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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IRS gives an estate 120 more days to make the "65-day rule" election for a distribution to a trust
Under the "65-day rule" in section 663(b), an estate or trust can elect to treat a distribution made within the first 65 days of a tax year as if it had been made on the last day of the prior year.…
IRS gives an LLC 60 more days to file Form 8996 and self-certify as a Qualified Opportunity Fund
A Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF) self-certifies by filing Form 8996 with its timely filed tax return; doing so lets investors defer and potentially reduce tax on capital gains reinvested in…
IRS treats a late Form 8996 as timely, letting an LLC self-certify as a Qualified Opportunity Fund
A Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF) is an investment vehicle that lets investors defer and potentially reduce tax on capital gains they reinvest in designated low-income "opportunity zones." An…
IRS gives a foreign real estate partnership 60 more days to elect out of the business-interest deduction limit
Section 163(j) generally caps how much business interest a taxpayer can deduct. A real property trade or business can elect out of that cap under section 163(j)(7)(B) (the "RPTOB election"),…
IRS gives three foreign entities 120 more days to elect to be disregarded for U.S. tax purposes
A foreign business entity with a single owner can elect, under the "check-the-box" rules, to be disregarded as separate from its owner for U.S. federal tax purposes (so its income and assets are…
IRS gives a trust 120 more days to elect to deduct its charitable payments in the earlier tax year
Under section 642(c)(1), a trust or estate can deduct amounts of its gross income that it pays to charity under its governing instrument. A special timing rule lets the trustee elect to treat a…
IRS gives a consolidated group 75 more days to make late section 338(g) elections for a foreign subsidiary's stock purchases
A section 338(g) election lets a corporation that buys at least 80% of another corporation's stock (a "qualified stock purchase") treat the deal as if it bought the target's assets instead, which…
IRS grants a late estate 120 more days to make a portability election for the deceased spouse's unused exclusion
When someone dies without using all of their federal estate and gift tax exclusion, the surviving spouse can inherit the unused portion (the "deceased spousal unused exclusion," or DSUE) through a…
Late Form 8996 self-certification as a Qualified Opportunity Fund treated as timely
An LLC taxed as a partnership was formed to operate as a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF), the vehicle that lets investors defer capital gains by investing in designated opportunity zones. To become…
Late election to file a consolidated return granted a 75-day extension
A parent corporation heading an affiliated group missed the deadline to elect to file a consolidated federal income tax return for one tax year. The election under Treas. Reg. § 1.1502-75(a)(1) must…
Tax-exempt controlled entity gets 60 more days to elect out of tax-exempt treatment after its preparer misclassified it
An LLC was part-owned by tax-exempt organizations, which made it a "tax-exempt controlled entity" under section 168(h). That status can force slower depreciation on property the entity uses through…
Fund gets 60 more days to self-certify as a Qualified Opportunity Fund after its accountant left off Form 8996
An LLC taxed as a partnership was set up to be a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF), the kind of investment vehicle created by the 2017 tax law that lets investors defer capital gains by reinvesting…
Buyers and seller of an S corporation get 75 more days to elect to treat the stock sale as an asset sale
Two individuals bought all the stock of an S corporation from its shareholder, acquiring it through disregarded entities. When a stock purchase qualifies as a "qualified stock disposition," a…
Corporate parent gets 75 more days to elect to file a consolidated return after its tax pro missed the deadline
A parent corporation heading an affiliated group of companies wanted the group to file a single consolidated federal income tax return, with the parent as the common parent, for a particular year.…
LLC gets 120 more days to elect corporation treatment after missing the Form 8832 deadline
A limited liability company wanted to be treated as a corporation for federal tax purposes. Under the "check-the-box" rules in Treasury Regulation section 301.7701-3, an eligible entity makes that…
Corporation gets 60 more days to elect out of tax-exempt-controlled-entity status after its firm forgot the election
A corporation was majority-owned by a section 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization, which made it a "tax-exempt controlled entity" under section 168(h). That status can force slower depreciation (the…
Extra 60 days granted to a corporation to elect out of bonus depreciation after its preparer omitted the required statement
A C corporation that files a consolidated return decided to opt out of the additional first year (bonus) depreciation deduction under section 168(k) for all classes of property it placed in service…
IRS denies a late mark-to-market election because the trader used hindsight
An individual securities trader asked the IRS for extra time to make a late "mark-to-market" election under section 475(f)(1). That election lets a trader treat securities gains and losses as…
REIT gets more time to elect taxable-REIT-subsidiary treatment after a law firm dropped the ball
