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 scholarship and educational grant procedures
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve procedures for scholarships under IRC § 4945(g)(1) and educational grants under § 4945(g)(3). Its programs support advanced study, medical training, and…
IRS approves scholarships for graduating seniors
A bank-administered private foundation trust asked the IRS to approve scholarships for graduating seniors at a designated school. A three-person committee selects recipients based on academic…
ACE bad debt deduction must reflect reduced loan basis
Chief Counsel considered how a corporate taxpayer should calculate a bad debt deduction for adjusted current earnings after an ownership change. The taxpayer had a net unrealized built-in loss, so…
Later foreign tax payments belong in pre-1987 annual layers
Chief Counsel addressed additional foreign taxes paid after 2008 that related to a foreign corporation's 1994 through 2008 taxable years. Because the corporation did not enter the relevant U.S.…
Late disregarded-entity election relief granted
A foreign single-owner entity intended to elect disregarded-entity status but did not file Form 8832 on time. It asked for an extension under the regulatory-election relief rules. Based on the…
Late QSub election relief granted
An S corporation intended to elect qualified subchapter S subsidiary status for a wholly owned subsidiary but did not file Form 8869 on time. The corporation represented that its returns for all…
S corporation receives late QSub election relief
An S corporation intended to treat a wholly owned subsidiary as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary from a specified date but missed the Form 8869 filing deadline. It represented that all relevant…
Late QSub filing receives 120-day extension
An S corporation failed to timely file Form 8869 for a wholly owned subsidiary it intended to treat as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary. It represented that its tax returns for the relevant years…
Missed QSub election deadline excused
An S corporation intended a wholly owned subsidiary to be a qualified subchapter S subsidiary but failed to timely submit Form 8869. The corporation represented that its returns consistently treated…
QSub election may be filed late
An S corporation intended to elect QSub treatment for its wholly owned subsidiary but did not file Form 8869 by the deadline. It represented that its returns consistently treated the subsidiary as a…
Foreign entity receives late classification election relief
A foreign entity wanted a federal tax classification different from its default classification but inadvertently missed the Form 8832 deadline. The IRS concluded that the entity met the standards…
Late Form 8832 relief granted from formation date
A foreign entity wanted to elect a federal tax classification other than its default but inadvertently failed to timely file Form 8832. The IRS concluded that the entity satisfied the standards for…
Formation-date classification election allowed late
A foreign entity intended to choose a tax classification other than its default classification but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS found that the entity met the good-faith…
Foreign entity may backdate late Form 8832 to formation
A foreign entity sought a tax classification different from its default but missed the deadline for Form 8832. The IRS concluded that it acted reasonably and in good faith and that granting relief…
Late entity classification election approved
A foreign entity inadvertently failed to timely file Form 8832 to choose a classification different from its default federal tax status. The IRS determined that the entity qualified for…
IRS permits late classification election from formation
A foreign entity intended to elect out of its default federal tax classification but inadvertently missed the Form 8832 filing deadline. The IRS concluded that the entity met the standards for late…
Late Form 8832 election may use formation date
A foreign entity wanted a classification other than its default federal tax classification but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS found that the entity satisfied the…
Solar systems qualify, but non-energy functions require allocation
A company designed solar electricity systems and also owned and operated some of them. The IRS ruled that the collection panels, storage batteries, wiring, conversion equipment, and control…
IRA transfer from estate trust to charity does not accelerate income
A decedent named a trust as the primary beneficiary of an IRA, and the trust's remaining property was distributable to a charity after two cash bequests. The estate and trust planned to assign and…
Foreign earned income exclusion reelection approved
A taxpayer elected the IRC § 911 foreign earned income exclusion while working in one country, then revoked it the following year. Within five years, the taxpayer moved to another country whose…
REIT special dividend is preferential and threatens qualification
A privately held REIT proposed two common-share classes whose mix would depend on the size of each investor's investment. Class B shares would receive a special dividend designed to offset a reduced…
Disproportionate distributions did not end S status
An S corporation made disproportionate distributions to shareholder grantor trusts over several years, then made a corrective distribution that restored cumulative proportionality. The corporation…
Corrected unequal distributions did not terminate S election
An S corporation made disproportionate distributions to two shareholder grantor trusts, then paid a corrective distribution that made cumulative distributions proportional to ownership. Its articles…
Estate receives late election out of automatic GST allocation
A donor created a trust for a child and hired an accounting firm to prepare the related gift tax return. The firm failed to attach the statement electing out of the automatic allocation of…
Late IC-DISC election allowed, but capitalization failed
A domestic corporation formed to operate as an IC-DISC missed the deadline to file Form 4876-A after the form was inadvertently placed in a company file. The IRS concluded that the corporation met…
Partnership receives late section 754 election relief
A partner died, but the partnership's tax advisors did not tell the partnership that it could make an IRC § 754 election. The partnership therefore missed the deadline for the election in the year…
Late partnership basis election granted after partner's death
A partnership missed an IRC § 754 election after a partner died because its tax advisors did not advise it that the election was available. The IRS concluded that the partnership satisfied the…
Consolidated group may waive CNOL carryback late
A consolidated group intended to make an irrevocable election to give up the entire carryback period for a consolidated net operating loss but failed to file a valid election with its return. The…
Late S corporation election relief granted
A corporation was eligible to elect S corporation status from its formation date but did not timely file Form 2553. It asked the IRS to treat the election as timely under the reasonable-cause rule…
Housing credit period may begin in intended later year
A low-income housing building owner intended to begin the ten-year credit period in the year after the building was placed in service. Its accounting firm mistakenly checked the Form 8609 box…
