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.
Late relief to elect out of automatic GST exemption on eleven GRATs (companion ruling)
This is the companion ruling to PLR 202451010, addressing the other spouse in the same married couple. Here the taxpayer personally set up the children's trust and funded eleven grantor retained…
Late relief to elect out of automatic GST exemption on eleven GRAT transfers
A married couple set up eleven grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs) whose remaining property would pass to a trust for their children when the annuity terms ended. Because the trusts could later…
Late-filed Form 8996 treated as timely, self-certifying an LLC as a Qualified Opportunity Fund
An LLC taxed as a partnership was organized to be a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF), a structure that gives investors capital-gains tax benefits for investing in designated opportunity zones. To…
Late Form 8996 relief lets an LLC self-certify as a Qualified Opportunity Fund
An LLC was set up to be a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF), a vehicle that lets investors defer capital gains tax when they reinvest gains into designated low-income "opportunity zones." To become a…
Late election extended for a foreign entity to be a disregarded entity
A foreign business entity wanted to be treated as a "disregarded entity" for U.S. federal tax purposes, meaning it would be ignored as separate from its single owner. To get that treatment it had to…
A partnership gets 120 more days to make a late basis-adjustment election after a partner buys in
An LLC taxed as a partnership had one partner (A) buy another partner's (B's) interest in the business. When a partnership interest changes hands, the partnership can file a Code section 754…
A foreign company gets more time to file the "check-the-box" election making it a disregarded entity
A company formed under the laws of a foreign country wanted to be treated as a disregarded entity for U.S. federal tax purposes, meaning it is ignored as separate from its single owner. That…
An apartment partnership gets more time to elect out of the business interest deduction limit
A limited partnership owns and operates an apartment complex. Code section 163(j) caps how much business interest a taxpayer can deduct, but a real property trade or business can elect out of that…
A company gets more time to make the election that keeps a built-in loss from being duplicated
A taxpayer transferred property to a corporation in a tax-free section 351 exchange, but the property's tax basis was higher than its fair market value, meaning it carried a built-in loss. Section…
A foreign buyer that missed its deadline gets extra time to elect asset treatment for its stock purchases
A foreign company bought all the stock of several foreign target companies, each a controlled foreign corporation for U.S. tax purposes. Code section 338(g) lets a buyer of stock elect to treat the…
A partnership that forgot to file a basis-adjustment election gets 120 more days to do it
An LLC taxed as a partnership let a new partner buy into the business. When a partnership interest is sold, the partnership can file a Code section 754 election so the buyer gets a basis step-up (or…
Taxpayer received time to opt out of automatic GST exemption allocation
A spouse created and funded a trust for family members, including the couple's children, and the trust had generation-skipping transfer tax potential. The couple intended not to allocate GST…
Late Form 3115 and bonus depreciation election treated as timely
A corporation intended to file an accounting method change for self-constructed asset costs and elect out of bonus depreciation for specified property placed in service during the year. It timely…
Estate received 120 days to make a portability election
An estate was not otherwise required to file an estate tax return but needed Form 706 to elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount to the surviving spouse. The estate did…
Qualified opportunity fund self-certification treated as timely
A partnership was formed to operate as a qualified opportunity fund and relied on tax professionals to prepare its first-year return and Form 8996. The tax preparer believed an accounting firm would…
Taxpayer received time to opt out of GST allocation after GRAT term ended
A taxpayer created a grantor retained annuity trust, and when the retained interest ended the remaining property passed to a trust with generation-skipping transfer tax potential. That event closed…
Taxpayer received time to opt out of GST allocation after GRAT term ended
A taxpayer created a grantor retained annuity trust, and when the retained interest ended the remaining property passed to a trust with generation-skipping transfer tax potential. That event closed…
Foreign entity received 120 days to elect corporate classification
A foreign eligible entity intended to be classified as an association taxable as a corporation from its formation date but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. It represented that the…
IRS grants relief for a late qualified opportunity fund self-certification
A partnership intended from its formation to operate as a qualified opportunity fund (QOF), but it did not timely file its first Form 1065 or the Form 8996 needed to self-certify as a QOF. The…
