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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CCA 1321020: IRS gives internal routing guidance for IRC § 6110 petitions
Chief Counsel Advice provides internal procedural guidance for petitions under IRC § 6110. It states that an IRC § 6110 petition receives a “D” after the docket number. It also states that all IRC §…
CCA 1320019: Civil liabilities and criminal restitution assessments must be kept distinct
The memorandum considers whether Exam may use a closing agreement to resolve civil tax liabilities and penalties for tax periods covered by a federal district court's restitution order in a criminal…
CCA 1320018: Partners may file their own AARs only while their statutes remain open
The memorandum addresses whether partners may file their own administrative adjustment requests. It states that they may do so only if the statute of limitations remains open under their own Forms…
An incorrect return may still start the assessment period
Chief Counsel Advice discusses whether an incorrect return can still be treated as a valid return for statute-of-limitations purposes. The advice states that the Germantown Trust rule was not…
A TEFRA proceeding may affect partners with open individual statutes
Chief Counsel Advice addresses a TEFRA partnership proceeding where some partners' individual statutes of limitations remain open. The advice states that the IRS can conduct a TEFRA proceeding…
A statute cannot be extended after it expires
Chief Counsel Advice addresses whether a statute may be extended after it has expired. The IRS advice gives a direct answer: an expired statute cannot be extended. The memo concerns the execution of…
How TEFRA partnership items are handled in a Munro computation
Chief Counsel Advice explains how to calculate a deficiency in a docketed non-TEFRA proceeding when the taxpayer's return includes TEFRA partnership items. The general method removes reported TEFRA…
Federal tax partnership status depends on joining capital or services for profit
Chief Counsel Advice addresses whether state law determines whether a person is a partner for federal tax purposes. The advice states that state law is irrelevant under the Supreme Court decisions…
A TMP can bind small-interest partners in a large partnership
Chief Counsel Advice addresses whether a tax matters partner, or TMP, can bind partners holding less than a one-percent interest in a large partnership. The advice states that the TMP can bind those…
How a partnership settlement affects spouses filing jointly
Chief Counsel Advice explains how a partnership settlement or conversion affects spouses who file a joint return. In a community-property state, the regulations generally treat the spouses as…
A TEFRA partnership cannot sign for another partnership merely through its TMP
Chief Counsel Advice addresses who may sign for a TEFRA partnership when the partner is another TEFRA partnership. The advice states that state law determines who may sign for the partner. The tax…
Spousal partnership-item conversion can affect consistent-settlement rights
Chief Counsel Advice addresses whether a non-partner spouse may request consistent settlement of partnership items after the other spouse settles. If the non-partner spouse's partnership items…
CCA 1319020: Appeals testimony is covered by the CCDM
Chief Counsel Advice points to a provision in the IRS Chief Counsel Directives Manual concerning testimony in appeals proceedings. The message identifies CCDM section 35.6.2.18.2 as covering appeals…
CCA 1319017: Unassessed tax bars related underpayment interest
Chief Counsel Advice addresses whether the IRS may retain tax payments and assess related underpayment interest when the underlying tax was not timely assessed. The advice says the Service may…
CCA 1319016: IRS enforcement authority applies in Puerto Rico
Chief Counsel Advice states that IRC § 7651 gives the IRS authority to apply the Code's enforcement provisions in Puerto Rico. It separately states that the Dominican Republic is a foreign country…
CCA 1319014: TEFRA classification is generally determined at audit start
Chief Counsel Advice considers whether the IRS may continue relying on a partnership return after learning facts that appear contrary to the return's treatment under IRC § 6231(g)(2). The advice…
CCA 1319013: Summoned bank records may be disclosed to an authorized representative
Chief Counsel Advice states that a taxpayer's bank records obtained through an IRS summons are return information under IRC § 6103(b)(2)(A). The IRS must maintain confidentiality unless the Code…
CCA 1319012: Fraud can leave no limitation period for transferee assessment
Chief Counsel Advice addresses the period for assessing transferee liability when the transferor filed a fraudulent return. The advice states that when IRC § 6501(c)(1) applies and there is no…
CCA 1319011: Section 34 refund claims were not barred by the lookback period
Chief Counsel Advice considers whether a corporation's claims for income tax refunds under IRC § 34 were barred by the lookback rules in IRC § 6511(b). The corporation had been charged amounts equal…
Advice on offsetting tax overpayments against other liabilities
Chief Counsel’s office advised that a taxpayer does not need a statutory overpayment under § 6401(a) to have an overpayment for a tax year. The Service may examine the entire return to determine the…
Advice on levying military retirement benefits
