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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Estate granted 120-day portability-election extension
An estate failed to file Form 706 by the deadline for electing portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate-tax exclusion. The estate represented that the gross estate was below the basic exclus…
QDOT trustee received more time to report spouse's citizenship
A surviving spouse who was not a U.S. citizen received property through a qualified domestic trust and later became a citizen. The U.S. co-trustee did not learn of the citizenship change in time to fi…
Estate received 120-day extension to elect portability
A surviving spouse serving as executrix missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate-tax exclusion. She represented that the decedent's gross estat…
Estate granted more time for 2010 carryover-basis election
The estate of a nonresident alien who died in 2010 failed to file Form 8939 by the deadline. That form would elect out of the reinstated estate tax and instead apply the modified carryover-basis rules…
Corporation received 60 days to make IC-DISC election
A domestic corporation was formed solely to operate as an interest charge domestic international sales corporation. Its accounting and law firms each believed the other had filed Form 4876-A, so the c…
QDOT trustee granted late citizenship-notice relief
A qualified domestic trust was established for a surviving spouse who was not a U.S. citizen when the decedent died. The spouse later became a citizen after continuously residing in the United States.…
Dormant LLC's corporate election treated as initial classification
A limited liability company remained dormant after formation, with no assets, income, liabilities, bank accounts, operations, or board meetings. Before it acquired property and began business, it file…
Parties granted late section 336(e) election relief
A purchaser acquired at least 80 percent of an S corporation's stock through a disregarded LLC. The purchaser, seller, and target intended to elect under IRC § 336(e) to treat the qualified stock disp…
Foreign entity granted late disregarded-entity election
A foreign eligible entity intended to be treated as disregarded from its owner for U.S. federal tax purposes. It failed to file Form 8832 on time for the desired effective date. The entity requested a…
Foreign company received late disregarded-entity election relief
A foreign eligible entity intended to be classified as disregarded from its owner for federal tax purposes. It did not timely file Form 8832 for the intended effective date. The entity asked the IRS f…
Foreign entity allowed a late disregarded-entity election
A foreign eligible entity planned to be treated as disregarded from its owner for U.S. federal tax purposes. It failed to submit Form 8832 by the deadline for its intended effective date. The entity r…
S corporation received inadvertent-termination relief
An S corporation issued shares first to an LLC taxed as a corporation and later to two LLCs taxed as partnerships. Those entities were ineligible S corporation shareholders, so the stock issuances ter…
Partnership-interest transfers avoided investment-company treatment
Owners of several operating partnerships planned to transfer their partnership interests to a newly formed company in exchange for shares, with some owners receiving cash. The company also planned a p…
Estates granted relief for GST elections and trust severances
A tax professional mistakenly reported gifts to two trusts as outright gifts to the donors' children, causing the married donors to miss elections out of automatic generation-skipping transfer exempti…
Cross-border target transaction treated as liquidation and qualified stock purchase
A U.S. parent planned to acquire a publicly traded foreign target through a foreign disregarded acquisition subsidiary. Depending on the ownership level after the tender offer, the target would either…
Tax-refund facilitator had no payment-reporting duty
A company helped banks disburse clients' tax refunds and instructed banks to deduct tax-preparation fees from refunds and send them to return preparers. The company did not own or control the client a…
Partnership received 120 days to make section 754 election
A limited liability company taxed as a partnership redeemed ownership interests but inadvertently failed to make a timely IRC § 754 election. That election permits partnership-property basis adjustmen…
Executor granted 120 days to elect portability
A surviving spouse serving as executor failed to file Form 706 by the deadline for electing portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate-tax exclusion. The executor represented that the estate w…
Rental-property co-ownership was not a business entity
A taxpayer planned to sell a tenancy-in-common interest in an office rental property to an unrelated co-owner while retaining the remaining interest. Their agreement required proportional sharing of r…
Timeshare seller could not choose a separate AFR for each payment
A timeshare developer financed customer purchases and reported the sales under the special installment method for timeshare dealers. IRC § 453(l)(3) required it to add interest to its tax liability as…
Estate received relief for GST allocations and election-outs
