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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Hospice house set-aside receives approval
A Type III non-functionally integrated supporting organization requested approval to set aside funds for its supported organization. The project would construct a hospice house benefiting hospice…
Historic building restoration set-aside receives approval
A private foundation proposed a matching grant to a public charity restoring a historically significant building for use as a history center. The grant agreement required the charity to raise…
Leadership capacity-building grant procedures receive approval
A private foundation proposed a capacity-building program for leadership teams from selected charitable organizations in a faith community. The program included board and chair assessments,…
Software user association denied business-league exemption
An association brought together customers, vendors, consultants, and former officers connected with three software products owned by one corporation. It operated a member forum, website, file…
Spectrum auction sales occurred under threat of involuntary conversion
A television broadcaster relinquished spectrum rights for three stations through the FCC's incentive auction. The broadcaster represented that declining the auction would likely have caused the FCC…
Subsidiary receives relief for ineffective QSub election
An S corporation acquired all the stock of another S corporation in a transaction represented as part of an F reorganization. It filed Form 8869 to treat the acquired corporation as a qualified…
Corporation receives relief after trusts fail QSST requirements
Shares of an S corporation passed from two grantor trusts into successor trusts after the original grantors died. One successor trust's beneficiary did not make a qualified subchapter S trust…
Foreign entity receives extension for disregarded-entity election
A foreign eligible entity wanted disregarded-entity treatment from the date its classification became relevant but did not timely file Form 8832. The IRS found that the requirements for…
Surviving spouse may roll estate-paid plan distribution into IRA
A governmental deferred compensation plan paid a deceased participant's account to his estate because he had not named a beneficiary. His surviving spouse was both executor and sole beneficiary of…
Small insurer receives extension for Section 831(b) election
An insurance company had qualified for exemption as a small insurer under Section 501(c)(15) in earlier years. Its return preparer discovered shortly before the filing deadline that gross receipts…
Foreign entity receives extension for disregarded-entity election
A wholly owned foreign eligible entity intended to be classified as disregarded from its formation date but failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS concluded that the requirements for…
Charitable loan program qualifies for two private-foundation exceptions
A private operating foundation proposed loans to nonprofit and for-profit service providers helping underserved children and families, as well as intermediaries experienced in charitable lending.…
Public retiree-benefit trust income is excluded and no return is required
A political subdivision created and funded a trust to pay post-employment life and health benefits for retired employees and their eligible dependents and beneficiaries. The employer controlled…
Public retiree-benefit trust income is excluded and no return is required
A political subdivision created and funded a trust to pay post-employment life and health benefits for retired employees and their eligible dependents and beneficiaries. The employer controlled…
Public retiree-benefit trust income is excluded and no return is required
A political subdivision created and funded a trust to pay post-employment life and health benefits for retired employees and their eligible dependents and beneficiaries. The employer controlled…
Corporate group receives relief after trusts miss ESBT elections
Two trusts held shares of an S corporation but their trustees failed to make timely electing small business trust elections. The failure affected that corporation and a successor S corporation…
Policy research grant procedures receive advance approval
A private foundation proposed grants for scientists, authors, and researchers to develop original projects addressing domestic and international policy, economic, and social issues. Applicants would…
Denies social welfare exemption to tennis umpire association
A tennis umpire association sought reinstatement of tax-exempt status as a social welfare organization under section 501(c)(4). Its main activity was referring member umpires to sanctioned tennis…
Hockey officiating scheduler primarily served individual members
An association sought recognition as a tax-exempt business league under Section 501(c)(6). It scheduled trained hockey officials for member rinks, billed the rinks, collected the fees, and…
IRS may sell seized spectrometers after cleaning marijuana residue
Chief Counsel considered whether the IRS could seize and sell laboratory spectrometers used by marijuana-industry taxpayers under Sections 6331 and 6335. The equipment could retain trace marijuana…