A real estate investment trust (REIT) and its wholly owned subsidiary wanted the subsidiary treated as a "taxable REIT subsidiary" (TRS), a taxable corporation a REIT can own to hold assets or earn…
REIT gets more time to elect taxable-REIT-subsidiary treatment after a law firm dropped the ball
A real estate investment trust (REIT) and its wholly owned subsidiary wanted the subsidiary treated as a "taxable REIT subsidiary" (TRS), a taxable corporation a REIT can own to hold assets or earn…
Estate gets more time to elect alternate valuation after its preparer never mentioned the option
When someone dies, their estate may value the assets either as of the date of death or six months later. That six-month option, the alternate valuation election under section 2032, can cut the…
Late Form 1128 to change a corporation's tax year treated as filed on time
A corporation wanted to change its tax year from a December 31 year-end to a June 30 year-end. To do that automatically, it had to file Form 1128 by the due date (including extensions) of the…
Extra 60 days granted to elect out of bonus depreciation after a preparer left off the required statement
A partnership decided to opt out of the additional first year (bonus) depreciation deduction under section 168(k) for all classes of property it placed in service in a given year. Making that…
Extra 60 days granted to elect out of bonus depreciation after a preparer left off the required statement
A partnership decided to opt out of the additional first year (bonus) depreciation deduction under section 168(k) for all classes of property it placed in service in a given year. Making that…
Extra 60 days granted to elect out of bonus depreciation after a preparer left off the required statement
A partnership decided to opt out of the additional first year (bonus) depreciation deduction under section 168(k) for all classes of property it placed in service in a given year. Making that…
Extra 60 days granted to elect out of bonus depreciation after a preparer left off the required statement
A partnership decided to opt out of the additional first year (bonus) depreciation deduction under section 168(k) for all classes of property it placed in service in a given year. To make that…
Partnership received 60 days to elect out of bonus depreciation
A partnership intended to elect out of the additional first-year depreciation deduction for every class of qualified property it placed in service during a tax year. Its return preparer calculated…
Partnership obtained relief for a missing bonus depreciation election statement
A partnership decided not to claim additional first-year depreciation for any class of qualified property placed in service during a tax year. Its return preparer reflected that decision in the…
Late election relief preserved a partnership's bonus depreciation opt-out
A partnership intended to forgo additional first-year depreciation for all classes of qualified property placed in service during a tax year. The preparer computed taxable income to reflect that…
Partnership received an extension to elect out of bonus depreciation
A partnership planned to elect out of additional first-year depreciation for all classes of qualified property placed in service during a tax year. Its return preparer calculated the timely filed…
Missing statement did not prevent late bonus depreciation relief
A partnership wanted to elect out of the additional first-year depreciation deduction for every class of qualified property placed in service during a tax year. Its preparer reflected that choice in…
Partnership gained 60 days to complete its depreciation election
A partnership intended to decline additional first-year depreciation for all classes of qualified property placed in service during a tax year. Although its preparer calculated the return to match…
Partnership could make its missed bonus depreciation election late
A partnership chose not to deduct additional first-year depreciation for all classes of qualified property placed in service during a tax year. The return preparer followed that choice when…
Three late opportunity fund self-certifications were treated as timely
A partnership was formed to operate as a qualified opportunity fund and told its longtime accountant of that intent. The accountant prepared three years of partnership returns but did not attach…
Partnership received 120 days to make a late Section 754 election
A limited liability company taxed as a partnership intended to make a Section 754 election after one partner acquired portions of another partner's interest in two transactions. The partnership…
Foreign entity received 120 days to elect partnership classification
A foreign eligible entity wanted to be classified as a partnership for federal tax purposes from its formation date but did not timely file Form 8832. The IRS concluded that the entity met the…
Corporate group received 75 days to make a late consolidated return election
A corporation was the common parent of an affiliated group but did not timely make the election to file a consolidated federal income tax return for the group. The parent showed that it reasonably…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate that was not otherwise required to file an estate tax return failed to timely elect portability of the decedent's unused exclusion amount for the surviving spouse. Because the filing…
Seven foreign entities receive 120 days for late disregarded-entity elections
Seven foreign eligible entities failed to timely file Forms 8832 electing disregarded-entity status. Based solely on the submitted facts and representations, the IRS concluded that each entity met…