A married donor funded five trusts for grandchildren and elected gift splitting with the donor's spouse. Their first tax preparer failed to allocate the spouse's generation-skipping transfer exemption…
Donor receives extra time for GST exemption allocations and an election out of automatic allocation
A donor created five trusts for grandchildren and made later direct-skip gifts. Tax professionals prepared the donor’s gift tax returns but failed to allocate generation-skipping transfer tax exemptio…
Foreign entity receives extra time to elect corporate classification
A foreign eligible entity intended to be treated as a corporation for federal tax purposes but did not timely file Form 8832. It asked the IRS for additional time to make the entity-classification ele…
Hotel management contract does not create private business use
A governmental issuer planned to use bond proceeds to finance a hotel operated by a private manager. The manager would receive a base fee equal to a percentage of gross revenue and an incentive fee pa…
Corporation receives late safe-harbor election for acquisition success fees
A corporation paid success-based fees for two acquisitions and deducted the entire amount after relying on two accounting firms. A later auditor determined that the fees should have been substantiated…
Partnership-interest transfers do not trigger the investment company exception
Taxpayers owned interests in three partnerships that held operating assets and conducted several redacted business activities. They planned to form a company that would elect corporate and real estate…
IRA rollover deadline waived after the custodian surrendered the wrong account
A taxpayer instructed a financial institution to surrender a nonqualified annuity, but the institution mistakenly surrendered the taxpayer’s IRA instead. The resulting IRA distribution was not rolled …
IRA rollover deadline waived after employer and trustee setup errors
A newly hired employee tried to transfer an existing IRA into an IRA offered through the employer. The employer’s affiliate arranged the transfer, and the funds were placed in an account titled as an …
Private foundation’s fellowship and educational grant procedures approved
A private foundation requested advance approval for a grant program supporting study, research, writing, teaching, publications, travel, and other projects related to its charitable mission. Applicant…
Regional scholarship, educational grant, and loan procedures approved
A private foundation sought approval for scholarships leading to undergraduate and graduate degrees, grants for nondegree education, and possible future low-interest educational loans. Applicants need…
Single-brand dealership association denied business-league exemption
An association limited membership to purchasing, finance, fleet, and related employees of dealerships selling one redacted brand. It held annual meetings to share purchasing practices, standardize pro…
Public charity recognized as a section 4945(f) exempt operating foundation
An organization already recognized as a section 501(c)(3) public charity asked to be recognized under section 4945(f). Based on the supplied information and the organization’s proposed operations, the…
Major program-expansion grant qualifies as an unusual grant
A publicly supported charity expected a substantial one-time grant to expand preschool, college, afterschool, and summer programs serving low-income working and military families. The donor had not pr…
Heir must show an affected material interest to obtain estate or gift tax information
Chief Counsel advised that estate return information is governed by section 6103(e)(1)(E), while a deceased donor’s gift tax information is governed by section 6103(e)(3). Beyond an estate’s administr…
District court may consider underlying tax liability in government collection suits
Chief Counsel advised that a taxpayer’s underlying liability may be considered in a government suit to reduce an assessment to judgment or foreclose a federal tax lien. Sections 7402 and 7403, togethe…
Classified third-party contact names may be provided only in a secure setting
An exempt-organization examination involved a taxpayer’s classified contract with a government agency. Revenue agents interviewed government officials whose identities were themselves classified, and …
Form 2848 marked only “FOIA” is limited or invalid depending on who signs the request
Chief Counsel distinguished two situations involving a Freedom of Information Act request and a Form 2848 that describes the tax matter only as “FOIA.” If the taxpayer signs the FOIA request, the requ…
Withholding is not credited to another year until the overpayment is processed and applied
Chief Counsel explained that section 6513(b) treats withheld tax as paid on the return’s due date. That deemed payment does not automatically credit the amount against an outstanding liability for a d…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse’s unused exclusion amount. The estate represented that the decedent’s gross estate was below the basic exclu…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse’s unused exclusion amount. The estate represented that the decedent’s gross estate was below the basic exclu…
Estate receives another 120 days after an incomplete portability filing
