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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Military member-benefit group denied charitable exemption
A membership organization associated with a military organization sought exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3). It collected annual dues based on rank and used the money for members' birth, death,…
Competitive gaming group denied charitable exemption
An organization promoting safer and more inclusive gaming spaces for marginalized genders sought exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3). Its principal activity was operating sponsored online tournaments…
Family reunion organization denied charitable exemption
A family organization sought exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3) for reunions, holiday gatherings, other family events, and financial support for elderly relatives. Its activities were restricted to…
Housing project received 120 days to make average-income election
The owner of a single-building low-income housing project intended to elect the average-income minimum set-aside under IRC § 42(g)(1)(C). Contemporaneous records showed that intent, but the owner…
S corporation received relief for ineligible voting trust
Two electing small business trusts transferred their S corporation shares to a new trust intended to qualify as a voting trust. The new trust did not initially meet the requirements for an eligible…
Estate received 120 days to elect portability
An estate that represented it was below the estate-tax filing threshold failed to timely file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount. The estate later…
Estate received 120-day portability extension
An estate represented that it was below the estate-tax filing threshold but had not timely filed Form 706 to elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount. The estate requested…
Estate granted 120 days for portability election
An estate that represented it was not otherwise required to file an estate tax return missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability. The election would allow the surviving spouse to…
Foreign entities received late disregarded-entity election relief
Two foreign eligible entities intended to be treated as disregarded entities from their respective formation dates but did not timely file Form 8832. The IRS found that the entities met the…
Late portability election allowed within 120 days
An estate represented that it was below the estate-tax return filing threshold but failed to timely file Form 706 and elect portability. The requested election would permit the surviving spouse to…
Spouse received time to allocate GST exemption to old trust gift
A married couple made a pre-2001 gift to a trust for their children and later descendants and elected to split the gift equally. Their accounting firm failed to report the transfer on their gift tax…
Estate denied relief that would undo prior GST allocation
A married couple made a pre-2001 gift to a descendants' trust and elected to split the gift, but their accounting firm omitted the transfer from their gift tax returns and did not allocate GST…
Foreign entity received late corporate-classification relief
A foreign eligible entity intended to be classified as an association taxable as a corporation from its formation date but did not properly file Form 8832. The IRS found that the entity met the…
IRS pre-approves a private foundation's memorial scholarship program under 4945(g)(1)
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve in advance the way it will award scholarships. Under IRC Section 4945, a private foundation normally owes an excise tax on grants it makes to…
IRS pre-approves a foundation's educational grants for underserved tech entrepreneurs under 4945(g)(3)
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve in advance how it will award educational grants under IRC Section 4945(g)(3). Without advance approval, grants a private foundation makes to individuals…
Farmers'-market operator denied 501(c)(3) exemption for serving vendors' private interests
An organization that runs a farmers' market applied for tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) using the short Form 1023-EZ. The IRS denied it. The group rents space from a park district, charges…
Sole-proprietor cemetery denied 501(c)(3) status for serving its founder's private interests
A cemetery applied for tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) as a religious organization, using the short Form 1023-EZ. The IRS denied it. In follow-up questions the applicant explained that its…
Business-networking group denied 501(c)(6) status for performing particular services for sponsors
A group that runs business-networking events applied for tax-exempt status as a business league under Section 501(c)(6). The IRS denied it. The group holds free monthly networking events at local…
Fee-based payment service for lawyers denied 501(c)(3) status as a commercial activity
An organization applied for tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) to run a service that helps law firms send and receive payments securely and in compliance with applicable rules. The IRS denied…
Homeowners' association denied 501(c)(3) status; fails organizational and operational tests
