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.
Trust reformation preserves charitable estate tax deductions
A decedent's trust paid a unitrust amount to children and descendants, with portions shifting to a foundation as beneficiaries died and the remainder ultimately passing to charity. The trust…
Trust modification preserves GST exemption without estate or gift tax
A trust created before September 25, 1985 proposed changing how assets would be held for the grantor's descendants after the primary beneficiary's death. Instead of distributing shares outright at…
Descendant trust changes retain GST-exempt status
A grandfathered trust proposed replacing age-21 outright distributions to descendants with lifetime separate trusts for each beneficiary. The new terms would permit discretionary support…
Lifetime descendant trusts preserve tax treatment
A pre-1985 irrevocable trust proposed modifying descendant shares that otherwise would have been distributed outright at age 21. The new provisions would keep each share in a lifetime discretionary…
Grandfathered trust may create lifetime beneficiary shares
A trust irrevocable before September 25, 1985 proposed converting descendant shares from age-21 outright distributions into lifetime separate trusts. Each trust could make discretionary support…
Modified descendant trusts keep GST grandfathering
A grandfathered irrevocable trust proposed holding descendant shares in separate lifetime trusts rather than distributing them outright when beneficiaries reached age 21. The modified terms would…
Descendant share modification avoids transfer taxes
A pre-1985 trust proposed changing descendant shares from mandatory income and outright age-21 distributions to separate lifetime discretionary trusts. Beneficiaries would receive testamentary…
Healthcare education scholarships approved
A private foundation proposed renewable scholarships for students pursuing post-secondary healthcare education in the area served by a hospital. Awards could continue for up to four years while…
Late QSub election allowed
An S corporation acquired all the stock of a subsidiary and intended to elect qualified subchapter S subsidiary treatment from the acquisition date. It inadvertently failed to file Form 8869,…
Second-class-of-stock defect receives S election relief
A corporation made an S election while its stock was subject to an agreement that created a second class of stock, making the election invalid. After discovering the problem, the corporation…
Foreign entity allowed late partnership classification election
A foreign eligible entity intended to be classified as a partnership for federal tax purposes but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. It represented that it acted reasonably and in good…
Contract-specific advisory fees are not annuity distributions
A life insurer proposed nonqualified deferred annuity contracts designed for owners who receive ongoing professional advice about allocating contract value among available options. Owners could…
Late duplicate Forms 3115 accepted
A consolidated corporate group implemented three accounting method changes involving depreciation, advance payments, and the remodel-refresh safe harbor. Its accounting firm attached the original…
QTIP trust severance isolates spouse's disclaimer
A marital trust had been elected as qualified terminable interest property and divided into GST-exempt and GST-nonexempt shares. The trustee proposed splitting the nonexempt share into a cash trust…
Annuity-funded advice fees excluded from owner receipts
A life insurance company planned three nonqualified deferred annuity contracts whose owners would receive ongoing advice about choosing among the contracts' investment options. Owners could…
Wind facility is not public utility property, loss ruling declined
A regulated utility and a tax-equity investor planned a joint venture to acquire a wind facility and sell most of its electricity to the utility under a long-term wholesale power purchase agreement.…
Annuity advisory fees treated as contract expenses
A life insurer proposed three nonqualified deferred annuity contracts designed for owners who would receive professional advice about allocating contract value among available options. The owner…
Direct annuity advisory fees are not owner distributions
A life insurance company proposed three nonqualified deferred annuity products meant to operate with continuing investment advice. Owners could authorize fees capped at 1.5 percent of contract value…
Contract-paid investment advice is not an annuity receipt
A life insurer designed three nonqualified deferred annuity contracts for owners using ongoing investment advisers. The insurer would pay authorized fees directly from contract value, capped at 1.5…
Investment advice fees excluded from annuity receipts
A life insurer proposed three nonqualified deferred annuity contracts intended for use with ongoing investment advice. Owners could authorize direct payment from contract value of advisory fees…
Two annuity products may pay advisory fees without distribution treatment
A life insurer proposed two nonqualified deferred annuity contracts, one variable and one nonvariable, for owners using ongoing investment advice. The contracts could pay authorized advisory fees…
