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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REIT may measure partnership interests by hypothetical liquidation shares
A company planning to elect REIT status intended to acquire economic interests in ten partnerships that leased and operated U.S. rental properties. Some partnerships did not maintain regulatory capita…
Pension plan approved to use substitute annuitant mortality tables
A taxpayer requested substitute mortality tables for one defined benefit pension plan within a controlled group. The IRS approved substitute rates for the plan’s male and female annuitants, excluding …
Pension plan approved to use substitute annuitant mortality tables for ten years
A taxpayer requested substitute mortality tables for one defined benefit pension plan in a controlled group. The IRS approved substitute rates for male and female annuitants, excluding disabled partic…
Consolidated group received 60 days to elect success-fee safe harbor
A consolidated corporate group paid a success-based financial advisory fee in a taxable stock acquisition. Its timely return deducted 70 percent and capitalized 30 percent in accordance with the Reven…
Foreign entity received 120 days for late disregarded-entity election
A foreign eligible entity intended to elect disregarded-entity treatment from a specified date but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS found that the requirements for discretionary…
Corporation received inadvertent invalid S election relief
A corporation’s S election was ineffective because its governing documents created a second class of stock. The corporation and its shareholders later amended the documents to remove the offending pro…
Court-modified grandfathered trust remained exempt from GST tax
A trust created by a decedent who died before September 25, 1985 originally provided income to a beneficiary for life and then distributed to that beneficiary’s descendants. A court modification inste…
Court-modified great-nephew trust retained GST-tax exemption
A pre-September 25, 1985 trust paid income to the decedent’s great-nephew for life and originally would have distributed outright to his son. A court modification continued the assets in trust for the…
Court-modified grandson trust retained GST-tax exemption
A pre-September 25, 1985 trust paid income to the decedent’s grandson for life and originally would have distributed outright to his son. A court modification continued the assets in trust for the son…
Late ESBT elections received inadvertent S termination relief
Two trusts acquired shares of an S corporation but their trustees did not timely elect electing small business trust status. The first omission terminated the corporation’s S election, and the second …
Estate received late alternate valuation election relief
An estate’s personal representative timely filed Form 706 after relying on a law firm, but the firm did not advise making the section 2032 alternate valuation election. During preparation of the estat…
Late QSST elections received inadvertent S termination relief
A shareholder transferred S corporation stock to two trusts that otherwise met the qualified subchapter S trust requirements, but the beneficiaries did not timely file QSST elections. The corporation’…
Student research grant procedures received advance approval
A private foundation proposed educational research grants for college and university students studying a redacted specialty and related scientific contexts. Applicants needed faculty support, institut…
Private capital research grant procedures received advance approval
A private foundation proposed grants for independent academic research on the economic impact of the private capital industry using secure, centralized databases. Academic applicants would submit rese…
Entrepreneurship research grant procedures received advance approval
A private foundation proposed grants for research designed to produce practical insights for entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship programs, policy designers, ecosystem leaders, and researchers. A public ca…
Late IRS signature invalidated one assessment extension but prior POA consent remained valid
A taxpayer signed a Form 872 extending the assessment period, but the IRS did not sign before the limitations period expired because of a government shutdown. Chief Counsel advised that the consent wa…
Tribal refunding bonds needed volume cap only for excess issue price
A tribal government wanted to issue $76 million of current refunding bonds, using $75 million to retire outstanding Tribal Economic Development Bonds and $1 million for issuance costs. Notice 2019-39 …
Foreign entity received 120 days for late disregarded-entity election
A foreign eligible entity intended to be classified as a disregarded entity from its formation date but inadvertently failed to timely file Form 8832. The IRS found the discretionary extension require…
Late Forms 3115 received accounting-method filing relief
A consolidated group intended to make two automatic accounting-method changes for ten subsidiaries but missed the required filing deadlines after the parent inadvertently failed to submit Form 7004. T…
Taxpayer received 60 days to elect out of bonus depreciation
