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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Municipal retiree health trust could fund a VEBA
A city used a trust to fund retiree health and welfare benefits, and the trust's income was excluded under Section 115(1). After settling litigation over retirement-benefit changes, the city created…
Retiree health trust payment to a VEBA satisfied Section 115
A city funded retiree health and welfare benefits through a trust whose income was excluded under Section 115(1). A lawsuit settlement led to creation of a voluntary employees' beneficiary…
Partnership received 120 days to make a late Section 754 election
A limited partnership failed to include a Section 754 election with its return for the year in which one partner sold its interest to another party. The partnership represented that the omission was…
Late election out of bonus depreciation was treated as timely
A partnership intended to elect out of additional first-year depreciation for every class of qualified property placed in service during its initial tax year. Its partnership agreement required that…
Court-approved trust partition caused no income, gift, or GST tax
A trust that became irrevocable before September 25, 1985 had previously been divided along family lines. A court later approved modifying one resulting trust so that, after the current…
Landlord received more time for a tenant-improvement disposition election
A partnership owned an office building and removed an earlier tenant's improvements while preparing the space for a new tenant. Its accounting firm knew about the tenant change and build-out but did…
Partnership received relief for a late Section 754 election
A limited liability company treated as a partnership underwent a technical termination after a transfer of ownership interests. It intended to make a Section 754 election in connection with that…
Pass-through entities could make a late bonus depreciation opt-out
An individual wholly owned several pass-through entities that claimed additional first-year depreciation on qualified property. Those deductions flowed through to the owner, contributed to a net…
One-time foreign income inclusion would not end partnership treatment
A publicly traded partnership indirectly owned a substantial noncontrolling interest in a foreign partnership whose group included foreign corporations. The partnership expected the newly amended…
Foundation's social-impact grant procedures were approved
A private foundation proposed annual grants to individuals or teams pursuing projects involving civil rights, humanitarian concerns, environmental protection, and related social issues. Staff,…
Exemption revoked after organization failed to provide records
The IRS repeatedly asked an exempt organization for documents concerning its receipts, expenditures, activities, governing purpose, financial statements, and minutes. The organization received at…
Partnership received 120 days for a late Section 754 election
A partner died, causing that partner's interest and a terminating trust's separate interest in a partnership to pass to new owners. The partnership relied on its tax adviser and did not know that it…
Consolidated group could file a late waiver of its loss carryback
A corporate parent intended to waive the entire carryback period for its consolidated group's net operating loss. The group's returns consistently treated the waiver as effective, but the required…
Family trust could divide into seventeen separate trusts without tax
An irrevocable family trust created before September 25, 1985 proposed dividing into seventeen equal trusts, one for each grandchild's family line. Each new trust would retain materially similar…
IRA ownership caused an inadvertent S corporation termination
An S corporation shareholder transferred company stock to individual retirement accounts, which were not eligible S corporation shareholders. That transfer terminated the company's S election. After…
Trust could divide into four family-line trusts without tax
An irrevocable trust created before September 25, 1985 benefited a grandchild's descendants, their spouses, and selected charities. Its trustees proposed dividing the trust equally into four trusts,…
Four-way family trust division preserved tax treatment
An irrevocable pre-1985 trust benefited a grandchild's descendants and spouses, as well as charities chosen by the trustees. The trustees proposed creating four equal trusts, each centered on one…
Five-way family trust division produced no tax
A pre-1985 irrevocable trust for family members and selected charities proposed dividing into five equal trusts, one for each great-grandchild's family line. The divided trusts would use materially…
Foreign entity received more time for a disregarded-entity election
A foreign entity and its sole owner had been unaware that an entity-classification election was needed to obtain disregarded-entity treatment. The entity requested permission to file Form 8832 late…
Late check-the-box election received 120-day relief
A foreign entity and its sole owner did not realize that they needed an entity-classification election to treat the entity as disregarded for U.S. federal tax purposes. They sought a late Form 8832…
