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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Late section 336(e) agreement and election allowed
An individual bought the stock of an S corporation, and the parties intended to treat the stock disposition as an asset sale under section 336(e). They reasonably relied on a tax professional who…
Estate received more time to make a QTIP election
A decedent's trust directed property subject to a qualified terminable interest property election into a marital trust that paid all net income to the surviving spouse at least quarterly. The estate…
Late opportunity fund self-certification treated as timely
A limited liability company classified as a partnership was organized to be a qualified opportunity fund and invest in qualified opportunity zone property. It relied on another party to prepare its…
Three partnerships received late section 754 election relief
An individual held interests in three partnerships through two trusts. After the individual died, the partnerships intended to elect under section 754 to adjust the basis of partnership property,…
Partnership received late section 754 election relief
A partner held an interest in a partnership through a grantor trust and later died. The partnership inadvertently failed to file a section 754 election for the tax year of the resulting transfer.…
Late entity classification and tax-exempt controlled entity elections allowed
A limited liability company wholly owned by a section 501(c)(3) organization served as general partner of a partnership that owned an affordable housing project. The operating agreement required the…
Affordable housing partner received late election relief
A limited liability company owned by a section 501(c)(3) organization was the general partner of a partnership formed to acquire, rehabilitate, own, lease, and manage a qualified low-income housing…
Late qualified subchapter S subsidiary election allowed
A corporation hired a tax adviser to obtain S corporation status for itself and qualified subchapter S subsidiary status for its wholly owned subsidiary. Acting on incorrect advice, the corporation…
Estate received more time to elect portability
A decedent left a surviving spouse and an unused estate and gift tax exclusion amount, but the estate did not timely file Form 706 to elect portability. Based on the represented estate value and…
Late election out of automatic GST exemption allocation allowed
A taxpayer's spouse funded a grantor retained annuity trust, and the spouses elected to split the gift on their timely gift tax returns. They did not intend to allocate generation-skipping transfer…
Late GST allocation opt-outs allowed for twelve GRATs
A taxpayer created and funded twelve grantor retained annuity trusts over several years, with each remainder passing to a trust for descendants. The taxpayer did not intend to allocate…
Late section 754 election allowed after apartment interest sale
A partnership owned an apartment complex and a vacant development lot that it subdivided into separate parcels and tied to separate classes of partnership interests. One partner sold all of its…
IRS grants an extension of time to file a late section 336(e) election for an S corporation stock sale
A buyer acquired all the stock of an S corporation from its seller. The parties wanted to treat that stock sale as if it were a sale of the S corporation's underlying assets, which they could do by…
IRS grants a 120-day extension to make a late estate-tax portability election
When someone dies, their estate can elect "portability" to pass the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion (called the DSUE amount) to the surviving spouse, so the survivor can…
IRS grants a 120-day extension to make a late section 754 election for a partnership
A limited liability company taxed as a partnership wanted to make a section 754 election. That election lets a partnership adjust the tax basis of its own assets when a partner's interest changes…
IRS grants a 120-day extension to make a late allocation of GST exemption after the accountant omitted it
A married couple created and funded a trust for their children and more remote descendants, a trust that could later trigger generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax when assets pass to grandchildren…
IRS grants a 60-day extension to file a late Form 8996 self-certifying a Qualified Opportunity Fund
An LLC taxed as a partnership was formed to invest in qualified opportunity zone property and to operate as a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF), a vehicle that lets investors defer and reduce tax on…
IRS grants a 60-day extension to file a late Form 8996 self-certifying a Qualified Opportunity Fund
An LLC taxed as a partnership was formed to acquire qualified opportunity zone property and to be treated as a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF), a vehicle that lets investors defer tax on capital…
IRS grants a 120-day extension to make a late estate-tax portability election
When someone dies, their estate can elect "portability" to pass the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion (called the DSUE amount) to the surviving spouse, so the survivor can…
