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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PLR 1338004: Variable contract holders do not own underlying public fund shares
A regulated investment company offered its shares through insurance company separate accounts and related variable funds. It planned to invest across a broader range of asset classes, including…
PLR 1337009: Taxpayer receives more time to elect Canadian retirement-plan deferral
A U.S. citizen living in Canada asked for more time to elect deferral of U.S. federal income tax on undistributed earnings in a Canadian registered retirement savings plan. The taxpayer had not…
PLR 1337008: Taxpayer receives more time to elect Canadian RRSP deferral
A Canadian-born taxpayer who became a U.S. permanent resident asked for more time to elect deferral of U.S. tax on income in two Canadian RRSP accounts. The taxpayer had withdrawn RRSP funds under a…
PLR 1337006: Taxpayer receives more time to elect Canadian RRSP tax deferral
A Canadian citizen and U.S. lawful permanent resident asked for more time to elect deferral of U.S. tax on undistributed earnings in a Canadian registered retirement savings plan. The IRS found that…
PLR 1337005: Canadian spouses receive more time to elect retirement-account tax deferral
Two spouses who moved from Canada to the United States asked for more time to elect deferral of U.S. tax on undistributed earnings in their Canadian registered retirement savings plans and locked-in…
PLR 1336017: IRS grants a REIT an extension to make consent-dividend elections
A real estate investment trust and related entities asked for more time to make consent-dividend elections for prior tax years. The elections were needed to treat certain excess inclusion income…
PLR 1336011: IRS grants more time to elect relief for a Canadian retirement plan
A U.S. citizen who had lived in Canada since childhood established a Canadian registered retirement savings plan and did not know that a U.S. election was needed for the plan. After learning that…
PLR 1336010: IRS grants more time to elect treaty relief for Canadian retirement accounts
A Canadian citizen who became a U.S. permanent resident maintained a Canadian RRSP and a locked-in retirement account after moving to the United States. The taxpayer did not make the election under…
PLR 1336009: IRS grants treaty-election relief for three Canadian RRSPs
A married couple owned three Canadian registered retirement savings plans and had not made the required election to defer U.S. taxation on income accruing in those accounts. Their Canadian and U.S.…
IRS grants more time for an RRSP election under the U.S.-Canada treaty
The IRS granted a taxpayer an extension to make an election under Rev. Proc. 2002-23 to defer U.S. federal income tax on income accrued in a Canadian registered retirement savings plan. The taxpayer…
Taxpayer receives more time to elect Canadian retirement-plan tax deferral
The IRS granted a Canadian taxpayer 60 days from the ruling date to elect under Rev. Proc. 2002-23 to defer U.S. federal income tax on income accrued in a Canadian registered retirement savings…
CCA addresses who may sign a statute consent for taxpayers
Chief Counsel Advice addresses whether a person authorized under Form 2848 may sign a statute consent on Form 872 for taxpayers. The advice states that the power of attorney may do so if that person…
CCA advises on revoking a taxpayer representative’s power of attorney
Chief Counsel Advice addresses how an IRS revenue agent should handle a taxpayer’s power of attorney when the representative may be unresponsive or ineligible to practice before the IRS. The advice…
PLR 1330025 grants treaty exemption for a Canadian fund's U.S. income
The IRS rules that U.S.-source dividends and interest derived by a Canadian investment fund will be exempt from U.S. income tax under Article XXI(3) of the U.S.-Canada income tax treaty. The fund is…
CCA advises that a revenue agent cannot revoke a power of attorney herself
Chief Counsel Advice addresses what a revenue agent should do when a taxpayer’s power of attorney may be ineligible to practice before the IRS. The advice says the revenue agent cannot revoke the…
CCA 1328031: Advice on losses from unpaid promissory notes and NOL carrybacks
Chief Counsel advice addresses taxpayers who reported the full face value of two promissory notes as income and later did not receive the expected payments. The advice concludes that IRC § 1341 does…
PLR 1327006: IRS approves class-specific fees for a proposed non-traded REIT
The IRS ruled that a proposed public, non-traded real estate investment trust could issue two classes of common stock with different selling commissions, dealer manager fees, and distribution fees.…
PLR 1323009: IRS grants more time for an insurance company to make the §831(b) election
The IRS considered a property and casualty insurance company that wanted to elect the alternative tax under section 831(b). The company said it missed the election deadline after relying on a…
PLR 1323004: IRS approves variable-contract fund investment without investor-control treatment
The IRS considered a regulated investment company offered through insurance-company separate accounts that planned to invest in a central fund. The central fund would also be available indirectly to…
PLR 1323003: IRS approves variable-contract fund investment without investor-control treatment
The IRS considered a regulated investment company offered through insurance-company separate accounts that planned to invest in a central fund. The central fund would also be available indirectly to…
