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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CCA addresses state privacy restrictions on IRS summonses
Chief Counsel Advice considers whether a Connecticut privacy statute would prevent IRS personnel from obtaining residential-address information about a taxpayer in a protected category. The advice…
CCA addresses electronic copies of gift tax returns
Chief Counsel Advice evaluates a proposed IRS system for scanning paper gift tax returns and attachments into a searchable electronic database. It explains when scanned copies may become the…
PLR 1224023: IRS treats LNG sales income as qualifying income
The IRS ruled that a publicly traded partnership's income from selling liquefied natural gas, or LNG, would be qualifying income under IRC § 7704(d)(1)(E). The partnership planned to buy domestic…
PLR 1224012: IRS rules reorganized funds will not be publicly traded partnerships
The IRS ruled that, after a reorganization, each new investment fund that is classified as a partnership for federal tax purposes will not be treated as a publicly traded partnership. The funds will…
PLR 1224011: IRS rules reorganized funds will not be publicly traded partnerships
The IRS ruled that, after a reorganization, each new investment fund that is classified as a partnership for federal tax purposes will not be treated as a publicly traded partnership. The funds will…
CCA 1223019: IRS clarifies an excise-tax overpayment credit
Chief Counsel advice corrected an earlier analysis concerning whether an excise-tax overpayment could be credited against another excise-tax liability. The advice states that if the taxpayer paid…
CCA 1223018: IRS identifies the form for waiving a CDP hearing
Chief Counsel advice identifies Form 13207 as the form for waiving the right to receive a Collection Due Process hearing under IRC § 6330. The advice also points to the Internal Revenue Manual…
CCA 1223017: IRS explains review of a supplemental CDP determination
Chief Counsel advice states that the attorney handling a remanded Collection Due Process case should review the supplemental notice of determination before it is issued to the taxpayer. The review…
CCA 1223016: IRS may issue separate deficiency notices for different taxes
Chief Counsel advice states that IRC § 6212(c) does not prevent the IRS from issuing deficiency notices for different taxes reported on separate returns. After a notice concerning an individual's…
CCA 1311026: CCA addresses a bank’s deposit-account superpriority claim
Chief Counsel advice considered a bank’s potential superpriority under IRC § 6323(b)(10) for loans secured by a deposit account. The advice stated that a bank may obtain and perfect a security…
CCA finds a partnership tax assessment extension validly signed
Chief Counsel advised that an IRS Form 872-P extending the time to assess partnership-level tax was valid. The tax matters partner was a limited liability partnership, and a managing partner…
CCA explains when Appeals may address a future-year item in a closing agreement
Chief Counsel Advice addressed whether Appeals may enter a closing agreement covering a specific item in a future taxable year while that year is under examination. The advice explained that a…
CCA explains levy and withholding rules for an ESOP distribution
Chief Counsel Advice addressed an IRS levy against a taxpayer's interest in an employee stock ownership plan. Dividends distributed from the ESOP under IRC § 404(k) are not subject to withholding…
PLR 1222029: IRS rules that petroleum-water services produce qualifying income
The IRS ruled that a limited partnership's income from removing, transporting, storing, and disposing of petroleum-water mix from oil and natural gas operations is qualifying income under the…
CCA 1222001: entity changes did not make a parent and former subsidiary the same taxpayer for interest netting
Chief Counsel Advice concluded that a parent corporation and a former subsidiary were not the same taxpayer for purposes of interest netting under section 6621(d). The entities had gone through a…
CCA 1221021: Chief Counsel says section 453A liability is subject to deficiency procedures
Chief Counsel Advice addressed whether the IRS should issue a statutory notice of deficiency to assess and collect a liability under IRC § 453A. The advice distinguished ordinary interest on…
CCA 1221020: Chief Counsel explains a section 6662A penalty calculation rule
Chief Counsel Advice addressed a question about the accuracy-related penalty under IRC § 6662A. It quoted § 6662A(b)(1), which says that certain reductions in excess deductions over gross income and…
CCA 1221019: Chief Counsel addresses TEFRA treatment of a one-partner entity
Chief Counsel Advice addressed whether the TEFRA partnership rules applied to a redacted entity. The advice said TEFRA applied for one year because the entity had a flow-through entity as a partner.…
CCA 1221018: Chief Counsel addresses reporting interest on unclaimed funds
Chief Counsel Advice addressed how a state office should report interest paid on unclaimed funds under IRC § 6049. The advice said that, assuming a reporting obligation exists, the interest should…
CCA 1221017: Chief Counsel addresses a partner’s bad-debt deduction
Chief Counsel Advice addressed when the worthlessness of a debt from a partner to a partnership should be determined. The advice said the issue would be decided in the partnership proceeding, not in…
