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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Online services platform is a third-party settlement organization; each service is one transaction for §6050W reporting
A company runs a mobile app and website that connects service providers with customers, collects the customers' payments, and guarantees to pay the providers, keeping a service fee. It asked the IRS…
Taxpayer's GST-exemption allocations to three children's trusts ruled void for lack of GST potential
A father funded three nearly identical irrevocable trusts, one for each of his three children, with gifts over two years. He and his wife elected gift-splitting under Section 2513, and each spouse…
Incomplete-gift non-grantor trust: contributions are incomplete gifts, and distribution-committee members hold no general power of appointment
A person (the Grantor) set up an irrevocable trust for a family class (parents, siblings, a niece and nephew, future issue, and another trust), with a "Distribution Committee" of relatives that…
Gross pension-plan values in financial-statement notes count as supplemental info for the LIFO foreign-operations 30% test
A U.S. wholesale distributor uses the LIFO inventory method, which normally forces a company to report LIFO results to shareholders and lenders too (the "LIFO conformity" rule). Under Revenue Ruling…
Spouse's GST-exemption allocations to three children's trusts ruled void for lack of GST potential
A father set up three nearly identical irrevocable trusts, one for each of his three children, funding them with gifts over two years. He and his wife split the gifts for tax purposes…
Late-election relief granted for an S corporation to file its §336(e) statement
Two individuals bought all the stock of an S corporation for cash and a note, and the buyers, sellers, and company signed a binding agreement to treat the stock sale as an asset sale under IRC…
Late-election relief granted to file a §336(e) statement treating a stock sale as an asset sale
A buyer (a partnership) acquired all the stock of a target corporation, and the parties agreed to treat the stock sale as an asset sale under IRC Section 336(e), which can give the buyer a…
Tax-free spin-off rulings for a foreign-parented group separating two businesses via a §355/§368(a)(1)(D) restructuring
A privately held foreign parent company, sitting atop a worldwide group of subsidiaries, wanted to separate one line of business (the "Controlled Business") from another (the "Distributing…
60-day rollover deadline waived for retiree who relied on separating spouse for finances
A retiree took a lump-sum distribution from her employer's qualified retirement plan and parked most of it in an ordinary (non-IRA) savings account, missing the 60-day window to roll part of it into…
Foundation's band-scholarship procedures approved under 4945(g)(1)
A private foundation runs a scholarship for graduating senior band members at a particular school and asked the IRS to approve how it picks winners. Private foundations owe an excise tax on grants…
Global-citizenship foundation's scholarship and travel grant procedures approved under 4945(g)(3)
A private foundation runs a global-citizenship fellowship and asked the IRS to bless the way it hands out grants to the individual fellows. Private foundations normally owe an excise tax when they…
201835014: Denies litigation-related set-asides because no court order barred distributions
A private foundation sought advance approval to set aside specified amounts for two fiscal years while it litigated with the charitable beneficiary named in the testator's will. The foundation had…
201835013: Approves a set-aside for botanical garden construction and improvements
A private foundation operating a botanical garden sought to set aside funds for two long-term construction projects. One project would build a visitor center with meeting, greenhouse, retail, café,…
201835012: Denies 501(c)(3) status because adult recreational sports were a substantial purpose
A corporation sought section 501(c)(3) status to promote health and fitness through church leagues, tournaments, exercise programs, and recreation for both adults and children. Its immediate focus…
201835011: Denies VEBA status because participating employers lacked a common employment bond
A trust sought section 501(c)(9) status as a voluntary employees' beneficiary association offering medical, dental, vision, life, and other welfare benefits to small employers across many industries…
201835010: Denies section 521 exemption to a consumer-oriented local food co-op
A local food co-op sought exemption as a farmers' cooperative under section 521. Most of its members were consumers, and the organization connected them with producer members through an online…
201835009: Denies 501(c)(3) status to a fee-based transportation business
A nonprofit corporation sought section 501(c)(3) status for a business offering transportation, employment, invention, mentoring, paralegal, and lending services. Its articles stated broad business…
201835008: Denies 501(c)(3) status to a fee-funded biotech consulting business
An organization sought section 501(c)(3) status for consulting, executive search, coaching, and educational services aimed at biotech and pharmaceutical companies developing treatments for rare…
