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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Pension minimum funding waivers approved with conditions
An automotive-parts supplier sought waivers of its pension plan's minimum required contributions for two redacted plan years after industry decline, a reduced customer base, and necessary…
Hospitalization and agent resignation support rollover waiver
A taxpayer authorized an agent to consolidate her investment accounts, but the agent deposited an IRA distribution into a non-IRA account and then abruptly resigned without explaining the rollover…
IRS denies rollover waiver for business-day deadline mistake
A taxpayer withdrew funds from an IRA to pay off a home mortgage and intended to replace the funds within 60 business days. She made two deposits after the actual 60-calendar-day rollover period had…
Caregiving and hospitalization support rollover waiver
A taxpayer withdrew his entire IRA balance intending to find another IRA with a better return. During the rollover period, his wife developed serious health problems, he became her full-time…
IRS approves educational grant procedures for private foundation program
An entity affiliated with a private foundation sought advance approval for procedures used to fund educational programs at organizations employing nominated educators. Experienced nominators would…
IRS recognizes public charity as a section 4945(f) organization
A tax-exempt public charity asked the IRS to recognize it as an organization described in § 4945(f). The organization was already exempt under § 501(c)(3) and classified as a public charity under §§…
IRS approves need-based college scholarship procedures
A private foundation sought advance approval for scholarships benefiting graduates of public high schools in a specified city who would attend a designated university or its successor. A committee…
IRS approves need-based scholarships at five colleges
A private foundation sought advance approval for scholarships to financially needy students attending five named colleges and universities in one state. The schools would publicize the program, and…
IRS approves matching-grant set-aside for historic restoration
A private foundation asked to set aside funds for a matching grant to a public charity restoring a historically and culturally significant structure. The grant would cover about one-third of the…
IRS denies social-welfare exemption for targeted election activity
An organization applied for exemption under § 501(c)(4) and planned to coordinate affiliates around policy and election-related issues. Half of its activity would target voter registration in areas…
IRS revokes exemption of largely inactive credit-counseling charity
The IRS revoked the § 501(c)(3) exemption of an organization formed to provide financial education, credit counseling, debt management, and debt settlement services. The examination found very…
Taxpayer receives more time to undo Roth IRA conversion
A taxpayer converted part of a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA in 2010 after receiving advice and a projection while she was single. She married that year and filed jointly, which made the tax cost of…
Withholding error supports 60-day rollover waiver
A taxpayer directed a financial institution to roll her entire qualified-plan balance directly into an IRA. The institution transferred only 80 percent and mistakenly sent the remaining 20 percent…
IRS advises abating excess-business-holdings tax
A private foundation held too much stock in a for-profit corporation after its tax preparer miscalculated the holdings attributable to the foundation and misread the percentage allowed by § 4943.…
Estate transactions avoid private-foundation self-dealing
A private foundation and related family members sought rulings on estate-plan transactions involving family companies, investment partnerships, options, redemptions, and installment notes. The IRS…
IRS approves two county college scholarship programs
A private foundation sought approval for two scholarship programs administered with another foundation for residents of a specified county. One program served graduating high school seniors…
IRS approves international elite-school scholarship program
A private foundation proposed scholarships for financially needy students from the United States and another country who would attend accredited elite schools in the United States. Applicants had to…
Estate transactions avoid private-foundation self-dealing
A private foundation and related family members sought rulings on estate-plan transactions involving family companies, investment partnerships, options, redemptions, and installment notes. The IRS…
Estate transactions avoid private-foundation self-dealing
A private foundation and related family members sought rulings on estate-plan transactions involving family companies, investment partnerships, options, redemptions, and installment notes. The IRS…
Private foundation may transfer all assets and later terminate
A trust classified as a private foundation planned to transfer all of its assets to a new private foundation controlled by the same people. It would remain as a dormant shell until receiving more…