IRS grants a 120-day extension to make a late allocation of GST exemption after the accountant omitted it
A married couple created and funded a trust for their children and more remote descendants, a trust that could later trigger generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax when assets pass to grandchildren…
IRS grants a 60-day extension to file a late Form 8996 self-certifying a Qualified Opportunity Fund
An LLC taxed as a partnership was formed to invest in qualified opportunity zone property and to be treated as a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF), a vehicle that lets investors defer tax on capital…
IRS grants relief to make a late corporate-classification election and a late S corporation election for an LLC
An LLC formed under state law intended to be taxed as an S corporation starting on a specific date. For an LLC to be an S corporation, it must do two things: first elect to be treated as a…
IRS treats a late Form 8996 as timely, allowing a Qualified Opportunity Fund self-certification after the accountant missed the extension
An LLC taxed as a partnership was formed to invest in Qualified Opportunity Zones and operate as a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF), a vehicle that lets investors defer tax on capital gains…
120-day extension to make a section 754 partnership basis election
A state LLC taxed as a partnership asked the IRS for more time to make an election under Section 754. When some of its owners transferred part of their partnership interests as part of a multi-step…
60-day extension to file Form 1128 to change a foreign insurer's tax year
A foreign insurance company that had elected under Section 953(d) to be taxed as a U.S. domestic corporation wanted to change its annual accounting period (its tax year end). Changing a tax year…
120-day extension for a foreign entity to elect disregarded (check-the-box) status
A foreign entity with a single owner wanted to be treated as a "disregarded entity" (ignored as separate from its owner) for U.S. federal tax purposes. It could do that by filing a "check-the-box"…
Opportunity fund received relief for omitted Form 8996
A partnership's operating agreement stated that it was intended to be a qualified opportunity fund and invest only in qualified opportunity zone property. Its members believed the first-year…
Late corporate classification and S corporation elections allowed
A limited liability company intended from a specified date to be classified as a corporation and taxed as an S corporation. It failed to file either Form 2553, which could have supplied a deemed…
Late opportunity fund self-certification election allowed
A partnership was formed to invest in qualified opportunity zone property and serve as a qualified opportunity fund. Its accounting firm timely filed Form 1065 but omitted Form 8996 because the firm…
QOF election relief granted after engagement-letter omission
A partnership was created to operate as a qualified opportunity fund, and its members discussed opportunity zone gain deferrals with their long-time accounting firm. A miscommunication caused the…
Affiliated group received late consolidated return election relief
A domestic parent and its subsidiary intended to elect for their affiliated group to file a consolidated federal income tax return, but they did not timely file a valid consolidated return. The…
Late QSub elections allowed for three subsidiaries
An S corporation owned all the stock of three subsidiaries and intended to treat each as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary from the same effective date as its S election. Through inadvertence, it…
Late section 754 election allowed after partnership interest sales
Interests in a partnership were sold, and the partnership intended to elect under section 754 to adjust the basis of partnership property for that tax year. It inadvertently omitted the election.…
Partnership received late section 754 election relief after interest purchase
A buyer purchased a partnership interest from existing partners, and the partnership intended to elect under section 754 to adjust the basis of partnership property. It inadvertently failed to file…
Foreign entity received late corporate classification election relief
A foreign eligible entity intended to elect corporate classification for U.S. federal tax purposes but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. The entity represented that it acted reasonably…
Late S corporation and section 336(e) elections allowed
Multiple purchasers acquired all the stock of a target, and the parties intended to treat the stock sale as an asset sale under section 336(e). They also intended for the target to have S…
Late IC-DISC election allowed after law firm oversight
A domestic corporation was formed to serve as an interest charge domestic international sales corporation for its owner. Its chief financial officer signed Form 4876-A and sent it to the law firm…
Late entity classification and S corporation elections allowed
A limited liability company intended from its formation date to be classified as a corporation and taxed as an S corporation. It inadvertently failed to properly and timely file Form 2553. The IRS…
Filed Form 8996 treated as timely for first QOF year