CCA 1221016: Chief Counsel addresses TEFRA extensions of the assessment period
Chief Counsel Advice addressed how IRC §§ 6229 and 6501 interact in a TEFRA case. The advice said § 6229 extends a partner's § 6501 assessment period, citing decisions from three circuit courts and…
CCA 1221014: Chief Counsel addresses the assessment period for restitution
Chief Counsel Advice addressed the period for assessing restitution. It stated that IRC § 6501(c)(11) allows an assessment of the restitution amount described in § 6201(a)(4) at any time. The advice…
PLR 1221002: IRS gives mixed rulings on utility pilot-program equipment
The IRS issued mixed rulings on equipment installed by utility subsidiaries in customer pilot programs. It concluded that the equipment used in the pilots was seven-year property for depreciation,…
Refund lookback limits apply to late-filed claims
Chief Counsel's advice explains how the refund limitations in IRC § 6511 apply when a taxpayer files an income tax return late. A late-filed return may satisfy the three-year claim period under §…
Disaster-area relief workers may qualify for interest abatement
Chief Counsel's advice addresses whether a disaster-area relief worker qualifies as an affected taxpayer under IRC § 7508A. A relief worker affiliated with a recognized government or philanthropic…
AMT is included in the accuracy-penalty underpayment
Chief Counsel's advice concludes that alternative minimum tax is included when calculating the “underpayment” used to determine an accuracy-related penalty. The memorandum interprets IRC § 6664 and…
CCA 1219023: IRS advice on designating a tax matters partner on an amended return
Chief Counsel Advice addresses whether a tax matters partner designation can be made on an amended partnership return. The advice says it cannot, because that would not comply with section…
CCA 1219022: IRS advice on whether a subsidiary affects the TEFRA small-partnership exception
Chief Counsel Advice considers whether a partnership can qualify for the small-partnership exception to the TEFRA rules when an S corporation owns a subsidiary. The advice says that if the S…
CCA 1219020: IRS advice on contracting for services involving tax information
Chief Counsel Advice addresses the procurement steps for hiring a court reporter for a live deposition when the contractor will receive tax information. The advice says the arrangement requires a…
CCA 1219019: IRS advice on a tax matters partner's authority to sign documents
Chief Counsel Advice addresses the designation of a tax matters partner and who may sign documents for a state law entity that is a TEFRA partnership. The advice says that designating a…
CCA 1219018: IRS advice on combining partnership proceedings for multiple years
Chief Counsel Advice addresses whether a single final partnership administrative adjustment can cover more than one tax year. The default rule is to issue a separate FPAA for each year because the…
CCA 1219017: IRS advice on identifying and signing for a tax matters partner
Chief Counsel Advice addresses how to identify the tax matters partner when neither partner is a manager. The advice says both partners are treated as member-managers under the regulation. If no…
CCA 1219016: IRS advice on who signs for an LLC serving as a tax matters partner
Chief Counsel Advice addresses signatures when an LLC serves as the tax matters partner of a TEFRA limited partnership. The advice says that an LLC manager under state law signs for the LLC. The tax…
PLR 1219013: Service provider is not a third-party settlement organization
The IRS ruled that a company providing services through websites was not a third-party settlement organization with an information reporting obligation under section 6050W. The company accepted…
Chief Counsel advice treats listed site-access items as return information
Chief Counsel advice addressed whether items listed in an email about a tour and other site access would constitute return information under IRC § 6103. The response said that the items would…
Chief Counsel advice says TEFRA notices should be sent to foreign partners
Chief Counsel advice addressed whether TEFRA partnership notices should be sent to foreign partners. The response said that foreign partners are generally taxable on U.S.-sourced income absent…
PLR 1217005: IRS approves a qualified matching service for partnership interests
A broker-dealer proposed two private online services to facilitate transfers of nonpublicly traded limited partnership interests. The IRS ruled that the qualifying service was not an established…
PLR 1217001: IRS requires Forms 1099-C for settlement-related debt write-offs
A financial institution settled a class action involving allegedly defective notices for collecting deficiency balances and agreed to write off certain debts. It asked whether the write-offs were…
CCA 1216039: Advice addresses an alter ego theory for federal tax liens
Chief Counsel advice discusses whether a federal tax lien dispute involving an alter ego theory presents fraud or injustice concerns. The message points to the two-factor federal common-law test…
CCA 1216036: Advice addresses Treasury access to tax return information
Chief Counsel advice confirms that the Treasury Department's Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau is part of Treasury and may access returns and return information for official tax…