Chief Counsel's office gave informal advice about whether federal tax levies may reach military retirement benefits. The advice states that property and property rights generally may be levied…
Advice on who may sign an LLC's Form 2848
Chief Counsel's office advised that the person signing a power of attorney for an LLC must have authority under state law to bind the LLC. In the described TEFRA proceeding, the tax matters partner,…
Advice on closing agreements after a foreign F reorganization
Chief Counsel's office advised that two foreign corporations converted into Societas Europaea entities could likely qualify as F reorganizations. The conclusion depended on the taxpayer's…
Advice on the limitations period for an NOL carryback refund claim
Chief Counsel's office advised that the limitations period in IRC § 6511(d)(2)(A) for net operating loss carrybacks is an additional period for filing a refund claim, not a replacement for the…
Advice on when an IRC § 6603 deposit becomes a tax payment
Chief Counsel's office advised that the refund limitations period begins when an IRC § 6603 deposit is converted and applied to pay an assessed tax liability. Before that application, the deposit is…
IRS modifies a prior ruling for a partnership structure
The IRS modified an earlier private letter ruling about income from mining and marketing silica for use in oil and gas production. The modification reflects a change in the planned initial public…
CCA 1315025: Remailing a notice to a requested address
Chief Counsel advice considers how the Service should handle a notice that was sent to the taxpayer's last known address and later needs to be remailed to another requested address. Assuming the…
CCA 1315024: Section 6229 extends, but does not shorten, the assessment period
Chief Counsel advice explains the relationship between the TEFRA partnership audit rules and the general assessment limitation period. The memo states that section 6501(a) supplies the period for…
CCA 1315023: Employment-tax refund offsets are limited to the employee share
Chief Counsel advice considers refunds for taxpayers who originally reported wages as self-employment income and paid self-employment tax. The memo concludes that section 6521 permits the Service to…
CCA 1315018: Freeze-control mixture sprayed on coal does not qualify for the fuel credit
Chief Counsel advice considers whether a mixture of glycerin, diesel fuel, and water qualifies for the alternative fuel mixture credit when sprayed on coal as a freeze-control agent. The mixture…
CCA 1315017: Information-return penalties are divisible by failure
Chief Counsel advice addresses whether penalties under sections 6721 and 6722 are divisible for refund-suit jurisdiction. The advice concludes that both penalties are based on separate underlying…
PLR 1315015: Gasoline and LPG processing income is qualifying partnership income
The IRS ruled that income from processing natural gas into gasoline and liquefied petroleum gas, and from marketing those products, would be qualifying income for a publicly traded partnership under…
PLR 1315008: Interest-rate hedging income qualifies as publicly traded partnership income
The IRS ruled that income earned by a publicly traded limited partnership from treasury locks, interest rate swaps, forward-start interest rate swaps, and interest rate caps was qualifying income…
PLR 1314038: Natural gas processing and fuel marketing income qualifies under section 7704
A corporation planned to form a publicly traded partnership that would process natural gas into dimethyl ether, a fuel for diesel engines, and market the fuel through distributors. The IRS concluded…
PLR 1314029: IRS treats customer-funded petroleum transport improvements as qualifying income
A publicly traded partnership earned income from terminalling, storing, and transporting crude oil, refined petroleum products, and liquefied petroleum gas. Customers sometimes funded or transferred…
PLR 1314025: IRS finds orchard processing and bulk-kernel sales closely related to an existing partnership business
An electing 1987 publicly traded partnership that grew and harvested a redacted crop planned to add drying, cracking, and shelling operations and sell the resulting bulk kernels to non-retail…
CCA 1313030: IRS attorney discusses obsolete streamlined injunction procedures
An IRS attorney responded to a request for materials about streamlined injunctions used in employment-tax collection matters. The memo says that streamlined injunctions were generally a thing of the…
CCA 1313029: IRS supports abating tax tied to a return preparer's theft
An IRS attorney addressed a case in which a return preparer filed a return showing less tax than the return shown to the taxpayer, obtained a refund, and kept part of the refund. After an audit, the…
CCA 1313028: State DOT must report condemnation payments on Form 1099-S
The IRS advised that a state transportation department acquiring real property through condemnation proceedings has an information-reporting obligation under IRC § 6045(e). The department must…
CCA 1313026: IRS identifies obsolete jeopardy-levy guidance
An IRS attorney advised that a note in Internal Revenue Manual section 5.11.3.3(3) appeared to be obsolete. The memo states that the delegation of authority to approve jeopardy levies is instead…
CCA 1313022: IRS explains the 90-day rule for certain pre-1999 collection extensions
