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.
CCA 1129035: Section 6707A penalties use the reported tax decrease
Chief Counsel Advice addressed how to calculate section 6707A penalties for failing to disclose reportable transactions. For one scenario, it advised treating the tax decreases shown on multiple…
PLR 1129028: Petroleum blending and processing income qualifies under section 7704
A publicly traded partnership planned to acquire operations for blending, processing, packaging, and marketing specialty lubricant oils. The IRS ruled that income from processing refined petroleum…
PLR 1127007: IRS excludes job-training payments from employees' income
A company asked whether payments from a federal job-training grant, used for employee tuition, books, training expenses, career fairs, and job-search assistance, would be taxable to the employees.…
PLR 1127006: IRS approves alcohol fuel mixture credits for fuel produced abroad and used in the United States
An oil company asked whether ethanol used to produce E-10 fuel outside the United States could qualify for the alcohol fuel mixture credit when the fuel was ultimately used in the United States. The…
CCA 1127001: Chief Counsel classifies several school vehicle types as automobile buses
Chief Counsel advised the IRS Excise Tax division on whether five types of school-related vehicles were “automobile buses” for purposes of the gasoline tax payment rule in IRC § 6421(b)(1). It…
PLR 1126011: Settlement trust qualified for tax treatment and related deductions
A publicly traded corporation and related parties planned to resolve disputed tort and contract claims through a court-supervised trust. The IRS ruled that the trust would qualify as a qualified…
CCA 1125041: Last-chance summons letter should go to the taxpayer’s power of attorney
Chief Counsel advised that when a person subject to an IRS summons has a power of attorney, the Office of Chief Counsel’s last-chance letter should be sent to the power of attorney. The letter…
CCA 1125039: Indirect partner must document flow-through items for a TEFRA AAR
Chief Counsel advised that an indirect partner in a TEFRA partnership is treated as a partner in that partnership for purposes of filing an amended administrative adjustment request on Form 8082.…
CCA 1125038: Signed Form 870-LT binds the taxpayer on affected items
Chief Counsel advised that a taxpayer who signed Part II of Form 870-LT is bound by the determinations in that part concerning affected items. If the attached adjustment schedule reflects loss…
CCA 1125037: Database organization is not a representative of the news media for fee-waiver purposes
Chief Counsel advised that a fee-waiver request made under IRC § 6104 should be evaluated using FOIA practices and case law. On the facts presented, the organization was not a representative of the…
CCA 1125036: Refund request must ordinarily be made in writing
Chief Counsel advised that there normally must be a written request for a refund that can be treated as an informal claim. The advice identifies a request in a collection due process hearing…
CCA 1125035: CDP request may qualify as an informal refund claim
Chief Counsel considered whether a taxpayer’s request for a collection due process hearing could qualify as an informal claim for a refund. The advice says that it possibly could, depending on…
CCA 1125033: Time-barred delinquency penalty may offset an estate-tax overpayment
Chief Counsel agreed that an unassessed portion of a delinquency penalty may be considered before determining the amount of an estate-tax overpayment, even after the period for assessing the penalty…
CCA 1125032: Loans and discharge of indebtedness were partnership items
Chief Counsel Advice addressed a TEFRA question involving loans made to a partnership. The advice concluded that the loans were partnership items. It also treated the discharge of the loans, the…
CCA 1125031: An untimely AAR could not support a partnership loss carryforward
Chief Counsel Advice considered a corporate partner's loss carryforward that came from an untimely administrative adjustment request, rather than from an original Schedule K-1. The advice stated…
CCA 1125029: IRS practice was to omit TINs from summonses and other mailed documents
Chief Counsel Advice addressed whether employer or taxpayer identification numbers should be listed on summonses. The advice stated that there was no formal policy on the issue, but that IRS…
CCA 1125028: Recovery of erroneous partnership refunds after an FPAA period expired
Chief Counsel Advice addressed procedures for recovering erroneous refunds issued to partners when periods under IRC §§ 6229 or 6501 had expired. The advice stated that, if the IRS could still…
CCA 1125027: Full partner TINs were not required on TEFRA notices
Chief Counsel Advice considered whether full taxpayer identification numbers were required on notices of partnership administrative proceedings, final partnership administrative adjustments, and…
CCA 1125026: Reviewing returns and adjusting computations did not constitute an examination
Chief Counsel Advice considered whether a revenue agent's actions constituted an examination or only a survey of six tax years. The advice explained that an examination involves taxpayer contact or…
CCA 1125025: FPAAs generally went to notice partners, with an exception for identified non-notice partners
Chief Counsel Advice addressed which partners should receive a final partnership administrative adjustment. It stated that the IRS should issue FPAAs only to notice partners, except that it could…