A consolidated group did not claim additional first-year depreciation for several classes of qualified property, but its internal tax department inadvertently omitted the required election statement f…
Partnership received 120 days to make a late section 754 election
A limited liability company treated as a partnership missed a section 754 election after an owner died because its advisor did not explain that the election was available. The IRS found that the regul…
Estate received 120 days for a reverse QTIP election and trust severance
An estate made a QTIP election for a marital trust, but its accountant failed to attach Schedule R, advise the executor to divide the trust into GST-exempt and nonexempt shares, or make a reverse QTIP…
Taxpayer received 120 days to opt out of automatic GST allocations
A taxpayer created two irrevocable annuity trusts before the automatic generation-skipping transfer tax allocation rules were enacted. The trusts' estate tax inclusion periods ended after those rules …
Taxpayer received 120 days to opt out of automatic GST allocations
A taxpayer created two irrevocable annuity trusts before the automatic generation-skipping transfer tax allocation rules were enacted. The trusts' estate tax inclusion periods ended after those rules …
Foreign entity received 120 days for a late disregarded-entity election
A wholly owned foreign eligible entity intended to be classified as disregarded for federal tax purposes but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS found that the regulatory-extension…
LLC received 120 days to correct a mistaken corporate election
A domestic single-member limited liability company intended to be disregarded for federal tax purposes and filed returns consistently with that treatment. It mistakenly submitted Form 8832 electing as…
Nuclear decommissioning fund transfer qualified for tax-free treatment
A seller agreed to transfer a nuclear generating unit and its qualified and nonqualified decommissioning fund assets to a buyer that would assume the decommissioning liabilities. The IRS ruled that th…
S corporation and QSub received inadvertent-termination relief
A trust became an ineligible S corporation shareholder after its temporary eligibility expired because its trustees failed to make a timely electing small business trust election. That failure termina…
Foundation could pay its founder's entity for charitable services
A private foundation proposed paying an entity owned by its founder for professional grant-making, program, charitable consulting, and investment services. Because the founder was a substantial contri…
Founder-owned entity could receive fees for foundation services
A private foundation proposed paying an entity owned by its founder for professional grant-making, program, charitable consulting, and investment services. Because the founder was a substantial contri…
Corporation received 60 days to make a late IC-DISC election
A domestic corporation was formed to operate as an interest charge domestic international sales corporation and sell its parent's products to foreign buyers on a commission basis. Its accounting firm …
Entity received 120 days for a late corporate classification election
An eligible entity intended to be classified as an association taxable as a corporation but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. It represented that its federal returns were consistent with…
IRS approved a private foundation's scholarship procedures
A private foundation proposed scholarships for undergraduate and graduate students studying in two specified fields at accredited universities. An independent scholarship administrator would handle ap…
IRS approved four-year scholarships for graduating seniors
A private foundation proposed four-year undergraduate scholarships for graduating seniors from qualifying high schools in two regions. School representatives would nominate candidates, and a scholarsh…
IRS approved annual nursing scholarships based on merit and need
A private foundation proposed annual scholarships for full-time students in specified nursing programs at a college. Applicants needed a minimum 3.5 grade point average and demonstrated financial need…
Member benefit fund denied Section 501(c)(3) exemption
A membership corporation sought Section 501(c)(3) status for a fund that provided financial or material assistance to members facing serious injury, illness, medical emergencies, terminal illness, or …
Surviving spouse could roll estate-beneficiary plan assets into an IRA
A participant in a governmental section 457(b) plan named his estate, rather than his spouse, as the beneficiary of his account. His surviving spouse was both the executrix and sole beneficiary of the…
Foreign entity received 120 days for a late partnership election
A foreign eligible entity intended to be classified as a partnership for federal tax purposes but failed to file Form 8832 on time. It represented that the failure was not motivated by tax avoidance o…
Corporation received relief for an ineffective S election
A corporation's S election was ineffective from its intended start date because a shareholder trust failed to make an electing small business trust election. The corporation represented that the omiss…
Foreign entity received 120 days for a late disregarded-entity election
A foreign single-owner eligible entity intended to be disregarded for federal tax purposes from its formation date but failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS concluded that the regulatory-extension…
