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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Direct partner consents extended the TEFRA assessment period
Chief Counsel advised that the post-2007 Form 872 signed by individual partners satisfied § 6229(b)(3). The IRS did not need a separate consent from the tax matters partner acting as the partners'…
Two-year refund lookback applied to a non-TEFRA claim
Chief Counsel advised that a refund claim was non-TEFRA and could be filed within two years of payment under § 6511(b)(2)(B). The payment could support the claim even though it related to a…
Estate tax lien remedies differed from transferee liability collection
Chief Counsel distinguished collection based on an estate tax lien from collection based on a transferee's personal liability. The IRS could levy property that remained subject to the general §…
Partnership AAR reset the interest-suspension waiting period
Chief Counsel advised that a partnership administrative adjustment request increasing taxable income was a signed document showing additional tax due for § 6404(g). The AAR on Form 1065X was treated…
Coal-management and drilling-support revenue qualified under § 7704
A publicly traded partnership managed a coal-mining joint venture and received management fees, cost reimbursements, and cost-sharing payments. It also built drill pads, access roads, and…
Tanker charter income qualifies for publicly traded partnership
A newly formed limited partnership planned a public offering and an initial fleet of product tankers. Under time charters, the partnership would provide the crews and remain responsible for vessel…
Refund period after partnership administrative adjustment requests
Chief Counsel advice addresses how long the IRS may issue refunds after a tax matters partner files an administrative adjustment request. It says the refund period generally expires two years after…
Fluid handling services for oil and gas producers generate qualifying income
The IRS ruled that income from a publicly traded partnership's planned fluid handling services would be qualifying income under section 7704(d)(1)(E). The services include supplying and transporting…
Oil and gas services income qualifies under the publicly traded partnership rules
The IRS ruled that income a publicly traded partnership expected to earn from specified services for customers in the oil and natural gas industry would be qualifying income under IRC §…
Full marina management fee allowed as boat-slip sale expense
Chief Counsel considered whether a marina management fee paid before the sale of a seized boat slip could be deducted from the sale proceeds as an expense of sale. The advice treated the management…
Section 6652 penalty follows nondeficiency procedures
Chief Counsel advised on the proposed assessment of an IRC § 6652 penalty. The advice states that the IRS can assess a penalty not related to a tax without first issuing a statutory notice of…
Bankruptcy filing does not suspend assessment period before deficiency notice
Chief Counsel advised that filing a bankruptcy petition does not suspend the assessment statute of limitations when no notice of deficiency has been issued. The automatic stay does not prohibit a…
Refund limited by section 6511 two-year lookback
Chief Counsel concluded that a refund was limited to two restricted interest payments made during the two-year lookback period before the refund claim was filed. The advice relied on cases holding…
Boat-slip sale expense limited to seizure-to-sale period
Chief Counsel revised earlier advice about fees connected with the sale of a seized boat slip. Under IRC §§ 6341 and 6342, the expense of sale covers fees incurred from the seizure date through the…
Managing member may sign an LLC’s Form 872 extension
Chief Counsel advised that when an LLC is treated as a C corporation but lacks the specific officers listed in IRC § 6062, a managing member or another person authorized under state law may sign…
Consolidated return member may receive the full return for membership years
Chief Counsel advised that a member of a consolidated return group is authorized to receive a copy of the entire consolidated return for each period in which it was a member. The advice relied on…
Third-party return information remains protected when copied into another exam file
Chief Counsel advised that the item and transactional relationship tests generally restrict disclosure of third-party return information. Information or documents obtained from another revenue…
Unsigned protective-claim Form 1040 did not start the assessment period
Chief Counsel advised that a Form 1040 submitted with a protective refund claim was not a valid return because it was marked as a protective claim and as amended, was not intended to be the…
IRS and New Jersey MOU addresses competing tax liens in a voluntary sale
Chief Counsel addressed a voluntary sale of business assets in New Jersey where escrowed proceeds had to satisfy federal employment-tax liabilities and New Jersey tax liabilities. The advice…
Joint-filing election could not be changed after the filing deadline
Chief Counsel advised that after a valid joint return was filed and the filing deadline passed, one spouse could not change the filing status to head of household on an amended return. The…
