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.
No determinations match these filters
Try fewer or different words, check the spelling, or clear the filters to browse everything.
Corporation preserved S status after beneficiaries missed QSST elections
After a shareholder died, S corporation shares passed to a family trust that was eligible to hold them for two years. When that period expired, three separate shares were intended to qualify as…
Corporation preserved S status after a missed ESBT election
A trust holding S corporation shares ceased to be an eligible shareholder, terminating the corporation's S election. The trust was represented to qualify as an electing small business trust, but its…
Inadvertent S corporation termination cured after missed ESBT elections
The IRS ruled that a corporation's S corporation election terminated when shares were transferred to two trusts that qualified as electing small business trusts but had not made the required ESBT…
S corporation status preserved after late ESBT elections
The IRS ruled that an S corporation's election had terminated when shares were transferred to two trusts whose trustees did not timely make electing small business trust elections. The corporation…
IRS grants relief for a late S corporation election
The IRS granted a corporation relief for failing to timely file its S corporation election. The corporation intended to elect S corporation status when it was formed and had filed its tax returns as…
IRS grants late S corporation election relief
The IRS granted a corporation relief for failing to timely file its S corporation election. The corporation intended to be treated as an S corporation beginning on a specified date, but it did not…
IRS allows late S-corporation election after finding reasonable cause
The IRS ruled that a corporation could be treated as an S corporation effective on the requested date even though it did not timely file Form 2553. The corporation established reasonable cause for…
IRS rules on savings-bond interest held in a decedent's trust
A trust held U.S. Series I savings bonds that had belonged to a decedent and the decedent's family. The IRS ruled that, if the specified qualified disclaimer and transfer steps occurred, the…
IRS grants relief for a late S corporation election
The IRS considered a corporation's request for relief after its Form 2553, Election by a Small Business Corporation, was filed late. The corporation intended to elect S corporation status for a…
IRS grants extra time for late entity-classification and S corporation elections
The IRS considered a newly formed eligible entity's request to make a late election to be classified as an association taxable as a corporation and a late S corporation election. The entity had…
IRS restores S corporation status after an IRA caused an inadvertent termination
The IRS considered an S corporation whose election terminated when an individual acquired its stock through a self-directed IRA, an ineligible shareholder. The IRA later distributed the shares to…
IRS restores S corporation status after an inadvertent termination
The IRS considered an S corporation whose election terminated when its shares were transferred to an ineligible shareholder. The shares were later transferred back to the corporation, and the…
IRS restores S corporation status after a delayed shareholder redemption
The IRS considered a corporation whose S corporation election became ineffective because a foreign corporation remained a shareholder longer than intended. The corporation had negotiated a…
IRS restores S corporation status after missed QSST elections
An S corporation's shares were transferred to six trusts, but the beneficiaries did not make the required qualified subchapter S trust elections on time. Because the trusts were therefore ineligible…
IRS grants relief for a late S corporation election
A corporation intended to be an S corporation from the date it was formed, but its shareholders did not timely file Form 2553. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late filing. It allowed the…
IRS grants late S corporation and QSub elections
A parent corporation intended to elect S corporation status and to treat two wholly owned subsidiaries as qualified subchapter S subsidiaries. Its Forms 2553 and 8869 were not filed on time because…
IRS preserves S status after a missed ESBT election
A corporation's S corporation election was invalid because a trust shareholder did not timely file an electing small business trust election. The IRS found that the failure was inadvertent and…
S corporation election reinstated after missed ESBT elections
An S corporation's stock was transferred to two trusts whose trustees did not timely file the elections required for electing small business trusts. Because the trusts were not eligible shareholders…
S corporation election reinstated after missed ESBT elections
An S corporation's stock was transferred to two trusts whose trustees did not timely file the elections required for electing small business trusts. Because the trusts were not eligible shareholders…
IRS allows a late S corporation election after finding reasonable cause
An entity formed in a state intended to elect S corporation status for a specified tax year but did not timely file Form 2553. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late election under IRC §…
Inadvertent S corporation termination relief granted after an ineligible transfer
