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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Retained appointment powers prevented a completed gift
A grantor created an irrevocable domestic trust for the grantor and family members, retaining consent, support-limited, and testamentary appointment powers while a family committee held joint…
Trust committee distributions avoided member gift tax
A grantor created an irrevocable domestic trust for the grantor and family members, retaining consent, support-limited, and testamentary appointment powers while a family committee held joint…
Multi-step business separation qualified for tax-free treatment
A corporate parent proposed a multi-step separation of two businesses involving foreign subsidiaries, two internal distributions, a public spin-off, and a possible exchange of new controlled-company…
Late ESBT elections caused an inadvertent S termination
An S corporation shareholder held stock through a revocable grantor trust. At the shareholder's death, the stock passed to two successor trusts that qualified as electing small business trusts, but…
Retroactive QEF elections allowed for two PFICs
A taxpayer became a U.S. tax resident while owning interests in two foreign corporations that were passive foreign investment companies. The taxpayer relied on a certified public accountant who did…
Indirect skips received automatic GST exemption allocations
A settlor transferred limited partnership interests to three irrevocable trust shares for the settlor's children, and the settlor and spouse elected to split the gifts. Their timely gift tax returns…
Substitute mortality tables approved for eight plans
A controlled group requested permission to use substitute mortality tables for eight aggregated pension plans. The request covered male and female annuitants and nonannuitants, including disabled…
Pension plan substitute mortality tables approved
A pension plan requested permission to use substitute mortality tables for its male and female annuitants and nonannuitants, including disabled participants. The IRS found that the submitted rates…
Soccer referee association denied section 501(c)(6) exemption
An association of soccer referees applied for exemption as a business league under section 501(c)(6). It trained and evaluated referees, but its primary activity was scheduling members for games,…
Charity exemption retroactively revoked for misstatements, lobbying, and illegal activity
The IRS retroactively revoked a corporation's section 501(c)(3) exemption after finding that its original application materially misstated how it would operate. The examination report said the…
Broadcast spectrum sale qualified as an involuntary conversion
A television broadcaster sold part of its spectrum-based content distribution rights while the Federal Communications Commission was conducting an incentive auction and mandatory repacking of…
GST exemption automatically allocated despite gift-tax return errors
A married couple transferred limited-partnership interests to separate irrevocable trusts for their two children and elected to split the gifts. Their timely Forms 709 mistakenly reported the…
GST exemption automatically allocated to three children's trusts
A married couple transferred limited-partnership interests to three separate irrevocable trusts for their children and elected to split the gifts. Their timely Forms 709 mistakenly reported the…
Late section 338(g) election granted after adviser error
A corporate purchaser acquired all the stock of a foreign target and intended to make a section 338(g) election so the stock purchase would be treated as an asset acquisition. A qualified tax…
IRA divided for four trust beneficiaries using eldest child's life expectancy
A decedent named a revocable trust as beneficiary of an IRA, and the trust became irrevocable at death for the benefit of the decedent's four children. The trustees proposed direct…
Partnership received 120 days to make late section 754 election
A limited partnership failed to make a timely section 754 election for a year in which partnership interests were treated as transferred. The partnership represented that it acted reasonably and in…
Late historic-status application treated as timely for rehabilitation credit
A taxpayer renovated property in a registered historic district but failed to submit Part 1 of the Historic Preservation Certification Application before placing the property in service. The…
Partnership received 120 days for section 754 election after partner's death
A limited liability company classified as a partnership timely filed its return for the year in which a partner died but inadvertently omitted a valid section 754 election. The partnership…
Possession resident treated as nonresident noncitizen for transfer taxes
A taxpayer was born abroad to parents who were not U.S. citizens and later moved to a U.S. possession, where he became a permanent resident and then a naturalized U.S. citizen. The IRS found that he…
Foreign partnership received 120 days for section 754 election
A foreign limited partnership failed to make a timely section 754 election for a year in which partnership interests were transferred. It represented that it acted reasonably and in good faith, was…
