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 approves a foundation's arts and humanities fellowship procedures
The private foundation requested advance approval for a fellowship program supporting artists, scholars, and curators working in the arts and humanities. The program will select recipients through…
IRS approves a foundation's scholarship procedures for students
The private foundation requested advance approval for a scholarship program for students attending private high schools and accredited colleges or universities. Awards will support tuition for…
IRS denies 501(c)(3) status to a neighborhood watchdog LLC
The IRS issued a final adverse determination denying tax-exempt status under IRC § 501(c)(3) to a limited liability company that advocated for neighborhood residents on zoning, development, and…
IRS denies 501(c)(4) status to a police-officers' association
The IRS issued a final adverse determination denying tax-exempt status under IRC § 501(c)(4) to a police-officers' association. The association's primary activities were collective bargaining,…
IRS denies 501(c)(3) status to a dog-training organization
The IRS issued a final adverse determination denying tax-exempt status under IRC § 501(c)(3) to a membership organization that conducted hunt tests and field trials for dogs. The organization taught…
IRS denies 501(c)(4) status to a sorority support association
The IRS issued a final adverse determination denying tax-exempt status under IRC § 501(c)(4) to an association formed by parents and guardians of sorority members. The association provided meals,…
IRS consents to a retroactive QEF election for two foreign corporations
A domestic limited partnership asked the IRS for consent to make a retroactive qualified electing fund (QEF) election for two foreign corporations that were passive foreign investment companies…
IRS grants a 75-day extension for a consolidated-return election
A parent company asked for more time to make an election to file a consolidated federal income tax return with its subsidiaries. The election under Treas. Reg. § 1.1502-75(a)(1) was not filed by the…
IRS grants late S corporation election relief
A corporation intended to elect S corporation status but inadvertently failed to timely file Form 2553. It asked the IRS to treat the election as timely under IRC § 1362(b)(5). The IRS found that…
IRS grants 45 days to file a duplicate Form 3115
A partnership's representative tried to fax the duplicate copy of Form 3115 after electronically filing the partnership's return with the original form attached. The fax failed, but the…
IRS approves a private matching service for partnership interests
A company operates an online platform where approved buyers and sellers can seek to transfer limited partnership interests. The IRS ruled that the platform is not an established securities market…
IRS grants late REIT and real property trade elections
A limited liability company intended to elect REIT status and to elect to treat its activities as an electing real property trade or business for the business-interest limitation rules. A courier…
IRS grants late REIT and real property trade elections
A limited liability company intended to elect REIT status and to elect to treat its activities as an electing real property trade or business for the business-interest limitation rules. A courier…
IRS grants late REIT and real property trade elections
A limited liability company intended to elect REIT status and to elect to treat its activities as an electing real property trade or business for the business-interest limitation rules. The company…
IRS grants late REIT and real property trade elections
A limited liability company intended to elect REIT status and to elect to treat its activities as an electing real property trade or business for the business-interest limitation rules. The company…
IRS grants late REIT and real property trade elections
A limited liability company intended to elect REIT status and to elect to treat its activities as an electing real property trade or business for the business-interest limitation rules. The company…
IRS grants 60 days to self-certify as a QOF
A limited liability company intended to operate as a qualified opportunity fund and to invest in qualified opportunity zone property. Its preparer mistakenly indicated that the company did not…
IRS grants 120 days to file a QDOT citizenship notice
A surviving spouse who was not a United States citizen when the decedent died later became a citizen. The estate had elected to treat a trust for the spouse as a qualified domestic trust, or QDOT,…
IRS grants 120 days to make a late section 754 election
A partnership whose two owners died in the same tax year inadvertently failed to make a section 754 election with its return. That election can allow adjustments to the basis of partnership property…
IRS grants 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate that was not otherwise required to file an estate tax return missed the deadline to make a portability election for the surviving spouse. A portability election allows the surviving spouse…
