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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Consolidated group continued after new-parent transactions
A consolidated corporate group underwent a series of transactions involving a newly formed parent, merger subsidiary, and entity-classification elections. Chief Counsel concluded that the original…
Nuclear decommissioning fund transfer preserved qualified status
A seller planned to transfer ownership of a nuclear power plant and its qualified nuclear decommissioning fund to a purchaser as part of a transaction treated as an asset sale for federal tax…
Formula term qualified charitable lead annuity interest
A revocable trust directed its residue to a charitable lead annuity trust after the deaths of the grantor and spouse, either directly or through a marital trust. The charitable trust would pay a…
Administrative delay did not make pension buyout an accelerated payment
A governmental retirement system offered eligible members a lump sum in exchange for reduced future cost-of-living increases. Members elected the buyout with their retirement applications, but…
Genetic testing costs qualified only to the extent allocable to medical care
A taxpayer wanted to use a health-care flexible spending account to buy a bundled genetic-testing product that supplied ancestry information, health testing, and reports. The IRS concluded that…
Conditional relief granted for invalid S election and trust shareholder
An S corporation’s original election omitted the signature of a shareholder’s community-property spouse. Later, a trust intended to be a qualified subchapter S trust held shares but its governing…
Extension granted for accounting-method change forms
A consolidated group failed to timely submit originals and signed duplicate copies of three Forms 3115 after its return preparer failed to file a requested Form 7004 extension. The forms covered…
Partnership received extension for section 754 election
A limited liability company taxed as a partnership failed to make a timely section 754 election for the year in which ownership interests were transferred. The company represented that it acted…
Late ESBT elections received inadvertent-termination relief
Six trusts acquired stock in an S corporation but their trustees did not timely elect electing small business trust status. The first failures terminated the corporation’s S election, and later…
Spouses received time to recharacterize excess Roth IRA contributions
A married couple contributed to Roth IRAs during years when their modified adjusted gross income exceeded the eligibility limit. They discovered the problem after the ordinary deadlines for…
Employer-related scholarship procedures received advance approval
A private foundation proposed scholarships for lineal descendants of employees of affiliated companies. An independent community committee would select recipients using academic, extracurricular,…
Statehood advocacy group denied section 501(c)(3) status
An organization created educational websites, classroom materials, teacher seminars, videos, and civics resources about democracy and equality for a political unit. It also promoted statehood for…
Gated condominium association denied section 501(c)(4) status
A condominium association collected monthly dues to maintain a gated building’s common areas and structural elements. Membership was limited to unit owners, who owned the common areas, and the…
Nuclear decommissioning fund transfer preserved qualified status
A seller planned to transfer ownership of a nuclear power plant and its qualified nuclear decommissioning fund to a purchaser as part of a transaction treated as an asset sale for federal tax…
Nuclear decommissioning fund transfer preserved qualified status
A seller planned to transfer ownership of a nuclear power plant and its qualified nuclear decommissioning fund to a purchaser in a transaction treated as an asset sale for federal tax purposes. Both…
Fund allowed to revoke taxable-year election for excise tax
A regulated investment company had elected to use its calendar taxable year, instead of the one-year period ending October 31, when calculating capital gain net income for the section 4982…
Fund allowed to revoke taxable-year election for excise tax
A regulated investment company had elected to use its calendar taxable year, instead of the one-year period ending October 31, when calculating capital gain net income for the section 4982…
Fund allowed to revoke taxable-year election for excise tax
A regulated investment company had elected to use its calendar taxable year, instead of the one-year period ending October 31, when calculating capital gain net income for the section 4982…
Early trust termination avoided GST and gift tax but triggered capital gain
A pre-September 25, 1985 irrevocable trust paid all income to the settlor’s son and was to distribute the remainder to his descendants. The beneficiaries obtained court approval to terminate the…
Early trust termination avoided GST and gift tax but triggered capital gain
A pre-September 25, 1985 irrevocable trust paid all income to the settlor’s son and was to distribute the remainder to his descendants. The beneficiaries obtained court approval to terminate the…
