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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Extension granted to attach Form 3115 to amended return
A taxpayer timely mailed the duplicate copy of Form 3115 and reported all adjustments from its intended automatic accounting-method change, but its tax manager inadvertently failed to attach the…
Trust reformation respected for power-of-appointment and GST tax purposes
An irrevocable trust for six children and their descendants contained a drafting error that allowed annual withdrawal rights to lapse beyond the greater of $5,000 or five percent of trust assets. A…
Trust reformation respected for power-of-appointment and GST tax purposes
An irrevocable trust for six children and their descendants contained a drafting error that allowed annual withdrawal rights to lapse beyond the greater of $5,000 or five percent of trust assets. A…
Trust reformation respected for power-of-appointment and GST tax purposes
An irrevocable trust for six children and their descendants contained a drafting error that allowed annual withdrawal rights to lapse beyond the greater of $5,000 or five percent of trust assets. A…
Trust reformation respected for power-of-appointment and GST tax purposes
An irrevocable trust for six children and their descendants contained a drafting error that allowed annual withdrawal rights to lapse beyond the greater of $5,000 or five percent of trust assets. A…
Trust reformation respected for power-of-appointment and GST tax purposes
An irrevocable trust for six children and their descendants contained a drafting error that allowed annual withdrawal rights to lapse beyond the greater of $5,000 or five percent of trust assets. A…
Trust reformation respected for power-of-appointment and GST tax purposes
An irrevocable trust for six children and their descendants contained a drafting error that allowed annual withdrawal rights to lapse beyond the greater of $5,000 or five percent of trust assets. A…
Trust reformation respected for power-of-appointment and GST tax purposes
An irrevocable trust for six children and their descendants contained a drafting error that allowed annual withdrawal rights to lapse beyond the greater of $5,000 or five percent of trust assets. A…
Trust reformation respected for power-of-appointment and GST tax purposes
An irrevocable trust for six children and their descendants contained a drafting error that allowed annual withdrawal rights to lapse beyond the greater of $5,000 or five percent of trust assets. A…
Trust reformation respected for power-of-appointment and GST tax purposes
An irrevocable trust for six children and their descendants contained a drafting error that allowed annual withdrawal rights to lapse beyond the greater of $5,000 or five percent of trust assets. A…
Trust reformation respected for power-of-appointment and GST tax purposes
An irrevocable trust for six children and their descendants contained a drafting error that allowed annual withdrawal rights to lapse beyond the greater of $5,000 or five percent of trust assets. A…
Trust reformation respected for power-of-appointment and GST tax purposes
An irrevocable trust for six children and their descendants contained a drafting error that allowed annual withdrawal rights to lapse beyond the greater of $5,000 or five percent of trust assets. A…
Trust reformation respected for power-of-appointment and GST tax purposes
An irrevocable trust for six children and their descendants contained a drafting error that allowed annual withdrawal rights to lapse beyond the greater of $5,000 or five percent of trust assets. A…
Trust reformation respected for power-of-appointment and GST tax purposes
An irrevocable trust for six children and their descendants contained a drafting error that allowed annual withdrawal rights to lapse beyond the greater of $5,000 or five percent of trust assets. A…
Trust reformation respected for power-of-appointment and GST tax purposes
An irrevocable trust for six children and their descendants contained a drafting error that allowed annual withdrawal rights to lapse beyond the greater of $5,000 or five percent of trust assets. A…
Trust reformation respected for power-of-appointment and GST tax purposes
An irrevocable trust for six children and their descendants contained a drafting error that allowed annual withdrawal rights to lapse beyond the greater of $5,000 or five percent of trust assets. A…
Trust reformation respected for power-of-appointment and GST tax purposes
An irrevocable trust for six children and their descendants contained a drafting error that allowed annual withdrawal rights to lapse beyond the greater of $5,000 or five percent of trust assets. A…
S corporation received inadvertent-termination relief after trust merger
An eligible electing small business trust that owned S corporation shares merged into a second trust. The surviving trust filed an ESBT election using a later effective date than the actual share…
S corporation received inadvertent-termination relief after trust merger
An eligible electing small business trust that owned S corporation shares merged into a second trust. The surviving trust filed an ESBT election using a later effective date than the actual share…
S corporation received inadvertent-termination relief after trust merger
An eligible electing small business trust that owned S corporation shares merged into a second trust. The surviving trust filed an ESBT election using a later effective date than the actual share…