The IRS granted relief to an S corporation whose election terminated when shares were transferred to an ineligible shareholder. The corporation and its shareholders were unaware that the transfer…
S corporation redemption qualifies for exchange treatment and installment reporting
The IRS ruled on a proposed transaction in which an S corporation would redeem all stock held by two retiring shareholders in exchange for promissory notes, then issue stock to four key employees.…
S corporation termination relief granted after a missed QSST election
The IRS granted relief to an S corporation whose election terminated when a trust transferred its shares to another trust without a timely qualified subchapter S trust election. The corporation said…
IRS provides relief for an inadvertent S corporation termination
An S corporation's shareholder transferred shares to a grantor trust, and the trust later became irrevocable when the deemed owner died. The trust was eligible to hold S corporation stock, but its…
S corporation election relief granted for reasonable cause
The IRS granted a corporation relief for failing to timely file an election to be treated as an S corporation. The corporation had intended the election to take effect on a specified date and…
Late entity-classification and S corporation elections granted relief
An entity asked for more time to elect corporate classification for federal tax purposes and to make a late S corporation election. The entity’s sole member intended both elections to be effective…
Early replacement S corporation election denied
An S corporation asked for permission to make a new S election before the five-year waiting period following termination of its prior election. The corporation had transferred shares to an…
PLR 1351017: S corporation status preserved after a possible second class of stock
An LLC that had elected S corporation treatment discovered that its operating agreement and slightly disproportionate capital accounts might have created more than one class of stock. The IRS…
PLR 1351014: S corporation election restored after an ineligible shareholder's ownership
A corporation's S corporation election terminated when an ineligible shareholder became the owner of its stock. The corporation removed that shareholder through corrective action and represented…
PLR 1351013: S corporation status restored after passive investment income termination
An S corporation had accumulated earnings and profits and passive investment income above the statutory threshold for three consecutive years. Its S corporation election therefore terminated, but…
PLR 1351008: late S corporation election may be treated as timely
The taxpayer intended to elect S corporation status but did not file the election on time. It asked the IRS for relief under IRC § 1362(b)(5). The IRS found reasonable cause for the late filing and…
PLR 1351003: inadvertent S corporation and QSub terminations are waived
An S corporation issued stock to an ineligible shareholder, which terminated its S corporation election and the related qualified subchapter S subsidiary election. The taxpayer returned the stock,…
PLR 1350005: IRS restores S corporation status after an inadvertent termination
The IRS considered an S corporation whose passive investment income exceeded 25 percent of gross receipts for three consecutive years while it had accumulated earnings and profits. Those conditions…
PLR 1350004: IRS restores S corporation status after a trust holds stock beyond its eligibility period
The IRS considered an S corporation whose shareholder's grantor trust continued to hold the corporation's stock after the two-year period allowed following the shareholder's death. That caused the S…
PLR 1349007: IRS grants relief for a late S corporation election
The IRS granted a corporation relief for failing to timely elect S corporation status. The corporation established reasonable cause for the late election and may be treated as an S corporation from…
PLR 1348009: IRS restores S corporation treatment after an inadvertent shareholder transfer
An S corporation unintentionally transferred its shares to an ineligible shareholder when purchase funds were sent to the wrong party. The parties later transferred the shares to the intended…
PLR 1348007: IRS permits gain from an eminent-domain payment to be reported outside the installment method
A corporation received an initial payment when a state seized its property under eminent domain law and deferred gain recognition under IRC § 1033 while it pursued a claim for additional…
PLR 1348001: IRS preserves S corporation and QSub status after an inadvertent invalid election
A corporation elected S corporation status even though some of its shares were held by individual retirement accounts, which are ineligible S corporation shareholders under the Code. The corporation…
IRS allows an S corporation to continue after an inadvertent termination
The IRS ruled that an S corporation's election was inadvertently terminated when a trust that received its shares failed to make a timely qualified Subchapter S trust election. The corporation and…
PLR 1347003: IRS treats an inadvertent S corporation termination as continuing
An S corporation's election terminated after two trusts received its shares and failed to make the elections required for their intended shareholder status. One trust needed an electing small…
