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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Art study-abroad grant procedures approved
A private foundation proposed one-time grants for undergraduate and graduate art students participating in a university study-abroad program. The grants would cover program fees, group travel,…
Later ownership changes do not alter an earlier tax matters partner designation
Chief Counsel addressed whether later changes in a person's ownership or management status affect that person's role as tax matters partner for an earlier audit year. The advice treats a partnership…
Qualified disaster losses use a $500 floor and no AGI threshold
Chief Counsel explained the special deduction limits for qualified disaster-related personal casualty losses. Instead of the ordinary $100 floor for each casualty under section 165(h)(1), a…
TCJA section 451 changes do not alter cash-method income rules
Chief Counsel advised that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act changes to section 451 do not alter the constructive-receipt and prepaid-income rules for cash-method taxpayers. New sections 451(b) and 451(c)…
Affiliated hotel manager can remain an eligible independent contractor
A hotel REIT asked whether a hotel manager would remain an eligible independent contractor after being acquired by a company affiliated with the REIT's investment advisor. The advisor also provided…
Constructive denial clause does not violate conservation-easement perpetuity rules
Chief Counsel considered a conservation-easement provision requiring the easement holder's express approval for certain land uses. Under the provision, the holder's failure to answer a sufficiently…
Standard flash game income does not qualify for the bingo exception
A tax-exempt charity raised money through a game called standard flash, in which players opened pull-tab cards that could be instant winners, instant losers, or cards allowing later number-matching…
Affiliated luxury-hotel manager can remain an eligible independent contractor
A luxury-hotel REIT asked whether a hotel manager would remain an eligible independent contractor after being acquired by a company affiliated with the REIT's investment advisor. The advisor also…
Taxpayer gets 60 days to file omitted success-fee safe-harbor election
A taxpayer acquired a company and used the Rev. Proc. 2011-29 safe harbor to deduct 70 percent of its success-based transaction fees and capitalize the other 30 percent. Its timely filed return…
Estate gets 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 deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion. Based on the submitted…
Consolidated group gets 60 days to waive its loss carryback period
A consolidated corporate group intended to waive the entire carryback period for a consolidated net operating loss, and its returns consistently reflected that intent. A qualified tax professional…
Parties get extra time for a section 336(e) asset-sale election
A disregarded buyer acquired all the stock of an S corporation, and the parties intended to treat the transaction as an asset sale under section 336(e). They missed the deadline to execute the…
S corporation gets extra time to file its section 336(e) election statement
A buyer acquired more than 80 percent of an S corporation's stock, and the sellers and target timely signed an agreement to elect asset-sale treatment under section 336(e). The target's return and…
Foreign entity gets 120 days for a late corporate-classification election
A foreign eligible entity had filed an erroneous election to be treated as a partnership and sought to elect corporate tax status effective on the same redacted date. The entity represented that it…
Foreign entity gets 120 days for a late disregarded-entity election
A single-owner foreign eligible entity was classified by default as a corporation because its owner had limited liability. During a reorganization, the entity transferred its assets and liabilities…
Estate gets 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 deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion. Based on the submitted…
IRS approves an automatic extension for pension-plan amortization periods
A multiemployer pension plan requested an automatic extension of the periods for amortizing specified unfunded liabilities. The IRS approved the request for the redacted eligible charge bases and a…
Title-holding company denied exemption because its income went to a nonexempt parent
A corporation held commercial real estate, collected rent from unrelated tenants, and distributed the net income to its sole member. That member was disregarded to a foreign organization that the…
Visual-artist grant procedures receive advance approval
A private foundation proposed annual grants for emerging and mid-career visual artists in a particular state to create new work and improve their skills. Two panels of visual-arts professionals…
Inactive private foundation loses section 501(c)(3) status
A private foundation reported no income or expenses on its annual returns, made no charitable contributions, and never carried out its planned scholarships, small-business assistance, or grants to…
Organization loses exemption after failing to provide audit information
