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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Court-approved farm sale preserves trusts' tax treatment
Two irrevocable trusts created before September 25, 1985, owned generally contiguous farm acreage and planned a coordinated sale to a limited partnership owned by a descendant and trust beneficiary.…
Court-approved farm sale preserves trusts' tax treatment
Two irrevocable trusts created before September 25, 1985, owned generally contiguous farm acreage and planned a coordinated sale to a limited partnership owned by a descendant and trust beneficiary.…
Court-approved farm sale preserves trusts' tax treatment
Two irrevocable trusts created before September 25, 1985, owned generally contiguous farm acreage and planned a coordinated sale to a limited partnership owned by a descendant and trust beneficiary.…
Court-approved farm sale preserves trusts' tax treatment
Two irrevocable trusts created before September 25, 1985, owned generally contiguous farm acreage and planned a coordinated sale to a limited partnership owned by a descendant and trust beneficiary.…
Court-approved farm sale preserves trusts' tax treatment
Two irrevocable trusts created before September 25, 1985, owned generally contiguous farm acreage and planned a coordinated sale to a limited partnership owned by a descendant and trust beneficiary.…
Court-approved farm sale preserves trusts' tax treatment
Two irrevocable trusts created before September 25, 1985, owned generally contiguous farm acreage and planned a coordinated sale to a limited partnership owned by a descendant and trust beneficiary.…
Court-approved farm sale preserves trusts' tax treatment
Two irrevocable trusts created before September 25, 1985, owned generally contiguous farm acreage and planned a coordinated sale to a limited partnership owned by a descendant and trust beneficiary.…
Court-approved farm sale preserves trusts' tax treatment
Two irrevocable trusts created before September 25, 1985, owned generally contiguous farm acreage and planned a coordinated sale to a limited partnership owned by a descendant and trust beneficiary.…
Court-approved farm sale preserves trusts' tax treatment
Two irrevocable trusts created before September 25, 1985, owned generally contiguous farm acreage and planned a coordinated sale to a limited partnership owned by a descendant and trust beneficiary.…
Court-approved farm sale preserves trusts' tax treatment
Two irrevocable trusts created before September 25, 1985, owned generally contiguous farm acreage and planned a coordinated sale to a limited partnership owned by a descendant and trust beneficiary.…
Court-approved farm sale preserves trusts' tax treatment
Two irrevocable trusts created before September 25, 1985, owned generally contiguous farm acreage and planned a coordinated sale to a limited partnership owned by a descendant and trust beneficiary.…
Court-approved farm sale preserves trusts' tax treatment
Two irrevocable trusts created before September 25, 1985, owned generally contiguous farm acreage and planned a coordinated sale to a limited partnership owned by a descendant and trust beneficiary.…
Court-approved farm sale preserves trusts' tax treatment
Two irrevocable trusts created before September 25, 1985, owned generally contiguous farm acreage and planned a coordinated sale to a limited partnership owned by a descendant and trust beneficiary.…
Estate receives more time to elect alternate valuation
An estate filed its federal estate tax return after the regular due date but within one year after that date, including extensions. The executor then requested additional time to elect the alternate…
Trust reformation supports estate tax charitable deduction
A decedent's revocable trust paid income to a beneficiary and left the remainder to charity, but its original terms did not satisfy the statutory form required for an estate tax charitable…
Late QTIP election receives 120-day extension
An estate tax return incorrectly listed the surviving spouse, rather than a marital trust, as the beneficiary of an account. Because the error concealed the need to divide the marital trust and…
Estate may sever marital trust and complete QTIP and GST elections
A decedent’s trust authorized partial QTIP treatment and separate GST planning, but the estate’s return mistakenly treated the entire marital trust as not subject to a QTIP election and omitted…
Limited testamentary power does not cause estate inclusion
A trust beneficiary held a testamentary power to appoint the trust property only among the settlor’s issue. The power could not be exercised for the beneficiary, the beneficiary’s creditors, the…
Limited testamentary power avoids estate inclusion
A trust beneficiary held a testamentary power to appoint the trust principal and undistributed income only among the settlor's issue. The beneficiary could not appoint the property to the…
Limited testamentary power avoids estate inclusion
A trust beneficiary held a testamentary power to appoint the trust principal and undistributed income only among the settlor's issue. The beneficiary could not appoint the property to the…