Early trust termination avoided GST and gift tax but triggered capital gain
A pre-September 25, 1985 irrevocable trust paid all income to the settlor’s son and was to distribute the remainder to his descendants. The beneficiaries obtained court approval to terminate the…
Early trust termination avoided GST and gift tax but triggered capital gain
A pre-September 25, 1985 irrevocable trust paid all income to the settlor’s son and was to distribute the remainder to his descendants. The beneficiaries obtained court approval to terminate the…
Early trust termination avoided GST and gift tax but triggered capital gain
A pre-September 25, 1985 irrevocable trust paid all income to the settlor’s son and was to distribute the remainder to his descendants. The beneficiaries obtained court approval to terminate the…
Trust termination avoided transfer taxes but triggered capital gain
The beneficiaries of a trust created before September 25, 1985 agreed to terminate it and divide its assets according to the actuarial value of their interests. A court approved the agreement…
Trust termination avoided transfer taxes but triggered capital gain
The beneficiaries of a trust created before September 25, 1985 agreed to terminate it and divide its assets according to the actuarial value of their interests. A court approved the agreement…
Trust termination avoided transfer taxes but triggered capital gain
The beneficiaries of a trust created before September 25, 1985 agreed to terminate it and divide its assets according to the actuarial value of their interests. A court approved the agreement…
Trust termination avoided transfer taxes but triggered capital gain
The beneficiaries of a trust created before September 25, 1985 agreed to terminate it and divide its assets according to the actuarial value of their interests. A court approved the agreement…
Trust termination avoided transfer taxes but triggered capital gain
The beneficiaries of a trust created before September 25, 1985 agreed to terminate it and divide its assets according to the actuarial value of their interests. A court approved the agreement…
Health-care provider network denied business-league exemption
A health-care provider network sought exemption as a business league under section 501(c)(6). Its activities included coordinating therapy services and professional standards, but it also planned to…
Young-professionals group failed the charitable organization tests
A membership organization for young nonprofit professionals applied for exemption under section 501(c)(3). It offered professional development, networking, social events, and advocacy intended to…
Disability trust failed to establish charitable status
A purported trust sought section 501(c)(3) status for programs intended to help disabled people move toward self-support. It refused repeated requests for a complete signed trust agreement, declined…
Volleyball officials association denied business-league exemption
An association of volleyball officials sought exemption as a business league under section 501(c)(6). It trained officials and promoted consistent officiating, but it also coordinated, scheduled,…
Business-referral group denied business-league exemption
A networking group for owners from different professions sought exemption as a business league under section 501(c)(6). It held weekly meetings where members learned about one another's businesses…
Two-year EIC ban can follow a partial child disallowance
Counsel considered whether the two-year earned income credit ban can apply when only one of several claimed children is disallowed. The advice says yes if a final determination finds that the…
Corporate spin-off qualified for nonrecognition treatment
A parent corporation proposed to separate a wholly owned subsidiary by distributing all of the subsidiary's stock to the parent's shareholders. The IRS ruled that the shareholders would recognize no…
Sole-heir spouse could roll an estate-received IRA into his own IRA
A decedent's IRA named no beneficiary, so its balance was payable to the estate. The surviving spouse was both the estate's sole heir and its sole administrator. The IRS treated the spouse as the…
Four-way S corporation split-up qualified for nonrecognition treatment
Four sibling shareholders disagreed over management of an S corporation's business and proposed dividing it into four independently operated segments. The corporation would contribute each segment's…
Ineligible shareholder received inadvertent S termination relief
An S corporation transferred shares to a person that was not an eligible S corporation shareholder, terminating its S election. The corporation represented that the termination was inadvertent and…
Late section 336(e) election received filing relief
A consolidated group sold all stock of a subsidiary and intended to elect under section 336(e) to treat the stock sale as an asset disposition. The seller and target signed the required election…
Late original Form 3115 received a 45-day filing extension
A corporation joining a consolidated group needed to change from the cash method to an accrual method. Its CPA timely filed the duplicate Form 3115 with the IRS, but a software problem delayed both…