Partnership received 120 days to file omitted section 754 election
A state-law partnership timely filed its federal return but inadvertently omitted a valid section 754 election to adjust the basis of partnership property. It represented that it acted reasonably…
S corporation received relief for missed QSST elections
An S corporation shareholder placed shares in a grantor trust that was to divide into separate trusts for three beneficiaries after the shareholder's death. The beneficiaries failed to make timely…
Late section 338(g) election granted for foreign target acquisition
A domestic corporation acquired all the shares of a foreign target for cash and intended to make a section 338(g) election so the stock purchase would be treated as an asset acquisition. The…
Late Form 1128 treated as timely after accountant error
A taxpayer relied on an accountant to file Form 1128 to change its tax year from June 30 to December 31, but the form was not filed by the deadline for the required short-period return. After…
REIT subsidiary's distribution was not a preferential dividend
A REIT subsidiary made a pro rata common-stock distribution while new management mistakenly believed no preferred shares remained outstanding. Management later discovered preferred stock entitled to…
GST exemption automatically allocated to three children's trusts
A married couple transferred limited-partnership interests to three separate irrevocable trusts for their children and elected to split the gifts. Their timely Forms 709 mistakenly reported the…
GST exemption automatically allocated to two children's trusts
A married couple transferred limited-partnership interests to two separate irrevocable trusts for their children and elected to split the gifts. Their timely Forms 709 mistakenly reported the…
Fellowship grant procedures for young innovators approved
A private foundation proposed a fellowship program for young innovators and leaders whose projects would improve life in their state. It expected to award five stipends per year during a trial…
IRS approves a private foundation's scholarship-grant procedures under § 4945(g)
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve, in advance, the procedures it uses to award college scholarships. Private foundations normally owe an excise tax on grants to individuals for study,…
Dissolving foundation's asset transfer qualifies as an unusual grant
A publicly supported charity serving injured special-operations veterans asked whether it could exclude a large transfer from its public-support calculation as an unusual grant. A dissolving…
Family-specific orphan fundraiser denied section 501(c)(3) status
An unincorporated association applied for section 501(c)(3) status to hold a fundraiser for five children from one family after both parents died. The planned event would use all raised funds to…
S corporation gets 120 days to file late QSub election
An S corporation intended to elect qualified subchapter S subsidiary status for a wholly owned domestic subsidiary as of the subsidiary's incorporation date. It failed to file Form 8869 on time…
Successor gets 45 days to file late section 336(e) election statement
A partnership acquired all shares of an S corporation whose shareholders had agreed with the corporation to treat the stock sale as an asset sale under section 336(e). The purchaser then converted…
REIT gets 90 days to make two late TRS elections
A real estate investment trust indirectly owned two foreign corporations that held legal title to self-storage properties and obtained financing. The REIT's outside tax advisers overlooked the need…
Spouses get 120 days to allocate GST exemption to two trusts
A married couple created separate irrevocable trusts for each of their two children and the children's descendants before the end of 2000. They elected gift splitting on their Forms 709, but their…
Foreign LLC gets 120 days to elect partnership status
A foreign limited liability company became owned by two U.S. persons and intended to be classified as a partnership for federal tax purposes from that ownership date. It did not timely file Form…
Insurer gets 90 days to make late section 831(b) election
A non-life insurance company intended to elect the alternative tax on investment income under section 831(b) for its first year. Its captive-management company did not file the return because it…
Solar facilities sold through negotiated rates are not public utility property
A regulated electric utility could acquire solar generating facilities selected for large customers under a state program. The customers and original resource owners negotiated the power price, and…
Foreign entity gets 120 days to elect disregarded status
A single owner formed a foreign eligible entity and intended it to be disregarded for federal tax purposes from a specified date. The entity failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS concluded that…
Foreign entity gets 120 days to elect disregarded status
A single owner formed a foreign eligible entity and intended it to be disregarded for federal tax purposes from a specified date. The entity failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS concluded that…
