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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501(c)(3) exemption denied to a parade-participation organization
An organization applied for charitable exemption under Section 501(c)(3), but the IRS denied it on both required tests. Its articles of incorporation stated its purpose as "to enjoy the season of D"…
501(c)(3) exemption denied to a college-athlete NIL collective
An organization applied for charitable exemption under Section 501(c)(3), but the IRS denied it. The group is a "name, image, and likeness" (NIL) collective tied to one school: it raises money to…
501(c)(7) social-club exemption denied to a homeowners association
An organization applied for tax-exempt status as a social club under Section 501(c)(7), but the IRS denied it. A 501(c)(7) club is exempt only if substantially all of its activities are for the…
501(c)(3) exemption denied to a cultural mutual-aid membership organization
An organization applied for charitable exemption under Section 501(c)(3), but the IRS denied it. The group is a cultural community organization whose members share a common cultural background. Its…
IRS pre-approves a private foundation's procedures for a new disease-related scholarship program
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve, in advance, the procedures for a new scholarship program. Under IRC Section 4945, money a private foundation grants to individuals for study is a…
IRS pre-approves a foundation's scholarship procedures for graduating seniors in one county
A private foundation runs a scholarship for graduating high school seniors from a particular county who are entering college. It asked the IRS to approve its award procedures in advance under IRC…
IRS excuses a governmental-unit affiliate from filing Form 990
An organization exempt under IRC Section 501(c)(3) asked the IRS to be relieved of the requirement to file the annual Form 990 information return. Section 6033(a)(3)(B) gives the IRS discretion to…
IRS denies 501(c)(7) social-club status to a homeowners association
A homeowners association for a single-family residential development applied to be recognized as a tax-exempt social club under IRC Section 501(c)(7). The IRS denied it. Section 501(c)(7) covers…
IRS denies 501(c)(3) status to a counseling-subsidy charity that funnels funds to its directors' for-profit practice
A new nonprofit was formed to raise money and subsidize mental-health counseling for individuals, couples, and families who cannot afford full-cost care. The catch: its three directors own a…
IRS pre-approves a foundation's multi-county academic scholarship procedures
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve, in advance, the procedures for an academic scholarship program serving students in several named counties across two areas. Under IRC Section 4945, a…
IRS pre-approves a trust's scholarship procedures for graduating seniors at one school
A private foundation (a charitable trust) asked the IRS to approve, in advance, the procedures for a scholarship program for students graduating from a particular secondary school who will face…
IRS pre-approves scholarship procedures for students at one named school
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve, in advance, the procedures for a scholarship program for full- and part-time students enrolled at one named school (itself an exempt educational…
IRS excuses a church's integrated auxiliary from filing Form 990
An organization exempt under IRC Section 501(c)(3) asked the IRS to be relieved of the requirement to file the annual Form 990 information return. Treasury Regulation Section 1.6033-2(g)(1)(i)…
IRS excuses a church-affiliated school from Form 990 (but Form 5578 still required)
A church-affiliated school exempt under IRC Section 501(c)(3) asked the IRS to be relieved of the requirement to file the annual Form 990. Treasury Regulation Section 1.6033-2(g)(1)(vi) provides…
IRS pre-approves a family-funded foundation's scholarship procedures
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve, in advance, the procedures for a scholarship program that helps recipients pursue higher education or technical training toward a career, funded by…
IRS pre-approves scholarship procedures for a sustainability-leadership award tied to equestrian sports
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve, in advance, the procedures for a scholarship program recognizing exceptional leadership by young people in sustainability and green initiatives in…
IRS pre-approves a foundation's research-grant procedures under 4945(g)(3)
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve, in advance, the procedures for an educational grant program under IRC Section 4945(g)(3), the "purpose grant" branch (as opposed to the scholarship…
IRS pre-approves grant procedures for youth archery competition and travel stipends (4945(g)(3))
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve, in advance, the procedures for an educational grant program under IRC Section 4945(g)(3). Under IRC Section 4945, a private foundation's grants to…
IRS pre-approves a foundation's merit scholarship procedures despite a family selection committee
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve, in advance, the procedures for a scholarship program under IRC Section 4945(g)(1). Under IRC Section 4945, a private foundation's grants to individuals…
IRS excuses a foreign-focused mission society from filing Form 990
An organization exempt under IRC Section 501(c)(3) asked the IRS to be relieved of the requirement to file the annual Form 990. Treasury Regulation Section 1.6033-2(g)(1)(iv) provides that a mission…
IRS denies 501(c)(4) social-welfare status to a neighborhood hall-rental association
A neighborhood association (membership is automatic for everyone living in its boundaries) applied to be recognized as a tax-exempt social-welfare organization under IRC Section 501(c)(4). The IRS…
IRS denies 501(c)(8) fraternal status to a lodge dominated by public bingo