IRS grants more time for a Section 336(e) election on an S corporation stock sale
A partnership bought all the stock of an S corporation from its shareholders, and the parties intended to elect under Section 336(e) to treat the stock sale as an asset sale. They did not timely…
IRS gives an estate 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate asked for more time to elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion, known as the DSUE amount, for the surviving spouse. Based on the estate's…
IRS grants relief after a partnership return omitted its QOF self-certification
A partnership was formed to operate as a qualified opportunity fund (QOF) and hired one accounting firm for its tax filings and another firm for opportunity-zone consulting and oversight. The…
IRS gives a corporate group 60 days to elect out of bonus depreciation
A corporate parent and two subsidiaries claimed additional first-year depreciation on five-year property placed in service during two taxable years. Their internal accounting team lacked federal tax…
IRS grants 120 days for a late corporate classification election
A single-owner limited liability company was treated by default as disregarded from its owner for federal tax purposes. It intended to change its classification and become an association taxable as…
IRS grants 60 days to perfect a success-based fee safe-harbor election
A corporate group paid success-based fees to three financial consultants in connection with an acquisition of its parent partnership. Revenue Procedure 2011-29 offers a safe harbor that treats 70…
Partnership receives 60 days to make its qualified opportunity fund election
A partnership intended to operate as a qualified opportunity fund and relied on professional advisers to handle the required tax filings. Although its advisers had discussed the fund's status, the…
Partnership receives extra time to change to its required tax year
A partnership acquired a majority partner whose tax year required the partnership to change its own accounting period. During a transition between service providers, the partnership missed the…
Corporation receives extra time for an outbound intangible-property election
A domestic corporation was treated as transferring operating intangibles to a foreign corporation when a foreign disregarded entity elected corporate status. Its accounting firm reported the…
Partnership receives 45 days to file its original accounting-method form
A partnership affiliated with a corporation in the IRS Compliance Assurance Process sought an automatic accounting-method change under section 446(e). It timely filed the duplicate copy of Form 3115…
Partnership receives 120 days to make a late section 754 election
A partnership intended to elect under section 754 after a partner who held an interest through a grantor trust died. It timely filed its partnership return but inadvertently omitted the election.…
S corporation receives 120 days to make a late QSub election
An S corporation indirectly owned all of a subsidiary corporation through a disregarded limited liability company. It intended the subsidiary to be a qualified subchapter S subsidiary, but the…
Partnership receives late section 754 election relief after an interest sale
A partnership failed to make a section 754 election for the year in which a buyer purchased a partnership interest. It represented that the failure was inadvertent, that it acted reasonably and in…
Fund receives 60 days to make a late QOF self-certification
A partnership was formed to invest in qualified opportunity zone property and intended to operate as a qualified opportunity fund. Its accountant lacked QOF experience and, amid COVID-related…
LLC receives 120 days to elect corporate tax status
A domestic limited liability company intended to be treated as an association taxable as a corporation from its formation date. It inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time and requested…
Estate may elect out of automatic GST exemption allocations to two trusts
A taxpayer created and funded separate trusts primarily for a daughter and a son, both with generation-skipping transfer potential. The taxpayer did not intend to allocate GST exemption to the…
Corporation receives 60 days to complete its accounting-method filing
A corporation requested extra time to complete an automatic accounting-method change for certain related-party transactions. Its tax adviser timely faxed a copy of Form 3115 to the IRS, and the…
Partnership may make late bonus depreciation elections for film and television productions
A partnership intended to elect out of bonus depreciation for qualified film and television productions placed in service during three tax years. Its timely filed returns used the income forecast…
Estate receives 120 days to make a reverse QTIP election
A decedent's revocable trust funded a federal marital trust for the surviving spouse, and the estate elected qualified terminable interest property treatment on a late-filed Form 706. The estate's…
Consolidated group receives 75 days to waive former-group loss carrybacks
A consolidated group's parent acquired corporations that had belonged to another consolidated group. The parent intended to elect to relinquish the portion of the carryback period covering the…
Late Form 8996 treated as timely for opportunity fund self-certification