IRS grants 120 days to make a reverse QTIP election
An estate timely filed Form 706 and elected QTIP treatment for property passing to a surviving spouse, but the estate's attorney failed to make the related reverse QTIP election for an exempt…
IRS recognizes an unusual grant for a public charity
The IRS recognized a proposed foundation grant as an unusual grant for a public charity engaged in historic preservation and community activities. The grant was unusually large compared with the…
IRS approves scholarship procedures for individuals
The IRS approved a private foundation's procedures for awarding scholarships to qualifying individuals. The procedures require objective eligibility criteria, selection by a committee,…
IRS approves scholarship and educational grant procedures
The IRS approved a private foundation's procedures for awarding scholarships and educational grants or loans to individuals. The scholarship program uses objective criteria based on financial need,…
IRS approves STEM scholarships and educator grants
The IRS approved a private foundation's procedures for awarding STEM scholarships and educational grants to individuals. The scholarship program supports qualifying high school seniors and college…
IRS approves educational grants for authors
The IRS approved a private foundation's procedures for grants to authors conducting original research and producing written works on religious history, faith, spirituality, and significant religious…
IRS denies exemption for cemetery operations
The IRS finalized an adverse determination denying an organization's application for recognition as a tax-exempt organization under IRC § 501(c)(3). The organization performed burials, sold burial…
IRS denies exemption to a community association
The IRS finalized an adverse determination denying a community association's application for recognition as a tax-exempt organization under IRC § 501(c)(3). The association sought to preserve and…
IRS denies exemption to a public motorcycle racing club
The IRS finalized an adverse determination denying a motorcycle racing club's application for exemption under IRC § 501(c)(7). The club hosted motorcycle races open to the public, and its members…
Extension granted to make a consolidated return election
The IRS granted a parent company an extension of time to elect to file a consolidated federal income tax return with its affiliated group. The taxpayer's return preparers mistakenly treated the…
Estate receives more time to make portability election
The IRS granted an estate 120 days from the ruling date to make a portability election for the surviving spouse. The election would allow the spouse to use the deceased spouse's unused exclusion…
Partnership receives more time to make a section 754 election
The IRS granted a partnership an extension of time to make a § 754 election for a taxable year in which a partner died. The election permits adjustments to the basis of partnership property after…
Taxpayer receives more time to file accounting method forms
The IRS granted a taxpayer 45 calendar days to file the original copies of two Forms 3115 with an amended federal income tax return. The forms concerned changes to accounting methods under IRC §§…
Trust settlement preserves GST exemption and avoids gift tax
The IRS ruled that a court-approved settlement and division of a trust would not affect the trust's exemption from generation-skipping transfer tax. The trust was irrevocable before September 25,…
Estate receives more time to make a QTIP election
The IRS granted an estate 120 days to make a qualified terminable interest property (QTIP) election for property passing to a marital trust. The estate had timely filed Form 706, but the property…
S corporation election receives inadvertent termination relief
The IRS granted a corporation relief under IRC § 1362(f) after finding that its S corporation election was ineffective because an ineligible shareholder owned a second class of stock. The…
REIT receives more time to make a § 858(a) dividend election
The IRS granted a real estate investment trust an extension of time to elect under IRC § 858(a) to treat a dividend paid after the close of a taxable year as having been paid during that earlier…
S corporation election restored after missed ESBT elections
The IRS ruled that a corporation's S corporation election terminated when shares were transferred to trusts whose trustees had not made the required electing small business trust (ESBT) elections.…
University research activities are not an unrelated trade or business
The IRS ruled that a public university's development and supply of pharmaceutical ingredients under an agreement with a health care company did not constitute an unrelated trade or business. The…
Housing project receives more time to make its income set-aside election
The IRS granted a housing project an extension of time to make the average income minimum set-aside election under IRC § 42(g)(1)(C). The taxpayer intended to make that election and had…
Partnership receives more time to opt out of bonus depreciation