Limited testamentary power avoids estate inclusion
A trust beneficiary held a testamentary power to appoint the trust principal and undistributed income only among the settlor's issue. The beneficiary could not appoint the property to the…
Limited testamentary power avoids estate inclusion
A trust beneficiary held a testamentary power to appoint the trust principal and undistributed income only among the settlor's issue. The beneficiary could not appoint the property to the…
Limited testamentary power avoids estate inclusion
A trust beneficiary held a testamentary power to appoint the trust principal and undistributed income only among the settlor's issue. The beneficiary could not appoint the property to the…
Limited testamentary power avoids estate inclusion
A trust beneficiary held a testamentary power to appoint the trust principal and undistributed income only among the settlor's issue. The beneficiary could not appoint the property to the…
Limited testamentary power avoids estate inclusion
A trust beneficiary held a testamentary power to appoint the trust principal and undistributed income only among the settlor's issue. The beneficiary could not appoint the property to the…
Limited testamentary power avoids estate inclusion
A trust beneficiary held a testamentary power to appoint the trust principal and undistributed income only among the settlor's issue. The beneficiary could not appoint the property to the…
Limited testamentary power avoids estate inclusion
A trust beneficiary held a testamentary power to appoint the trust principal and undistributed income only among the settlor's issue. The beneficiary could not appoint the property to the…
Limited testamentary power avoids estate inclusion
A trust beneficiary held a testamentary power to appoint the trust principal and undistributed income only among the settlor's issue. The beneficiary could not appoint the property to the…
Limited testamentary appointment power avoids estate inclusion
A trust beneficiary held a testamentary power to appoint the trust property among the settlor's descendants. The power could not be exercised during the beneficiary's life and did not permit…
Restricted testamentary power is not a general appointment power
A trust beneficiary could appoint the trust property by will only among the settlor's descendants. The beneficiary could not appoint the property to the beneficiary, the beneficiary's creditors, the…
Testamentary power limited to descendants avoids estate inclusion
A beneficiary could appoint trust property at death only among the settlor's descendants. The power did not allow appointment to the beneficiary, the beneficiary's creditors, the beneficiary's…
Descendant-only appointment power is not general
A grandchild held a testamentary power to appoint trust property only among the settlor's descendants. The terms excluded appointment to the grandchild, the grandchild's creditors, the grandchild's…
Limited will-based appointment power avoids gross estate
A grandchild's trust allowed appointment at death only to members of the settlor's family line. It did not permit appointment to the grandchild, the grandchild's creditors, the grandchild's estate,…
Division of a grandfathered trust preserves GST status and tax attributes
A grandfathered trust proposed to divide into three trusts, one for each child and that child's descendants, and to modify the trustee provisions. The IRS ruled that the division and modifications…
Court reformation cures revocable GRAT remainder trust
A grantor funded two GRATs whose remainder beneficiary was intended to be an irrevocable trust for his children. A drafting error instead gave the grantor power to revoke that remainder trust,…
Retroactive trust reformation is respected for GRAT remainders
A grantor funded two GRATs whose remainder beneficiary was intended to be an irrevocable trust for his children. A drafting error instead gave the grantor power to revoke that remainder trust,…
Scrivener-error reformation preserves intended GRAT gifts
A grantor funded two GRATs whose remainder beneficiary was intended to be an irrevocable trust for his children. A drafting error instead gave the grantor power to revoke that remainder trust,…
Reformed remainder trust avoids retained-power tax effects
A grantor funded two GRATs whose remainder beneficiary was intended to be an irrevocable trust for his children. A drafting error instead gave the grantor power to revoke that remainder trust,…
Court-corrected GRAT remainder trust receives tax effect
A grantor funded two GRATs whose remainder beneficiary was intended to be an irrevocable trust for his children. A drafting error instead gave the grantor power to revoke that remainder trust,…
Estate denied alternate valuation election filed over one year late
An estate filed Form 706 more than one year after its due date, including extensions, and later asked to elect the alternate valuation method under § 2032. The statute bars the election when the…
Pro rata trust divisions preserve GST status and tax attributes