PLR 1323002: IRS approves variable-contract fund investment without investor-control treatment
The IRS considered a regulated investment company offered through insurance-company separate accounts that planned to invest in a central fund. The central fund would also be available indirectly to…
PLR 1323001: IRS approves variable-contract fund investment without investor-control treatment
The IRS considered a regulated investment company offered through insurance-company separate accounts that planned to invest in a central fund. The central fund would also be available indirectly to…
IRS revokes a golf club's section 501(c)(7) exemption for excess nonmember income
The IRS revoked a golf club's exemption under section 501(c)(7). The club advertised discounted golf to the general public, and the examination found that nonmember income exceeded the limits for an…
PLR 1322008: IRS approves an insurer's conversion to a reciprocal insurer
The IRS ruled that a property and casualty insurance company could convert from a stock insurer to a reciprocal insurer through a merger and restructuring. The conversion qualified as a Type F…
CCA 1320020: Internal communication about a court opinion may comply with ex parte rules
The memorandum addresses whether an IRS originating function may alert Appeals to a public court opinion. It concludes that a generic, non-taxpayer-specific discussion of the issue is permissible…
CCA 1319019: Case markings may show how authorities were used in advice
Chief Counsel Advice asks whether markings on cases in a legal file could show which portions were cited in advisory memoranda. The message specifically asks about highlighted, bracketed, or…
TAM 1318034: Retroactive revocation of exempt status was not limited
The IRS considered whether to limit the retroactive revocation of a nonprofit organization's tax-exempt status under IRC § 501(c)(3). The organization had represented that it would provide credit…
PLR 1317002: IRS grants extra time to elect the section 831(b) alternative tax
The IRS granted an insurance company 60 days to make a section 831(b) election for a specified tax year. The company had missed the deadline after its accounting firm failed to request an extension…
IRS grants more time to amend consent-dividend elections
The IRS granted a REIT an additional 45 days to amend consent-dividend elections after it mistakenly attributed all of the consent dividends to common stock instead of allocating some to…
Two classes of REIT shares with different fees will not create preferential dividends
The IRS ruled for a planned nonlisted REIT that would issue two classes of common stock with different selling commissions, distribution fees, and other class-specific expenses. The differences in…
CCA 1315022: Interpreting the two-year Chapter 13 discharge rule
Chief Counsel advice interprets the phrase “such order” in Bankruptcy Code section 1328(f)(2). The memo reads that phrase as referring to the order for relief under the bankruptcy chapter, because…
PLR 1314027: IRS grants late election relief for a Canadian retirement plan
A U.S. citizen living in Canada had an RRSP established before moving to the United States. The taxpayer filed U.S. returns but did not know about the election needed to defer U.S. tax on RRSP…
PLR 1314020: IRS treats vehicle repair protection contracts as insurance for federal tax purposes
Two subsidiaries of a vehicle-financing group planned to issue contracts covering certain vehicle repair costs after mechanical breakdowns. The IRS ruled that the contracts would be insurance…
PLR 1314019: IRS grants extra time for a Canadian RRSP election
The IRS granted a U.S. resident 60 days to make an election under Rev. Proc. 2002-23 for a Canadian registered retirement savings plan. The taxpayer became a U.S. resident after establishing the…
CCA 1313027: IRS maintains income exclusion position and identifies possible mitigation relief
The IRS advised that it continued to oppose a taxpayer's request to exclude a redacted amount from income for a redacted year. The memo also analyzed the mitigation provisions in IRC §§ 1311 through…
PLR 1313001: stock-purchase agreement amendment did not trigger § 2703
The IRS ruled that an amendment to a stock-purchase agreement did not constitute a substantial modification under the gift tax regulations and would not cause IRC § 2703 to apply. The agreement…
CCA 1312031: deficiency reserves count toward the statutory reserve cap
Chief Counsel advised that deficiency reserves included in an insurance contract's statutory reserve should be included when applying the maximum financial statement reserve limitation. The advice…
CCA 1311024: CCA distinguishes ocean activity income from transportation income
Chief Counsel advice addresses the source of income from chartering and moving a vessel. If a day rate covers only moving the vessel from Norway to the Gulf, the income should be characterized as…
CCA 1311023: CCA advises that the taxpayer is generally bound by transaction form
Chief Counsel advice addresses whether a taxpayer could use the substance-over-form doctrine to recast a transaction. The advice states that taxpayers are generally bound by the form they chose,…
PLR 1311006: IRS excludes physical-injury settlement distributions from reporting and withholding
The IRS ruled that damages distributed to victims of a described incident were excluded from the recipients' gross income because they arose from physical injuries or physical sickness. The damages…