IRS treats RIN sales and remote fuel delivery as qualifying partnership income
The IRS ruled that certain income earned by a publicly traded partnership qualifies for the exception to the publicly traded partnership corporate-treatment rule. The partnership generated renewable…
IRS treats oilfield water and waste services as qualifying partnership income
The IRS ruled that specified income of a publicly traded limited partnership would be qualifying income under IRC § 7704(d)(1)(E). The services include supplying and transporting water used in…
IRS advice says an acquiring corporation should obtain a new EIN
Chief Counsel advised that an acquiring corporation could not continue using the employer identification number of a disregarded entity acquired from its parent in the described transaction. The…
IRS advice supports sharing return information between transactionally related audits
Chief Counsel agreed that a local revenue agent could communicate with a revenue agent in another office about their respective audits under IRC § 6103(h)(1) when the agents had a need to know the…
IRS advice permits sharing an unredacted Form 886-A within the IRS
Chief Counsel advised that an unredacted Form 886-A could be shared with another IRS examination team under IRC § 6103(h)(1). The advice also required the document to identify its source so it could…
IRS says processing a late amended S corporation return is a case-by-case decision
Chief Counsel considered whether the IRS should process an amended Form 1120S filed after the assessment and refund-claim limitation periods had expired when the amended return reported no change in…
Mining and processing income qualifies under the publicly traded partnership rules
A limited liability company planned to form a publicly traded partnership that would mine and process a mineral or natural resource and earn income from sales, storage, and transportation. The…
IRS approves pipeline partnership income from an air separation unit
The IRS considered a publicly traded partnership that operates petroleum pipelines, storage facilities, and terminals. The partnership planned to acquire an onsite air separation unit at a crude oil…
IRS requires Forms 1099-C after a settlement debt write-off
A financial institution settled a class action involving deficiency balances from consumer credit accounts and planned to write off those balances. It argued that state law, rather than an…
IRS explains ERO rules for shared EFINs and subcontracted returns
This Chief Counsel Advice addresses electronic return originators, or EROs, that use the IRS e-file system. It concludes that an ERO may not share its electronic filing identification number, and…
Restitution assessments require a court-ordered restitution amount
Chief Counsel Advice explains that the IRS's authority to assess criminal restitution under IRC § 6201(a)(4) depends on a court having ordered restitution in the first place. If a criminal court did…
An overpayment cannot offset a former subsidiary's underpayment under these facts
Chief Counsel Advice considers whether the IRS could apply a foreign parent's tax overpayment to a former domestic subsidiary's underpayment after the overpayment had been refunded. The IRS…
Oil and gas services produce qualifying income for a publicly traded partnership
The IRS ruled that a publicly traded limited partnership's income from providing specified services to customers involved in oil and natural gas production, processing, and transportation is…
Overpaid tax cannot be credited to a different year's penalty balance after the refund deadline
Chief Counsel Advice considered whether an overpayment from an amended return could be credited to a penalty balance for a different tax year after the assessment and refund periods had expired. The…
IRS limits disclosure of separated spouses' financial information in a joint offer
The Office of Chief Counsel addressed whether the IRS could disclose financial information from a joint offer in compromise to a former or separated spouse who lived in a different household. The…
Banks may not deduct processing fees from levy proceeds
Chief Counsel reaffirmed that banks may not deduct processing fees from proceeds collected under an IRS levy. The advice states that this position is based on IRC § 6331 and the applicable…
Estate restructuring will not accelerate installment payments
The IRS ruled that an estate's proposed restructuring of interests in a closely held business would not accelerate its deferred estate-tax installment payments. The business would distribute…
Petroleum product operations produce qualifying income
The IRS ruled that income from a publicly traded partnership's grease blending and packaging operation and re-refining operation was qualifying income under IRC § 7704(d)(1)(E). The partnership…
IRS examination information may be disclosed to OPR during a practitioner investigation
Chief Counsel advised that the IRS examination unit may provide a practitioner’s revenue agent’s report and unagreed case package to the Office of Professional Responsibility during an investigation…
Petroleum product blending and additization fees are qualifying income
A publicly traded partnership asked whether fees from fuel additization, ethanol blending, and biodiesel blending at its petroleum terminals were qualifying income under IRC § 7704. The partnership…
