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 1212018: IRS advises on verifying IRM procedures in a CDP case
The Office of Chief Counsel advised that an Appeals officer's verification duty under IRC § 6330(c)(1) includes applicable procedures required by the Internal Revenue Manual. The advice notes that…
CCA 1212017: IRS advises that an examination is not a reopening
The Office of Chief Counsel advised that examining a redacted matter as it relates to a taxpayer's one tax year would not constitute reopening another tax year. The advice concerns a question…
CCA 1211024: Counsel approves a procedure for assigning a jointly issued refund
Chief Counsel analyzes a proposed procedure for assigning a refund that the IRS would otherwise issue jointly to two claimants. The advice states that a Title 31 assignment can be used if the…
CCA 1211023: Counsel discusses nominee liens on a principal residence
Chief Counsel discusses collection options when a taxpayer transfers title to a principal residence to another person before a trust fund recovery penalty assessment. The advice explains that the…
CCA 1211022: Counsel analyzes whether transaction codes established a tax assessment
Chief Counsel analyzes whether the IRS made a valid assessment of tax that was later involved in an erroneous refund. The advice explains that the existence of a collection statute expiration date…
CCA 1211019: IRS guidance on who signs Form SS-10 for a disregarded LLC
Chief Counsel advice addresses who should sign Form SS-10, the consent used to extend the period for assessing employment taxes, when an LLC is disregarded for employment tax purposes. The advice…
CCA 1211018: Counsel explains transferee liability when no deficiency was assessed
Chief Counsel advice addresses whether the absence of a deficiency assessment prevents the IRS from pursuing transferee liability. The advice states that the absence of a deficiency is not…
CCA 1211017: Bankruptcy ends a TMP's status but not an indirect partner's TEFRA proceeding
Chief Counsel advice addresses the effect of a bankruptcy claim on a pass-through entity serving as a tax matters partner. The advice states that if a theoretical claim could be filed in a…
CCA 1211016: Requests for books and records under § 6333 are exempt from the RFPA
Chief Counsel advice addresses a request to exhibit books and records under IRC § 6333. The advice states that these requests are procedures authorized by and contained in the Internal Revenue Code.…
CCA 1211015: A joint return generally needs signatures for both spouses
Chief Counsel advice addresses a joint return signed by a representative only on the primary taxpayer's line. The Service position described is that both spouses must sign a joint return, so both…
CCA 1211014: Taxpayers could dispute divisible § 6701 penalties in a CDP hearing
Chief Counsel advice addresses whether taxpayers had a prior opportunity to dispute § 6701 penalties during a collection due process hearing. The advice concludes that the penalties were divisible…
CCA 1211013: Partnership-item issues are determined separately for each TEFRA year
Chief Counsel advice addresses whether arguments about partnership tax credits may differ across TEFRA years. The advice states that each TEFRA year is a separate cause of action, so the IRS may…
CCA 1211012: A state-law-authorized person may sign for an entity
Chief Counsel advice addresses who may sign for an entity in connection with an agreement extending a tax period. The advice states that any person authorized under state law may sign for the…
CCA 1210037: IRS explains computational adjustments in TEFRA cases
Chief Counsel advice explains that a computational adjustment is a change in a partner's tax liability under IRC § 6231(a)(6). It may be directly assessed when it is purely a mathematical…
CCA 1210036: IRS explains direct assessment of a partnership FTC affected item
Chief Counsel advice addresses the foreign tax credit's effect on a partner's tax liability in a TEFRA proceeding. The advice states that the calculation is an affected item because it depends on…
CCA 1210035: Durable powers of attorney may add Form 2848 representatives
Chief Counsel advice addresses whether family members holding durable powers of attorney may add another eligible representative on Form 2848. The advice concludes that the powers of attorney in the…
CCA 1210034: Special allocation agreement reallocation is a partnership item
Chief Counsel advice states that reallocating partnership items under a partnership special allocation agreement is itself a partnership item under Treas. Reg. § 301.6231(a)(3)-1(a). The…
CCA 1210033: Failure to file Form 1042 triggers the § 6651(a)(1) penalty
Chief Counsel advice concludes that failing to file Form 1042 results in the addition to tax under IRC § 6651(a)(1). Form 1042 is a return required under IRC § 6011, which falls within the relevant…
CCA 1210032: Estate RCP includes collectible transferee liability
Chief Counsel advice addresses an offer in compromise for estate tax when a beneficiary received nonprobate distributions. It states that the estate's reasonable collection potential includes the…
CCA 1210031: Returns without handwritten signatures
Chief Counsel advice addresses the validity of returns that do not contain a handwritten signature. If a taxpayer verifies that the signature on a return is the taxpayer's own, the Service should…
