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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PLR 1150018: IRS granted extra time to allocate GST exemption to a trust transfer
The IRS considered a taxpayer's request for more time to allocate generation-skipping transfer tax exemption to a transfer of property and cash to an irrevocable trust. The taxpayer timely reported…
IRS grants time for QTIP trust division and reverse QTIP election
The IRS granted an estate 120 days to elect to treat an existing QTIP trust as two separate trusts, an exempt QTIP trust and a non-exempt QTIP trust. It also granted 120 days to make a reverse QTIP…
IRS grants time to allocate GST exemption to a trust
The IRS granted a husband and wife an additional 120 days to allocate their generation-skipping transfer tax exemptions to a prior gift to a trust. The couple had timely filed their gift-tax…
PLR 1148001: Unitrust conversion preserved QTIP and GST tax treatment
A surviving spouse and the other trust beneficiaries proposed converting a marital trust into a total return unitrust under state law. The trust was subject to a QTIP election, and a separate…
PLR 1147010: IRS approves reformation of a GST-exempt trust
A family sought to reform an irrevocable trust created before September 25, 1985, after discovering that a scrivener had omitted provisions allowing distributions to the settlor's children during…
PLR 1147009: IRS allows late reverse QTIP and split-trust elections
An estate made a QTIP election for a marital trust but did not make a reverse QTIP election or affirmatively allocate the decedent's generation-skipping transfer tax exemption. The estate also…
PLR 1144026: IRS grants more time to allocate generation-skipping transfer tax exemptions
The IRS granted a husband and wife 120 more days to allocate their available generation-skipping transfer tax exemptions to gifts made to two trusts. The couple had elected to split their gifts, but…
PLR 1143002: IRS approves a trust beneficiary's proposed power of apportionment for estate and GST tax purposes
A trust beneficiary asked whether exercising a limited power to apportion trust assets among family members would cause those assets to be included in his gross estate. He also asked whether the…
PLR 1143001: IRS grants estates more time to allocate GST tax exemptions to trust transfers
Two spouses made transfers to an irrevocable trust but did not file the required gift tax returns for later transfers or allocate their generation-skipping transfer tax exemptions to those…
PLR 1138028: 120-day extension to allocate GST exemption to trust transfers
The IRS granted a decedent's estate and the decedent's spouse 120 more days to allocate their generation-skipping transfer tax exemptions to a prior transfer to a trust. The taxpayers' adviser…
PLR 1138027: Trust modification to include adopted descendants did not trigger GST tax or a current gift
The IRS approved a proposed modification to an irrevocable trust so that legally adopted minors could qualify as descendants, except for the rule against perpetuities period. The family sought the…
PLR 1137009: IRS grants more time to allocate generation-skipping transfer tax exemption
A taxpayer transferred stock to an irrevocable trust for a child and descendants but did not allocate generation-skipping transfer tax exemption on the timely filed gift tax return. The omission…
PLR 1137001: IRS grants more time to allocate GST exemption to trust transfers
A taxpayer and spouse made several transfers to an irrevocable trust and consented to split the gifts for gift tax purposes. Their accountant allocated GST exemption to the first two transfers but…
PLR 1136017: Trust distributions under testamentary powers of appointment retain GST-tax exemption
The taxpayer asked whether exercising testamentary powers of appointment over three trusts would cause the appointed property to be included in the beneficiary's gross estate. The IRS ruled that it…
PLR 1136016: Proposed remainder-interest sales do not disturb GST exemption
The taxpayer proposed selling remainder interests in an old trust to separate trusts established for the sellers' descendants. The IRS ruled that a court construction allowing the sales, and the…
PLR 1136015: Proposed remainder-interest sales do not disturb GST exemption
The taxpayer proposed selling remainder interests in an old trust to separate trusts established for the sellers' descendants. The IRS ruled that a court construction allowing the sales, and the…
PLR 1136014: Proposed remainder-interest sales do not disturb GST exemption
The taxpayer proposed selling remainder interests in an old trust to separate trusts established for the sellers' descendants. The IRS ruled that a court construction allowing the sales, and the…
PLR 1136013: Proposed remainder-interest sales do not disturb GST exemption
The taxpayer proposed selling remainder interests in an old trust to separate trusts established for the sellers' descendants. The IRS ruled that a court construction allowing the sales, and the…
PLR 1136012: Proposed remainder-interest sales do not disturb GST exemption
The taxpayer proposed selling remainder interests in an old trust to separate trusts established for the sellers' descendants. The IRS ruled that a court construction allowing the sales, and the…
PLR 1136011: Proposed remainder-interest sales do not disturb GST exemption
The taxpayer proposed selling remainder interests in an old trust to separate trusts established for the sellers' descendants. The IRS ruled that a court construction allowing the sales, and the…