A six-member partnership was formed to invest in qualified opportunity zone property. Its tax group incorrectly concluded that no first-year Form 1065 was required and did not know that the…
Late estate tax portability election allowed
A decedent left a surviving spouse and an unused exclusion amount, but the estate did not timely file Form 706 to elect portability. Based on the represented estate value and taxable gifts, the…
Late corporate classification and S elections allowed
A limited liability company intended to be classified as a corporation and treated as an S corporation from a specified date. It failed to file Form 2553, which could have supplied a deemed…
Late GST exemption allocations allowed for two trusts
Before 2001, a grantor transferred corporate stock to two trusts for the grantor's children, with descendants receiving the property after each child's death unless a limited appointment was…
Late GST exemption allocations approved for child trusts
Before 2001, a grantor transferred corporate stock to two trusts for the grantor's children. The trustee could support the child and the grantor's spouse, and after the grantor and spouse died, each…
Estate received 120 days to elect portability
A decedent's estate was not otherwise required to file Form 706 based on the represented gross estate, adjusted taxable gifts, and filing threshold. The estate had not timely filed the return needed…
Late success-based fee election allowed
A corporate group deducted 70 percent and capitalized 30 percent of represented success-based acquisition fees, consistent with the safe harbor in Revenue Procedure 2011-29. Its timely return…
Late duplicate Form 3115 filing allowed
A partnership timely filed its federal return with an original Form 3115 requesting an automatic accounting-method change for depreciation. It reflected the change and the related section 481(a)…
Late opportunity fund certification allowed
A partnership was formed to invest in qualified opportunity zone property and operate as a qualified opportunity fund. Its accounting firm timely filed the first partnership return but omitted Form…
Late opportunity fund certification allowed
A partnership was formed to invest in qualified opportunity zone property and operate as a qualified opportunity fund. Its accounting firm timely filed the first partnership return without Form…
Late section 382 apportionment election allowed
Subsidiaries left a consolidated group when the group had a consolidated section 382 limitation. The former parent and subsidiaries missed the deadline to elect under Treasury Regulation section…
Late GST exemption allocation allowed
A married couple created trusts with generation-skipping transfer tax potential before 2001. Their accountant failed to prepare the required gift tax returns for either spouse, so the wife's GST…
Late GST exemption allocations allowed
A married couple created several trusts with generation-skipping transfer tax potential before 2001. Their accountant failed to prepare the required gift tax returns for either spouse, so the…
Late tax-exempt controlled entity election allowed
A nonprofit wholly owned a limited liability company that elected corporate tax status and indirectly invested in a partnership operating low-income housing. The company intended to elect under…
Foreign entity allowed late partnership election
A foreign eligible entity intended to elect partnership status for federal tax purposes but did not timely file Form 8832. The IRS found that the requirements for discretionary filing relief were…
Foreign entity granted late partnership election
A foreign eligible entity intended to elect partnership status for federal tax purposes but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS found that the entity met the standards for…
Late branch profits tax election allowed
A foreign corporation reported that an increase in its U.S. net equity fully offset effectively connected earnings and profits for branch profits tax purposes. It later determined that the reported…
Late opportunity fund self-certification allowed
A partnership was formed to qualify as a qualified opportunity fund, but its tax adviser mistakenly filed the partnership return without Form 8996. The adviser discovered the omission while…
Late opportunity fund self-certification allowed
A partnership was formed to qualify as a qualified opportunity fund, but its tax adviser mistakenly filed the partnership return without Form 8996. The adviser discovered the omission while…
Foreign entity granted late corporate election
A foreign entity converted from an entity classified as a corporation into an eligible entity for U.S. federal tax purposes. It intended to continue corporate treatment but inadvertently failed to…
Late opportunity fund certifications allowed for two years
A partnership was organized to qualify as a qualified opportunity fund and indirectly invest in opportunity-zone property. Its federal partnership returns and Forms 8996 were not filed for two…
Late section 382 closing-of-the-books election allowed
A loss corporation experienced an ownership change that limited its use of pre-change losses under section 382. It missed the deadline to elect to close its books on the ownership-change date, which…
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.