Missing QSST election treated as inadvertent S termination
A trust acquired shares of an S corporation and met the substantive qualified subchapter S trust requirements, but its income beneficiary failed to file the QSST election. The trust therefore was…
Late QSST election preserves continuous S status
A trust became an S corporation shareholder and met the substantive QSST requirements, but its income beneficiary did not timely file the QSST election. That omission made the trust an ineligible…
Inadvertent QSST failure does not interrupt S status
A trust acquired S corporation shares but its income beneficiary failed to file the required QSST election. Although the trust otherwise met the QSST requirements, the missed election made it an…
Missed QSST elections for two trusts receive relief
Two trusts acquired shares of an S corporation and otherwise met the qualified subchapter S trust requirements, but their income beneficiary failed to file QSST elections. The trusts therefore were…
Multiple missed QSST elections receive inadvertent termination relief
An S corporation's shares moved through a series of trusts after the deaths of two grantors. Several successor trusts and separate trust shares otherwise qualified as QSSTs, but their income…
Transitory merger removes minority owner without ending S status
The continuing owners of an S corporation planned to form a temporary corporation, contribute their shares to it, and merge it back into the original corporation while cashing out a minority…
Limited testamentary appointment power avoids estate inclusion
A trust beneficiary held a testamentary power to appoint the trust property among the settlor's descendants. The power could not be exercised during the beneficiary's life and did not permit…
Restricted testamentary power is not a general appointment power
A trust beneficiary could appoint the trust property by will only among the settlor's descendants. The beneficiary could not appoint the property to the beneficiary, the beneficiary's creditors, the…
Testamentary power limited to descendants avoids estate inclusion
A beneficiary could appoint trust property at death only among the settlor's descendants. The power did not allow appointment to the beneficiary, the beneficiary's creditors, the beneficiary's…
Descendant-only appointment power is not general
A grandchild held a testamentary power to appoint trust property only among the settlor's descendants. The terms excluded appointment to the grandchild, the grandchild's creditors, the grandchild's…
Limited will-based appointment power avoids gross estate
A grandchild's trust allowed appointment at death only to members of the settlor's family line. It did not permit appointment to the grandchild, the grandchild's creditors, the grandchild's estate,…
Home price protection payment needs no information return
A nonprofit administered a state-created program that paid homeowners when local distress reduced the sale price of registered homes. A payment under the program became part of the homeowners'…
Multiemployer plan receives five-year funding extension
A multiemployer plan requested a five-year extension for amortizing specified unfunded liabilities. Its actuary certified that the plan otherwise would face an accumulated funding deficiency, that…
Five-year amortization extension approved for pension plan
A multiemployer pension plan requested a five-year extension for amortizing eligible unfunded liabilities. Its actuary certified that the plan otherwise would face a funding deficiency, that the…
Hospital pension plan receives conditional funding waiver
A community hospital requested a waiver of its pension plan's unpaid minimum funding contribution because of temporary substantial business hardship. The hospital cited lower patient volume,…
IRA rollover waiver granted after adviser fraud
A taxpayer withdrew her entire IRA on the advice of a longtime tax preparer who falsely claimed professional credentials and recommended moving the money to a non-IRA account. The adviser then…
IRA rollover waiver granted for hospitalization
A terminally ill IRA owner withdrew funds because he and his spouse feared they might need them for medical expenses that insurance would not cover. The money was not used, but he was hospitalized…
IRA rollover waiver granted after stock certificate transfer failure
A taxpayer directed that all assets in one IRA be transferred to another IRA, but the receiving custodian rejected a stock certificate representing former employer shares. The financial institutions…
Publishing company receives conditional pension funding waiver
A publishing company requested a waiver of its pension plan's unpaid minimum funding contributions for the 2013 plan year because the recession had reduced advertising revenue. The company said it…
Rollover waiver granted after former spouse's death
A taxpayer received a retirement plan account under a qualified domestic relations order after her divorce. The plan automatically distributed the account after 180 days, but the check arrived…
Private foundation scholarship procedures approved
A private foundation proposed scholarships for graduating seniors from a specified high school, with awards paid directly to colleges or universities. A committee of local school officials would…
Revised college scholarship procedures approved
A private foundation sought approval for revised procedures governing renewable scholarships for undergraduate students at accredited two-year and four-year schools in a specified state. Applicants…
Nonprofit leader grant procedures approved
A private foundation proposed up to 30 grants for full-time leaders of nonprofits that had recently received foundation grants. The awards would support professional development, personal and…
Economics research grant procedures approved
A private foundation proposed two educational grant programs in economics and related fields. One would give modest, short-term grants to promising students and recent graduates for scholarly…
High school graduate scholarship procedures approved
A private foundation proposed a scholarship honoring an individual's legacy for an outstanding graduate of a specified high school. A committee of school officials and foundation representatives…
Computer science scholarship procedures approved
A private foundation proposed a nationwide, one-year scholarship for a high school senior intending to study computer science and enter professional web development. Applicants needed a minimum…
Charitable trust scholarship procedures approved
A non-exempt charitable trust that was also a private foundation proposed renewable scholarships for students from two local high schools. Applicants would be evaluated for academics, financial…
Exemption denied for organization benefiting founder's business
An organization sought recognition under IRC § 501(c)(3) to develop hydroponic technology intended to address hunger. Its founder held a pending patent and owned a related for-profit company that…
IRS revokes a prepaid vision plan's social-welfare exemption
A nonprofit subsidiary providing prepaid vision-care plans had long been recognized as exempt under IRC § 501(c)(4). The IRS concluded that its operations primarily benefited subscribers and…
Bulk charitable donations may face basis and valuation limits
Chief Counsel advised on a taxpayer claiming a charitable deduction for donating a large number of items. A donor's bulk acquisition and disposition can be substantially equivalent to dealer…
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.