Foreign entity received extra time for disregarded-entity election
A foreign eligible entity failed to file Form 8832 on time to elect disregarded-entity status for federal tax purposes. It requested a discretionary extension under Treas. Reg. § 301.9100-3. The IRS…
Share offering did not disqualify later spin-off
A publicly traded foreign entity raised cash through an offering of additional shares to holders of both classes of its common stock and used the proceeds to reduce external debt. It later…
Estate received time for trust severance and reverse QTIP election
An estate timely elected QTIP treatment for a marital trust but failed to divide it into GST-exempt and nonexempt trusts or make a reverse QTIP election. The trustee had relied on tax professionals…
Taxpayer received extra time for mixed straddle election
A limited liability company intended to make its customary election to establish mixed straddle accounts for foreign currency contracts held through a foreign partnership. Confusion among the…
Planned buyout avoided anti-churning limit on goodwill amortization
An investor bought a majority membership interest in a business holding pre-1993 goodwill, and the transaction was treated as a purchase of part of the business's assets followed by contributions to…
Payment to waive property purchase right was qualifying REIT income
A real estate investment trust indirectly held a general-partner interest in a partnership that owned a residential rental property with onsite retail tenants. The partnership agreement gave each…
Foreign entity received late disregarded-entity election relief
A foreign eligible entity and its member intended the entity to be treated as disregarded for federal tax purposes from its formation date. The entity inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time.…
Estate received time for alternate valuation election
An estate timely filed Form 706 within one year after its filing deadline, including extensions, but its attorney omitted the Section 2032 alternate valuation election. The executor asked for…
Missed ESBT election caused an inadvertent S corporation termination
A trust acquired shares of an S corporation from an estate but its trustees did not timely elect treatment as an electing small business trust. That failure terminated the corporation's S election,…
Trust decanting preserved generation-skipping tax exemption
A trust with a zero generation-skipping transfer tax inclusion ratio proposed to distribute all its assets to a successor trust under a state decanting statute enacted after the original trust…
Second trust decanting preserved generation-skipping tax exemption
A trust for the settlor's second son had a zero generation-skipping transfer tax inclusion ratio and proposed to distribute all its assets to a successor trust under a state decanting statute…
Foreign entity received time for disregarded-entity election
A foreign eligible entity failed to file Form 8832 on time to elect disregarded-entity status from its formation date. The IRS concluded that the entity satisfied the discretionary relief standards…
Foreign entity received late classification election relief
A foreign eligible entity and its owner intended the entity to be treated as disregarded for federal tax purposes from its formation date, but Form 8832 was not filed on time. The IRS found that the…
Missed Form 8832 deadline received discretionary relief
A foreign eligible entity and its owner intended the entity to be treated as disregarded for federal tax purposes from its formation date, but the entity did not file Form 8832 on time. The IRS…
Entity received 120 days to file late Form 8832
A foreign eligible entity and its owner intended the entity to be treated as disregarded for federal tax purposes from its formation date, but Form 8832 was not filed on time. The IRS concluded that…
Post-merger stock contributions preserved parent-stock treatment
A publicly traded parent acquired a target in a merger, paying parent stock and other consideration, with additional contingent earn-out consideration tied to milestones. The parent then planned to…
Late ESBT election received inadvertent-termination relief
A trust acquired shares of an S corporation from an estate but its trustees failed to make a timely electing small business trust election. The missed election terminated the corporation's S status,…
Farmers market primarily benefited vendors
A nonprofit operated a weekly farmers market and sought exemption under Section 501(c)(3). Its governing documents included agricultural and nutritional purposes broader than the listed exempt…
Partnership received time for Section 754 election after partner's death
A general partnership intended to make a Section 754 election after one of two spouses who owned a partnership interest as community property died. The partnership did not timely file the return…
Late tax-year change application was treated as timely
A domestic corporation filed Form 1128 late when seeking to change from a calendar tax year to a tax year ending March 31. It requested discretionary deadline relief soon after missing the due date…