201835007: Denies 501(c)(7) status to a sports officials association operating a business
An association of sports officials sought exemption as a social club under section 501(c)(7). It spent 70 percent of its time providing member officials to public and private schools, collected the…
201835006: Denies 501(c)(3) status to a mutual-benefit cattle farm
A mutual-benefit corporation sought section 501(c)(3) status for a cattle farm that would buy, breed, and sell cattle, with future plans to donate meat, support schools, and provide farm education.…
Says a pending QTIP extension request is relevant to an estate refund claim
An IRS office was considering an estate's refund claim while the taxpayer sought a private letter ruling for more time to sever a trust and make a qualified terminable interest property election.…
Treats broad offshore development seismic surveys as section 167(h) G&G costs
An offshore oil and gas operator acquired a seismic survey covering broad areas of two fields after development had been approved, then used the data to optimize the placement of development wells.…
Grants 45 days for late section 338(g) elections for seven CFCs
A foreign corporation acquired a foreign target in a qualified stock purchase and made section 338 elections for the target, a foreign subsidiary, and the parent of a consolidated group. It also…
Approves a revised section 468A nuclear decommissioning funding schedule
A public utility requested a revised schedule of ruling amounts for deductible contributions to a nuclear decommissioning fund under section 468A. The utility owned part of the nuclear plant…
Approves section 355 internal and external distributions for a business separation
A publicly traded consolidated group proposed separating one business through asset and subsidiary transfers, an internal distribution, a contribution to a new controlled corporation, and an…
Approves scholarship procedures for students from three high schools
A private foundation requested advance approval under section 4945(g) for a scholarship program serving graduating seniors from three high schools. It expected to select one student from each school…
Approves need-based scholarship procedures for graduates of one school
A private foundation requested advance approval under section 4945(g) for scholarships to financially needy graduates of a particular school who enrolled at accredited educational institutions. The…
Approves undergraduate and trade scholarship procedures
A private foundation requested advance approval under section 4945(g) for scholarships to students pursuing undergraduate degrees or trade and certificate programs. The board would set the annual…
Revokes charity status for donor-controlled partnership program
The IRS revoked the section 501(c)(3) status of an organization used in charitable-giving arrangements involving limited partnerships and limited liability companies. Donors transferred nonvoting…
Revokes an inactive charity's tax exemption
The IRS revoked the section 501(c)(3) status of an organization formed to operate nursing and retirement facilities for elderly people. The organization reported transferring its assets to a related…
Approves QTIP trust division and charitable renunciation
A surviving spouse proposed dividing a qualified terminable interest property trust into two separate trusts with identical terms, then renouncing all interests in one trust so its assets would pass…
Applies related-party exchange exception to later nonrecognition transfers
A partnership acquired two real properties from a related corporation in a section 1031 exchange and proposed disposing of both within two years. One property would enter another like-kind exchange…
Divorce trust terms preserve S corporation and ESBT status
A divorcing couple proposed moving S corporation stock from one spouse's grantor trust into a single trust that would internally account for equal shares for each spouse. The trust agreement gave…
Divorce trust preserves S corporation and ESBT status
A divorcing couple planned to transfer S corporation shares from one spouse's grantor trust to a negotiated trust holding equal internal shares for the former spouses. The trust agreement gave the…
Divorce trust preserves S corporation and ESBT status
A divorcing couple planned to transfer S corporation shares from one spouse's grantor trust to a negotiated trust holding equal internal shares for the former spouses. The trust agreement gave the…
Approves tax-free split-off or spin-off treatment
A publicly traded parent proposed separating a controlled corporation that operated a distinct segment of the group's business. The parent could exchange controlled-company stock for its own shares…
Grants 120 days for late GST exemption allocation
An estate timely filed its federal estate and generation-skipping transfer tax return, but its CPA failed to allocate the decedent's available GST exemption to a trust with generation-skipping…
Grants 120 days for late section 754 election
A limited partnership failed to make a timely section 754 election for the year in which one of its partners died. The partnership represented that the omission was inadvertent, that it acted…
Grants late foreign partnership classification election
A foreign entity intended to be classified as a partnership for U.S. federal tax purposes but did not timely file Form 8832. The entity requested relief under the Treasury regulations for late…