S corporation received inadvertent-termination relief after trust merger
An eligible electing small business trust that owned S corporation shares merged into a second trust. The surviving trust filed an ESBT election using a later effective date than the actual share…
S corporation received inadvertent-termination relief after trust merger
An eligible electing small business trust that owned S corporation shares merged into a second trust. The surviving trust filed an ESBT election using a later effective date than the actual share…
Foreign entity received extension to elect disregarded status
A foreign entity intended to be classified as a disregarded entity but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS found that the entity satisfied the requirements for discretionary…
Extension granted for section 336(e) election after S corporation stock sale
A purchaser acquired all stock of an S corporation from its shareholders, and the parties intended to treat the qualified stock disposition as an asset sale under section 336(e). They did not timely…
Scholarship grant procedures received advance approval
A nonexempt charitable trust operated a scholarship program for local high school students. A committee of school officials selected recipients using equally weighted scholarship, ability, need, and…
Employer-related scholarship and educational grant procedures approved
A private foundation proposed an employer-related program offering both scholarships for accredited education and educational grants for summer programs, evening classes, and talent development to…
Medical management service organization denied charitable exemption
A nonprofit successor to a for-profit company provided medical and administrative services to for-profit healthcare practices for ordinary fees, while also conducting incidental ministry activities…
Housing assistance organization denied charitable exemption for defective articles
A nonprofit planned to renovate foreclosed homes and provide them rent-free to families while offering financial education and other support. Its original articles did not limit its purposes to…
Accounting consultants denied business league exemption
A membership organization for accounting businesses offered each member an initial free consultation followed by customized management consulting for quarterly fees. More than a redacted percentage…
Medical marijuana patient aid organization denied charitable exemption
An organization planned to raise funds that dispensaries would use to provide a one-month supply of medical marijuana and transportation assistance to financially needy patients in a state program.…
Two-business split-up qualified as tax-free divisive reorganizations
A company operated two businesses through separate wholly owned limited liability companies and wanted to separate the businesses among two groups of owners. Each subsidiary would elect corporate…
Late QSub and corporate classification elections received 120-day extensions
An S corporation acquired all the stock of another S corporation and intended to elect qualified subchapter S subsidiary status for the acquired company. It later converted both entities to limited…
Foreign entity received 120 days for late disregarded-entity election
A foreign eligible entity intended to be treated as a disregarded entity from a specified date but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS found that the requirements for…
Three-year trust extension did not disturb liquidating trust classification
A trust was created under a Chapter 11 liquidation plan solely to liquidate and distribute transferred assets, without continuing a trade or business. The bankruptcy court had already extended its…
Corporation received 60 days to file late IC-DISC election
A domestic corporation was formed to operate as an interest charge domestic international sales corporation and entered a commission arrangement with a related company. Its law firm organized the…
Partnership received 60 days to elect success-fee safe harbor
A partnership paid financial advisers success-based fees in connection with its acquisition. Its return preparer applied the Revenue Procedure 2011-29 safe harbor, which treats 70 percent of…
Parties received late relief for section 336(e) stock-sale election
A consolidated group sold all the stock of a subsidiary and intended to elect under section 336(e) to treat the stock sale as an asset disposition. The purchase agreement called for the election,…
Two pension plans approved to use substitute annuitant mortality tables
A taxpayer requested substitute mortality tables for two defined benefit pension plans. The IRS approved the substitute rates for male and female annuitants, including disabled participants, for ten…
Life insurer could not make reserve interest-rate elections on amended returns
A life insurance group sought to use amended returns to elect five-year recomputation of the applicable federal interest rate used for reserves on older contracts. Chief Counsel concluded that the…
Pending merger had to be considered in valuing gifted public stock
A corporate co-founder transferred publicly traded shares to a grantor retained annuity trust shortly before the company announced a merger that followed extended negotiations. The stock price rose…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.…
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…
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.