PLR 1135024: IRS grants late GST exemption allocations after tax-preparer error
A married couple asked the IRS for more time to allocate their generation-skipping transfer tax exemptions to transfers they had made to an irrevocable trust. They intended to make the allocations…
PLR 1134017: Transfer of trust assets preserves GST status and avoids gift tax and gain
A taxpayer asked whether a special trustee could move assets from one family trust into a new trust for the same family beneficiary and descendants. The IRS ruled that the receiving trust would keep…
PLR 1133005: Late GST exemption allocation granted with transfer-date effect
The IRS granted a taxpayer 120 additional days to allocate generation-skipping transfer tax exemption to an earlier transfer to an irrevocable trust. The taxpayer’s professionals had failed to make…
PLR 1131014: IRS approved dividing an irrevocable trust into separate beneficiary subtrusts
A trustee proposed dividing an irrevocable trust created before September 25, 1985 into separate subtrusts, one for each of the grantor's three children and their descendants. The IRS concluded that…
PLR 1131013: IRS granted more time to allocate GST tax exemption to a trust transfer
A donor transferred property to an irrevocable trust for descendants but did not allocate generation-skipping transfer tax exemption to the transfer. The donor and spouse had relied on tax…
PLR 1131012: IRS granted more time to allocate GST tax exemption to a trust transfer
A spouse transferred property to an irrevocable trust for descendants but did not allocate generation-skipping transfer tax exemption to her share of the transfer. The donor and spouse had relied on…
PLR 1129027: IRS grants more time to allocate GST exemption to trusts
A married couple failed to allocate their generation-skipping transfer tax exemptions to transfers made to two irrevocable trusts. The IRS found that they acted reasonably and in good faith because…
PLR 1129021: Trust consolidation preserves GST exemption and tax attributes
Two irrevocable trusts created before September 26, 1985, had substantially identical terms and beneficiaries. A state court authorized their consolidation into one trust without changing the…
PLR 1129015: Trust reformation preserves tax treatment and GST exemption
A family trust created before September 26, 1985, had not been divided as originally planned and was being administered for two beneficiaries. The trustees and beneficiaries proposed a nonjudicial…
PLR 1129014: Trust reformation preserves tax treatment and GST exemption
A family trust created before September 26, 1985, was held for a beneficiary and later generations. The trustees and beneficiaries proposed a nonjudicial agreement to clarify investment authority,…
PLR 1129013: Trust reformation preserves tax treatment and GST exemption
A family trust created before September 26, 1985, had not been divided as originally planned and was being administered for two beneficiaries. The trustees and beneficiaries proposed a nonjudicial…
PLR 1128018: Consolidating two pre-1985 trusts preserved GST exemption and tax basis
The IRS considered a proposal to combine two substantially identical irrevocable trusts created before September 26, 1985. The trusts would be consolidated without changing the beneficiaries' income…
PLR 1128016: IRS extends time to allocate generation-skipping transfer tax exemption
An estate asked for more time to allocate the decedent's generation-skipping transfer tax exemption to transfers for grandchildren and to two trusts. The estate had timely filed its estate tax…
PLR 1128015: IRS approves a trust reformation and income-principal allocation method
Trustees and beneficiaries asked whether they could reform a pre-1985 trust to clarify investment authority and allow a bank trustee to adjust receipts between income and principal under state law.…
PLR 1128014: IRS approves a trust reformation and income-principal allocation method
Trustees and beneficiaries asked whether they could reform a pre-1985 trust to clarify investment authority and allow a bank trustee to adjust receipts between income and principal under state law.…
PLR 1128013: IRS approves a trust reformation and income-principal allocation method
Trustees and beneficiaries asked whether they could reform a pre-1985 trust to clarify investment authority and allow a bank trustee to adjust receipts between income and principal under state law.…
PLR 1128012: IRS approves a trust reformation and income-principal allocation method
Trustees and beneficiaries asked whether they could reform a pre-1985 trust to clarify investment authority and allow a bank trustee to adjust receipts between income and principal under state law.…
PLR 1128011: IRS approves a trust reformation and income-principal allocation method
Trustees and beneficiaries asked whether they could reform a pre-1985 trust to clarify investment authority and allow a bank trustee to adjust receipts between income and principal under state law.…
PLR 1127009: IRS grants more time to allocate generation-skipping transfer tax exemptions
A married couple created an irrevocable trust for their child and more remote descendants but did not file gift tax returns or allocate their generation-skipping transfer tax exemptions to their…
PLR 1126008: Donors received more time to elect out of GST exemption allocation
Two spouses asked for more time to elect out of the generation-skipping transfer tax exemption’s automatic allocation rules for transfers to an irrevocable trust. The trust’s drafter had not…