A charitable organization had been recognized as exempt for a proposed summer camp serving abused, neglected, and abandoned teenagers. The IRS selected it for audit and repeatedly sought financial…
Veterans charity revoked for repeated excess-benefit transactions
A veterans charity operated rooming houses and provided transportation to medical appointments, but its president and another officer were domestic partners who controlled its bank accounts without…
Ministry loses exemption after its president used funds for personal expenses
A ministry conducted life coaching, prison ministry, athletic coaching, Bible study, and a daily fellowship call. Its founder and president had sole control of its only checking account, and the…
Organization loses exemption after failing to answer audit requests
An organization recognized under section 501(c)(3) was selected for an audit of a Form 990-N year and had not filed a Form 990-series return for another year identified in the report. The IRS sent…
Animal sanctuary foundation loses exemption after repeated failed audit contacts
The IRS revoked a foundation's section 501(c)(3) exemption after it could not verify that the organization continued to operate for exempt purposes. The foundation had described animal sanctuary,…
Exemption revoked because organizing documents failed the organizational test
The IRS revoked an organization's section 501(c)(3) exemption retroactively to its original effective date. The organization had used Form 1023-EZ and attested that its organizing document limited…
Motorcycle-event organization loses exemption for private benefit and nonexempt activity
The IRS revoked a motorcycle-event organization's section 501(c)(3) exemption after finding that it operated primarily for social activity and private benefit rather than charity. The organization…
Taxpayer receives 60-day extension to complete accounting-method filing
A corporate taxpayer requested extra time to complete the procedural filing for an automatic accounting-method change. It had timely attached Form 3115 to its return to switch a subcontractor…
FCC spectrum sales qualify as made under threat of involuntary conversion
A television broadcaster asked whether a series of asset sales occurred under a threat of involuntary conversion for section 1033 purposes. The FCC's spectrum program offered broadcasters an…
Trust receives 120-day extension for charitable-contribution election
A trust made charitable contributions during one tax year and intended to elect under section 642(c) to treat them as paid in the preceding year. Its tax adviser inadvertently failed to file the…
Trust receives 120-day extension for charitable-contribution election
A trust made charitable contributions during one tax year and intended to elect under section 642(c) to treat them as paid in the preceding year. Its tax adviser inadvertently failed to file the…
Trust receives 120-day extension for charitable-contribution election
A trust made charitable contributions during one tax year and intended to elect under section 642(c) to treat them as paid in the preceding year. Its tax adviser inadvertently failed to file the…
Estate receives 120-day extension to make QTIP election
A decedent's revocable trust created a marital trust that paid income to the surviving spouse and held only assets intended to qualify for the estate-tax marital deduction. The estate's return…
REIT receives 90-day extension for taxable-subsidiary election
A real estate investment trust and a subsidiary intended to elect taxable REIT subsidiary status effective from the subsidiary's formation. Their outside law firm believed the accounting firm would…
Tax-exempt controlled corporation receives late section 168 election relief
A corporation wholly owned by a tax-exempt organization was a limited partner in a partnership formed to operate low-income housing. The partnership agreement required the corporation to elect under…
Tax-exempt controlled corporation receives late section 168 election relief
A corporation wholly owned by a tax-exempt organization was the general partner of a partnership formed to operate low-income housing. The partnership agreement required the corporation to elect…
Pension plan for church-associated nonprofit qualifies as a church plan
A religiously affiliated nonprofit serving people with developmental disabilities asked whether its defined benefit pension plan qualified as a church plan under section 414(e). The nonprofit was…
Foreign entity receives 120-day extension for corporate classification election
A foreign eligible entity failed to timely file Form 8832 to be treated as an association taxable as a corporation from its requested effective date. It represented that it acted reasonably and in…
LLC receives late corporate-classification and S corporation election relief
A domestic limited liability company intended from formation to be classified as an association taxable as a corporation and to elect S corporation status. It inadvertently failed to timely file…
LLC receives late corporate-classification and S corporation election relief
A multi-member limited liability company intended from formation to elect corporate classification and S corporation status rather than use its default partnership classification. It inadvertently…
Corporation receives inadvertent invalid S election relief
