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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Preserves VEBA exemption and avoids UBTI for health benefit subaccount
A voluntary employees' beneficiary association funded retiree health benefits for collectively bargained employees. It proposed transferring assets once to a new internal subaccount that would pay…
Approves student loan repayment-linked retirement plan contributions
An employer proposed amending its 401(k) plan to make nonelective contributions for employees who repay student loans. Participating employees could still make elective plan contributions, but…
Treats spin-off debt exchange and cash distribution under section 361
A publicly traded parent planned to separate one business into a newly formed controlled corporation and distribute that corporation's stock to its shareholders. The controlled corporation would…
Grants relief for late QSST election that terminated S status
An estate transferred S corporation shares to a trust that could hold them for two years without a special election. The trust continued holding the shares after that period, but its beneficiary did…
Late election to file a consolidated return is allowed after a missed filing
A corporation became the parent of a new affiliated group after acquiring another company and its subsidiaries. The group meant to file a single consolidated federal income tax return for the year,…
Treats bulk nitrogen fertilizer income as qualifying partnership income
A corporation planned to form a limited partnership that would produce and market ammonia, urea, and urea ammonium nitrate in bulk. The partnership's interests could be publicly traded, making the…
Grants extension for omitted section 754 election
A partnership failed to include a section 754 election with its return for the year an individual partner died. The partnership represented that the omission was inadvertent, that it acted…
Grants late partnership classification election for foreign entity
A foreign entity intended to be classified as a partnership for federal tax purposes from its formation date but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS found that the entity…
Grants late disregarded entity election for foreign entity
A foreign entity intended to be classified as disregarded from its owner for federal tax purposes from its formation date but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS found that the…
Grants late disregarded entity election for foreign entity
A foreign entity intended to be classified as disregarded from its owner for federal tax purposes from its formation date but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS found that the…
Grants late disregarded entity election for foreign entity
A foreign entity intended to be classified as disregarded from its owner for federal tax purposes from its formation date but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS found that the…
Grants late disregarded entity election for foreign entity
A foreign entity intended to be classified as disregarded from its owner for federal tax purposes from its formation date but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS found that the…
Grants extension for missed IC-DISC election
A domestic corporation was formed to operate as an interest charge domestic international sales corporation for its parent. A misunderstanding over which adviser would file Form 4876-A caused the…
Makes pension funding extension revocation prospective with a make-whole charge
A pension plan had received a conditional 10-year extension for amortizing unfunded liabilities but later failed two conditions. The IRS approved modifying its earlier rulings so the extension would…
Denies exemption to market-rate veterinary practice
A professional service limited liability company applied for section 501(c)(3) status to provide veterinary services and eventually find homes for abandoned animals. Its sole member shared in…
Denies business league exemption to farmers' market
A farmers' market sought exemption as a business league under section 501(c)(6). It provided member vendors with physical and online selling venues, advertising, electrical access, and other market…
Denies social welfare exemption to commercial property association
An association of commercial property owners sought exemption as a social welfare organization under section 501(c)(4). It planned to maintain privately owned common areas, parking, landscaping,…
Denies social welfare exemption to condominium association
A condominium owners' association sought exemption as a social welfare organization under section 501(c)(4). It collected assessments to maintain the complex's exterior structures, grounds, pool,…
Denies exemption to member-focused internet exchange
An organization sought section 501(c)(3) status to establish and operate a neutral regional internet exchange. Members would pay port fees, receive below-market access, and exchange local internet…
Denies social welfare exemption to member-owned well and dock association
A homeowners' association collected mandatory annual fees to pay expenses for a well and boat dock owned in common by its member households. It did not own the facilities, restricted their use and…
