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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Substitute pension mortality tables approved for up to 10 years
A single-employer defined benefit plan requested permission to use substitute male and female mortality tables for funding computations under IRC § 430. The proposed rates were based on the plan popul…
Late Roth IRA recharacterization relief granted after reporting errors
An employee made both pre-tax and after-tax contributions to an employer plan. Two recordkeepers overstated the after-tax amount on successive Forms 1099-R, causing part of the employee's pre-tax bala…
Self-directed real estate plan does not justify late IRA rollover
An IRA owner took two distributions and used them to buy real estate that he intended to place in a self-directed IRA. Although he hired several professionals, he personally orchestrated the transacti…
Fraud-hidden Roth IRA loss supports late recharacterization
An IRA owner converted a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA and then invested part of the Roth account through an adviser in commodity-pool investments. The investment manager allegedly issued false statem…
Custodian's LLC transfer instructions justify rollover waiver
An IRA owner wanted to invest retirement funds in an LLC and established a second IRA with the custodian. The custodian should have directed a trustee-to-trustee transfer to the second IRA before inve…
Family medical crises justify IRA rollover waiver
An IRA owner took a distribution to pay for his mother-in-law's medical treatment outside the United States. She died during the 60-day rollover period before he used the full distribution, and his ow…
Graduate loan scholarship procedures receive approval
A private foundation proposed making up to five interest-bearing educational loan scholarships each year to students pursuing graduate degrees in a foreign country. Applicants must show academic excel…
Down payment assistance program loses tax-exempt status
A tax-exempt organization operated a down payment assistance program funded by payments from home sellers, builders, and related businesses. The IRS found that the sellers' payments generally correspo…
Authorized corporate officer must sign power of attorney
Chief Counsel agreed that a power of attorney must be executed by someone with authority to legally bind the taxpayer. For a corporation, an authorized officer must sign and certify that authority, co…
Corporation receives relief for an inadvertent invalid S election
A corporation's S election was invalid because shares were transferred to an ineligible shareholder. After discovering the problem, the corporation and its shareholders transferred those shares to eli…
Insurance joint venture restructuring qualifies for tax-free transfers
An insurance joint venture proposed moving an insurance business, related liabilities, assets, contracts, and employees into a newly acquired insurance corporation in exchange for its stock. The contr…
Tax-exempt controlled entity receives late-election relief
A corporation controlled by a tax-exempt organization intended to elect out of treatment as a tax-exempt controlled entity under IRC § 168(h)(6)(F)(ii), but its return preparer did not attach the requ…
Corporation receives more time to elect IC-DISC status
A corporation was formed to operate as an interest charge domestic international sales corporation, or IC-DISC. Its owners signed Form 4876-A and believed their accounting firm would timely file it, b…
Refined coal facility and emissions testing qualify for production credit rules
A partnership operated a facility that mixed coal with chemical additives to reduce nitrogen oxide and mercury emissions. The IRS ruled that the resulting product could qualify as refined coal under I…
Foreign entity receives late corporate classification election relief
A foreign eligible entity intended to be treated as a corporation for federal tax purposes but did not timely file Form 8832. The IRS concluded that the entity met the standards for discretionary reli…
Stock redemption plan does not create a second class of stock
An S corporation had voting and nonvoting common shares with identical distribution and liquidation rights. It proposed a voluntary annual stock redemption plan designed to keep voting power and econo…
Partnership receives late section 754 election relief
A partnership interest transferred upon a partner's death, but the partnership's tax adviser did not tell it about the availability of an IRC § 754 election. After discovering the omission, the partne…
Partnership receives late section 754 election relief
A limited liability company taxed as a partnership had an interest transfer upon a partner's death, but its tax adviser did not tell it about the availability of an IRC § 754 election. After discoveri…
Retirement and welfare plans qualify as church plans
A tax-exempt nonprofit providing long-term care and residential services sponsored or participated in nine retirement and welfare benefit plans. Its board was controlled by members of a church, its as…
Retirement and welfare plans qualify as church plans
A tax-exempt nonprofit providing long-term care and residential services sponsored or participated in nine retirement and welfare benefit plans. Its board was controlled by members of a church, its as…