CCA 1210030: Partnership information for notice purposes
Chief Counsel advice addresses the information used to give notices related to a partnership. It states that IRC § 6223(c) requires the Service to use information from the partnership return for…
CCA 1210029: Refund claims for levy payments when no returns were filed
Chief Counsel advice addresses an estate's attempt to recover levy payments that the Service applied to tax years for which the taxpayer filed no returns and no assessments were made. Under IRC §…
CCA 1210028: Machine-sensible data media as records
Chief Counsel advice considers whether certain machine-sensible data media should be treated as records under IRC § 6001 and Treas. Reg. § 1.6001-1. It agrees that the media constitute records…
CCA 1210027: Expert disclosure of return information
Chief Counsel advice considers whether an expert retained by the IRS may disclose information learned while providing actuarial services in a Tax Court case to an actuarial disciplinary board. The…
CCA 1208028: IRS advises on an estate's foreign trust filing penalties
Chief Counsel advised that an estate generally assumes a decedent's liability for initial penalties tied to missing Forms 3520 and 3520-A for a foreign trust. The estate also remains responsible for…
PLR 1208021: Interest-rate hedging income qualifies for publicly traded partnership income test
The IRS ruled that income from treasury locks, interest rate swaps, and forward-start interest rate swaps was qualifying income under the publicly traded partnership rules. The partnership used…
CCA 1207008: Chief Counsel addressed partnership-level negligence penalties
Chief Counsel advised that a partnership generally does not have an underpayment of tax for purposes of the negligence penalty because the partnership itself pays no income tax. In a TEFRA…
CCA 1207007: Chief Counsel explained Form 2848 use for FBAR matters
Chief Counsel advised that a taxpayer may use Form 2848 to authorize a representative in an FBAR matter if the form identifies both the FBAR matter and the related tax periods. The authorization can…
CCA 1207006: Chief Counsel advised that a Form 1099-MISC for a minor beneficiary should go to the minor
Chief Counsel advised that, under IRC § 6034A, a trust fiduciary must furnish a beneficiary with information about a distribution during the taxable year. Because the beneficiary in this situation…
CCA 1207005: Chief Counsel advised how to designate a new tax matters partner
Chief Counsel advised a partnership to designate a new tax matters partner, or TMP, on the IRS form used for that purpose. If the partnership did not make a new designation, the TMP would…
CCA 1206017: Gain from a partnership-interest sale during a TEFRA proceeding
Counsel asked how to handle gain from the sale of a partnership interest when a TEFRA proceeding for the sale year was already underway. The memorandum advises that including the gain in the…
CCA 1206016: State-law signature rules and a limitation waiver question
Counsel asked about a waiver question under the partnership audit procedures. The memorandum says that the IRS generally looks to state law for the issue, follows that approach across various Code…
CCA 1206014: Section 6501(c)(8) limitations period for an S corporation and its shareholders
This memorandum considers whether missing Form 5471 information for controlled foreign corporations extends the assessment period for an S corporation and its shareholders under IRC § 6501(c)(8). It…
PLR 1206004: Fuel additization and ethanol blending fees qualify as partnership income
The IRS ruled that fees earned by a publicly traded partnership from fuel additization and ethanol blending activities were qualifying income under IRC § 7704(d)(1)(E). The partnership operated…
CCA 1205009: Consent is required before disclosing a debtor’s returns to a Chapter 13 trustee
The Office of Chief Counsel advised that a debtor’s return information could not be disclosed to a Standing Chapter 13 Trustee without the debtor’s consent. A statement in a bankruptcy plan did not…
CCA 1204013: IRS explains when a limited partner may be designated as TMP
Chief Counsel advised that a limited partner may be designated as the tax matters partner when the general partner or member-manager cannot be found and applying the largest-profits-interest rule is…
CCA 1204011: A partner must pay the tax before claiming a refund
Chief Counsel advised that a partner must pay the tax before filing a claim under IRC § 6230(c). The advice reasons that § 6230(c) authorizes a claim for a refund, and a taxpayer cannot claim a…
CCA 1204009: Outline addresses injured-spouse claims in community-property states
Chief Counsel provided an outline concerning injured-spouse claims under community-property laws. It explains that an injured spouse may seek allocation of a joint-return overpayment when the other…
CCA 1204008: Refund claims based on foreign-tax deductions were untimely
Chief Counsel concluded that a taxpayer's refund claim based on a net operating loss carryback was untimely under IRC § 6511(d)(2)(A). The advice also concluded that the special ten-year limitations…
CCA 1202027: CCA addresses NOL carryback refund claims
Chief Counsel advice addressed refund claims attributable to net operating loss carrybacks when the assessment period for the source years has expired. The advice states that the Service may examine…