CCA 1125024: A missed timely appeal opportunity normally counts as a prior opportunity
Chief Counsel Advice addressed whether a taxpayer had a prior opportunity to appeal a matter to the Office of Appeals. The advice stated that when the IRS gave the taxpayer that opportunity but the…
CCA 1125023: TEFRA proceedings permit certain disclosures of partner information
Chief Counsel Advice addressed whether the IRS could disclose partner information to other partners during a TEFRA partnership audit or related litigation. The advice concluded that IRC §…
CCA 1125022: IRS fax policy set signature requirements for tax documents
Chief Counsel Advice addressed whether the IRS could accept faxed signatures on agreements and consents, including TEFRA agreements that would generate refunds. It explained that the IRS policy…
CCA 1124022: When a payment review is not a second examination
Chief Counsel Advice addressed whether examining payments related to a taxpayer's return would be a prohibited second examination under IRC § 7605(b). The advice concluded that preparing a…
CCA 1124021: Timely protective refund claims may be processed
Chief Counsel Advice concluded that timely claims for refunds of certain 911 service fees qualified as protective claims and should be processed. The claims gave the IRS notice of the basis for the…
CCA 1124020: Late return does not defeat a timely refund claim
Chief Counsel Advice concluded that a refund claim filed within three years after a return was filed can be timely even when the return itself was filed late. The amount refundable is limited to tax…
CCA 1124019: Summonses for cable subscriber payment records
Chief Counsel Advice addressed whether an IRS summons for cable subscriber billing, payment, and account records sought personally identifiable information protected by the Cable Communications…
IRS declines a harassment-campaign exception for an exempt organization
The IRS determined that an exempt organization was not the subject of a harassment campaign under section 6104(d)(4). The organization sought relief from producing certain financial and tax…
CCA 1123034: Three-year assessment limit applies to the section 6695A appraiser penalty
This Chief Counsel Advice addresses the limitations period for the penalty imposed under IRC § 6695A on appraisers. It concludes that IRC § 6696(d) expressly requires the Service to assess that…
CCA 1123033: Partnership-level negligence determination can account for innocent managers' defenses
This Chief Counsel Advice addresses penalties asserted against a limited liability company treated as a partnership under the TEFRA rules. It states that the partnership appeared negligent, so the…
CCA 1123032: Surviving LLC should use Form 872 to extend the ASED
This Chief Counsel Advice addresses which form a surviving limited liability company should use to extend the assessment statute expiration date in a particular case. It agrees that the surviving…
TAM 1123029: Overpayment interest runs through the tentative refund date after a Service-initiated adjustment
This Technical Advice Memorandum addresses the ending date for interest on an overpayment created by a Service-initiated general adjustment after an NOL carryback and tentative refund were later…
CCA 1122021: Chief Counsel advice identifies the statutory tax matters partner
The Chief Counsel advice addresses who becomes the tax matters partner when an entity has no valid designation. It states that the member-manager with the largest profits interest becomes the tax…
CCA 1122020: County tax-lien foreclosure sale is not reportable under the cited provisions
Chief Counsel advice concludes that a county does not have to issue Forms 1099-S, 1099-A, or 1099-C to a former property owner after a tax-lien foreclosure sale. The advice states that IRC § 6050P…
CCA 1122019: IRS advises sending a statutory notice only to the last known address
Chief Counsel advice states that IRC § 6213 requires the IRS to send a statutory notice to the taxpayer's last known address. In the circumstances discussed, the accounting firm was not the…
CCA 1122017: Disaster-loss amendments do not shift the year for energy tax credits
Chief Counsel advice states that taxpayers amending a return only to report disaster losses should claim energy tax credits earned during the later return year. The advice adds that credits earned…
CCA 1121018: general partner with the largest profits interest becomes TMP by default
Chief Counsel addressed which person could serve as the tax matters partner for two partnerships. The advice stated that Partnership Y was the tax matters partner because, without a valid…
CCA 1121017: taxpayers may request recalculation under the net interest rate rule
Chief Counsel addressed the Service’s treatment of requests under IRC § 6621(d), which can produce a net interest rate of zero in certain overpayment and underpayment situations. The advice stated…
CCA 1121016: failure-to-file penalty is not determined at the partnership level
Chief Counsel addressed whether a partnership’s failure-to-file penalty was determined under the TEFRA partnership procedures. The advice stated that IRC § 6221 applies at the partnership level to…
CCA 1121015: additional statutory-notice days do not extend the agreed limitations period
Chief Counsel addressed how to calculate the statute of limitations when the parties had an agreement under Form 872 and a state notice was later rescinded. The advice stated that the additional…
TAM 1121013: fuel mixture is sold under a qualifying two-party exchange