CCA 1216035: Tax matters partner may bind certain other partners
Chief Counsel advice explains when a tax matters partner (TMP) may bind partners who were not entitled to notice. A TMP may do so under IRC § 6224(c)(3) if the TMP specifically states that the TMP…
CCA 1216033: Form 843 may amend a timely refund claim
Chief Counsel advice concludes that a taxpayer's Form 843 could be treated as a permissible amendment to a timely Form 1040X, rather than as a new and untimely refund claim. The taxpayer had…
PLR 1216022: IRS rules that excess hydrogen sales qualify as partnership income
A publicly traded partnership that produces fertilizer used a gasification process that generated hydrogen as a by-product. The partnership had an agreement with an adjacent refinery to exchange…
CCA: A second notice may cover converted partnership items
Chief Counsel advised that a second notice of deficiency could be issued for partnership items converted by a bankruptcy filing. The advice concerned a married couple, a TEFRA partnership interest,…
CCA: Loss carrybacks do not revive barred overpayment items
Chief Counsel advised that a loss carryback does not allow a taxpayer to recover an overpayment attributable to other items that are barred by the statute of limitations. A refund or credit is…
CCA: Interest abatement claims require final determinations when disallowed
Chief Counsel advised that a processable interest-abatement claim that is disallowed should receive a final determination letter, not a no-consideration letter. A final determination preserves the…
CCA explains estate-tax transferee liability and lien scope
Chief Counsel Advice addressed whether the estate tax rules create a lien on all property owned by children who received nonprobate property from an estate. The advice explains that section…
CCA explains when a pension levy remains effective
Chief Counsel Advice addressed whether the IRS must issue a new levy when a levy has already been served on a pension plan. The advice states that a levy reaches the taxpayer's vested rights under…
CCA 1214029: Chief Counsel advice explains what qualifies as Chief Counsel advice
Chief Counsel advice stated that IRC § 6110(i) defines Chief Counsel advice. The provision requires that this advice be prepared by a national office component of the Office of Chief Counsel. The…
CCA 1214028: IRS discusses who may claim proceeds after a federal tax lien discharge
Chief Counsel advice addressed whether a taxpayer could recover money from the IRS after a bank with a mortgage interest superior to the federal tax lien miscalculated its payoff from a property…
CCA 1214027: IRS advice rejects altered powers of attorney and authorizations
Chief Counsel advice recommended rejecting Forms 2848 and 8821 because taxpayers had signed them as executors for themselves, even though no estate or other entity was involved. The advice also said…
CCA 1214025: IRS discusses disclosure of return information in examinations
Chief Counsel advice addressed when the IRS could disclose estate tax return information during an examination of an appraiser under IRC § 6695A. It stated that return information is confidential…
CCA 1214024: IRS explains when Form 8821 may authorize disclosure to an accountant
Chief Counsel advice stated that a taxpayer generally may use Form 8821 to authorize the IRS to disclose the taxpayer's returns and return information to an accountant. The advice also stated that…
IRS revokes section 501(c)(3) exemption for a sorority housing organization
The IRS denied section 501(c)(3) exemption to an organization that owned and operated a sorority chapter house. The organization maintained the property and described historic preservation and…
CCA 1213028: FPAA and Form 870-LT extend affected-item notice periods
Chief Counsel Advice addressed the period for issuing affected-item notices of deficiency in a TEFRA matter. It said an FPAA extends that period through the 150-day petition period plus one year…
CCA 1213027: TEFRA proceeding notices generally go to partners for the year at issue
Chief Counsel Advice addressed who should receive notice at the beginning of a TEFRA partnership proceeding. It said IRC § 6223(c) generally limits notice to the partners for the tax year at issue…
CCA 1213026: Carryback-year underpayments may be tied to source-year transactions for section 6662(b)(6)
Chief Counsel Advice addressed the effective date and transition treatment for the accuracy-related penalty under IRC § 6662(b)(6). That provision applies to underpayments attributable to…
PLR 1213004: IRS approves a qualified matching service for partnership interests
The IRS ruled on two private online and offline services for buying and selling third-party limited partnership interests. It concluded that neither service was an established securities market and…
CCA 1212020: IRS addresses executor liability for estate tax penalties
The Office of Chief Counsel analyzed when an executor could be personally liable for an estate's penalties after estate assets were distributed. The advice explains that a fiduciary of an estate…
CCA 1212019: IRS advises on mailing a partner notice to a foreign jurisdiction
The Office of Chief Counsel advised that an NBAP does not have to be sent by certified or registered mail. It stated that sending the notice by UPS to a foreign jurisdiction would be acceptable. The…
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.