New affiliated group received time for consolidated-return election
A parent corporation created a new affiliated group through an acquisition and intended to file a consolidated return, but did not timely make a valid election under Treas. Reg. § 1.1502-75(a)(1).…
Governmental deferred-compensation plan met Section 457 requirements
A city board requested rulings on a deferred-compensation plan for employees and independent contractors of the city and participating agencies. The plan included designated Roth contributions,…
REIT received time for taxable-subsidiary election
A REIT owned a foreign company and foreign property companies whose intercompany interest deductions were affected by new foreign tax rules. Relying on its tax adviser's analysis, the REIT did not…
Partnership received time for election after technical termination
A limited liability company taxed as a partnership underwent a technical termination under former Section 708(b)(1)(B) when one owner sold membership interests to two buyers. The partnership…
Police line-of-duty benefits were partly tax-exempt
A public employer's plan paid police officers disability benefits for line-of-duty injuries and paid survivor benefits for line-of-duty deaths. Each benefit generally equaled 50 percent of final…
Partnership-style agreement did not defeat S corporation relief
A limited liability company's operating agreement retained partnership-style capital-account, allocation, and liquidation provisions after the company elected S corporation status. Those binding…
Late ESBT election received conditional S corporation relief
A trust acquired S corporation shares from an estate but failed to make a timely electing small business trust election, terminating the corporation's S status. The IRS found the termination…
Transition-tax income did not end partnership treatment
A publicly traded partnership owned controlled foreign corporations that provided natural gas compression services. The one-time Section 965 transition-tax inclusion could cause the partnership to…
Multiemployer plan received five-year amortization extensions
A multiemployer pension plan requested automatic extensions for amortizing 71 listed unfunded-liability charge bases. The plan's actuary certified that, without relief, the plan would have an…
Public arts grant procedures received advance approval
A private foundation proposed small grants for artists and performers to create public-minded fine and performing arts projects, initially in two counties of a metropolitan area. Applicants would…
Computer science scholarship procedures received approval
A private foundation proposed scholarships for underprivileged students enrolled full-time in a computer science bachelor's degree program at a specified school. Applicants had to meet a minimum…
Energy research venture primarily served commercial interests
An organization sought Section 501(c)(3) exemption for energy research, prototype development, marketing, and licensing activities. Its founder and chief executive owned a patent-pending technology…
Farmers market did not qualify as a business league
An organization sought exemption as a business league under Section 501(c)(6). It operated a farmers market, charged vendors fees, and used some market revenue for improvements and promotion in the…
Third-party victims had priority over IRS restitution collection
Chief Counsel considered two criminal cases with separate docket numbers but linked judgment and restitution orders. After consulting with the Tax Division, Counsel recommended treating them as one…
Internet domain names are intangible personal property
Chief Counsel confirmed how an internet domain name is classified for federal tax levy purposes. It advised that a domain name is intangible personal property under the provisions governing property…
Exam teams may share information needed for tax administration
Chief Counsel addressed whether IRS examination teams could share information and documents with one another. It advised that Section 6103(h)(1) permits internal disclosure when the receiving…
Appraisal disclosure may satisfy the Section 6103 item test
An IRS employee asked whether an appraisal could be disclosed in a tax proceeding. Chief Counsel treated the appraisal as a third party's return information because the IRS had received it in…
Technical advice request could be returned unanswered after consultation
Chief Counsel discussed the procedure for ending a technical advice request involving a variable annuity. The referenced revenue procedure required a director to notify the taxpayer before…
Affiliated entities received more time to elect alternative depreciation
An individual owned several pass-through entities that used the general depreciation system for property placed in service during a redacted tax year. Using the alternative depreciation system…
IRS issued targeted rulings for a complex corporate spin-off
A publicly traded parent planned a multi-step separation of a business into a spun-off corporation, with internal transfers, preferred-stock sales, borrowing, cash distributions, retained stock, and…
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.