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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Corporate group receives 60 days to make a late consolidated return election
A parent corporation acquired a former consolidated group and intended to file a consolidated federal income tax return with itself as the new common parent. A valid election was not filed by the…
Commodity-linked-note ruling was prospectively revoked while Subpart F ruling remained effective
A fund had received rulings that income from certain commodity-linked notes and certain Subpart F income counted as qualifying income under section 851(b)(2). The IRS later concluded that issuing a…
Commodity-linked-note ruling was retroactively revoked while Subpart F ruling remained effective
A fund had received rulings that income from certain commodity-linked notes and certain Subpart F income counted as qualifying income under section 851(b)(2). The IRS later concluded that issuing a…
Commodity-linked-note ruling was prospectively revoked while subsidiary ruling remained effective
A fund had received rulings that income from certain commodity-linked notes and income from an investment in a subsidiary counted as qualifying income under section 851(b)(2). The IRS later…
Corporation receives relief for an inadvertent S election termination
A grantor trust held shares in an S corporation, but its owner died and the trust did not timely elect treatment as an electing small business trust. Because the trust then became an ineligible…
Corporate group receives 60 days to make a late consolidated return election
A parent corporation acquired a subsidiary and intended to file a consolidated federal income tax return with itself as common parent. A valid election was not filed by the regulatory deadline, and…
Corporation receives relief for a late IC-DISC election
A domestic corporation was formed to operate as an interest charge domestic international sales corporation and relied on an accounting firm to arrange the required election. Because of an apparent…
Corporation receives relief for an inadvertent S election termination
A grantor trust held shares in an S corporation, but its owner died and the trust did not timely elect treatment as an electing small business trust. Because the trust then became an ineligible…
Corporation receives relief for a late IC-DISC election
A domestic corporation was formed to operate as an interest charge domestic international sales corporation. Its accounting firm and law firm each mistakenly believed the other would file Form…
Partnership receives 120 days to make a late section 754 election
A partnership failed to include a section 754 election with its return for the year in which a member died. The IRS concluded that the partnership satisfied the standards for discretionary…
Corporation receives relief for a late S election
A corporation intended to be treated as an S corporation from a specified date but did not timely file the required election. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late filing under section…
Estate receives 120 days to make a portability election
An estate did not file Form 706 by the deadline to elect portability of the decedent's unused estate and gift tax exclusion for the surviving spouse. The surviving spouse, acting as executor,…
Estate receives 120 days to make a portability election
An estate did not file Form 706 by the deadline to elect portability of the decedent's unused estate and gift tax exclusion for the surviving spouse. The estate's administrators represented that the…
Laboratory-testing company qualified as a section 1202 trade or business
Taxpayers sold stock in a company that used proprietary technology to perform specialized laboratory testing and report the results to healthcare providers. The company did not diagnose patients,…
Corporation receives relief for a late S election
A corporation intended to be treated as an S corporation from a specified date but did not timely file the required election. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late filing under section…
Utility receives guidance on ADFIT proration and true-ups
A regulated utility used projected formula rates and later true-ups while reducing rate base for accumulated deferred federal income taxes tied to accelerated depreciation. The IRS ruled that the…
Estate receives 120 days to make a portability election
An estate did not file Form 706 by the deadline to elect portability of the decedent's unused estate and gift tax exclusion for the surviving spouse. The estate represented that the gross estate and…
Partnership's late tax-year change request was treated as timely
A partnership sought to change from a calendar tax year to a March 31 year-end but did not timely file Form 1128. The IRS found that the partnership acted reasonably and in good faith and that…
REIT stock-and-cash distributions qualify as property distributions
A public corporation planned to elect REIT status and distribute its accumulated pre-REIT earnings and profits through a mix of cash and common stock. Shareholders could elect cash or stock of…
Estate receives 120 days to make a portability election
An estate did not file Form 706 by the deadline to elect portability of the decedent's unused estate and gift tax exclusion for the surviving spouse. The estate represented that the gross estate and…