A limited liability company taxed as a partnership was formed to invest in qualified opportunity zone property and operate as a qualified opportunity fund. Its managing member asked an accounting…
Partnership receives 120 days to make a late section 754 election
A limited partnership failed to make a section 754 election for a year in which two partners died because its tax advisers did not adequately advise it about the election. The IRS found that the…
Clerical error excused for opportunity fund self-certification
A limited liability company taxed as a partnership was formed to qualify as a qualified opportunity fund and invest indirectly in qualified opportunity zone property. The controller intended for a…
S corporation receives 120 days to file a late QSub election
An S corporation acquired all the stock of another domestic corporation and intended the acquired company to be a qualified subchapter S subsidiary from the acquisition date. It inadvertently failed…
REIT receives 60 days to file a duplicate Form 3115
A real estate investment trust sought an automatic accounting-method change for depreciation of certain disposed property. It timely filed its return with the original Form 3115 attached and…
Partnership receives 120 days for a late section 754 election after distributions
A limited liability company taxed as a partnership made liquidating distributions to partners during and after a tax year but inadvertently failed to make a section 754 election with that year's…
Foreign partnership receives 120 days to make a late section 754 election
A foreign company classified as a partnership for federal tax purposes intended to make a section 754 election but failed to attach it to the return for the requested year. The IRS found that the…
Late qualified opportunity fund self-certification is treated as timely
A partnership limited liability company was formed to invest in qualified opportunity zones and operate as a qualified opportunity fund. One manager believed a liaison would engage an accounting…
Estate receives 120 days to make 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 to the surviving spouse. The estate represented that its value and adjusted…
Company receives 60 days to make a late tax-exempt controlled entity election
A wholly owned limited liability company elected corporate tax status and intended to elect not to be treated as a tax-exempt controlled entity under section 168(h)(6)(F)(ii). Its later dissolution…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate failed to timely file Form 706 to elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion to the surviving spouse. It represented that its value and adjusted…
Foreign entity receives 120 days to make a late corporate classification election
A foreign eligible entity intended to elect association status so it would be taxed as a corporation for U.S. federal tax purposes, but it did not timely file Form 8832. The entity represented that…
Foreign entity receives 120 days to make a late corporate classification election
A foreign eligible entity intended to be treated as an association taxable as a corporation for U.S. federal tax purposes but inadvertently failed to timely file Form 8832. The IRS found that the…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate did not timely make a portability election that would allow the surviving spouse to use the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion. The estate represented that its value…
Partnership receives 60 days to make a success-based-fee safe-harbor election
A partnership sought extra time to elect the Revenue Procedure 2011-29 safe harbor for a success-based advisory fee connected with its acquisition. The partnership intended to deduct 70 percent of…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate did not timely make a portability election that would allow the surviving spouse to use the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion. The estate represented that its value…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate did not timely make a portability election that would allow the surviving spouse to use the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion. The estate represented that its value…
Qualified opportunity fund receives 60 days to make late self-certification
A partnership limited liability company was formed and funded to invest in qualified opportunity zone property and serve as a qualified opportunity fund. Its accounting firm advised that a…
Late success-based-fee safe harbor election allowed
A partnership paid a success-based fee when an acquirer purchased a majority interest. Its return deducted 70 percent and capitalized 30 percent of the fee, consistent with the safe harbor in…
Late qualified opportunity fund self-certification accepted
A partnership was formed to invest in qualified opportunity zone property and intended to operate as a qualified opportunity fund. Its accounting firm did not file partnership returns for its first…
Late section 336(e) stock-disposition election allowed
A partnership acquired more than 80 percent of an S corporation through a disregarded entity, and the parties intended to treat the stock sale as an asset sale under section 336(e). They failed to…
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.