A fraternal organization that operates under the lodge system and pays death benefits to its members applied to be recognized as a tax-exempt fraternal beneficiary society under IRC Section…
IRS excuses a church's integrated auxiliary from filing Form 990
An organization exempt under IRC Section 501(c)(3) asked the IRS to be relieved of the requirement to file the annual Form 990 information return. Treasury Regulation Section 1.6033-2(g)(1)(i)…
IRS excuses a 501(c)(12) governmental-unit affiliate from filing Form 990
An organization exempt under IRC Section 501(c)(12) asked the IRS to be relieved of the requirement to file the annual Form 990 information return. Section 6033(a)(3)(B) gives the IRS discretion to…
IRS excuses a foreign-focused mission society from filing Form 990
An organization exempt under IRC Section 501(c)(3) asked the IRS to be relieved of the requirement to file the annual Form 990. Treasury Regulation Section 1.6033-2(g)(1)(iv) provides that a mission…
Final adverse determination denying 501(c)(3) exemption to an organization that facilitates loan syndications for a select group of minority-owned banks
An organization applied to be recognized as a tax-exempt charity under Code section 501(c)(3). Its stated mission was to strengthen a specific category of minority-owned banks and the disadvantaged…
Final adverse determination denying 501(c)(7) social-club exemption to a private road-maintenance association
A homeowners' group applied to be recognized (retroactively reinstated) as a tax-exempt social club under Code section 501(c)(7), the category for clubs organized for pleasure and recreation. Its…
Final adverse determination denying 501(c)(3) exemption to a single-family DNA genealogy project
An organization applied (using the streamlined Form 1023-EZ) to be recognized as a tax-exempt charity under Code section 501(c)(3). Its activity is a genealogical project that uses DNA testing,…
Conditional approval of a 5-year extension to amortize a multiemployer plan's unfunded liabilities under section 431(d), tied to correcting prior amortization-base errors
A multiemployer defined benefit pension plan asked the IRS for an automatic 5-year extension of the time it has to pay off (amortize) certain unfunded liabilities under Code section 431(d).…
10-year approval to use plan-specific substitute mortality tables under section 430 for a seven-plan aggregated group's annuitant populations
A pension plan sponsor that runs an aggregated group of seven defined benefit plans asked the IRS to keep using its own "substitute" mortality tables, built from its participants' actual death…
Advance approval of a private foundation's evangelical Christian scholarship procedures under section 4945(g)(1)
A private foundation asked the IRS to bless its scholarship program in advance under Code section 4945(g)(1). This matters because grants a private foundation makes to individuals for study are…
5-year approval of plan-specific base substitute mortality tables under section 430 for two aggregated defined benefit plans, despite an immaterial benefit-dispersion-factor error
A pension plan sponsor asked the IRS to let it use its own "base substitute" mortality tables, built from its participants' actual death experience, in the minimum-funding calculations that Code…
Organization determined to be an integrated auxiliary of a church and therefore not required to file Form 990
A tax-exempt organization asked the IRS to be excused from filing Form 990, the annual information return that most exempt organizations must file. The IRS determined that the organization qualifies…
Final adverse determination denying 501(c)(3) exemption to a business-networking group that serves its members' private commercial interests
An organization that describes itself as a "chamber of commerce" applied to be recognized as a tax-exempt charity under Code section 501(c)(3). It runs monthly workshops and networking events to…
A "divide and donate" split and early termination of a charitable remainder unitrust to fund the settlors' private foundations is not self-dealing and yields income and gift tax charitable deductions
A married couple created a charitable remainder unitrust (CRUT), a trust that pays them 5% a year for life and leaves whatever remains to charity. They now want to accelerate part of the gift so…
A mortgage REIT's income from interest-rate hedges and from "counteracting" hedges used to unwind them is excluded from the REIT gross-income tests
A real estate investment trust (REIT) must earn most of its income from real-estate sources to keep its favorable tax status: 95% from a broad list and 75% from real-property sources. This taxpayer…
An S corporation's transfer of stock to a publicly traded corporation followed by its conversion to a partnership qualifies as a tax-free Type C reorganization
A closely held S corporation ("Target") holds mostly an interest in a partnership, which in turn owns shares of a publicly traded corporation ("Acquiring"). In a restructuring, the partnership first…
9100-3 relief granting 120 days to file a late QSub election so a subsidiary is treated as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary retroactively
An S corporation ("X") owns all of the stock of another corporation ("Y") and wanted Y to be a qualified subchapter S subsidiary (QSub), a subsidiary that is ignored as a separate corporation and…
9100-3 relief granting 120 days to make a late section 754 election so a partnership can adjust the basis of its property after a partner's death
A partnership had a partner die, an event that (with a section 754 election in place) lets the partnership step up the inside basis of its assets to match the value the deceased partner's successor…
Further extending a bankruptcy liquidating trust's term to resolve pending litigation will not cost it liquidating-trust (grantor trust) status under § 301.7701-4(d)
When a company reorganizes in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, its plan often creates a "liquidating trust" to sell off remaining assets and pay creditors. Such a trust is taxed as a grantor trust (its…