Grants late GST allocations for pre-2001 trust transfers
Two taxpayers established an irrevocable trust for their children and descendants, then made additional community-property transfers to it in a year ending on or before December 31, 2000. Their…
Grants late partnership election for foreign entity
A foreign entity owned through foreign and domestic entities intended to be treated as a partnership for U.S. federal tax purposes from its formation date. Its domestic S corporation owner…
Denies exemption to commercial billboard network
An organization sought section 501(c)(3) status for a network of outdoor digital displays that would carry commercial advertising, nonprofit messages, and political-candidate messages. It planned to…
Approves employer scholarship procedures
A private foundation requested advance approval for scholarships to employees of a company and their dependent children. It initially planned four awards for employees and two awards for dependents,…
Approves ancestry-based scholarship procedures
A nonexempt charitable trust treated as a private foundation requested advance approval for a scholarship program serving students with one of two specified ancestries. Awards could cover tuition,…
Approves research grants for medical trainees
A private foundation requested advance approval for grants to promising physician residents and fellows at tax-exempt hospitals in specified cities. The grants would support research and training in…
Approves scholarship and study-abroad grant procedures
A private foundation requested advance approval for both scholarships and educational fellowships. Scholarships would support study at accredited colleges, universities, vocational schools, and…
Approves arts-campus construction set-aside
A private foundation requested approval to set aside a redacted amount for an arts campus centered on rehabilitating a vacant historic church. The set-aside would fund infrastructure and tenant…
Revokes inactive organization's exemption
An organization had previously lost exemption automatically for failing to file returns, then reapplied and received retroactive reinstatement under section 501(c)(3). Its stated plans included…
Revokes commercialized social club exemption
The IRS revoked the section 501(c)(7) exemption of a social club that operated alongside a taxable restaurant and bar. The public could purchase alcohol without becoming members or paying dues, the…
Revokes work-unit morale organization's exemption
An organization received section 501(c)(3) status after filing Form 1023-EZ, but its bylaws focused on improving the health, welfare, and morale of members of a specified work unit and their…
Revokes firefighter member-benefit charity's exemption
An organization formed a charity to accept contributions for members' families when a firefighter died in the line of duty or members experienced other catastrophic events. The IRS found that the…
Revokes inactive fire association's section 501(c)(4) status
An organization had been recognized under section 501(c)(4) for volunteer fire protection and related civic purposes, but it disbanded after the fire chief stopped using volunteer firefighters. Its…
Revokes dual-status hospital's section 501(c)(3) exemption
A county-owned hospital also held section 501(c)(3) status, making it a dual-status governmental hospital. The hospital was not required to file Form 990 because of its governmental status, but it…
Revokes noncompliant county hospital's charitable exemption
A county-created regional hospital was both a governmental entity and a section 501(c)(3) organization. Although its governmental status excused it from filing Form 990, it still had to comply with…
Revokes energy-referral charity for private benefit
An organization said its mission was to inform consumers about possible savings on electric and gas bills. In practice, it called consumers and sent interested prospects to two related energy…
Denies exemption for high school class reunions
An unincorporated association applied for section 501(c)(3) status to organize periodic high school class reunions for classmates and their families. It planned annual or twice-yearly fundraisers to…
Revokes inactive aromatherapy foundation's exemption
A foundation was recognized under section 501(c)(3) to provide aromatherapy education, public seminars, professional training, and research support. After a county changed its transient-occupancy…
Grants inadvertent S corporation termination relief for late QSST election
An S corporation shareholder died, and the shareholder's estate transferred stock to a trust under the will. The trust was an eligible shareholder for two years and met the substantive requirements…
Approves partition of grandfathered trust into family-line trusts
An irrevocable trust created before September 25, 1985, benefited a granddaughter and her descendants. A court ordered that, at the granddaughter's death, the trust be divided pro rata into separate…
Allows overfunded retiree trust assets to fund active employee health benefits
A public utility subsidiary maintained a collectively bargained welfare benefit trust that funded retiree health benefits. After plan changes left the trust overfunded, the company proposed creating…
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.