late portability relief
A decedent's estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion. The estate represented that the gross estate, including…
Late portability election was permitted
A decedent's estate did not timely file Form 706 to elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion. The surviving spouse represented that the estate was below the…
Estate received more time to elect portability
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion. The estate represented that the decedent's gross estate plus…
Reliance on a tax professional supported late portability relief
An estate did not timely file Form 706 to elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion. The estate represented that the decedent's gross estate, including taxable…
Estate obtained 120 days to elect portability
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion. It represented that the decedent's gross estate, including taxable…
Estate's unawareness supported late portability relief
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion. It represented that the decedent's gross estate, including taxable…
Tax-professional reliance supported a late portability election
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion. It represented that the decedent's gross estate plus adjusted…
Estate received an extension for a portability election
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion. It represented that the decedent's gross estate plus adjusted…
Professional reliance justified a late portability election
An estate did not timely file Form 706 to elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion. It represented that the decedent's gross estate, including taxable gifts,…
Unawareness of the requirement supported portability relief
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion. It represented that the decedent's gross estate, including taxable…
Estate obtained relief for a missed portability election
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion. It represented that the decedent's gross estate, including taxable…
Estate receives time to sever a marital trust and make a reverse QTIP election
A decedent's estate made a QTIP election for a marital trust but did not sever the trust, make a reverse QTIP election, or allocate the decedent's unused GST exemption. The executor had relied on a…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the decedent's unused estate and gift tax exclusion for the surviving spouse. The estate represented that the gross estate and…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the decedent's unused estate and gift tax exclusion for the surviving spouse. The estate represented that the gross estate and…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the decedent's unused estate and gift tax exclusion for the surviving spouse. The estate represented that the gross estate and…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the decedent's unused estate and gift tax exclusion for the surviving spouse. The estate represented that the gross estate and…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the decedent's unused estate and gift tax exclusion for the surviving spouse. The estate represented that the gross estate and…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate below the estate-tax filing threshold missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount. Because the estate was not otherwise…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate below the estate-tax filing threshold missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount. Because the estate was not otherwise…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate below the estate-tax filing threshold missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount. Because the estate was not otherwise…
Retained trust powers make gift incomplete without taxing distribution committee
A grantor created an irrevocable trust whose nonfiduciary distribution committee could direct distributions with the grantor's consent or by unanimous action, while the grantor retained separate…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate below the estate-tax filing threshold missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount. Because the estate was not otherwise…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate below the estate-tax filing threshold missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount. Because the estate was not otherwise…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate below the estate-tax filing threshold missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount. Because the estate was not otherwise…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate below the estate-tax filing threshold missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount. Because the estate was not otherwise…
Surviving spouse receives 120 days to make estate's portability election
An estate below the estate-tax filing threshold missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount. No executor or administrator had been…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate below the estate-tax filing threshold missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount. Because the estate was not otherwise…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount for the surviving spouse. The estate represented that the decedent's gross…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount for the surviving spouse. The estate represented that the decedent's gross…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount for the surviving spouse. It represented that the decedent's gross estate plus…
Estate receives 120 days to make the 2010 carryover-basis election
A nonresident alien died in 2010, and U.S.-situs property passed to the surviving spouse outside probate. The estate's representatives missed the January 2012 deadline to file Form 8939 and elect…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount for the surviving spouse. It represented that the decedent's gross estate,…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount for the surviving spouse. It represented that the decedent's gross estate plus…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount for the surviving spouse. It represented that the decedent's gross estate,…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount for the surviving spouse. It represented that the decedent's gross estate,…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount for the surviving spouse. It represented that the decedent's gross estate,…
Estate receives more time to elect portability of unused exclusion
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount to the surviving spouse. The decedent's gross estate was represented to be below…
Estate receives more time to elect portability of unused exclusion
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount to the surviving spouse. The decedent's gross estate was represented to be below…
Estate receives more time to elect portability of unused exclusion
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount to the surviving spouse. The personal representatives stated that the gross…
Estate receives more time to elect portability of unused exclusion
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount to the surviving spouse, who also served as executor. The executor stated that…
Estate receives more time to elect portability of unused exclusion
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount to the surviving spouse. The estate stated that the gross estate plus the…
Estate receives more time to elect portability of unused exclusion
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount to the surviving spouse. The estate stated that the gross estate, including…
Estate receives more time to elect portability of unused exclusion
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount to the surviving spouse. The estate stated that the gross estate plus the…
Retroactive trust reformation preserves completed gifts and estate exclusion
A grantor created an irrevocable life-insurance trust intending completed gifts and exclusion of the trust property from her gross estate, but a drafting error tied the division of trust assets to…
Retroactive trust reformation preserves completed gifts and estate exclusion
A grantor created an irrevocable life-insurance trust intending completed gifts and exclusion of the trust property from her gross estate, but a drafting error tied the division of trust assets to…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
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 tax exclusion for the surviving spouse. Because the…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
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 tax exclusion for the surviving spouse. Because the…
Court-approved trust divisions avoid gift and estate tax and generally preserve income tax treatment
Two continuing trusts created after a grantor retained annuity trust ended proposed dividing their assets into separate successor trusts for each of the grantor's two sons and their respective…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
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 tax exclusion. The surviving spouse, acting as…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
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 tax exclusion. The surviving spouse, acting as…
Spouse may renounce one divided QTIP trust without affecting the other
A marital trust for which a QTIP election had been made proposed dividing into two identical trusts, after which the surviving spouse would renounce all income and principal rights in one trust. The…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
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 tax exclusion. The decedent's son represented that the…
Surviving spouse's estate receives relief for decedent's late portability election
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 tax exclusion. After the surviving spouse also died,…
Estate receives 120 days to supplement late Form 706 for portability
An estate that was not otherwise required to file an estate tax return missed the portability-election deadline and later filed Form 706 after discovering the omission. The surviving spouse, acting…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
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 tax exclusion. The surviving spouse, acting as…
Estate receives 120 days to elect portability
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate tax exclusion. The estate represented that the decedent's gross estate and taxable gifts…
Estate receives 120 days to elect portability
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate tax exclusion. The estate represented that the decedent's gross estate was below the basic…
Estate receives 120 days to elect portability
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate tax exclusion. The estate represented that the decedent's gross estate was below the basic…
Estate receives 120 days to elect portability
A surviving spouse serving as executor missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate tax exclusion. The executor represented that the decedent's…
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.