9100-3 relief granting 120 days for an LLC to file a late Form 8832 electing to be taxed as a corporation
A limited liability company wanted to be taxed as a corporation instead of under the default rules (a partnership or a disregarded entity). To do that, an LLC files Form 8832, the entity…
9100-3 relief granting 120 days for a homeowners association to make late section 528 elections (Forms 1120-H) for several years
A homeowners association can elect a favorable tax regime under Code section 528, which taxes only its non-exempt-function income, by filing Form 1120-H each year. This association inadvertently…
9100-3 relief granting 120 days for a foreign entity to file a late Form 8832 electing to be a disregarded entity
A foreign business entity wanted to be treated as a disregarded entity for US federal tax purposes, meaning it would not be taxed as a separate entity but instead as part of its single owner. To…
Foundation's fees to a son-owned company for real estate development services are personal-services compensation, not self-dealing
A private foundation was set to inherit a portfolio of complex, hard-to- develop real estate (held through LLCs) after its founder's death. The founder's son sits on the foundation's board and also…
Companion ruling to the son-owned company; its real estate development fees from the foundation are personal-services pay, not self-dealing
This ruling is the companion to a same-day ruling on identical facts, but here the request was made by the company rather than the private foundation. A private foundation was set to inherit…
"Divide and donate" split of a charitable remainder unitrust, with 8 favorable rulings on self-dealing, deductions, and foundation status
A married couple created a charitable remainder unitrust (CRUT), a trust that pays them an annual amount for life and leaves what remains to charity. Because one of the family's private foundations…
Companion ruling to the individuals on the same "divide and donate" CRUT split, with 8 favorable rulings
This ruling is the companion to a same-day ruling on the identical "divide and donate" transaction, but this letter is directed to the married couple (H and W) rather than to their charitable…
Inadvertent termination of an S election relieved after trusts failed to make ESBT elections
A corporation had elected to be an S corporation, which passes income through to shareholders instead of paying corporate-level tax. S corporations can only have certain kinds of shareholders. Here,…
10-year approval of substitute mortality tables for two pension plans
A pension plan sponsor asked to use plan-specific substitute mortality tables for two defined benefit plans when calculating minimum funding under Code section 430. The IRS approved the tables for…
Excise tax waived for pension-plan liquidity shortfalls caused by risk transfers
A manufacturing company’s defined benefit pension plan had liquidity shortfalls for three quarters after two annuity purchases and a lump-sum window settled about 42 percent of the plan’s…
10-year approval of substitute mortality tables for one pension plan
A pension plan sponsor asked to use plan-specific substitute mortality tables for one defined benefit plan when calculating minimum funding under Code section 430. The IRS approved the tables for up…
10-year approval of substitute mortality tables for Plan 2
A pension plan sponsor asked to use plan-specific substitute mortality tables for Plan 2 when calculating minimum funding under Code section 430. The IRS approved the tables for up to 10 plan years…
IRS waives the 10% excise tax on a pension plan's liquidity shortfall caused by an annuity buyout
A cooperative sponsors a single-employer defined benefit pension plan. When a plan large enough to owe accelerated quarterly contributions runs short of liquid assets to cover benefit payments, IRC…
IRS denies 501(c)(3) status to a collective bargaining organization serving its members
An organization representing employees of a school district applied for recognition as a charity under Section 501(c)(3). Its membership was limited to district employees who also belonged to…
IRS denies 501(c)(3) status to a farmers market that primarily benefits vendors
An organization formed to support local agriculture operated a seasonal market where farms and artisans sold food and other goods. It organized market days, advertised participating vendors, and…
IRS denies 501(c)(3) status to an insurance sales awards and training organization
An organization held a corporate-funded gala recognizing high-performing insurance employees and offered seminars about insurance products and consumer protection. Awards were based on issued…
IRS approves scholarship procedures for students from rural high schools
A foundation asked the IRS to approve its procedures for awarding scholarships to students at a college who graduated from rural high schools. Applicants would report their grades, activities, and…
IRS approves a foundation's scholarship and educational grant procedures under 4945(g)(1) and 4945(g)(3)
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve, in advance, the way it will award college scholarships and related educational grants to individuals. Under IRC Section 4945, a private foundation that…
501(c)(3) denied, a club running public game tournaments is substantially recreational and fails the operational test
An organization that runs tournaments and weekly clubs for a game, open to the public and to all ages and skill levels, applied for 501(c)(3) charitable status using the streamlined Form 1023-EZ.…
501(c)(3) denied, an open-source blockchain software project fails the organizational and operational tests and serves private interests
An organization formed to develop and promote open-source software for a decentralized content-sharing blockchain applied for 501(c)(3) status on Form 1023-EZ. The IRS issued a proposed adverse…
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.