The IRS concluded that a gasoline and alcohol mixture delivered over a terminal rack under a qualifying two-party exchange agreement is “sold” for purposes of the alcohol fuel mixture credit. The…
CCA 1120026: when large-corporate underpayment interest begins
Chief Counsel Advice addresses when the increased interest rate for a large corporate underpayment begins under IRC § 6621(c). It states that the applicable date is 30 days after the earlier of the…
CCA 1120025: limited partner may be designated as tax matters partner
Chief Counsel Advice addresses who may serve as a partnership's tax matters partner when no general partner has been designated. It states that the Service may designate a limited partner if…
CCA 1120024: no second audit is required before issuing an FPAA
Chief Counsel Advice states that the Service does not need to redo an audit before issuing a final partnership administrative adjustment. It notes that IRC § 7605(b) generally prohibits a second…
CCA 1120023: cash-bond deposit should be returned without interest
Chief Counsel Advice states that a remittance clearly designated as a cash-bond deposit should be returned when the Service has not applied it to an assessed tax liability and collection is not…
CCA 1120020: changing from a corporation to an LLC does not erase dyed-fuel penalties
Chief Counsel Advice concludes that a business cannot avoid the multiple-violation penalty rules for dyed fuel by converting from a corporation to an LLC and changing its name and employer…
CCA 1120002: section 6103 controls redisclosure of motor vehicle records obtained for tax administration
Chief Counsel Advice addressed whether IRS access to Indiana motor vehicle records would be subject to state-law redisclosure and breach-notification requirements. It advised that once a motor…
CCA 1120001: six-month summons waiting period suspends the assessment limitations period
Chief Counsel Advice addressed how to calculate the suspension period under IRC § 7609(e)(2) when a third-party summons remains unresolved. It advised that the six-month waiting period begins on the…
Revocation 1119039: employee stock ownership plan disqualified for multiple qualification failures
The IRS issued a final revocation letter stating that an employee stock ownership plan no longer qualified under IRC § 401(a), and that its trust was no longer exempt under § 501(a). The explanation…
Revocation 1119038: employee stock ownership plan disqualified for multiple qualification failures
The IRS issued a final revocation letter stating that an employee stock ownership plan no longer qualified under IRC § 401(a), and that its trust was no longer exempt under § 501(a). The explanation…
CCA 1119033: taxpayer must protect the claim period before it expires
Chief Counsel advised that a taxpayer does not receive an automatic grace period while Appeals is considering a claim near the end of the two-year period for filing suit. The taxpayer must protect…
CCA 1119030: TEFRA notice goes to every partner on Schedule K-1
Chief Counsel confirmed that IRC § 6223(a)(1) requires issuance of a Notice of Beginning of Administrative Proceeding for the TEFRA matter described in the request. Under § 6223(c)(1), the notice…
CCA 1119029: truck manufacturer may claim a heavy-truck-tax refund
Chief Counsel advised that a truck manufacturer did not make an ordinary overpayment when it sold a truck to a retailer. However, IRC § 6416(b)(2) treats the tax paid under § 4051 as an overpayment…
PLR 1119008: Trust income for public retiree health benefits is excluded under section 115
A state-created trust pooled and invested assets set aside by local public agencies for retiree health benefits. The trust was limited to governmental participants, and its assets could be used only…
CCA 1118021: An amended return filed during an extension period supersedes the original
Chief Counsel advised that when a taxpayer is on extension and timely files an amended return within the extension period, the later return supersedes the earlier return. The later filing becomes…
CCA 1118020: An amended return does not prevent the six-year assessment period for a substantial income omission
Chief Counsel considered a taxpayer who omitted more than 25 percent of gross income from a timely filed return and later filed an amended return reporting additional income. The advice concluded…
CCA 1118019: A taxpayer receives new collection due process rights for an unassessed liability
Chief Counsel advised that a taxpayer is entitled to new collection due process rights when an underlying assessment is invalid and a new assessment is later made. The memorandum distinguished…
CCA 1118018: Excessive assessed tax should be abated under IRC § 6404(a)
Chief Counsel addressed the treatment of tax that had already been assessed in an excessive amount. The advice states that the IRS should assess and collect only tax imposed by the Internal Revenue…
CCA 1118017: The IRS may administratively reduce an excessive tax assessment
Chief Counsel addressed whether a taxpayer could file a claim for abatement under IRC § 6404(b) when an assessment was excessive. The advice states that the taxpayer is not entitled to file that…
CCA 1117033: Mailing to a recipient's current residence was not a disclosure violation
Chief Counsel Advice addressed whether mail could continue to be sent to a person's home address when the mail was apparently forwarded to the person's current residence. The advice stated that…
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.