An estate missed the original portability election deadline and later filed Form 706 under Revenue Procedure 2014-18, but that filing omitted required information. The estate represented that the dece…
Corporation receives 60 days to file omitted Form 3115
A corporate group intended to make automatic accounting-method changes for repairs, units of property, and materials and supplies. Its tax preparer completed Form 3115 and timely sent the duplicate co…
Foreign entity receives extra time to elect partnership classification
A foreign eligible entity intended to be treated as a partnership for U.S. federal tax purposes but did not timely file Form 8832. It requested additional time to make the entity-classification electi…
Foreign entity receives extra time to elect partnership classification
A foreign eligible entity intended to be treated as a partnership for U.S. federal tax purposes but did not timely file Form 8832. It requested additional time to make the entity-classification electi…
Foreign entity receives extra time to elect partnership classification
A foreign eligible entity intended to be treated as a partnership for an earlier period but did not timely file Form 8832. It also represented that it later became eligible to be disregarded from its …
Foreign entity receives extra time to elect partnership classification
A foreign eligible entity intended to be treated as a partnership for U.S. federal tax purposes but did not timely file Form 8832. It requested additional time to make the entity-classification electi…
Foreign entity receives extra time to elect partnership classification
A foreign eligible entity intended to be treated as a partnership for U.S. federal tax purposes but did not timely file Form 8832. It requested additional time to make the entity-classification electi…
IRA rollover deadline waived while taxpayer cared for an ill stepson
A taxpayer withdrew money from an IRA certificate of deposit intending to move it to another IRA with a higher return. During the entire 60-day rollover period, the taxpayer was occupied around the cl…
IRA rollover deadline waived after custodian’s notice went to an old address
An IRA custodian resigned and distributed the account after custodial fees went unpaid. The custodian mailed its resignation notice to the taxpayer’s former address, and the notice was not forwarded a…
Pension plan receives excise-tax waiver for liquidity shortfalls after layoffs and lump sums
A single-employer defined benefit plan suffered liquidity shortfalls during four consecutive quarters after a business slowdown, large workforce reductions, and lump-sum distributions equal to most of…
IRS approves scholarships for students connected to grantee organizations
A private foundation proposed scholarships for high school graduates and GED recipients affiliated with its current or former grantee organizations. Awards would support up to four years at an accredi…
IRS approves education and professional-development grants for teachers and school leaders
A private foundation proposed grants to help high-performing teachers, school leaders, and other education-focused individuals pursue training, certification, advanced degrees, conferences, or educati…
IRS treats a large bargain-sale contribution as an unusual grant
A long-established public charity expected to acquire nonvoting corporate stock from three grantors in a bargain sale, paying part of the stock's value with a 20-year promissory note. The difference b…
IRS revokes charity accused of operating an illegal trust mill
An organization obtained IRC § 501(c)(3) status after representing that it would help seniors live independently through counseling, transportation, funding, and home-accessibility improvements. The I…
IRS revokes exemption of a property-holding fraternal organization
An organization recognized under IRC § 501(c)(10) held property and investment assets associated with another membership organization. It had only two officers or board members, no separate membership…
IRS revokes inactive charity that could not document current activities
A charity was originally recognized for Spanish-language education and training for child-care providers. During examination, it reported that the instructor had left the United States, the original t…
IRS revokes charity for private benefit, poor records, and unsupported activities
A charity was recognized to help victims of child sexual abuse and educate the public about its effects. The IRS found little reliable evidence that the organization actually conducted its claimed wor…
IRS denies exemption to law center tied to insiders' for-profit firm
A proposed public-interest law center planned to represent members of a redacted group in criminal, civil, immigration, and constitutional matters. Two of its three directors, a married couple, equall…
An LLC tax matters partner acts through a person authorized under state law
Chief Counsel advised that when an LLC is the tax matters partner, a person legally authorized to act for the LLC may sign a statute-of-limitations extension on its behalf. Whether someone is a genera…
IRS grants extra time to waive a consolidated net operating loss carryback
A parent corporation intended to elect out of the entire carryback period for its consolidated group's net operating loss, and the group filed its returns consistently with that intent. The required e…
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.