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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Scholarships for local student athletes are approved
A private foundation proposed tuition scholarships for public high school student athletes from a specified location who planned to attend accredited colleges or universities. Applicants would…
Condominium business park does not qualify as an employee-benefit association
A condominium business park sought exemption as a voluntary employees' beneficiary association under section 501(c)(9). Its members joined by purchasing condominium units, and membership was not…
Fixed-indemnity health payments are taxable when coverage was paid pre-tax
The advice addresses employer fixed-indemnity health and wellness plans that pay preset cash amounts without tying payments to actual medical expenses. When employees pay premiums with after-tax…
IRS approves liability, debt exchange, and retained-stake issues in corporate spinoff
A public company planned to separate one business into a newly public controlled corporation through contributions, debt assumptions, securities and cash transfers, and distributions of controlled…
Estate receives extension to elect portability for surviving spouse
An estate failed to timely file Form 706 to elect portability of the decedent's unused estate tax exclusion. The decedent's gross estate was represented to be below the basic exclusion amount, and…
Consolidated group receives 60 days to elect extended NOL carryback
A consolidated corporate group incurred a consolidated net operating loss that it wanted to carry back for the extended three-, four-, or five-year period formerly available under section…
Surviving spouse receives time to file estate's portability election
A surviving spouse acting for an estate discovered that Form 706 had not been filed by the deadline for electing portability. The estate represented that the decedent's gross estate was below the…
Estate may make late portability election within 120 days
An estate did not file the estate tax return required to elect portability for the surviving spouse by the original deadline. It represented that the decedent's gross estate, including taxable…
Missed portability election receives 120-day filing extension
An estate missed the Form 706 deadline for electing portability of the decedent's unused exclusion to the surviving spouse. It represented that the gross estate, including taxable gifts, was below…
Late portability filing approved for estate below filing threshold
An estate failed to file Form 706 by the deadline to elect portability for the surviving spouse. It represented that the decedent's gross estate, including taxable gifts, remained below the basic…
Community hospital lease furthers charity and avoids debt-financed property treatment
A nonprofit association had long operated a small community hospital but faced declining reimbursements, limited capital, and insufficient scale. A state-commissioned study recommended affiliation…
Pre-existing IP licenses qualify for indirect-self-dealing exception
A private foundation inherited intellectual-property rights in a long-running television show together with licensing agreements granting a company owned by Y exclusive rights to exploit those…
IP licenses avoid self-dealing and passive royalty entities avoid excess holdings
A private foundation inherited intellectual-property rights in a long-running television show and agreements granting Y's company exclusive licensing rights. It proposed transferring the assets and…
Temporary business hardship supports conditional pension funding waiver
A privately owned circuit-board-products manufacturer requested a waiver of its remaining 2015 minimum required pension contribution. It reported a sharp revenue decline, increased operating…
Estate receives 120-day extension to elect portability
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the decedent's unused exclusion amount to the surviving spouse. The spouse, acting as executrix, represented that the gross…
Captive insurer denied section 501(c)(15) exemption
A foreign captive company claimed exemption as a small insurance company under section 501(c)(15). It issued fourteen direct-written contracts covering affiliated businesses and participated in…
Scholarship procedures receive advance approval
A private foundation proposed scholarships for U.S. students pursuing undergraduate or graduate degrees while working to advance American Muslim inclusion or reduce anti-Muslim discrimination.…
Tuition-assistance procedures receive advance approval
A private foundation proposed tuition assistance for current students who might withdraw from a school because of financial hardship and prospective students whose families had not enrolled them…
Employer-related scholarship procedures receive advance approval
A private foundation proposed scholarships for children of lower-paid employees who had worked for a company for at least two years. An independent committee would select 20 to 30 recipients…
Weekly market operator loses business-league exemption
An organization recognized under section 501(c)(6) operated a weekly open-air downtown market where members sold locally grown products, prepared food, and handicrafts. Members paid for selling…
Art gallery does not qualify as a social club
An organization formed to promote artists applied for exemption as a social club under section 501(c)(7). Its members and consignment artists displayed artwork for sale in a leased gallery, paid…
Online clothing seller fails the charitable operational test
An organization planned to design and sell clothing online, donate a similar item for each item sold, and give any remaining money to people in need or to charitable organizations. Its compensated…
Restaurant operations defeat charitable exemption
An organization proposed domestic-violence education, survivor assistance, youth programs, and other charitable activities, but expected two public restaurants to provide most of its revenue. The…
Provider-promotion activities cause exemption revocation
A section 501(c)(3) organization served as a collective voice for health-care providers during changes in a local health-care system. It helped members influence rates and policies, advocated for…
Family-focused residential care causes exemption revocation
A private foundation operated a single-family home for one severely developmentally disabled person who was the chief executive's son. The organization also reported providing services for a period…
Employer-related scholarship procedures approved
A private foundation requested advance approval for two scholarship programs serving children of a company's employees. One program offered a renewable scholarship for full-time bachelor's degree…
Annuity applicant appears to exceed exemption receipts limit
A foreign applicant sought exemption under section 501(c)(15) as an insurance company other than a life insurance company. It received large purchase payments under contracts labeled as deferred…
Interest apportionment may switch to tax book value
A domestic parent corporation had used the fair market value method to value assets when apportioning interest expense. Treasury regulations generally require a taxpayer and related persons to…
Integrated section 338 election and spin-off receive specified rulings
A public company proposed separating one business into a newly formed controlled corporation through a multi-step transaction. The plan included asset distributions, a stock transfer followed by a…
FCC spectrum sale qualifies as threatened involuntary conversion