Day-care nonprofit's benefit plans qualify as church plans
A tax-exempt nonprofit providing day care for children, seniors, and others sponsored or participated in nine retirement and welfare benefit plans. Its board was controlled by members of a church, its…
Disability residence benefit plans qualify as church plans
A tax-exempt nonprofit providing residential living for children and adults with developmental disabilities sponsored or participated in nine retirement and welfare benefit plans. Most of its self-per…
Bank error supports waiver of IRA rollover deadline
An IRA owner asked a bank branch manager to move an IRA certificate of deposit into a new IRA with a higher interest rate. The manager instead deposited the distribution into the owner's personal savi…
Incorrect Roth information supports rollover deadline waiver
A retirement-plan participant received a distribution and timely rolled part of it into an IRA. A financial institution incorrectly reported another portion as nontaxable Roth contributions, so she pl…
Trustee error supports waiver for ESOP note rollover
An employee asked for a direct rollover of his entire ESOP account, which was to include cash and a promissory note. The plan trustee rolled over the cash but failed to deliver or roll over the note, …
Social entrepreneur fellowship procedures receive approval
A private foundation proposed a two-year fellowship program for social entrepreneurs working on health, poverty, and conservation problems in areas of extreme poverty. Fellows would receive annual sti…
Organization loses exemption after withholding examination records
A social welfare organization repeatedly failed to provide records requested during an IRS examination of its Forms 990. Over many months, representatives promised information, sought extensions, fail…
Legislative advocacy prevents educational organization exemption
An organization sought recognition as tax-exempt under IRC § 501(c)(3) for educating the public about using technology to make government more transparent and accountable. Its first goal was to have p…
Open-source software promotion fails the operational test
An organization sought recognition under IRC § 501(c)(3) for promoting the development and distribution of a free and open-source multimedia player. The IRS found that the organization had not shown h…
Open-source media tools fail the operational test
An organization sought recognition under IRC § 501(c)(3) for developing free and open-source photo, audio, and video tools. The IRS found a substantial nonexempt purpose because the tools could be use…
Medical fundraising for one child serves private interests
An organization sought retroactive reinstatement of its IRC § 501(c)(3) exemption after losing its prior exemption for failing to file Form 990 for three consecutive years. Although its articles refer…
Lessee includes the full rehabilitation credit in income
A taxpayer was treated as acquiring a qualified rehabilitated building after the lessor made the investment-credit pass-through election under IRC § 50(d)(5) and former § 48(d). Chief Counsel consider…
Partnership receives more time for low-income housing credit elections
A partnership placed several low-income housing buildings in service but inadvertently failed to make timely elections under IRC § 42(f)(1) to begin their credit periods in that year. The IRS found th…
Acquired subsidiaries may adopt tax book value for interest allocation
A domestic parent corporation had long used the tax book value method to value assets for allocating and apportioning interest expense. After it merged with another consolidated-group parent, the acqu…
REIT stock-and-cash dividend is a property distribution
A publicly traded REIT planned a special dividend in which shareholders could elect cash, common stock, or a combination of the two. Cash elections would be prorated if they exceeded the available cas…
Late QSST election does not end S corporation status
An S corporation's shares passed to a testamentary trust after a shareholder died. The trust remained an eligible shareholder for two years but continued holding the stock after that period without a …
Controlled corporation receives relief for missed depreciation election
A corporation majority-owned by a tax-exempt organization was a tax-exempt controlled entity under IRC § 168(h)(6)(F)(iii). It intended to elect under § 168(h)(6)(F)(ii) not to be treated as tax-exemp…
Corporation receives 60 days for missed depreciation election
A corporation was indirectly controlled by a tax-exempt organization and therefore was a tax-exempt controlled entity under IRC § 168(h)(6)(F)(iii). It intended to elect under § 168(h)(6)(F)(ii) not t…
Wholly owned corporation receives late depreciation election relief
A corporation wholly owned by an IRC § 501(c)(4) organization was a tax-exempt controlled entity under § 168(h)(6)(F)(iii). It intended to elect not to be treated as tax-exempt but failed to attach th…
Tax-exempt-owned corporation receives election relief
A corporation wholly owned by an IRC § 501(c)(4) organization was a tax-exempt controlled entity under § 168(h)(6)(F)(iii). It intended to elect under § 168(h)(6)(F)(ii) not to be treated as tax-exemp…