Foreign entity could retroactively elect disregarded status
A wholly owned foreign entity and its owner had not known that a Form 8832 election was required to obtain disregarded-entity treatment. The entity asked to make the classification election late…
VEBA could offset member contributions against promissory notes
A voluntary employees' beneficiary association had required extra contributions from participating employers when first-year premiums were insufficient to meet a state minimum fund balance. Many of…
Export commission company received more time to elect IC-DISC status
A domestic corporation was formed to operate as an interest charge domestic international sales corporation, selling its owner's industrial products to foreign buyers on commission. Its accounting…
Utility had to prorate deferred taxes for interim rates
A regulated natural-gas utility used forecasted test periods to set interim and final rates, reducing rate base by accumulated deferred federal income taxes from accelerated depreciation. It had not…
Estates could make late GST exemption allocations to family trusts
A married couple made gifts to two irrevocable trusts for their sons and descendants in three years before 2001. They timely filed gift tax returns and elected to split the gifts equally, but their…
State deferred compensation plan qualified under Section 457(b)
A state board adopted a deferred compensation plan for state and local government employees. The plan included automatic enrollment with an opt-out period, standard and catch-up deferral limits,…
Beneficiary could serve as co-trustee without a general power
A pre-1985 trust had divided into separate trusts for two grandchildren, and one trust needed a successor co-trustee. The trustees proposed appointing the beneficiary or one of her descendants. The…
Successor beneficiary co-trustee did not create appointment power
A trust created before September 25, 1985 later divided into separate trusts for two grandchildren. For the second trust, the serving trustees proposed adding its beneficiary or one of her…
IRS resolved seven issues in a spin-off followed by a foreign merger
A public company separated one business into a newly public controlled corporation, which was then acquired through a merger involving an unrelated foreign corporation. The IRS addressed seven…
Foundation lost exemption for substantial insider benefits
A public charity that provided addiction counseling and transitional housing gave one executive control over its bank accounts and debit card. The examination found numerous unsubstantiated cash…
Housing applicant failed to establish charitable operation
An organization applied for Section 501(c)(3) status to operate accessible apartment housing for homeless and disabled veterans and civilians. The IRS asked for details about tenant eligibility,…
Tip-box cash required FICA notice and demand procedures
A taxpayer treated service providers as volunteers even though customers left cash for them in tip boxes. After determining that the workers were employees, the IRS considered how to assess the…
Media producer could integrate currency hedges with production costs
A media producer budgeted foreign production costs in local currencies and used forward contracts to lock in their U.S. dollar cost. The anticipated expenses were not yet supported by binding…
FCC spectrum sale qualified as an involuntary conversion
A television broadcaster sold a station's spectrum rights to the FCC through an incentive auction rather than face likely forced relocation to a different channel through the FCC's repacking…
Health authority qualified as a political subdivision
A public corporation formed under state law to provide health care services asked whether it was a political subdivision for federal tax purposes. State law authorized the authority to exercise…
Partnership received 120 days to make a late Section 754 election
A limited partnership timely filed its federal tax return but inadvertently failed to include an election under Section 754. The partnership represented that it acted reasonably and in good faith…
Utility could leave deferred tax balances unchanged after restructuring
An electric transmission utility treated as a partnership underwent a restructuring in which regulated utility members transferred partnership interests to nonregulated affiliates in their…
Home hazard-mitigation grants required information reporting
A state entity offered grants to selected homeowners for structural work intended to help their homes withstand a future hazard. Eligibility depended on the home's location, age, physical…
City development payments qualified for REIT tests
A REIT owned an interest in a partnership developing a mixed-use shopping center on a long-vacant site. A city agreed to make annual payments from a portion of new tax revenue generated by the…
Development reimbursements met REIT asset and income tests
A REIT held an interest in a partnership developing a mixed-use shopping center on a long-vacant property. A city agreed to make annual payments from a share of new tax revenue attributable to the…