Late mortgage-credit-certificate election was deemed timely
A state-authorized issuer created a new mortgage credit certificate program and elected to forgo qualified mortgage bonds so it could allocate volume cap to the program. Bond counsel prepared the…
Two pension plans received substitute mortality table approval
A taxpayer requested substitute mortality tables for two pension plans. The request covered aggregated male and female annuitants and nonannuitants, but excluded disabled participants. The IRS…
Taxpayer received more time to recharacterize excess Roth IRA contributions
A taxpayer made Roth IRA contributions over several years even though her modified adjusted gross income exceeded the eligibility limit. Her longtime certified public accountant knew both her income…
Foundation's two college scholarship programs received advance approval
A private foundation requested advance approval for two need-based scholarship programs designed to help students complete college with little or no debt. One program served promising students…
Long-term care premium refund death benefit met contract rules
A life insurance company offered group long-term care coverage with a premium stabilization feature. The feature could use a calculated amount to offset future premiums or, when the insured died,…
Company received 45 days to file safe-harbor election statements
A corporate parent incurred success-based fees in three business transactions and reported them under the Revenue Procedure 2011-29 safe harbor. Its timely filed returns deducted 70 percent of the…
LLC received relief for an inadvertent S corporation termination
An LLC elected to be taxed as a corporation and as an S corporation. Its original agreement required distributions in proportion to ownership, but a later amendment directed liquidating…
Post-merger company received 60 days to make transaction-fee election
A company paid success-based fees to eight firms in connection with a series of mergers. An accounting firm advised that the fees qualified for the Revenue Procedure 2011-29 safe harbor, and the…
Foreign subsidiary received 120 days to elect disregarded status
A U.S. limited liability company formed a wholly owned foreign subsidiary and intended it to be treated as a disregarded entity from its formation date. The subsidiary did not timely file Form 8832,…
Company received 60 days for a late merger-fee safe-harbor election
A company incurred success-based fees for a series of mergers and a separate target acquisition. The mergers qualified for the Revenue Procedure 2011-29 safe harbor, while the target acquisition did…
Corporate group received 60 days to elect consolidated filing
A newly formed parent corporation and its subsidiaries failed to timely elect to file a consolidated federal income tax return after acquiring another corporate group. The parent requested relief…
Merged company received 60 days to file transaction-fee election
A company incurred success-based fees when it merged into a subsidiary of another company. The acquiring company's tax department, chief financial officer, and outside preparer all intended to use…
Charitable lead trust termination avoided private-foundation tax
A testamentary charitable lead annuity trust paid an escalating quarterly annuity to a charity, later divided between two successor foundations, with the remainder passing to the grantor's children.…
Transmission utility received ADFIT normalization guidance
A regulated electric transmission utility used formula rates with projected revenue requirements and later true-up adjustments. After an earlier private letter ruling required corrective action for…
Electric utility received ADFIT normalization guidance
A regulated electric transmission utility used formula rates with projected revenue requirements and later true-up adjustments. After an earlier private letter ruling required corrective action for…
Foreign entity received 120 days to elect disregarded status
A foreign eligible entity failed to timely file Form 8832 to elect disregarded-entity treatment from a specified effective date. It represented that it acted reasonably and in good faith and that…
Surviving company received 60 days to file merger-fee election
A company incurred success-based fees when another company merged into its wholly owned subsidiary. Its internal tax department, chief financial officer, and outside preparer intended to use the…
Bankruptcy restructurings eliminated two excess loss accounts without gain
A consolidated corporate group proposed a multi-step restructuring under a confirmed Chapter 11 plan. Before the restructuring, one subsidiary had an excess loss account in the stock of another…
Four owners received tax-free split-up of an S corporation
A closely held S corporation had four equal owners who disagreed about how to operate its active business. It proposed forming two new S corporations, dividing its assets and liabilities equally…
LLC received 120 days for entity classification and S elections
A domestic LLC's majority and minority owners intended it to be taxed as an S corporation from formation. The company did not timely file either Form 8832 to elect corporate classification or Form…
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.