Estate transactions avoid private-foundation self-dealing
A private foundation and related family members sought rulings on estate-plan transactions involving family companies, investment partnerships, options, redemptions, and installment notes. The IRS…
Estate transactions avoid private-foundation self-dealing
A private foundation and related family members sought rulings on estate-plan transactions involving family companies, investment partnerships, options, redemptions, and installment notes. The IRS…
Estate transactions avoid private-foundation self-dealing
A private foundation and related family members sought rulings on estate-plan transactions involving family companies, investment partnerships, options, redemptions, and installment notes. The IRS…
IRS revokes social club for excessive investment income
A cultural membership organization had been recognized as a tax-exempt social club under § 501(c)(7). During an examination, the IRS found that investment income made up more than a redacted…
IRS revokes parachuting club for excessive nonmember revenue
A recreational parachuting club had been recognized as a tax-exempt social club under § 501(c)(7). It advertised to the public through a website and phone book, sold packages, classes, jumps, rides,…
Retained production royalty makes mineral transfer a lease
An international mining company transferred its interest in a mine for cash while retaining a one-time bonus royalty and a production royalty. The bonus royalty was triggered by adding reserves,…
Direct-reduced-iron income qualifies for publicly traded partnership
A publicly traded limited partnership planned to process or refine iron ore feedstocks into direct reduced iron and associated byproducts. Direct reduced iron turns finely processed iron ore into a…
Merger preserves grandfathered GST status of two trusts
Separate trusts created under a wife's and husband's wills had both become irrevocable before September 26, 1985, and no later additions had been made. Their dispositive terms, beneficiaries, and…
Parent gets 30 days to file subsidiaries' LIFO elections
A parent company transferred inventory to three newly formed subsidiaries in a represented § 351 restructuring. The subsidiaries consistently used the last-in, first-out inventory method, but the…
REIT stock-or-cash dividends receive distribution treatment
A publicly traded real estate investment trust planned dividends in which shareholders could elect to receive stock or cash. The REIT would make at least 20 percent of each distribution's value…
Foreign entity gets 120 days for late disregarded election
A foreign entity with one owner intended to elect disregarded-entity status but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. It represented that it was eligible to make the election, had acted…
IRS approves refined-coal testing and facility-relocation rules
A partnership operated a relocated facility that mixed chemical additives with low-sulfur coal to reduce nitrogen oxide and mercury emissions. The IRS ruled that the resulting product could qualify…
IRS approves refined-coal testing and facility-relocation rules
A partnership operated a relocated facility that mixed chemical additives with low-sulfur coal to reduce nitrogen oxide and mercury emissions. The IRS ruled that the resulting product could qualify…
IRS approves refined-coal testing and facility-relocation rules
A partnership operated a relocated facility that mixed chemical additives with low-sulfur coal to reduce nitrogen oxide and mercury emissions. The IRS ruled that the resulting product could qualify…
IRS approves refined-coal testing and facility-relocation rules
A partnership operated a relocated facility that mixed chemical additives with low-sulfur coal to reduce nitrogen oxide and mercury emissions. The IRS ruled that the resulting product could qualify…
IRS approves refined-coal testing and facility-relocation rules
A partnership operated a relocated facility that mixed chemical additives with low-sulfur coal to reduce nitrogen oxide and mercury emissions. The IRS ruled that the resulting product could qualify…
IRS approves refined-coal testing and facility-relocation rules
A partnership operated a relocated facility that mixed chemical additives with low-sulfur coal to reduce nitrogen oxide and mercury emissions. The IRS ruled that the resulting product could qualify…
IRS approves refined-coal testing and facility-relocation rules
A partnership operated a relocated facility that mixed chemical additives with low-sulfur coal to reduce nitrogen oxide and mercury emissions. The IRS ruled that the resulting product could qualify…
IRS approves refined-coal testing and facility-relocation rules
A partnership operated a relocated facility that mixed chemical additives with low-sulfur coal to reduce nitrogen oxide and mercury emissions. The IRS ruled that the resulting product could qualify…
Foreign entity receives late disregarded-election relief
A foreign entity wholly owned by an individual resident in a U.S. state failed to file Form 8832 on time to elect disregarded-entity status. The IRS found that the entity satisfied the standards for…