City project payments received favorable REIT treatment
A REIT owned part of a partnership developing a mixed-use shopping center on a long-vacant site. The city agreed to use a portion of new project-generated tax revenue for annual payments that…
Multiemployer plan received an amortization extension
A multiemployer pension plan requested an automatic extension of the periods for amortizing specified unfunded liabilities. The plan's actuary certified that without relief the plan would incur an…
Physician loan-repayment awards were tax-free and unreportable
A state program made student-loan repayment awards to physicians who agreed to practice in designated physician-shortage areas. Awards were limited by the recipients' qualifying undergraduate and…
Foreign entity received late disregarded-entity election relief
A foreign entity with one owner intended to be treated as a disregarded entity from its formation date but did not timely file Form 8832. It represented that the omission was inadvertent, that it…
REIT received a second extension for subsidiary elections
A REIT and two subsidiaries intended to elect taxable REIT subsidiary status and had already obtained an IRS extension to file Forms 8875. The law firm, accounting firm, and in-house advisor each…
Taxpayers received 45 days to file a duplicate Form 3115
A married couple changed the accounting methods of a wholly owned disregarded entity and filed the original Form 3115 with their timely return. Their accounting firm failed to mail the required…
Spouse received late GST exemption allocation relief
A decedent created an irrevocable trust for children and their descendants, and the spouses elected to split the original gift. The gift-tax returns failed to allocate either spouse's…
Foreign entity obtained late disregarded-entity election relief
A foreign eligible entity with one owner intended to be treated as a disregarded entity from its formation date but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. The entity represented that it…
Late disregarded-entity election received relief
A foreign single-owner entity intended to be disregarded for federal tax purposes from the date it was formed, but it inadvertently failed to timely file Form 8832. The entity represented that it…
Foreign entity received late partnership election relief
A foreign entity with two owners intended to be classified as a partnership from its formation date but did not timely file Form 8832. The IRS concluded that the entity satisfied the requirements…
Insurance rehabilitation exchanges were not designated events
A consolidated group's regulated insurance subsidiary was operating through separate accounts after one account entered rehabilitation. A proposed exit plan involved issuing secured notes,…
Foreign entity obtained late disregarded-status relief
A foreign eligible entity intended to be classified as disregarded for federal tax purposes from a specified date but failed to timely file Form 8832. The IRS concluded that the entity met the…
Missed QSST election did not end S corporation status
An S corporation's stock was held by a grantor trust whose deemed owner died. The trust remained an eligible shareholder for two years after the death, but then became ineligible because the…
Home hazard-mitigation grants required information reporting
A state-created entity provided grants to qualified homeowners for structural work intended to help their homes withstand a future hazard. Eligibility depended on the home's location, age, and…
Preserves S corporation and QSub elections after stock transfer
An S corporation's stock was transferred to a partnership, which was not an eligible S corporation shareholder. The transfer terminated both the corporation's S election and its elections for eight…
Grants conditional relief for ineffective S corporation and QSub elections
A limited liability company attempted to elect S corporation status while one owner was an ineligible shareholder. Its operating agreement also contained partnership-style provisions that created a…
Grants 120 days to make late partnership basis election
A partnership wanted a section 754 election after a general partner died, but its tax return was filed without the election because it relied on its tax adviser. The partnership represented that it…
Grants estate 120 days to elect alternate valuation
An estate timely filed Form 706 within one year after its due date, but the CPA preparing the return failed to check the box electing alternate valuation under section 2032. The CPA stated that the…
Approves grants connecting expatriate youth with their country
A private foundation proposed an educational grant program for alumni seeking to strengthen ties between a country and young people from that country who lived abroad. Applicants would propose…
Approves graduate STEM scholarship for young women
A private foundation proposed a merit scholarship for a female high school junior or senior from either of two states who intended to pursue graduate study in science, technology, engineering, or…
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.