A homeowners' association, organized as a mutual benefit corporation, applied for tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) using the short Form 1023-EZ. The IRS denied it on both required tests. On…
Community-festival organizer denied 501(c)(3) status for substantial social and recreational purpose
An organization that plans and runs community events applied for tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3). The IRS denied it. Its main activity is an annual summer town festival (live music, food…
Hunting-dog training club denied 501(c)(3) status; dog training is a substantial non-exempt purpose
A dog club applied for tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3). The IRS denied it. The club's purpose is to better a particular dog breed and to influence its breeding and training; it provides K9…
501(c)(3) status revoked after the organization ignored an audit and produced no records
The IRS revoked an organization's existing 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status. The organization had been recognized as exempt after filing a Form 1023-EZ, but the IRS later selected it for audit to confirm…
Fundraiser for director's grandchild denied exemption
An organization sought charitable status to collect donations for the medical bills, living expenses, and unpaid utilities of one severely injured person. That person was the grandchild of the…
Trade-promotion group denied charitable exemption
An organization sought charitable status for promoting companies from one country and helping them sell products and services in another market. It ran an annual exhibition, roadshows, and seminars,…
Member-benefit association denied charitable exemption
An unincorporated association sought charitable status while providing financial benefits to its members and their immediate families. Its programs included medical and disaster benevolence,…
Paid umpire association denied charitable exemption
An umpire association sought charitable status for assigning officials to matches and training its members in the sport's rules. Leagues and tournaments paid the umpires for their work, and most…
Family genealogy group denied charitable exemption
A family association sought charitable status to build its family tree, purchase DNA tests through membership fees, locate relatives, research ancestral communities, and organize family travel and…
Local-business promotion group denied charitable exemption
A group organized to support local businesses held pop-up shopping events, spotlighted a business each month, arranged restaurant meetings, and conducted ribbon cuttings. The community was not…
Public golf course denied social-club exemption
A nonprofit operated an 18-hole public golf course, bar, and restaurant and rented its facilities for private events. Although it had members, the facilities were open to the general public,…
Threat-response service group denied business-league exemption
An organization formed to share threat information among members planned conferences, a threat database, encrypted collaboration tools, continuous monitoring, training, consulting, risk assessments,…
Condominium association denied social-welfare exemption
A condominium association maintained one building's roof, siding, plumbing, appliances, fencing, patios, landscaping, sidewalks, and alleyway. Unit owners were its only members and supplied all of…
Puerto Rico property-sale sourcing rule applies at partner level
Chief Counsel considered how to source a Puerto Rico resident partner's share of gain when a partnership sells personal property. Section 865(i)(5) generally applies the personal-property sourcing…
IRS may process protective refund claim filed on Form 843
Chief Counsel addressed a protective individual income-tax refund claim filed on Form 843 instead of the required Form 1040X. The incorrect form failed to comply with the formal claim rule in…
Participant change did not materially change cost-sharing scope
Chief Counsel considered whether changing one or more controlled participants in a cost-sharing arrangement caused a material change in its scope under Treasury Regulation § 1.482-7(m)(3). The…
IRS cannot process late or improperly signed ERC adjustment requests
Chief Counsel advised that the IRS cannot accept a partnership administrative adjustment request filed after the mandatory three-year deadline in § 6227(c). It also cannot accept one lacking the…
Informal refund claim must clearly request a refund
Chief Counsel explained that an informal refund claim must fairly notify the IRS that the taxpayer believes an erroneous tax was assessed and seeks a refund for identified years. Whether notice is…
Shelved proposed regulations did not change erroneous-refund penalty analysis
Chief Counsel reviewed an earlier memorandum concerning the § 6676 erroneous-refund-claim penalty after the limitations period for another underpayment penalty had expired. That memorandum reflected…
Estate received extension for omitted QTIP election
A decedent's trust created a marital farm trust that paid all income to the surviving spouse for life. The estate hired a tax professional to prepare Form 706 and make necessary elections, but the…
Partnership received 120 days to make late section 754 election