The IRS explained that, for certain collection statute expiration date extensions obtained before December 31, 1999, the extension expires no later than the 90th day after the extension period ends.…
CCA 1313021: IRS discusses factors in seeking injunctions for unpaid employment taxes
An IRS attorney answered questions about when the IRS may seek injunctive relief under IRC § 7402(a) for unpaid employment taxes. The response says there is no fixed dollar threshold, no requirement…
PLR 1313015: Transportation and storage service income qualified under section 7704
A publicly traded partnership asked whether income from agreements to provide transportation and storage operating services would be qualifying income. The services included moving products through…
PLR 1313014: Natural gas compression services treated as qualifying income
The IRS ruled that fees a publicly traded partnership earned for operating natural gas compressors at producing wellheads would be qualifying income under section 7704(d)(1)(E). The partnership…
CCA 1312047: Form 870-AD agreement did not bar assessment of a carryback adjustment
Chief Counsel advised that a Form 870-AD agreement signed by taxpayers and the IRS was not a binding agreement that conclusively settled the taxpayers' liability. The advice concerned a proposed…
CCA 1312046: only attorneys who entered an appearance could be contacted about a docketed case
Chief Counsel advised that, for a docketed case, the IRS was authorized to discuss the case only with individuals who had entered an appearance by signing the petition or filing separately with the…
CCA 1312044: the IRS could refund a larger TETR overpayment than requested
Chief Counsel advised that, in a timely filed telephone excise tax refund, or TETR, request, the IRS could issue a refund larger than the amount the taxpayer requested if the IRS determined that the…
CCA 1312043: state law determined who could sign for an entity as TMP
Chief Counsel advised that state law determined who could sign for the entity in connection with the tax matters partner, or TMP. The identity of a TMP elsewhere in the chain was not enough because…
CCA 1312042: state law determined who could sign for a disregarded LLC
Chief Counsel advised that state law determined who could sign for a limited liability company, such as its manager or member. State law commonly gives management authority to the members unless the…
CCA 1312040: settled partnership items could not be reconsidered after the filing deadlines
Chief Counsel advised that the IRS could not reconsider a taxpayer's request after the partners had signed comprehensive Form 870-PT settlement agreements. The agreements were binding because they…
CCA 1312039: employment tax disputes followed the refund claim process
Chief Counsel advised on the procedure for disputing employment tax on amounts paid to employees. If the taxpayer disagreed, the tax would be assessed, paid on Form 941, and challenged through a…
CCA 1312038: agreements could extend the assessment period for partnership items
Chief Counsel explained how the assessment period for partnership items could be extended under the TEFRA partnership procedures. IRC § 6229 extended each partner's assessment period under § 6501,…
CCA 1312037: consents were needed for the proposed disclosure
Chief Counsel advised that consents would be needed for the disclosure discussed in a request concerning testimony authorization. The short advice confirmed that the proposed disclosure required…
CCA 1312036: the taxpayer filed a timely protest of the proposed trust fund recovery penalty
Chief Counsel advised that the taxpayer had filed a timely and valid protest of a proposed trust fund recovery penalty assessment under IRC § 6672(b)(3). Although the taxpayer's representative said…
CCA 1312030: prior-year wage repayments require corrected payroll reporting
Chief Counsel advised that a corrected Form W-2c properly leaves Box 1 unchanged when an employee repays wages received in an earlier year. The social security and Medicare wage and tax boxes should…
CCA 1311027: CCA concludes that disclosure of third-party return information is not authorized
Chief Counsel advice addressed whether third-party return information could be disclosed in an IRS examination under IRC § 6103(h)(4)(B) or (C). The advice explained that disclosure may be allowed…
CCA 1311025: CCA explains AAR filing and refund-petition periods
Chief Counsel advice explains that section 6227 generally provides three years to file an administrative adjustment request, including for affected carryover years. After an AAR is filed, section…
PLR 1311006: IRS excludes physical-injury settlement distributions from reporting and withholding
The IRS ruled that damages distributed to victims of a described incident were excluded from the recipients' gross income because they arose from physical injuries or physical sickness. The damages…
PLR 1310043: IRS gives mixed information-reporting answers for IRA and section 529 bonuses
A financial-services group asked how to report bonus payments credited under an IRA promotion and a section 529 promotion. The IRS ruled that the IRA bonus payments were not subject to information…
CCA 1310041: IRS advises against disclosing commercial title reports to auction bidders
Chief Counsel advised that a commercial title report purchased during an IRS property seizure could be return information of the taxpayer whose property was being collected. The advice considered…
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.