Estate receives 120 days to make a portability election
An estate did not file Form 706 by the deadline to elect portability of the decedent's unused estate and gift tax exclusion for the surviving spouse. The surviving spouse represented that the gross…
Late election out of bonus depreciation was treated as timely
A consolidated group intended to elect out of additional first-year depreciation for every class of qualified property placed in service during a short tax year. An employee miscalculated the return…
Estate receives 120 days for QTIP and reverse QTIP elections
A decedent's will created a marital trust funded by the estate's available generation-skipping transfer tax exemption. The accountant preparing Form 706 mistakenly omitted the trust from Schedule M,…
Pension plan receives conditional approval to change actuarial assumptions
A single-employer defined benefit pension plan requested approval to change actuarial assumptions beyond the limits that could be changed without IRS consent. The proposed changes covered retirement…
Electronic-waste facility loses tax-exempt status
An organization operated an electronic-waste disposal facility. The IRS found that it had not demonstrated that it operated exclusively for charitable, educational, or another exempt purpose. It…
Arts scholarship procedures approved
A private foundation proposed renewable scholarships for graduating students from a specified high school who would pursue post-secondary education in the arts. Board members would select recipients…
Community-leadership scholarship procedures approved
A private foundation proposed scholarships for students ages 13 through 25 who lived in one of seven counties and showed community leadership and volunteer service. A selection committee would…
Deer-herd loss plan denied agricultural exemption
A membership organization sought exemption as an agricultural organization under IRC § 501(c)(5). Its members would contribute money after covered deer-herd losses so the affected member could…
Apartment rentals to the public caused exemption revocation
The IRS revoked a nonprofit organization's exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3). During the examined years, the organization's only observed activity was renting its facility as apartments to members of…
Private foundation that stopped operating and never produced records loses exemption
A private foundation was selected for audit to confirm it was still doing the charitable work it had been approved for. Reaching it proved almost impossible. The examination report logs five…
Commodity-linked-note ruling was revoked retroactively
Two funds had received a private letter ruling that income and gain from certain commodity-linked notes counted as qualifying income under section 851(b)(2). The IRS later concluded that issuing a…
Preferred stock with an illusory growth share is nonqualified preferred stock, so the loss on its sale is denied
A parent corporation contributed a subsidiary's stock to another subsidiary and took back two classes of preferred stock plus a note. It then sold one of those classes (Class A) at a loss and used…
Only a proportionate share of rent tied to a sub-subtenant's profits was disqualified
A company planned to reorganize a subsidiary in bankruptcy and place leased property in a new corporation that would elect REIT status. One remote sub-subtenant paid rent based on its net income,…
State development grant income qualified for the REIT income tests
A REIT's subsidiaries planned a mixed-use real estate development and qualified for a state grant that would reimburse some construction costs. Annual grant payments would depend on eligible state…
Commodity-linked-note ruling was revoked retroactively
Six funds had received a private letter ruling that income and gain from certain commodity-linked notes counted as qualifying income under section 851(b)(2). The IRS later concluded that issuing a…
Commodity-linked-note ruling was revoked retroactively
Six funds had received a private letter ruling that income and gain from certain commodity-linked notes counted as qualifying income under section 851(b)(2). The IRS later concluded that issuing a…
Commodity-note ruling was revoked while Subpart F ruling remained in effect
A portfolio had received an earlier ruling with two conclusions under section 851(b)(2). One treated income and gain from certain commodity-linked notes as qualifying income, while the other treated…
Commodity-note ruling was revoked while Subpart F ruling remained in effect
Seven funds had received an earlier ruling with two conclusions under section 851(b)(2). One treated income and gain from certain commodity-linked notes as qualifying income, while the other treated…
Commodity-note ruling was revoked with prospective-only effect
A fund had received a ruling that income and gain from certain commodity-linked notes counted as qualifying income under section 851(b)(2). The IRS later concluded that issuing a private ruling on…
Commodity-note ruling was revoked while Subpart F ruling remained in effect
A fund had received an earlier ruling with two conclusions under section 851(b)(2). One treated income and gain from certain commodity-linked notes as qualifying income, while the other treated…
