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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Fund obtained late-election relief for transferred built-in-loss assets
An affiliated investment fund transferred business assets whose aggregate tax basis exceeded fair market value to a corporation in a transaction represented to fall under IRC § 351. The parties intend…
Late basis election allowed for fund's built-in-loss asset transfer
An investment fund transferred business assets with built-in loss to an affiliated corporation in a transaction represented to qualify under IRC § 351. The fund and corporation intended to elect under…
Corporation received relief for ineffective S and QSub elections
A corporation's S election was filed for a date before its first taxable year and was therefore ineffective, which also made several qualified subchapter S subsidiary elections ineffective. Separate t…
Partnership received more time to make section 754 basis election
A partnership sold interests to new partners and intended to make an IRC § 754 election with its return but inadvertently failed to do so. The election would permit basis adjustments under IRC §§ 734 …
IRS revoked a church's exemption after commercial rentals became its primary activity
The IRS revoked an organization's section 501(c)(3) status after concluding that its commercial equipment rental business had become its primary activity. The organization said its religious and commu…
Investors could make a retroactive QEF election beginning in the third year
A married couple held shares in a foreign corporation that their longtime tax preparer failed to identify as a passive foreign investment company. As a result, the preparer did not advise them to make…
Partnership received more time to opt out of bonus depreciation
A partnership placed qualified five-year and fifteen-year property in service and claimed additional first-year depreciation on its timely return. Its return preparer did not know that the deduction w…
Estate received 120 days to make portability election
An estate that was not otherwise required to file Form 706 missed the deadline to elect portability of the decedent's unused estate tax exclusion. The estate requested relief under Treas. Reg. § 301.9…
Fifteen foreign entities received late check-the-box election relief
A foreign investment fund wholly or partly owned fifteen foreign eligible entities. The fund intended each entity to elect partnership or disregarded-entity status from its formation or acquisition da…
Late Form 8996 treated as timely for opportunity fund certification
A partnership formed to invest in qualified opportunity zone property relied on a longtime accountant to handle its tax compliance. The accountant did not know that Form 8996 was required and omitted …
Opportunity fund's amended Form 8996 was accepted as timely
A partnership was formed to invest in a qualified opportunity zone business, and some members contributed gains they expected to defer. Its longtime accountant did not know that the partnership had to…
Merger of two GST-exempt family trusts preserved exempt status
A husband and wife created separate trusts that ultimately funded two trusts with identical terms and the same beneficiaries. Each resulting trust had a zero generation-skipping transfer tax inclusion…
Five foreign entities received late classification election relief
Five foreign eligible entities failed to timely file Forms 8832 for their intended federal tax classifications. One entity sought partnership treatment, while the other four sought disregarded-entity …
LLC received more time to elect corporate tax classification
A domestic limited liability company intended from formation to be classified as an association taxable as a corporation. It did not timely file Form 8832 to make that election. The company represente…
Return of surplus retiree medical assets did not disqualify pension plan
An employer terminated a frozen pension plan that included a separate IRC § 401(h) account for retiree medical benefits. After all pension and medical liabilities were satisfied, assets remained in th…
Nuclear decommissioning fund received withdrawal relief and revised funding schedules
An energy company acquired interests in a two-unit nuclear facility and related qualified decommissioning funds. Contributions continued automatically after the prior schedules of ruling amounts expir…
Estate obtained extension to preserve unused exclusion for spouse
An estate below the Form 706 filing threshold did not timely file an estate tax return or elect portability. It sought regulatory relief so the surviving spouse could potentially use the decedent's un…
Scholarship procedures for students with disabilities received advance approval
A private foundation proposed scholarships for high school, college, and graduate students with intellectual or developmental disabilities who participated in a specified program. Recipients would be …
College scholarship procedures received advance approval
A private foundation proposed renewable scholarships for graduating high school seniors from specified counties who planned to enter four-year college programs. Eligibility included academic competiti…
Need-based college scholarship procedures received an IRS determination
A private foundation proposed full or partial college scholarships for financially needy students at specified religious high schools in a particular area. Selection considered school recommendations,…