Advisory fees for two annuities are contract expenses
A life insurance company planned two nonqualified deferred annuity contracts, one variable and one nonvariable, designed for owners receiving ongoing investment advice. Contract value could pay…
Charity leader sabbatical grants approved
A private foundation proposed sabbatical grants for individual leaders of charities to pursue personal and professional growth through conferences, courses, travel, extended learning, and…
Sports officials association denied charitable exemption
A membership association trained school sports officials, assigned them to games under contracts with schools, collected the schools' payments, and distributed those payments to its member…
Business networking group denied business-league exemption
A private networking group admitted only one professional or business owner from each designated business category. Its breakfasts, presentations, one-on-one meetings, guest introductions,…
Incorrect officer title does not invalidate partnership return
The CFO of a corporation that was a partnership's sole general partner signed the partnership's electronic filing authorization using another title he held. IRS Chief Counsel advised that the…
Later-available information may inform arm's-length price
IRS Chief Counsel advised that the section 482 regulations do not categorically bar reliable, relevant information from an arm's-length pricing analysis merely because the information existed…
Late Form 3115 attachment allowed for repair-cost method change
A corporation intended to make an automatic accounting-method change so that qualifying repair and maintenance costs would be deducted rather than capitalized. It timely sent the duplicate Form 3115…
Cash realized on employer debt can fund deductible pension contribution
A company proposed contributing its own publicly traded investment-grade debt securities to its defined benefit pension trust. The debt itself was only the company's promise to pay and therefore was…
Partnership receives 120 days for late Section 754 election
A limited liability company taxed as a partnership did not include a section 754 election with its timely return for the year one of its two owners died. Its professional return preparer had not…
Retaining spin-off shares does not show tax-avoidance plan
A public company planned to separate one business from its other businesses through contributions to a controlled corporation and a pro rata distribution of at least a controlling amount of the…
Trust may revise qualified-dividend investment-income election
A trust elected to treat a stated amount of qualified dividends as investment income for its investment-interest deduction based on a Schedule K-1. After the issuer supplied an amended Schedule K-1…
Amended K-1 permits revised dividend election
A trust elected to treat a stated amount of qualified dividends as investment income for its investment-interest deduction based on a Schedule K-1. After the issuer supplied an amended Schedule K-1…
Trust receives relief to reduce dividend election
A trust elected to treat a stated amount of qualified dividends as investment income for its investment-interest deduction based on a Schedule K-1. After the issuer supplied an amended Schedule K-1…
Individual may reduce dividend investment-income election
An individual filing as head of household elected to treat a stated amount of qualified dividends as investment income for the investment-interest deduction based on Schedules K-1 from two entities.…
Joint filers may reduce dividend investment-income election
A married couple filing jointly elected to treat a stated amount of qualified dividends as investment income for the investment-interest deduction based on a Schedule K-1. After the issuer supplied…
S corporation split-off qualifies as a tax-free reorganization and distribution
An S corporation proposed transferring a business and other assets to a qualified subchapter S subsidiary, then distributing all of that subsidiary's stock to one shareholder group in exchange for…
Biopharmaceutical company receives 60 days to make a success-based fee safe-harbor election
A biopharmaceutical company paid success-based advisory fees when it acquired another company. Its accounting firm deducted 70 percent of the fees and capitalized 30 percent under the safe harbor in…
Corporate group receives 60 days to attach a success-based fee safe-harbor election
A corporate group paid a success-based advisory fee in connection with a stock acquisition and merger. Its return deducted 70 percent of the fee and capitalized the remaining 30 percent under…
Captive insurer receives 90 days to make a small-insurance-company election
A captive property and casualty insurer prepared a timely return and an election under section 831(b)(2) to be taxed only on taxable investment income. The company set the return aside for review…
S corporation may revoke its election out of bonus depreciation for five-year property
An S corporation had historically elected not to claim additional first-year depreciation on five-year property because it expected depreciation recapture when disposing of the property. Its tax…