PLR 1346004: IRS grants late S-corporation election relief
The IRS granted relief to a corporation whose Form 2553, used to elect S-corporation status, was filed late. The corporation showed reasonable cause for missing the deadline and intended to be an S…
PLR 1346001: IRS restores S corporation status after late ESBT election
The IRS ruled that a corporation's S corporation election terminated when its shares were transferred to a trust whose trustee had not timely made an Electing Small Business Trust election. The…
PLR 1345024: IRS grants relief for an inadvertent S corporation termination
A corporation asked the IRS for relief after its S corporation election terminated when a grantor trust continued holding stock beyond the two-year post-death period for an eligible shareholder. The…
PLR 1345021: REIT subsidiary avoids an intervening C corporation period after acquisition
A real estate investment trust asked whether its acquisition of all shares of an S corporation would create an intervening period in which the acquired company was treated as a C corporation. The…
PLR 1345018: Inadvertent S corporation termination is cured after an ineligible trust transfer
A corporation elected S corporation status, but the election terminated when an ineligible trust received shares. The shares were later transferred to the trust's current income beneficiary, an…
PLR 1343018: late S corporation election may be treated as timely
The IRS considered a corporation that intended to elect S corporation status but filed Form 2553 late. It ruled that the corporation established reasonable cause for the delay and qualified for…
PLR 1343016: inadvertent S corporation termination treated as continuing
The IRS considered an S corporation whose election terminated after a trust holding its stock failed to make an electing small business trust election. Based on the submitted facts, it found that…
PLR 1343010: late S corporation election may be treated as timely
The IRS considered a corporation that intended to be an S corporation, filed Form 1120S, but did not timely file Form 2553. It found that the corporation established reasonable cause for the late…
PLR 1341027: IRS grants relief for an inadvertent S corporation termination
The IRS granted relief after an S corporation election terminated because a beneficiary did not timely make a qualified subchapter S trust election. The corporation represented that the trust…
PLR 1341019: IRS restores S corporation status after late trust elections
The IRS concluded that an S corporation's termination was inadvertent after an ESBT election and two QSST elections were not timely filed. The corporation and its shareholders had reported…
PLR 1341016: IRS grants relief for a late S corporation election
The IRS granted a corporation relief for failing to file Form 2553 on time to elect S corporation status. The corporation was incorporated under state law, and its sole shareholder intended the S…
PLR 1341014: IRS restores S corporation status after an inadvertent termination
The IRS ruled that a corporation's disproportionate and corrective distributions did not create a second class of stock because its governing documents gave all shares identical distribution and…
PLR 1341010: IRS grants relief for a late S corporation election
The IRS granted a corporation relief after it failed to file its S corporation election on time. The corporation intended to be treated as an S corporation beginning on a specified date and…
PLR 1341009: IRS restores S corporation status after a late QSST election
The IRS ruled that a corporation's S corporation election terminated when a trust holding its stock did not timely elect qualified subchapter S trust status. The trust had been an eligible…
PLR 1341006: IRS reinstates an S corporation election after missing ESBT elections
The IRS ruled that a corporation's S corporation election was ineffective because two trusts that owned its shares had not filed the required electing small business trust (ESBT) elections. The IRS…
PLR 1341003: IRS restores S corporation status after missed trust elections
The IRS ruled that a corporation's S corporation election terminated after a trust shareholder missed a QSST election and another trust shareholder missed an ESBT election. The IRS determined that…
PLR 1340002: IRS grants late S corporation election relief
The IRS agreed to treat a corporation as an S corporation beginning on the requested effective date even though it had no record of receiving Form 2553. The corporation's sole shareholder intended…
PLR 1340001: IRS restores S corporation status after an inadvertent shareholder transfer
The IRS determined that an S corporation's election terminated when its shares were transferred to an ineligible trust shareholder. The trust transferred the shares to an individual after the…
PLR 1338039: IRS grants late QSub election relief
An S corporation wholly owned a subsidiary and intended to elect to treat that subsidiary as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary, or QSub. It failed to timely file Form 8869 because of inadvertence.…
PLR 1338024: IRS preserves S corporation status after an inadvertent invalid election
A corporation elected S corporation status even though an interest was owned by an ineligible shareholder. The corporation represented that the invalid election was inadvertent, that it had not…
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.