The IRS granted a partnership 60 more days to elect under IRC § 168(k)(7) not to claim additional first-year depreciation for qualified property placed in service during a taxable year. The…
Acquisition ownership analysis approved for § 382 purposes
The IRS approved a taxpayer's proposed method for analyzing overlapping public ownership after an acquisition for purposes of IRC § 382. The acquisition involved a loss corporation whose parent…
Homeowners association denied exemption under Section 501(c)(4)
The IRS issued a final adverse determination to a homeowners association that sought exemption under IRC Section 501(c)(4). The association owned and managed recreational vehicle park and…
Commercial owners association denied exemption under Section 501(c)(4)
The IRS issued a final adverse determination to a commercial owners association that sought exemption under IRC Section 501(c)(4). The association maintained common assets for an industrial…
Employee aid organization denied exemption under Section 501(c)(3)
The IRS issued a final adverse determination to an employee aid organization that sought exemption under IRC Section 501(c)(3). The organization provided flowers, fruit baskets, and occasional…
Housing organization denied exemption under Section 501(c)(3)
The IRS denied exemption under IRC Section 501(c)(3) to an organization planning moderate-income housing, down-payment assistance, homebuyer education, and a realtor search tool. The organization…
Political coalition denied exemption under Section 501(c)(3)
The IRS denied tax-exempt status under IRC Section 501(c)(3) to an organization formed to unite political parties and oppose an incumbent president in upcoming elections. The organization planned to…
Religious teaching center denied exemption under Section 501(c)(3)
The IRS denied exemption under IRC Section 501(c)(3) to an unincorporated religious teaching center. The center had not submitted an organizing document, and its proposed dissolution terms would…
Initial partnership return with all zeros likely invalid under the Beard test
The Office of Chief Counsel advised that an initial partnership return showing ownership information but containing all zeros would most likely be invalid under the Beard test. The advice focused on…
Mitigation may address a double allowance of research and work opportunity credits
The Office of Chief Counsel analyzed whether the mitigation provisions of IRC Sections 1311 through 1314 could address a taxpayer's potential double benefit from research and work opportunity…
IRS could reject an improper BBA push-out package and deny Section 9100 relief
The Office of Chief Counsel analyzed whether the IRS properly rejected a partnership's BBA push-out package and whether the taxpayer could obtain relief under Treasury Regulation Section 301.9100.…
Unexplained cash reduction should be included in aggregate foreign cash position
The Office of Chief Counsel analyzed the aggregate foreign cash position of a U.S. corporation with a specified foreign corporation subsidiary for purposes of the Section 965 transition tax. Chief…
S corporation election reinstated after missed ESBT elections
The IRS ruled that a corporation's S corporation election terminated when trustees failed to timely file elections for six trusts to be treated as Electing Small Business Trusts. The IRS found that…
Foreign entity granted more time to elect disregarded-entity status
The IRS granted a foreign eligible entity an additional 120 days to file Form 8832 and elect to be treated as a disregarded entity for federal tax purposes. The entity had failed to file the…
Estate granted more time to make a portability election
The IRS granted an estate 120 more days to make a portability election so the surviving spouse could potentially use the deceased spouse's unused estate tax exclusion amount. The estate represented…
Estate granted more time to make a portability election
The IRS granted an estate 120 more days to make a portability election so the surviving spouse could potentially use the deceased spouse's unused estate tax exclusion amount. The estate represented…
S corporation election treated as effective after an inadvertent filing defect
The IRS ruled that a limited liability company’s S corporation election was ineffective because its Form 2553 was incomplete. The company represented that the defect was inadvertent, was not…
LLC granted more time to elect corporate tax classification
The IRS granted a limited liability company 120 more days to file Form 8832 and elect to be classified as an association taxable as a corporation for federal tax purposes. The company intended the…
Housing project granted more time to make a low-income housing election
The IRS granted a housing project 120 days to file an amended Form 8609 making an intended average-income election under section 42(g)(1)(C). The taxpayer had contemporaneous documents showing that…
Taxpayer granted relief to change its taxable year
The IRS granted relief to a taxpayer that missed the deadline to file Form 1128 to change its taxable year after the death of its majority owner. The taxpayer’s advisor did not learn of the…
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.