Seven foreign entities receive 120 days for late disregarded-entity elections
Seven foreign eligible entities failed to timely file Forms 8832 electing disregarded-entity status. Based solely on the submitted facts and representations, the IRS concluded that each entity met…
Seven foreign entities receive 120 days for late disregarded-entity elections
Seven foreign eligible entities failed to timely file Forms 8832 electing disregarded-entity status. Based solely on the submitted facts and representations, the IRS concluded that each entity met…
Seven foreign entities receive 120 days for late disregarded-entity elections
Seven foreign eligible entities failed to timely file Forms 8832 electing disregarded-entity status. Based solely on the submitted facts and representations, the IRS concluded that each entity met…
Seven foreign entities receive 120 days for late disregarded-entity elections
Seven foreign eligible entities failed to timely file Forms 8832 electing disregarded-entity status. Based solely on the submitted facts and representations, the IRS concluded that each entity met…
Seven foreign entities receive 120 days for late disregarded-entity elections
Seven foreign eligible entities failed to timely file Forms 8832 electing disregarded-entity status. Based solely on the submitted facts and representations, the IRS concluded that each entity met…
Seven foreign entities receive 120 days for late disregarded-entity elections
Seven foreign eligible entities failed to timely file Forms 8832 electing disregarded-entity status. Based solely on the submitted facts and representations, the IRS concluded that each entity met…
Partnership receives 60 days to make a late QOF self-certification
A partnership formed to invest in qualified opportunity zone property did not file its first Form 1065 or the attached Form 8996 needed to self-certify as a qualified opportunity fund. Its members…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate that was not otherwise required to file an estate tax return failed to timely elect portability of the decedent's unused exclusion amount for the surviving spouse. Because the filing…
LLC receives relief for late corporate-classification and S corporation elections
An LLC intended to be classified as an association taxable as a corporation and to elect S corporation status from the same effective date, but it filed neither Form 8832 nor Form 2553. Based on the…
Affiliated group receives 75 days for a late consolidated-return election
A corporate parent and its affiliated group failed to timely elect to file a consolidated federal income tax return. The request for relief was submitted before the IRS discovered the missed…
Taxpayer receives 120 days to elect out of automatic GST exemption allocations
A taxpayer created nine annuity trusts whose remainders passed to separate trusts for the taxpayer's children and descendants, and also made direct gifts to those children's trusts. The taxpayer and…
Affiliated group receives 75 days for a late consolidated-return election
A corporate parent and its affiliated group failed to timely elect to file a consolidated federal income tax return. The request for relief was submitted before the IRS discovered the missed…
LLC receives 120 days for a late corporate-classification election
A limited liability company intended to be classified as an association taxable as a corporation from its requested effective date but failed to timely file Form 8832. Based solely on the submitted…
Foreign-owned LLC receives 120 days for a late corporate-classification election
A domestic LLC wholly owned by a foreign proprietary limited company intended to be classified as an association taxable as a corporation from its formation date. After converting between two…
Taxpayer receives 120 days to elect out of automatic GST exemption allocations
A taxpayer created five grantor retained annuity trusts whose remainders passed to separate trusts for the taxpayer's children, and also made direct gifts to those children's trusts. The taxpayer…
Taxpayer receives 120 days to undo automatic GST exemption allocations
A married couple split gifts for federal gift-tax purposes involving nine irrevocable annuity trusts and separate trusts for their children. They intended not to allocate generation-skipping…
Five partnerships receive 120 days for late section 754 elections
An upper-tier partnership and four lower-tier partnerships inadvertently failed to make section 754 elections for a tax year in which a partner died. A second partner died in a later year. Section…
Foreign entity receives 120 days for late disregarded-entity election
A foreign eligible entity intended to be treated as disregarded from its owner for federal tax purposes but failed to file Form 8832 on time. It asked for relief under the regulatory-election…
LLC receives 120 days for late corporate-classification election
A domestic limited liability company intended to elect association status so it would be taxed as a corporation from a specified date. It inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. The company…
Taxpayer receives 120 days to elect out of automatic GST allocation
A taxpayer created an irrevocable trust for family members, including the taxpayer's and spouse's children. The trust had generation-skipping transfer potential, so the automatic-allocation rules…
Entity receives late corporate and S corporation election relief
A domestic multi-member eligible entity intended to be treated as an S corporation from the date it was formed. It did not timely file either Form 8832 to elect association status or Form 2553 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.