Surviving spouse is sole Roth IRA beneficiary for RMD purposes
A decedent named a marital trust as beneficiary of a Roth IRA after dying past his required beginning date. Under the trust's original terms, retirement-plan withdrawals had to be paid outright to…
Partnership gets 120 days to make late section 754 election
A partnership timely filed its return for the year in which a partner died but inadvertently omitted a section 754 election. The IRS concluded that the requirements for discretionary filing relief…
Estate gets 120 days to make late portability election
A decedent's estate was below the filing threshold for a mandatory federal estate tax return but did not timely file Form 706 to elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount.…
Foreign entity gets 120 days to elect disregarded status
A foreign eligible entity intended to be treated as disregarded for federal tax purposes but did not timely file Form 8832. It represented that it acted reasonably and in good faith and that relief…
Foreign entity gets 120 days to elect disregarded status
A foreign eligible entity intended to be treated as disregarded for federal tax purposes but did not timely file Form 8832. It represented that it acted reasonably and in good faith and that relief…
Foreign entity gets 120 days to elect disregarded status
A foreign eligible entity intended to be treated as disregarded for federal tax purposes but did not timely file Form 8832. It represented that it acted reasonably and in good faith and that relief…
Court-approved mitigation trust qualifies as a settlement fund
Government agencies sued manufacturers over alleged legal violations involving a product, and consent decrees required money for mitigation projects benefiting a specified group. A court approved a…
Foreign entity gets 120 days to elect partnership status
A foreign eligible entity intended to be classified as a partnership for U.S. federal tax purposes but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS concluded that the requirements for…
Foreign entity gets 120 days to elect partnership status
A foreign eligible entity intended to be classified as a partnership for U.S. federal tax purposes but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS concluded that the requirements for…
Foreign entity gets 120 days to elect partnership status
A foreign eligible entity intended to be classified as a partnership for U.S. federal tax purposes but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS concluded that the requirements for…
Foreign entity gets 120 days to elect partnership status
A foreign eligible entity intended to be classified as a partnership for U.S. federal tax purposes but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS concluded that the requirements for…
QSub conversions and S revocation do not withdraw construction fund
An S corporation maintained a merchant-marine capital construction fund and owned vessels through qualified subchapter S subsidiaries. It planned to convert those subsidiaries under state law into…
Estate gets 120 days to make late QTIP election
A decedent's will funded a marital trust that paid all net income to the surviving spouse at least quarterly and permitted principal distributions for the spouse's health, maintenance, or support.…
Multistep global business separation receives tax-free rulings
A foreign public company planned to separate one business into a new publicly traded company through internal mergers, asset transfers, a domestic split-off, three foreign distributions, an external…
Spouse may roll inherited IRA proceeds from her revocable trust
A decedent named his spouse's revocable trust as beneficiary of his IRA. The spouse was the trust's sole trustee and beneficiary, could withdraw all trust income and principal, and had sole…
Estate gets 120 days to make late portability election
A decedent's estate was below the filing threshold for a mandatory federal estate tax return but did not timely file Form 706 to elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount.…
Multiemployer plan receives amortization extensions
A multiemployer pension plan requested automatic extensions for amortizing numerous unfunded-liability bases arising from plan amendments, actuarial losses, and assumption changes. The IRS approved…
Pension plan may use substitute mortality tables for annuitants
A controlled group requested substitute mortality tables for several defined benefit plans. The IRS approved Plan IF's tables for male and female annuitants, including disabled participants, for 10…
Pension plan may use substitute mortality tables for annuitants
A controlled group requested substitute mortality tables for several defined benefit plans. The IRS approved Plan TM's tables for male and female annuitants, including disabled participants,…
Pension plan may use substitute mortality tables for all participant groups
A controlled group requested substitute mortality tables for several defined benefit plans. The IRS approved Plan IO's tables for male and female annuitants and nonannuitants, including disabled…
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.