A corporation's operating agreement created a second class of stock, making its S corporation election invalid. After discovering the problem, the corporation adopted a new operating agreement that…
Donor receives 120-day extension to elect out of automatic GST allocation
A donor and spouse created four irrevocable trusts primarily for their grandchildren, and the donor later transferred the same redacted amount to each trust. The donor did not intend to allocate…
Donor receives 120-day extension to elect out of automatic GST allocation
A donor and spouse created four irrevocable trusts primarily for their grandchildren, and the donor later transferred the same redacted amount to each trust. The donor did not intend to allocate…
Corporation receives relief for missing consent and ineligible shareholder
A corporation's S election was invalid because the spouse of a shareholder, who held a community-property interest, did not consent on Form 2553. The corporation's stock ledger later also showed…
Scientific-research travel and collaboration grant procedures approved
A private foundation sought advance approval for grants supporting individuals involved in a scientific research initiative. The grants would fund study, research, writing, lecturing, publication,…
Large cash contribution qualifies as an unusual grant
A publicly supported charity promoting a sport sought advance recognition that a large cash contribution would be an unusual grant. The charity served youth, veterans, wheelchair participants, and…
Foreign company receives 120-day extension for partnership classification election
A foreign eligible entity with multiple owners had a default classification as an association taxable as a corporation. It intended to elect partnership treatment but relied on a tax professional…
Foreign company receives 120-day extension for partnership classification election
A foreign eligible entity with multiple owners had a default classification as an association taxable as a corporation. It intended to elect partnership treatment but relied on a tax professional…
Tax-exempt controlled corporation receives late section 168 election relief
A corporation wholly owned by a tax-exempt organization was a limited partner in a partnership formed to operate low-income housing. The partnership agreement required the corporation to elect under…
Tax-exempt controlled corporation receives late section 168 election relief
A corporation wholly owned by a tax-exempt organization was the general partner of a partnership formed to operate low-income housing. The partnership agreement required the corporation to elect…
Partnership may aggregate adjacent nonoperating mineral interests
A partnership held mineral royalty interests across multiple tracts at six properties and asked to aggregate the interests at each property for federal tax purposes. The partnership did not bear…
REIT receives 90-day extension for taxable-subsidiary election
A real estate investment trust and a subsidiary intended the subsidiary to be a taxable REIT subsidiary from its formation. An outside firm recommended filing Forms 8832 and 8875 but believed the…
Foreign entity may change classification within the 60-month limit
A foreign eligible entity had changed from its default corporate classification to disregarded-entity status. It later underwent a change in ownership of more than 50 percent and wanted to elect…
S corporation receives 120-day extension for QSub election
An S corporation purchased all of the stock of another S corporation and intended to treat the acquired company as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary. It failed to timely file Form 8869 for the…
Soccer referee placement service denied section 501(c)(3) exemption
An organization recruited, trained, mentored, scheduled, and paid independent soccer referees for local leagues under negotiated contracts. Its revenue came from league and association fees, and…
Industrial park association denied section 501(c)(4) exemption
An association formed to maintain and improve the common areas and shared facilities of a commercial and industrial park sought exemption under section 501(c)(4). Membership was limited to lot…
Advocacy group denied exemption after failing to detail political activity
An advocacy organization proposed educating voters, facilitating dialogue, identifying common ground, influencing elected officials, and supporting or opposing officials based on their response. The…
Benefit and social organization denied fraternal-society exemption
An organization provided sick and death benefits to active members, social activities to members, and event-facility rentals. It first sought social-club exemption and then changed its request to…
Baseball umpire placement organization denied exemption
A membership organization assigned baseball umpires to games, collected their fees and scheduling fees, and paid the member umpires as independent contractors. It sought exemption under sections…
Business referral network denied business-league exemption
A networking chapter admitted only one member from each professional classification, held weekly meetings, and encouraged members to exchange referrals and promote their individual businesses. It…
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.