Partnership's temporary ownership was inadvertent S termination
An individual intended to buy all shares of an S corporation using financing supplied by a partnership. The partnership inadvertently became the shareholder for a period before transferring the…
Investor may make retroactive QEF election for PFIC stock
A limited partnership bought stock through a broker and reasonably believed the issuer was a domestic corporation because it traded on a U.S. exchange and had U.S. headquarters and assets. It…
Dentist gets 60 days to opt out of bonus depreciation
An individual operating a dentistry business through a disregarded entity claimed 100 percent first-year bonus depreciation on all qualified property placed in service during a tax year. The outside…
Partnership gets 120 days for late section 754 election
A limited liability company taxed as a partnership failed to make a timely § 754 election for the year one of its partners died. The election allows basis adjustments when partnership property is…
Consolidated group may late-elect to waive CNOL carryback
A consolidated group incurred a consolidated net operating loss but failed to timely elect to relinquish the entire carryback period. The parent represented that neither the group nor another…
Governmental excess-benefit plan qualifies under section 415(m)
A state retirement system proposed a mandatory excess-benefit arrangement for governmental defined-benefit plan participants whose pensions were limited by § 415. The arrangement would pay only the…
Care for ill spouse justifies late IRA rollover waiver
A taxpayer received an IRA distribution intending to roll it into a new IRA, but deposited the check in a bank account instead. During the 60-day rollover period, the taxpayer's spouse became…
Custodians' bad advice justifies late IRA rollover waiver
A taxpayer used an IRA to invest in a promissory note secured by real property after two financial institutions advised that the investment and payee arrangement were permitted. The IRA documents…
Misdeposit into non-IRA account receives rollover waiver
A retirement-plan participant instructed one financial institution to send a direct rollover to an IRA at another institution. The distributing institution issued a check labeled as a direct…
Medical impairment justifies partial IRA rollover waiver
A taxpayer's medical condition impaired his mental state and ability to manage financial affairs. He became convinced that his IRA adviser was stealing, closed the IRA, and moved the funds into a…
Medical condition justifies late rollover of two IRA distributions
A taxpayer withdrew funds from two IRAs after certificates of deposit matured and, following a bank representative's advice, placed the combined amount in a money market account. A medical condition…
Unintended duplicate IRA distribution receives rollover waiver
A taxpayer requested what he believed was his required minimum distribution from an IRA, unaware that the financial institution would also process an automatic in-kind distribution. His tax preparer…
Caregiver's mistaken IRA withdrawal receives rollover waiver
A permanently disabled taxpayer's sister and caregiver intended to cash a non-IRA certificate of deposit to cover medical bills. Overwhelmed by caregiving duties and her own medical problems, the…
Financial institution error justifies late IRA rollover
A taxpayer withdrew funds from an IRA intending to roll them into another qualified retirement account. Before the deadline, he instructed a financial institution to place the funds in an IRA…
Care for a seriously ill parent justifies late plan rollover
A retired employee received a partial lump-sum distribution from a qualified plan and timely rolled over one portion. She intended to roll over another portion, but her elderly mother's worsening…
Conservator's theft justifies late annuity rollover
A taxpayer with dementia held a section 403(b) annuity and could not manage his own affairs. A court-appointed conservator withdrew an amount from the annuity and moved the taxpayer's assets into…
Financial institution's deposit error justifies late rollover
A taxpayer directed a financial institution to place a plan distribution into a rollover IRA. The institution instead deposited the funds into a non-IRA certificate of deposit, and the taxpayer did…
Trust loses exemption after lending all assets to its creator
A supporting organization received contributed assets and, within about a year, lent its entire asset balance to its creator and trustee. The IRS found no evidence that the loan was secured, that…
High school graduate scholarship procedures receive approval
A private foundation proposed one-time scholarships for graduates of a specified high school who demonstrate financial need and plan to attend college or university. A committee associated with the…
Job training and college scholarship procedures receive approval
A private foundation proposed two programs for low-income residents of a specified metropolitan area. One would pay the full cost of approved job-training programs, with selection based on factors…
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.