Denies exemption to organization serving one family lineage
An organization formed to improve the educational and economic prospects of the descendants of two individuals and their siblings applied for exemption under section 501(c)(3). It planned…
Grants more time to file a loss-property basis election statement
A corporate parent requested extra time to file the statement required for a joint election under section 362(e)(2)(C). A subsidiary had transferred stock with a tax basis above fair market value to…
Grants more time for a foreign subsidiary's loss-property basis election
A corporate parent requested extra time to file the statement required for a joint election under section 362(e)(2)(C). A controlled foreign corporation had transferred stock with a tax basis above…
Approves revised nuclear decommissioning fund contribution schedule
A partnership that owned a permanently shut down nuclear power plant requested a revised schedule of deductible contribution amounts for its qualified nuclear decommissioning fund. It based its…
Defines income, gift, and estate tax treatment of family trust powers
A grantor created an irrevocable domestic trust for himself, his spouse, descendants, parents, and another individual. A committee that included the grantor and other beneficiaries or their…
Defines income, gift, and estate tax treatment of family trust powers
A grantor created an irrevocable domestic trust for himself, his spouse, descendants, parents, and another individual. A committee that included the grantor and other beneficiaries or their…
Defines income, gift, and estate tax treatment of family trust powers
A grantor created an irrevocable domestic trust for himself, his spouse, descendants, parents, and another individual. A committee that included the grantor and other beneficiaries or their…
Defines income, gift, and estate tax treatment of family trust powers
A grantor created an irrevocable domestic trust for himself, his spouse, descendants, parents, and another individual. A committee that included the grantor and other beneficiaries or their…
Defines income, gift, and estate tax treatment of family trust powers
A grantor created an irrevocable domestic trust for himself, his spouse, descendants, parents, and another individual. A committee that included the grantor and other beneficiaries or their…
Restores two S elections after trusts missed ESBT filings
Two corporations lost their S corporation status after the owner of a grantor trust died and the trustee did not timely elect electing small business trust status when the post-death eligibility…
Grants time to divide a trust and make a QTIP election
A decedent's revocable trust became irrevocable at death and held the residuary estate, including a retirement account, for the surviving spouse during life with the remainder going to charities.…
Late election to defer a low-income housing credit period
A partnership placed a single-building low-income housing project in service but inadvertently failed to elect to begin its 10-year credit period in the following taxable year. It asked the IRS for…
Late success-fee safe-harbor election granted
A corporation acquired another company and treated its success-based investment banking fees under the safe harbor in Revenue Procedure 2011-29. It deducted 70 percent of the fees and capitalized 30…
Study-abroad fellowship procedures approved
A private foundation proposed a two-week study-abroad fellowship program for undergraduate and graduate students from one country. The program would develop participants' leadership and…
Innovation grant procedures approved under § 4945(g)(3)
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve in advance the procedures for an educational grant program it planned to run. The program would make small grants to individuals (open to applicants 18…
A members-only funeral benefit society is denied 501(c)(3) status
A mutual-aid society applied for tax-exempt charitable status using the streamlined Form 1023-EZ, and the IRS denied it under § 501(c)(3) after a technical review. The group works like a…
A "church" organized as a for-profit LLC with a paid recruiting scheme is denied 501(c)(3) status
An organization applied for recognition as a tax-exempt religious charity but the IRS denied it under § 501(c)(3). Two problems doomed the application. First, it failed the organizational test: the…
An animal sanctuary run out of the founders' home is denied 501(c)(3) status for inurement
A husband and wife formed a nonprofit to run a permanent sanctuary for previously ill, abused, or neglected animals, which lived in the couple's own home. The IRS denied the organization recognition…
A charity formed to aid one boat crew's families is denied 501(c)(3) status
An organization was formed to collect donations and hand them out to the families of the deceased crew of a fishing vessel, a group of fewer than ten identified individuals. Its own directors and…
A malpractice settlement that just restores lost capital is not taxable income
A driver caused a fatal accident and lost a large wrongful-death judgment after the insurer's defense law firm failed to settle the case within the auto policy limits. The driver went bankrupt, and…
A partnership gets to keep its straight-line depreciation election after filing late