Rural telephone cooperative's stock-sale gain is patronage-sourced income
A taxable rural telephone cooperative had helped form telecommunications companies to obtain lower-cost network resources and better service for its members. Those companies were later combined, and…
Corporate group receives 60 days to file safe-harbor elections for two acquisition fees
A consolidated corporate group paid success-based advisory fees in two acquisitions, one treated as an asset acquisition through a section 338(h)(10) election and one structured as an asset sale.…
Annuity-paid investment advisory fees are not distributions to contract owners
A life insurance company planned to offer nonqualified deferred annuity contracts designed for owners who receive ongoing professional advice about allocating the contracts' cash value. With the…
Annuity-paid investment advisory fees are contract expenses, not owner distributions
A life insurance company planned to offer nonqualified deferred annuity contracts designed for owners who receive ongoing professional advice about allocating the contracts' cash value. With the…
Direct payment of annuity investment-advice fees is not an owner distribution
A life insurance company planned to offer nonqualified deferred annuity contracts designed for owners who receive ongoing professional advice about allocating the contracts' cash value. With the…
Advisory fees paid from fixed annuities are expenses rather than owner distributions
A life insurance company planned to offer two nonvariable, nonqualified deferred annuity contracts designed for owners who receive ongoing professional advice about allocating the contracts' cash…
Annuity contract may pay qualifying advisory fees without making an owner distribution
A life insurance company planned to offer nonqualified deferred annuity contracts designed for owners who receive ongoing professional advice about allocating the contracts' cash value. With the…
Contract-only annuity advice fees are not taxable distributions to owners
A life insurance company planned to offer nonqualified deferred annuity contracts designed for owners who receive ongoing professional advice about allocating the contracts' cash value. With the…
Annuity-funded investment advice does not create a distribution to the owner
A life insurance company planned to offer nonqualified deferred annuity contracts designed for owners who receive ongoing professional advice about allocating the contracts' cash value. With the…
Direct annuity payment of qualifying advice fees is not taxable to the owner
A life insurance company planned to offer nonqualified deferred annuity contracts designed for owners who receive ongoing professional advice about allocating the contracts' cash value. With the…
Qualifying investment-advice fees paid from annuities are contract expenses
A life insurance company planned to offer nonqualified deferred annuity contracts designed for owners who receive ongoing professional advice about allocating the contracts' cash value. With the…
IRS revoked charity that facilitated donor-controlled LLC contribution schemes
A tax-exempt organization operated donor-advised funds and routinely accepted noncash interests in limited liability companies. The IRS found that the donors retained voting and management control,…
Software licensing organization denied section 501(c)(3) status
An organization owned proprietary training materials and application software intended to help communities and institutions conduct structured discussions. It planned to provide a noncommercial…
Member-owned cultural facility denied section 501(c)(3) status
A member-owned corporation sought section 501(c)(3) status for a building used for cultural events, meetings, rentals, and a separately operated for-profit bar. Its members each held an ownership…
Angel investor group denied section 501(c)(6) business-league status
An organization held monthly meetings where early-stage companies pitched investment opportunities to accredited members. It screened deals, coordinated due diligence, supported negotiations, and…
Charity lost its exemption after refusing to provide examination records
A section 501(c)(3) organization repeatedly refused to provide financial and activity information requested during an IRS examination. Its chief executive first said the initial request had not…
Hospital charity lost exemption after selling its operations to for-profit buyers
A tax-exempt hospital organization stopped operating the hospital after the city that owned the facilities sold the hospital business and leased the facilities to for-profit buyers. The hospital…
Marina slip and storage rents qualified as REIT rents from real property
A real estate investment trust planned to lease boat slips and shore-based storage spaces at a redeveloped marina. The IRS treated the boat slips as water space above land and the storage spaces as…
Fund could revoke its section 4982 distribution-period election
A regulated investment company had elected to use its calendar tax year instead of the one-year period ending October 31 when calculating certain amounts for the section 4982 excise tax. The fund…
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.