Employer-related scholarship procedures received advance approval
A private foundation proposed nonrenewable scholarships for employees of a company group and their dependents who pursued undergraduate or graduate education. An independent committee would select rec…
Historic preservation matching grant qualified for set-aside treatment
A private foundation planned a matching grant to an organization restoring a historic property in a National Historic Landmark neighborhood. The grant would fund about one-third of the project's estim…
Historic property rehabilitation grant received set-aside approval
A private foundation planned a matching grant to rehabilitate a property listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The project covered interior and exterior features including plaster, finis…
Renewable postsecondary scholarship procedures received approval
A private foundation proposed scholarships for graduating seniors at a specified high school who were accepted to accredited two-year, four-year, or vocational programs. Selection considered grades, l…
IRS revoked a foundation that used fundraising to pay members' private expenses
The IRS revoked a private foundation's section 501(c)(3) status because its fundraising primarily benefited participating families and a related for-profit youth athletics program. Families received f…
IRS revoked exemption after a founder used organization funds for personal expenses
The IRS revoked an organization's section 501(c)(3) status after finding that its founder and chief executive received substantial private benefits. Bank and mortgage records showed unsubstantiated pa…
Homeowners association denied social welfare exemption
A homeowners association applied for exemption as a social welfare organization under IRC § 501(c)(4). It collected annual dues to insure and maintain common areas, provide utilities, and perform land…
Fundraiser for one medical patient denied charity status
An organization applied for recognition as a charity after forming to raise money for one named person and that person's parents following a heart transplant, hospitalization, complications, and lost …
Corporation received relief after trust missed QSST election
An S corporation had a trust shareholder whose deemed owner died. The trust remained an eligible shareholder for the two-year post-death period, but its income beneficiary did not timely elect qualifi…
Pension plan sponsor received five-day extension for prefunding election
A defined benefit plan sponsor intended to use part of the plan's prefunding balance to satisfy its remaining minimum required contribution. Because of an oversight, it delivered the election to the e…
REIT received more time to elect taxable subsidiary status
A REIT indirectly owned a corporation through a joint venture and intended the corporation to be its taxable REIT subsidiary. Another REIT connected to the joint venture timely filed its own Form 8875…
REIT received more time to elect taxable subsidiary status
A REIT indirectly owned a corporation through a joint venture and intended the corporation to be its taxable REIT subsidiary. Another REIT connected to the joint venture timely filed its own Form 8875…
REIT received more time to elect taxable subsidiary status
A REIT indirectly owned a corporation through a joint venture and intended the corporation to be its taxable REIT subsidiary. Another REIT connected to the joint venture timely filed its own Form 8875…
REIT received more time to elect taxable subsidiary status
A REIT indirectly owned a corporation through a joint venture and intended the corporation to be its taxable REIT subsidiary. Another REIT connected to the joint venture timely filed its own Form 8875…
QSF need not withhold on principal repayments to foreign claimants
A court-appointed receivership qualified as a settlement fund after the SEC sued an internet-advertising company and its owner for operating a Ponzi scheme. The court-approved claims process allowed v…
Corporation retained S status after trust missed ESBT election
A trust that owned stock in an S corporation ceased qualifying under its prior shareholder status and became eligible to be an electing small business trust, but its trustee failed to make the ESBT el…
Late S corporation election treated as timely
A corporation was eligible to elect S corporation treatment from the date it was incorporated but inadvertently failed to file Form 2553 on time. It nevertheless filed its returns consistently with S …
Ineffective S election treated as valid until QSub reorganization
An LLC's S corporation election was ineffective for two independent reasons: spouses with community-property interests did not provide all required shareholder consents, and the operating agreement in…
Estate received more time to elect portability of unused estate tax exclusion
An estate that was not otherwise required to file an estate tax return missed the deadline to elect portability for the decedent's unused exclusion amount. The estate asked for relief under Treas. Reg…
Corporation received 30 days to file branch-tax election statement
A foreign parent conducted a U.S. trade or business through disregarded entities. When the lowest-tier U.S. LLC elected corporate status, its assets were treated as contributed to a new corporation un…