A partnership inadvertently omitted a § 754 election from its return for the year in which a buyer acquired partnership interests. The IRS found that the partnership satisfied the standards for…
Court construction and trust division preserved GST exemption
Property from two irrevocable pre-September 25, 1985 trusts passed through exercised limited powers of appointment into a trust for a grandchild and then a further trust for six great-grandchildren…
Trust construction and six-way division preserved GST exemption
An irrevocable pre-September 25, 1985 trust passed through exercised limited powers of appointment into a trust for a grandchild and then a further trust for six great-grandchildren and their…
Parent received 120 days to correct QSub election filed on wrong form
An S corporation wholly owned a corporate subsidiary and intended to elect qualified subchapter S subsidiary status as of the acquisition date. It mistakenly filed Form 2553 instead of Form 8869,…
Housing project received 120 days to make average-income election
The owner of a multi-building low-income housing project intended to elect the average-income minimum set-aside under § 42(g)(1)(C), as shown by contemporaneous records, but inadvertently omitted…
REIT could make consent dividend in liquidation year
A publicly traded REIT planned to be acquired and then liquidate into the acquiring partnership. Because assumed debt exceeded asset basis, the REIT expected liquidation gain and insufficient actual…
Supplemental ruling extended corrective-return deadline to 240 days
The IRS supplemented and modified a prior private letter ruling concerning S corporation shareholder eligibility, permitted trusts, and inadvertent termination relief. It replaced the prior ruling's…
Supplemental ruling corrected trust taxpayer identification number
The IRS issued a short supplemental ruling to an earlier private letter ruling concerning inadvertent S corporation termination relief. The supplement changed the taxpayer identification number…
Partnership received 45 days to file signed duplicate Forms 3115
A partnership timely filed its return with two original Forms 3115 for automatic changes to its inventory capitalization and valuation methods. Its accountant also faxed duplicate copies to the IRS…
Partnership received 120 days to make section 754 election after partner's death
A partner died during a partnership's taxable year, but the partnership inadvertently failed to make a valid § 754 election with that year's return. The IRS found that the partnership met the…
Fund received 60 days to make late QOF self-certification
A partnership was formed to operate as a qualified opportunity fund, and its operating agreement required it to self-certify by filing Form 8996. Its accounting firm timely filed Form 1065 but…
Fund received 60 days for QOF election after advisor tracking error
Managers contributed eligible capital gain to a newly formed partnership that invested in a qualified opportunity zone business. They retained a CPA and firm to file the partnership return and Form…
Estate received 120 days to make late portability election
An estate was not otherwise required to file Form 706 based on the value of the gross estate and adjusted taxable gifts, but it failed to file timely to elect portability of the deceased spouse's…
Corporation received 90 days to make late IC-DISC election
A corporation was formed to operate as an interest charge domestic international sales corporation. Its accounting firm prepared Form 4876-A and emailed it to the taxpayer, but an oversight left the…
Surviving spouse could roll estate-paid pension lump sum into IRA
A pension participant elected a lump-sum benefit and obtained the spouse's consent to waive the joint-and-survivor annuity, but died after completing the paperwork and before payment. The plan…
Estate received 120-day extension for portability election
An estate was not otherwise required to file Form 706 based on the value of the gross estate and adjusted taxable gifts, but it failed to file timely to elect portability of the deceased spouse's…
Single-member LLC receives relief for a late S election
A single-member limited liability company intended to be taxed as an S corporation from a specified date but did not timely file Form 2553. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed election and…
Corporation receives inadvertent-invalid-election relief
A corporation attempted to elect S corporation status while it was wholly owned by a partnership, an ineligible S corporation shareholder, and its shareholders had not consented to the election. The…
Community festival group denied charitable exemption
An organization applied for recognition as a charity under IRC § 501(c)(3). Its main activity was an annual community festival with entertainment, vendors, rides, games, contests, a car show, and a…
Artist sales space denied charitable exemption
An organization sought recognition as a charity under IRC § 501(c)(3) for operating an affordable retail space where artists could display and sell their work. Artists kept most of each sale and the…
Partnership may correct housing-credit start-year elections
A partnership intended to begin the ten-year low-income housing credit period for several buildings in the year after they were placed in service. It filed Forms 8609 but inadvertently failed to…
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.