A television station planned to relinquish its spectrum-based broadcast rights and related assets through the FCC's incentive auction, then reinvest the proceeds in similar or related property. If…
Estate receives 120 days to elect portability
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the decedent's unused estate-tax exclusion for the surviving spouse. The estate represented that the gross estate, including…
Tax-professional error supports late portability relief
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the decedent's unused estate-tax exclusion for the surviving spouse. The estate represented that it was below the filing…
Reliance on tax professional supports portability extension
An estate failed to file Form 706 by the deadline needed to elect portability of the decedent's unused estate-tax exclusion for the surviving spouse. The estate represented that it was below the…
Estate gets portability relief after professional oversight
An estate did not timely file Form 706 to elect portability of the decedent's unused estate-tax exclusion for the surviving spouse. It represented that the estate was below the section 6018(a)…
Retiree trust surplus may fund current employee benefits
A utility holding company maintained a voluntary employees' beneficiary association whose assets exceeded the value of its retiree health obligations. It proposed transferring part of that surplus…
Professional reliance permits late portability election
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the decedent's unused estate-tax exclusion for the surviving spouse. It represented that the estate was below the section…
Late success-based fee election statement allowed
A company acquired all the stock of a target and incurred success-based advisory fees. Its return reflected the Rev. Proc. 2011-29 safe harbor by capitalizing 30% of those fees and treating 70% as…
Estate receives 120-day portability extension
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the decedent's unused exclusion amount for the surviving spouse. The estate represented that it was below the section 6018(a)…
Pre-discovery request supports portability relief
An estate failed to file Form 706 by the deadline for electing portability of the decedent's unused estate-tax exclusion for the surviving spouse. It represented that the estate was below the…
Late section 336(e) election receives conditional relief
A purchaser acquired all the stock of an S corporation target in a transaction represented to be a qualified stock disposition. The parties intended to make a section 336(e) election, but the…
Surviving spouse receives portability election relief
A surviving spouse serving as executor missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the decedent's unused estate-tax exclusion. The executor represented that the gross estate was…
Acquisition fee safe-harbor election gets 60-day extension
A taxpayer incurred a contingent financial-adviser fee in acquiring an early-childhood education company. Internal information failures caused the tax department and outside accounting firm to treat…
Unusual circumstances allow late Form 3115
A construction contractor changed its accounting method for prepaid insurance expenses under the automatic-change procedures. Its timely S corporation return reflected the new method, referenced…
Professional error permits late portability filing
An estate failed to file Form 706 by the deadline for electing portability of the decedent's unused estate-tax exclusion for the surviving spouse. The estate represented that it was below the…
Parent group gets 60 days for consolidated return election
A parent corporation acquired another affiliated group, whose members then joined the parent's group. The parent intended to elect consolidated-return treatment for the first applicable year but did…
Independent-trustee changes preserve transfer-tax treatment
A trust created and made irrevocable before September 25, 1985 needed new trustee provisions after the law firm designated to supply successor trustees dissolved. A proposed settlement would require…
Successor-trustee revisions preserve GST exemption
A separate trust created under a pre-1985 irrevocable trust instrument needed revised successor-trustee rules after the designated law firm dissolved. The settlement would require an independent…
Administrative trustee revisions keep GST grandfathering
One of three separate trusts under a pre-1985 irrevocable instrument needed updated trustee provisions because the law firm named to provide successors had dissolved. The proposed settlement…
Physical-injury damages are excluded from income
A taxpayer received a redacted payment for actual damages arising from a criminal-law violation that caused personal physical injuries. Section 104(a)(2) excludes damages received on account of…
Missed QSST election causes only inadvertent S termination
Stock in an S corporation passed under a will to a trust that was an eligible shareholder for two years. After that period, the trust became ineligible because its beneficiary had not filed the…
Bankruptcy trust extension preserves liquidating status
A trust created under a confirmed Chapter 11 plan existed to liquidate and distribute bankruptcy-estate assets. Its agreement limited investments and cash retention, required at least annual…
Foreign entity gets late disregarded classification election
A foreign eligible entity's indirect owner intended the entity to be disregarded for federal tax purposes from its formation date. The entity failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS concluded that…
Foreign entity receives late disregarded status relief
A foreign eligible entity's owner intended the entity to be disregarded for federal tax purposes from its formation date. The entity failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS concluded that the…
Foreign entity gets late disregarded classification election
A foreign eligible entity's owner intended the entity to be disregarded for federal tax purposes from its formation date. The entity failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS concluded that the…
Unspent Build America Bond proceeds do not defeat prior credits
A bond issuer planned to use tax-exempt refunding bonds to redeem Direct-pay Build America Bonds while some original project proceeds remained unspent. It represented that the remaining proceeds and…
Physical-injury damages are excluded from income
An individual received damages to compensate for actual harm caused by a criminal-law violation that resulted in personal physical injuries. The IRS concluded that the payment was received on…
Missed ESBT election receives inadvertent termination relief
A trust acquired shares of an S corporation, but its trustee failed to make a timely electing small business trust election. The trust therefore became an ineligible shareholder, terminating both…
Pro rata trust divisions preserve existing tax treatment
Two irrevocable trusts created before September 25, 1985 proposed dividing into separate, pro rata subtrusts for each of three children and their descendants. The IRS ruled that the divisions would…
Pro rata trust divisions preserve existing tax treatment
Two irrevocable trusts created before September 25, 1985 proposed dividing into separate, pro rata subtrusts for each of three children and their descendants. The IRS ruled that the divisions would…
Estate may deduct a bequest to a foreign charity
A U.S. citizen's will conditionally left foreign-situs property to a foreign nonprofit serving handicapped and elderly people. The organization prohibited private inurement, lobbying, and political…
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.