Commodity-note ruling was prospectively revoked while Subpart F ruling remained
A fund had received an earlier ruling with separate conclusions for commodity-linked-note income and specified Subpart F income under section 851(b)(2). The IRS revoked only the…
Commodity-note ruling was revoked while subsidiary-income ruling remained
Two funds had received an earlier ruling with separate conclusions for commodity-linked-note income and specified income inclusions from subsidiaries under section 851(b)(2). The IRS revoked only…
Commodity-note ruling was revoked while Subpart F ruling remained in effect
A taxpayer had received an earlier ruling for a fund with separate conclusions for commodity-linked-note income and specified Subpart F income under section 851(b)(2). The IRS revoked only the…
Commodity-note ruling was revoked with prospective-only effect
A fund and a portfolio had received a ruling that income and gain from certain commodity-linked notes counted as qualifying income under section 851(b)(2). The IRS later concluded that issuing a…
Commodity-note ruling was revoked while Subpart F ruling remained in effect
A fund had received an earlier ruling with separate conclusions for commodity-linked-note income and specified Subpart F income under section 851(b)(2). The IRS revoked only the…
Commodity-linked-note ruling was revoked retroactively
Two funds had received a private letter ruling that income and gain from certain commodity-linked notes counted as qualifying income under section 851(b)(2). The IRS later concluded that issuing a…
Commodity-note ruling was prospectively revoked while Subpart F ruling remained
A fund had received an earlier ruling with separate conclusions for commodity-linked-note income and specified Subpart F income under section 851(b)(2). The IRS revoked only the…
Commodity-note ruling was prospectively revoked while Subpart F ruling remained
A fund had received an earlier ruling with separate conclusions for commodity-linked-note income and specified Subpart F income under section 851(b)(2). The IRS revoked only the…
Commodity-linked-note ruling was revoked retroactively
A fund had received a private letter ruling that income and gain from a commodity-linked note counted as qualifying income under section 851(b)(2). The IRS later concluded that issuing a private…
Commodity-note ruling was revoked while subsidiary-income ruling remained
A fund had received an earlier ruling with separate conclusions for commodity-linked-note income and income from an investment in a subsidiary under section 851(b)(2). The IRS revoked only the…
Commodity-note ruling was revoked with prospective-only effect
A fund had received a ruling that income and gain from certain commodity-linked notes counted as qualifying income under section 851(b)(2). The IRS later concluded that issuing a private ruling on…
Commodity-note ruling was revoked with prospective-only effect
A fund had received a ruling that income and gain from certain commodity-linked notes counted as qualifying income under section 851(b)(2). The IRS later concluded that issuing a private ruling on…
Commodity-linked-note ruling was revoked retroactively
A fund had received a private letter ruling that income and gain from certain commodity-linked notes counted as qualifying income under section 851(b)(2). The IRS later concluded that issuing a…
Foreign entity received extra time to elect disregarded status
A foreign eligible entity with one owner failed to file Form 8832 on time to elect treatment as an entity disregarded from its owner. It represented that it acted reasonably and in good faith and…
Revised nuclear decommissioning fund contribution schedule was approved
An electric utility requested a revised schedule of deductible contributions to a nuclear decommissioning reserve fund for its ownership share of a nuclear plant. Its proposed schedule used…
Estate received extra time to elect portability of unused exclusion
An estate below the federal estate tax filing threshold failed to file Form 706 on time to elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount. Because the estate was not otherwise…
Partnership asset transfers to a REIT were not transfers to an investment company
Several partnerships planned a coordinated restructuring that included entity conversions, two intended tax-free reorganizations, transfers of disregarded entities to a REIT for REIT stock, and an…
Partnership asset transfers to a REIT were not transfers to an investment company
Several partnerships planned a coordinated restructuring that included entity conversions, two intended tax-free reorganizations, transfers of disregarded entities to a REIT for REIT stock, and an…
Partnership asset transfers to a REIT were not transfers to an investment company
Several partnerships planned a coordinated restructuring that included entity conversions, two intended tax-free reorganizations, transfers of disregarded entities to a REIT for REIT stock, and an…
Partnership asset transfers to a REIT were not transfers to an investment company
Several partnerships planned a coordinated restructuring that included entity conversions, two intended tax-free reorganizations, transfers of disregarded entities to a REIT for REIT stock, and an…
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.