Controlled corporation may make a missed depreciation election
A corporation wholly owned by an IRC § 501(c)(4) organization was a tax-exempt controlled entity under § 168(h)(6)(F)(iii). It intended to elect under § 168(h)(6)(F)(ii) not to be treated as tax-exemp…
Corporation receives 60 days for a late basis-reduction election
A foreign subsidiary transferred stock in another subsidiary to the parent of a consolidated group in a transaction that might have been subject to IRC § 362(e)(2). The parties intended to make the jo…
Partnership receives 120 days for a late section 754 election
A partner died, but the partnership's tax advisers did not tell the partnership about the availability of an IRC § 754 election. The partnership therefore missed the deadline to elect basis adjustment…
Partnership LLC receives 120 days for a late section 754 election
A partner died, but the tax advisers for an LLC taxed as a partnership did not tell it about the availability of an IRC § 754 election. The LLC therefore failed to elect basis adjustments for transfer…
Partnership may make a late section 754 election
A partner died, but the partnership's tax advisers did not tell it that an IRC § 754 election was available. The partnership therefore missed the deadline to elect basis adjustments for transfers of p…
Partnership LLC may file a late section 754 election
A partner died, but the tax advisers for an LLC taxed as a partnership did not tell it that an IRC § 754 election was available. The LLC therefore failed to elect basis adjustments for transfers of pa…
Partnership LLC receives late section 754 election relief
A partner died, but the tax advisers for an LLC taxed as a partnership did not tell it about the availability of an IRC § 754 election. The LLC therefore failed to elect basis adjustments for transfer…
Partnership LLC receives a late section 754 election extension
A partner died, but the tax advisers for an LLC taxed as a partnership did not tell it that an IRC § 754 election was available. The LLC therefore failed to elect basis adjustments for transfers of pa…
Partnership LLC gets 120 days for a section 754 election
A partner died, but the tax advisers for an LLC taxed as a partnership did not tell it that an IRC § 754 election was available. The LLC therefore failed to elect basis adjustments for transfers of pa…
Partnership LLC may make a late section 754 election
A partner died, but the tax advisers for an LLC taxed as a partnership did not tell it that an IRC § 754 election was available. The LLC therefore failed to elect basis adjustments for transfers of pa…
Partnership LLC gets late section 754 election relief
A partner died, but the tax advisers for an LLC taxed as a partnership did not tell it that an IRC § 754 election was available. The LLC therefore failed to elect basis adjustments for transfers of pa…
Partnership LLC receives section 754 election relief
A partner died, but the tax advisers for an LLC taxed as a partnership did not tell it that an IRC § 754 election was available. The LLC therefore failed to elect basis adjustments for transfers of pa…
Partnership LLC receives a section 754 election extension
A partner died, but the tax advisers for an LLC taxed as a partnership did not tell it that an IRC § 754 election was available. The LLC therefore failed to elect basis adjustments for transfers of pa…
Late ESBT election does not terminate S corporation status
Shares of an S corporation passed to a trust after a shareholder died. The trust remained an eligible testamentary-trust shareholder for two years, then filed a qualified subchapter S trust election e…
Oil and gas company receives more time for amortization election
An oil and gas corporation intended to elect under IRC § 59(e) to amortize its intangible drilling and development costs ratably over 60 months. Because it did not timely file its return or an extensi…
Late tax-year change application is treated as timely
A taxpayer filed Form 1128 after the deadline to change its federal tax year from a January 31 year-end to a December 31 year-end. It sought discretionary relief soon after discovering that it did not…
Supplemental spin-off changes preserve prior rulings
A distributing corporation sought supplemental rulings after delaying a planned spin-off and acquiring additional shares of the controlled corporation. The revised steps could include cash contributio…
Asset transfers do not block REIT subsidiary merger treatment
A publicly traded REIT planned to simplify its structure by moving partnership interests into a new taxable REIT subsidiary, merging an existing taxable REIT subsidiary into the REIT, and then contrib…
Taxpayer may file a late success-based fee safe-harbor statement
A taxpayer incurred success-based fees when acquiring a corporation and reported them using the Rev. Proc. 2011-29 safe harbor. Its timely return deducted 70 percent and capitalized 30 percent, but th…
Investor receives more time for investment-income elections
An individual owned a partnership that held portfolio-company stock and incurred interest expense on acquisition debt. The accounting firm mistakenly classified that interest as trade or business expe…
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.