CCA 1310032: An apostille authenticates a signature, not the document's contents
Chief Counsel explained that an apostille certifies the authenticity of a signature, the signer's capacity, and the seal or stamp, but does not certify the contents of the document. The advice…
PLR 1309011: IRS approves continued diversification treatment during variable-fund liquidation
A foreign life insurance company treated as a domestic corporation for federal tax purposes asked whether two funds supporting variable life insurance contracts would continue to satisfy the section…
PLR 1309001: Couple received extra time for Canadian pension elections
The IRS considered a married couple's request for more time to elect the treatment provided by Revenue Procedure 2002-23 for Canadian registered pension and retirement savings accounts. It found…
PLR 1308006: IRS grants extra time for Canadian RRSP treaty elections
The IRS granted a U.S. resident 60 days to make an election under Rev. Proc. 2002-23 to defer U.S. federal income tax on income accrued in three Canadian Registered Retirement Savings Plans. The…
PLR 1308003: IRS grants more time for a Canadian RRSP tax election
The IRS granted a taxpayer and spouse an extension of time to make an election concerning U.S. taxation of income accrued in a Canadian registered retirement savings plan. The taxpayers had relied…
PLR 1307003: IRS grants more time for a treaty election on Canadian RRSP earnings
A taxpayer who moved from Canada to the United States had two Canadian Registered Retirement Savings Plans. The taxpayer’s preparer did not advise the taxpayer to make the treaty election needed to…
PLR 1304004: REIT may issue multiple common-stock classes with different fees
A corporation planning to elect REIT status proposed seven classes of common stock with different selling, dealer-manager, distribution, and service fees. The classes were intended for different…
PLR 1304002: REIT may pay special dividends in cash, stock, or a combination
A REIT planned special dividends after selling properties and realizing taxable gain. Each shareholder could elect all cash, all common stock, or a combination of 20% cash and 80% stock, subject to…
PLR 1303003: IRS approves dividing a marital trust and renouncing one spouse's interest
A surviving spouse and the other trust beneficiaries asked whether a marital trust could be divided into two trusts and whether the spouse could renounce her interest in one of them. The IRS ruled…
CCA 1250022: Chief Counsel addresses stock-for-debt exchanges and unpaid loss deductions
Chief Counsel advice addressed the federal tax treatment of insolvent insurance subsidiaries that exchanged stock for debt in state insolvency proceedings. The advice concluded that…
PLR 1250009: IRS approves cooperative grain payments as per-unit retains
The IRS ruled that a farmers cooperative's planned cash payments to members and participating patrons for grain would qualify as per-unit retain allocations paid in money. The cooperative planned to…
U.S. citizens remain subject to U.S. tax despite an Israel treaty tie-breaker
Chief Counsel advised that a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen with a permanent home in Israel may be treated as an Israeli resident for treaty purposes under the U.S.-Israel treaty tie-breaker rule. The…
CCA 1247011: IRS advises that mitigation does not apply to refund claims raised during a CDP hearing
The IRS Office of Chief Counsel considered whether a taxpayer could raise mitigation and equitable recoupment arguments during a collection due process hearing. Counsel advised Appeals to consider…
PLR 1244013: IRS grants extra time for a late Canadian RRSP election
Taxpayers who moved from Canada to the United States had Canadian registered retirement savings plan accounts. Their tax preparers did not tell them to make the election needed to defer U.S. tax on…
PLR 1244012: Different share-class fees do not create preferential dividends for a REIT
A real estate investment trust planned to issue three classes of common stock with different distribution, dealer manager, advisory, and class-specific expense allocations. The IRS ruled that…
PLR 1243004: Estate gets relief for QTIP and GST elections and trust divisions
The IRS granted an estate 120 more days to make a QTIP election, divide a trust into exempt and non-exempt trusts, make a reverse QTIP election, and allocate the decedent's available GST exemption.…
PLR 1242004: IRS extends time for elections covering Canadian retirement plans
The IRS granted taxpayers 60 days to make elections under Rev. Proc. 2002-23 concerning Canadian registered retirement savings plans and registered pension plans. The taxpayers had moved from Canada…
PLR 1240018: Insurer owns assets supporting indexed-linked annuity options
A life insurance company asked whether it, rather than contract owners, owns assets purchased to support proposed indexed-linked investment options in non-qualified annuity contracts. The IRS ruled…
PLR 1239005: IRS grants more time to elect treaty deferral for Canadian RRSP earnings
Two taxpayers who moved from Canada to the United States maintained Canadian registered retirement savings plans and did not timely elect to defer U.S. income taxation on the plans' accrued earnings…
PLR 1238005: IRS grants extra time for a Canadian RRSP treaty election
The taxpayer, a Canadian citizen living permanently in the United States, held a Canadian Registered Retirement Savings Plan. The taxpayer and spouse had not made the election required to defer U.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.