S election relief covered an ineligible owner and second stock class
An entity intended to be an S corporation, but a partnership shareholder was ineligible and did not consent to the election. Its governing agreements also used partnership-style capital accounts and a…
Deemed royalty excluded after intangible returned to U.S. group
A U.S. consolidated group had previously transferred intangible property abroad in a section 368 reorganization, creating annual deemed royalty income under section 367(d). It proposed moving the prop…
Community foundation and corporation could file one Form 990
A community foundation organized as a trust was the sole member and original funder of a supporting nonprofit corporation. The organizations proposed amendments placing all gifts under common governin…
Community foundation and corporation could file one Form 990
A community foundation organized as a trust was the sole member and original funder of a supporting nonprofit corporation. The organizations proposed amendments placing all gifts under common governin…
GST allocation substantially complied despite missing notice
A taxpayer transferred property to an irrevocable trust with generation-skipping transfer tax potential. The taxpayer timely filed Form 709, elected out of automatic GST exemption allocation, and affi…
IRS approved community and employer-related scholarships
A private foundation proposed one scholarship program for graduates of a local school system and another for children of employees of two companies. Separate advisory committees would evaluate applica…
Charitable remainder unitrust denied Section 501(c)(3) exemption
A charitable remainder unitrust applied for separate exemption under Section 501(c)(3). During the settlor's and spouse's lifetimes, the trust was required to make annual payments to them, with the re…
Supplement filing year controlled the penalty amount
This brief Chief Counsel email addressed a supplement that was due in one year and filed the next year. It advised that the failure to file occurred in the due year, and that year determined the penal…
Retirement plan contribution required an actual outlay of assets
Chief Counsel explained when an employer has actually paid a contribution to a qualified retirement plan trust for a section 404(a) deduction. Under the objective outlay-of-assets test from Don E. Wil…
Unequal liquidation rights received inadvertent S election relief
A corporation had voting and nonvoting shares that originally carried identical economic rights. Before its S election, an articles amendment changed the liquidation rights so the nonvoting shares rec…
Business separation qualified as a tax-free spin-off
A corporate group proposed separating one of its two longstanding businesses into a newly formed controlled corporation. The parent would contribute the separated business's assets and liabilities for…
Tax-exempt controlled entity received 45 days for a late election
A private foundation wholly owned a taxable corporation that managed a partnership rehabilitating a historic building. Because the foundation owned more than half of the corporation, the corporation w…
Taxpayer received 60 days for a late success-fee safe harbor
A taxpayer paid two advisers success-based fees in connection with the sale of all its ownership interests. Its return preparer deducted 70 percent of the fees under the Revenue Procedure 2011-29 safe…
S corporation received passive-income termination relief
An S corporation had accumulated earnings and profits from C corporation years and received more than 25 percent of its gross receipts from passive investment income for three consecutive years. Those…
Surviving spouse could roll retitled inherited IRA into her own IRA
A decedent's IRA originally named another beneficiary, but the custodian retitled the account under a state court order to name the surviving spouse as sole beneficiary. The spouse had an unlimited ri…
Foreign merger stock exchange received section 367 exception
A U.S. corporate group agreed to exchange stock of a domestic subsidiary for common and preferred shares of a publicly traded foreign corporation in a two-step forward triangular merger. The foreign c…
Pension surplus transfer avoided employer reversion tax
An employer terminated a frozen defined benefit plan that unexpectedly had surplus assets after all liabilities were satisfied. It proposed transferring the entire surplus directly to separate bargain…
Taxpayer received 60 days to file a duplicate Form 3115
A consolidated group timely filed its return with the original Form 3115 for an automatic accounting-method change involving prepaid liabilities under the 12-month rule. Its accounting firm failed to …
Acquirer received 60 days for a late success-fee safe harbor
A taxpayer paid investment bankers contingent fees for helping it acquire an ownership interest in another business. Its timely return deducted 70 percent of the fees and capitalized 30 percent under …
IRS approved scholarships for math, science, and education students
A private foundation proposed renewable scholarships for students from a specified area who would attend college in a specified state and pursue mathematics, science, or education degrees. Applicants …
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.