Two irrevocable trusts created before September 25, 1985, held assets for four children and their descendants. The trustee proposed dividing each trust pro rata into four successor trusts so…
Trust reformation confirms a limited appointment power
An irrevocable trust intended to give a beneficiary only a limited testamentary power of appointment, but the agreement failed to expressly exclude appointments to the beneficiary, his estate, or…
Administrative trustee changes preserve trust tax treatment
A settlor and the trustees of four irrevocable trusts created before September 25, 1985, proposed adding a distribution trustee and revising how trustees could be replaced. A beneficiary could…
Administrative trustee changes preserve trust tax treatment
A settlor and the trustees of four irrevocable trusts created before September 25, 1985, proposed adding a distribution trustee and revising how trustees could be replaced. A beneficiary could…
Administrative trustee changes preserve trust tax treatment
A settlor and the trustees of four irrevocable trusts created before September 25, 1985, proposed adding a distribution trustee and revising how trustees could be replaced. A beneficiary could…
Trustee changes preserve estate and GST tax treatment
A settlor created four irrevocable family trusts before September 25, 1985, and proposed adding a trustee responsible for distribution decisions while keeping investment authority with a separate…
Administrative trust modifications preserved estate and GST treatment
Four irrevocable pre-September 25, 1985 trusts proposed adding distribution trustees, separating investment and distribution authority, and limiting replacement trustees by family relationship. The…
QDOT received more time to report surviving spouse's citizenship
A surviving spouse who was not a U.S. citizen when the decedent died later became a citizen after continuously residing in the United States. The trustee of the qualified domestic trust relied on an…
Estate received more time to elect alternate valuation
An estate's executors relied on accountants to prepare a timely Form 706, but the accountants neither made the section 2032 alternate valuation election nor advised the executors that it was…
QDOT received more time to report surviving spouse's citizenship
A qualified domestic trust's surviving spouse became a U.S. citizen after continuously residing in the United States, but the co-trustees did not file the required final Form 706-QDT. Although tax…
Limited testamentary appointment power did not cause estate inclusion
A trust beneficiary held a testamentary power to appoint trust property among the descendants of one of the settlor's children. A state court declared that the power did not permit appointments to…
Limited testamentary appointment power did not cause estate inclusion
A trust beneficiary held a testamentary power to appoint trust property among the descendants of one of the settlor's children. A state court declared that the power did not permit appointments to…
Limited testamentary appointment power did not cause estate inclusion
A trust beneficiary held a testamentary power to appoint trust property among the descendants of one of the settlor's children. A state court declared that the power did not permit appointments to…
Limited testamentary appointment power did not cause estate inclusion
A trust beneficiary held a testamentary power to appoint trust property among the descendants of one of the settlor's children. A state court declared that the power did not permit appointments to…
Limited testamentary appointment power did not cause estate inclusion
A trust beneficiary held a testamentary power to appoint trust property among the descendants of one of the settlor's children. A state court declared that the power did not permit appointments to…
Limited testamentary appointment power did not cause estate inclusion
A trust beneficiary held a testamentary power to appoint trust property among the descendants of one of the settlor's children. A state court declared that the power did not permit appointments to…
Limited testamentary appointment power did not cause estate inclusion
A trust beneficiary held a testamentary power to appoint trust property among the descendants of one of the settlor's children. A state court declared that the power did not permit appointments to…
Dividing and partly terminating a QTIP marital trust produced defined gift, estate, and income tax results
Trustees proposed dividing a QTIP marital trust into three pro rata trusts, converting one to a state-law total return unitrust, and terminating another for the deceased spouse's children. The IRS…
Limited appointment of grandfathered trust assets did not trigger generation-skipping tax
A beneficiary proposed using a testamentary special power of appointment over a trust that became irrevocable before September 25, 1985. The appointment would divide the assets into successor trusts…
Estate receives extra time to elect portability
The IRS granted a decedent's estate 120 additional days to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount. Because the estate represented that its gross estate…
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.