Dissolution of a designated tax matters partner
The Chief Counsel advice addresses what happens to Tax Matters Partner status when the designated partner dissolves. It states that dissolution terminates the partner's status and designation.…
Limitations period for income tax and information-return penalties
The Chief Counsel advice addresses whether the assessment period remained open for income tax and penalties related to Forms 3520-A and 5471. It concludes that the limitations period remained open…
Statute extension after a tax matters partner's bankruptcy
The Chief Counsel advice considers whether a statute extension was valid after the Tax Matters Partner entered bankruptcy. It states that the bankruptcy likely terminated the partner's status and…
Assessment period for partnership-loss carryforward adjustments
The Chief Counsel advice states that a carryforward amount from a partnership adjustment is a computational affected item. It concludes that when the Tax Matters Partner signs Form 872-P, the…
Penalties for unreported foreign gifts and interests
The Chief Counsel advice addresses penalties for failing to report a large foreign gift on Form 3520. It states that the assessment period has not begun when a taxpayer has not filed the form, and…
Partnership assessment periods and FPAAs
The Chief Counsel advice states that the IRS may issue an FPAA if a partner's section 6501 assessment period remains open. If the period is open because of Form 872, the form must specifically…
Competing extended carryback elections
The Chief Counsel advice considers competing carryback elections for consolidated-group net operating losses. One taxpayer requested a two-year carryback for one year, while a fiduciary and the…
Adjusting partnership years and partner credit carryforwards
The Chief Counsel advice addresses TEFRA adjustments for partnership years that may be closed or open under the period-of-limitations rules. It states that each partnership year is a separate cause…
Obsolete regulations did not change prior foreign-trust advice
The Chief Counsel advice revisits earlier email advice about how sections 6013(g) and 6677 interact. The earlier advice had stated that a nonresident alien was not subject to section 6048 reporting…
Notice timing before issuing an FPAA
The Chief Counsel advice addresses the timing of notice before the IRS issues an FPAA to a tax matters partner. It states that the IRS must issue an NBAP at least 120 days before issuing the FPAA to…
Refund claims after an unexecuted Form 872
The Chief Counsel advice considers whether a taxpayer's refund claim was timely after the taxpayer sent the IRS a Form 872 extending the assessment period. It concludes that the extension was not…
CCA 1351021: immediate family members may represent taxpayers in Appeals
Chief Counsel Advice considers whether an individual's immediate family member may represent the individual before the IRS, including the Office of Appeals. It concludes that Circular 230 permits…
CCA 1351019: refund claims after offsets were timely
Chief Counsel Advice considers whether a taxpayer timely claimed refunds after the IRS offset overpayments against earlier tax liabilities. The taxpayer submitted Forms 843 and contacted the Service…
CCA 1351018: former partnership's EIN remains valid for employment taxes
Chief Counsel Advice addresses a business that became a disregarded entity after one of two partners bought out the other and became the business's employee. It concludes that employment tax returns…
PLR 1351009: iron ore processing income qualifies for publicly traded partnership treatment
A publicly traded limited partnership that operated cokemaking facilities planned to expand into iron ore beneficiation and pelletizing. It asked whether income from processing iron ore and selling…
IRS may return levy proceeds after an installment agreement, but need not do so
Chief Counsel Advice addressed whether the IRS must return money obtained through a levy when the taxpayer later enters an installment agreement under IRC § 6159. The advice concluded that this is a…
CCA 1350039: excess levy proceeds may be applied to CDP-period liabilities
Chief Counsel Advice addresses whether excess proceeds from a levy may be applied to liabilities for periods covered by a Collection Due Process request. The advice concludes that applying the…
CCA 1350038: closing-agreement request for closed tax years is not appropriate under the revenue procedure
Chief Counsel Advice addresses a taxpayer's request for a closing agreement under Rev. Proc. 2012-1. The advice concludes that the request is not appropriate because it concerns tax years that were…
CCA 1350036: bank must surrender levied taxpayer funds after the waiting period
Chief Counsel Advice addresses a bank's refusal to surrender funds in a taxpayer's account after receiving a notice of levy. The advice explains that the bank has two relevant defenses: it may not…
CCA 1350035: peaceful videotaping of an IRS seizure is not prohibited
Chief Counsel Advice considers whether a taxpayer may videotape an IRS seizure occurring in the taxpayer's home. The advice identifies no statutory, regulatory, or other provision known to bar…
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.