An LLC taxed as a partnership built a mixed-use real estate development and, based on a cost segregation study, broke it into 5-year, 7-year, 15-year, and real property. It wanted to depreciate the…
A QTIP trust that will fund a foundation is not yet subject to the private-foundation excise taxes
A married person set up a trust that, at death, became irrevocable and was elected to be qualified terminable interest property (QTIP) for estate tax purposes. The surviving spouse receives all the…
A newly formed corporation gets to fix a late S election
A corporation's sole owner wanted the company to be taxed as an S corporation from the day it was incorporated, but the company never filed its Form 2553 (the S election) on time. Under §…
A private foundation gets extra time to make a missed corpus-distribution election
A private foundation received large stock contributions from substantial donors and made grants, but it did not distribute a full 100 percent of those contributions in the same year. To help its…
Letting government workers move a frozen cash-balance benefit to a 401(k) plan is tax-free and not an excess contribution
A government employer runs two retirement plans: a defined benefit plan (Plan A) that includes a cash balance component, and a defined contribution 401(k)-style plan (Plan B). It wanted to let…
S corporation election is restored after an inadvertent termination from excess passive income
A company that had elected to be taxed as an S corporation lost that status by operation of law. Under § 1362(d)(3), an S corporation's election terminates automatically if it has leftover C…
Surviving spouse's IRA rollover through a trust was valid
A decedent named a revocable trust as the beneficiary of his IRA, and the assets were allocated to a survivor's trust for his wife. The wife was the sole income and principal beneficiary and held an…
Timely disclaimer of a pre-1977 trust interest avoids gift tax
An irrevocable trust created before 1977 gave a beneficiary a testamentary power to appoint its remaining property among family descendants. After the beneficiary died, a family member learned that…
Foreign entity receives late corporate-classification relief
A foreign eligible entity's owner intended the entity to be classified as a corporation for federal tax purposes, but the entity did not timely file Form 8832. The IRS concluded that the entity met…
Inadvertent ineligible shareholder did not end S status
An S corporation transferred shares to an ineligible shareholder, which caused its S election to terminate. After discovering the problem, the corporation and its shareholders transferred the shares…
Multiemployer plan receives an amortization extension
A multiemployer pension plan requested an automatic extension of the periods for amortizing unfunded liabilities from plan amendments, assumption changes, and actuarial losses. The plan's actuary…
Scholarship procedures for underprivileged students approved
A private foundation proposed scholarships to help underprivileged students complete undergraduate or graduate degrees. Applicants would provide academic records and essays, and a selection…
High-school entrepreneurship grants approved
A private foundation proposed grants to startup businesses developed, managed, and majority-owned by students at two high schools. Applicants would submit business plans and supporting materials,…
Horse futurity organization denied Section 501(c)(3) status
An organization applied for Section 501(c)(3) status to operate an all-breed horse futurity with competitions, an online stallion-service auction, and a payback program for owners. Its website…
Exemption revoked for a donor-controlled partnership gifting program
A charity accepted donated nonvoting interests in partnerships and limited liability companies through arrangements created and administered by a professional adviser. The IRS examination found that…
Property-holding charity reclassified as a supporting organization
A property-holding charity received almost all of its support from rents and did not meet the public-support tests for classification under Section 509(a)(1) or 509(a)(2). Its sole supported…
Inactive organization's Section 501(c)(3) status revoked
An educational organization had reported little activity for several years and failed to file one annual return. A later pledge agreement called for a large contribution that the organization would…
Exempt status revoked after organization failed to provide audit records
The IRS selected a charitable organization for an audit of its annual return and repeatedly requested financial records, minutes, and other information. An officer said the records were stored on a…
Social club exemption revoked for excess nonmember income
A social club promoted horses and horsemanship through shows, play days, trail rides, meetings, and use of its hall and arena. Some activities and facilities were available to nonmembers and the…
Breast cancer charity revoked for private benefits and inaccurate filings
A charity said its mission was to assist breast cancer patients and support education and research. The IRS found that its exempt activity was secondary to professional fundraising fees, insider…
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.