PLR 1125016: Taxpayer and spouse received 120 days to allocate GST exemption
The IRS granted a taxpayer and spouse 120 days to allocate their available generation-skipping transfer tax exemption to gifts made to three child trusts. The IRS also granted the taxpayer 120 days…
PLR 1124006: IRS grants late GST exemption allocation relief
The IRS granted a married couple 120 additional days to allocate their available generation-skipping transfer tax exemptions to transfers made to an irrevocable trust. The couple had timely filed…
PLR 1124003: IRS grants late election-out relief for GST exemption allocation
The IRS granted spouses 120 additional days to elect out of the automatic allocation of generation-skipping transfer tax exemption to transfers made to an irrevocable trust. The trust instrument did…
PLR 1123014: IRS preserves GST tax exemption after court-approved trust changes
The trustee of a trust created before September 25, 1985, asked whether court orders changing how beneficiaries could receive farm-related value would preserve the trust's generation-skipping…
PLR 1123007: IRS grants more time to elect out of automatic GST exemption allocation
A taxpayer created a grantor retained annuity trust before 2001 and later discovered that GST exemption had been automatically allocated when the trust’s estate tax inclusion period closed. The…
PLR 1122007: IRS addresses tax effects of an early trust distribution
The beneficiaries and trustees of an irrevocable trust sought court approval to distribute part of the trust principal early to the remainder beneficiaries while leaving the balance in trust. The…
PLR 1121011: trust modification does not terminate generation-skipping transfer tax exemption
The IRS approved a proposed modification to an irrevocable trust created before September 25, 1985. The modification would add accumulated income to the trust corpus instead of leaving it as…
PLR 1121009: trust modification does not terminate generation-skipping transfer tax exemption
The IRS approved a proposed modification to an irrevocable trust created before September 25, 1985. The modification would add accumulated income to the trust corpus instead of leaving it as…
PLR 1121008: trust modification does not terminate generation-skipping transfer tax exemption
The IRS approved a proposed modification to an irrevocable trust created before September 25, 1985. The modification would add accumulated income to the trust corpus instead of leaving it as…
PLR 1121007: trust modification does not terminate generation-skipping transfer tax exemption
The IRS approved a proposed modification to an irrevocable trust created before September 25, 1985. The modification would add accumulated income to the trust corpus instead of leaving it as…
PLR 1121003: estate granted more time to make a QTIP election
The IRS granted an estate 120 additional days to make a qualified terminable interest property election for a trust benefiting the surviving spouse. The executor's attorney had mistakenly listed the…
PLR 1121002: trust settlement recognizes a disputed descendant without triggering GST or gift tax
The IRS approved a court-approved settlement that recognized a taxpayer's purported granddaughter as a descendant of the settlor for purposes of an irrevocable family trust. The settlement resolved…
PLR 1118006: IRS grants more time to allocate GST exemption to prior trust gifts
The IRS considered an estate whose decedent had made gifts to a trust but had not allocated the decedent's generation-skipping transfer tax exemption to gifts made in four earlier years. The…
PLR 1118003: IRS explains GST treatment of separate trust shares and distributions
The IRS analyzed two trusts that paid income among a settlor's five children and later distributed trust property to descendants. The IRS ruled that the settlor remained the transferor for…
PLR 1116008: IRS ruled on separate trust shares and GST tax
The IRS considered two trusts created by a settlor whose income was divided among five children, with a deceased child’s share passing to that child’s descendants. The IRS ruled that each trust…
PLR 1116006: IRS excluded a former spouse’s trust from the decedent’s estate
The IRS considered an irrevocable trust established by a former spouse under a divorce judgment for the decedent’s lifetime benefit. The trust gave the decedent income and limited access to…
PLR 1116004: IRS granted time for reverse QTIP and GST elections
The IRS considered an estate that had reported a marital trust as QTIP property but had not separately identified its GST-exempt and GST-nonexempt portions, made a reverse QTIP election, or…
PLR 1116003: IRS ruled that two trusts had five separate GST shares
The IRS considered two trusts that paid income to a settlor's five children and, after a child's death, to that child's descendants. It ruled that the settlor remained the transferor for…
IRS confirms generation-skipping transfer tax exemption allocations
The IRS determined how two taxpayers’ generation-skipping transfer tax exemptions applied to transfers made to a trust. The IRS concluded that the exemption was automatically allocated to the…
PLR 1112001: unnecessary QTIP election treated as null and void
The IRS treated a QTIP election for a family trust as null and void because the election was not needed to reduce the decedent's federal estate tax liability to zero. The executor had listed the…
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.