Local high-school scholarship procedures approved
A private foundation proposed renewable, need-based scholarships for graduating seniors from high schools in one school district who would attend accredited colleges, universities, or trade schools in…
Kindness-based scholarship procedures approved
A private foundation proposed one-time scholarships for graduating high-school seniors entering accredited college degree or certificate programs. Participating schools would first operate a separate …
Scholarship and youth educational-grant procedures approved
A private foundation proposed two individual-grant programs. The first would provide nonrenewable scholarships to graduating seniors, selected primarily by financial need, academic performance, and ge…
Mission-aligned scholarship and skill grants approved
A private foundation proposed two mission-aligned grant programs. One would provide college or vocational scholarships to graduating high-school students whose planned studies fit the foundation's mis…
Church-affiliated school exempted from Form 990 filing
An educational organization operating below the college level asked to be excused from filing Form 990. Based on the submitted information, the IRS classified it as a school with a general academic pr…
Scientific conference travel-grant procedures approved
A private foundation proposed grants for individuals with scientific expertise in preserving, protecting, and restoring a specified area to travel to academic and scientific conferences relevant to th…
IRS revoked exemption because bingo operations became the primary activity
The IRS revoked an organization's section 501(c)(3) status because operating bingo for another exempt organization became its primary activity. The organization received nearly all of its income from …
Taxpayer may make a retroactive qualified electing fund election
A taxpayer asked for permission to make a qualified electing fund election retroactive to the year he first invested in a foreign corporation. Two tax professionals failed to identify the corporation …
Partnership received extra time to self-certify as a qualified opportunity fund
A partnership formed to invest in qualified opportunity zone property missed the deadline to file Form 8996 and self-certify as a qualified opportunity fund. Its manager had hired a firm to prepare re…
LLC received relief for a late qualified opportunity fund election
An LLC formed to invest in qualified opportunity zone property asked the IRS to treat its late Form 8996 as timely. The LLC had hired an accountant to prepare its partnership return and extension, but…
LLC received 60 days to make a late qualified opportunity fund election
An LLC formed to invest in qualified opportunity zone property failed to attach Form 8996 to its timely filed partnership return. Its accountant had misapplied the Form 8996 filing requirement, and th…
Tax-exempt controlled entity received 60 days to file a depreciation election
A corporation wholly owned by a tax-exempt entity intended to elect not to be treated as a tax-exempt controlled entity for depreciation purposes. Its tax advisor prepared the return as if the electio…
Corporation retained S status after a trust missed its ESBT election
An S corporation's stock was held by a grantor trust whose deemed owner died. The trust remained an eligible S corporation shareholder for two years after the death but then missed the deadline to ele…
Lower-tier partnership received 120 days to make a section 754 election
A lower-tier partnership missed its section 754 election after a partner in an upper-tier partnership sold its interest. The upper-tier partnership had a section 754 election in effect, and the lower-…
Foreign entity received 120 days to file a late corporate classification election
A foreign eligible entity intended to elect corporate tax classification but failed to file Form 8832 on time. It asked the IRS for discretionary relief under the regulatory election rules. The IRS co…
Corporation retained S status after a trust failed to elect ESBT treatment
An S corporation's shares were transferred to a trust intended to qualify as an electing small business trust. The trust failed to file the ESBT election, making it an ineligible shareholder and techn…
Partnership received 120 days to make a late section 754 election
A partnership intended to make a section 754 election after an ownership change but failed to file the election on time. It requested discretionary late-election relief. The IRS concluded that the par…
LLC's late qualified opportunity fund certification was treated as timely
An LLC formed as a qualified opportunity fund missed the deadline for its partnership return and Form 8996 after its accounting firm overlooked the extension filing. Investors had already contributed …
LLC's late qualified opportunity fund election was treated as timely
An LLC formed to operate as a qualified opportunity fund did not timely file Form 8996 because of intervening events outside its control. After discovering the omission, it filed the partnership retur…
IRS approved a private foundation's college scholarship procedures
A private foundation requested advance approval for a college scholarship program serving graduating high school seniors in a defined local area. Applicants must show academic achievement, financial n…
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.