CCA 1202026: CCA addresses the gross valuation misstatement penalty
Chief Counsel advice addressed the reasonable-cause and good-faith exception for the 40 percent gross valuation misstatement penalty under IRC section 6662(h). The advice states that, when the…
CCA 1202025: CCA addresses a bankrupt partner's converted items
Chief Counsel advice addressed a bankrupt partner whose partnership items had converted to nonpartnership items under Treasury Regulation § 301.6231(c)-7. The advice states that the IRS must issue a…
CCA 1202024: CCA addresses a tax matters partner's authority
Chief Counsel advice addressed the authority of a tax matters partner under the TEFRA partnership procedures. The advice states that a tax matters partner generally has no power, solely in that…
CCA 1202023: CCA addresses partner-level affected items
Chief Counsel advice addressed a partner-level audit involving affected items, including a partner's worthlessness loss. The advice states that the Service need not open a TEFRA proceeding or keep…
CCA 1202022: CCA addresses disclosure of taxpayer return information
Chief Counsel advice addressed whether information about a taxpayer's position in two audits could be disclosed. Because the same taxpayer was involved in both audits, the advice concluded that the…
CCA 1202018: IRS analyzes proposed lien agreements with state authorities
Chief Counsel advised that the IRS may enter a binding agreement with a state taxing authority about competing liens on personal property if the agreement is consistent with federal law and the…
PLR 1202005: IRS denies late election relief for an NOL carryback
The IRS denied a request for additional time to elect an extended net operating loss carryback under IRC § 172(b)(1)(H). The taxpayers had directed their accounting firm to make the election, but…
PLR 1201002: IRS treats specified natural-resource processing income as qualifying income
The IRS ruled that a planned publicly traded partnership's income from processing, transporting, storing, marketing, and distributing specified natural resources would be qualifying income under IRC…
PLR 1201001: IRS finds no information reporting duty for a pharmacy network manager
The IRS determined that a pharmacy benefit management business did not have an information reporting obligation under IRC § 6050W for its payments to pharmacies. The business gave health plan…
CCA 1152018: IRS may examine an entire year when reviewing a refund claim
The Office of Chief Counsel advised that the IRS may request additional information covering an entire previously audited tax year when evaluating refund claims reserved in a Form 870-AD. Reviewing…
PLR 1152003: IRS approves electronic delivery of substitute Schedule K-1s
The IRS approved a partnership's proposed electronic delivery of substitute Schedule K-1s to partners who affirmatively consent to electronic delivery. The substitute forms must meet the…
PLR 1152002: IRS approves electronic delivery of substitute Schedule K-1s
The IRS approved a partnership's proposed electronic delivery of substitute Schedule K-1s to partners who affirmatively consent to electronic delivery. The substitute forms must meet the…
CCA 1151024: Chief Counsel addresses a levy on an overseas bank account
Chief Counsel advised that a levy may be issued in the United States to reach funds held in a taxpayer's overseas account at a bank engaged in banking business in the United States. The advice…
CCA 1151023: Chief Counsel addresses pre-levy storage expenses
Chief Counsel advised that expenses of levy and sale under IRC § 6341 can arise only after the levy is served. The advice therefore concluded that a revenue officer lacked authority to agree with a…
CCA 1150029: Section 6677 penalty is generally not divisible
Chief Counsel advised that an IRC section 6677 penalty for failing to report transactions involving foreign trusts is generally not a divisible tax. A taxpayer must generally pay the full penalty…
TEFRA proceeding determines partnership-level self-employment income
Chief Counsel Advice addressed what a TEFRA partnership proceeding should determine about self-employment income. It stated that the partnership level determines the allocation and gross amount of…
Refund claim period for a carryback linked to a partnership year
Chief Counsel Advice addressed when a partner may file a refund claim for a carryback year after resolution of the source partnership year. It stated that the partner may file within two years under…
Assessment period for unidentified indirect TEFRA partners
Chief Counsel Advice addressed whether the assessment period remained open for unidentified indirect partners after a timely TEFRA proceeding. It stated that, under section 6229(e), the statute…
No-change partnership result can produce a partner-level adjustment
Chief Counsel Advice addressed the effect of a no-change result for partnership items at the partnership level. It stated that the result can still produce a computational adjustment at the partner…
Section 6103 does not authorize disclosure of tax records for a private-litigation subpoena
Chief Counsel Advice addressed a subpoena seeking agency tax records for use in private litigation. It stated that no provision of section 6103 authorizes disclosure of the records in response 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.