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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Estates receive time to allocate GST exemptions to trust
A married couple transferred community-property cash to an irrevocable trust for their son, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren. Their accountant did not advise them to file gift tax returns or…
Estates receive time to allocate GST exemptions to trust
A married couple transferred community-property cash to an irrevocable trust for their son, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren. Their accountant did not advise them to file gift tax returns or…
Preferred stock caused inadvertent S corporation termination
An S corporation that owned a qualified subchapter S subsidiary issued preferred stock with distribution and liquidation preferences, creating a prohibited second class of stock. It later amended…
Late election out of bonus depreciation receives relief
An S corporation group did not claim additional first-year depreciation on any class of qualified property placed in service during a tax year. Although the return reflected that treatment, the…
Convertible debenture receives inadvertent S election relief
An S corporation issued a convertible debenture that may have created a prohibited second class of stock and terminated its S election. The corporation later retired the debenture and ended the…
LLC receives late partnership classification election relief
A limited liability company had elected S corporation treatment when it was formed but later intended to change its federal classification to a partnership. It failed to file Form 8832 by the…
Late QSST and ESBT elections receive S corporation relief
After a shareholder died, S corporation shares passed from a revocable trust to two successor trusts. One trust qualified to be a QSST and the other to be an ESBT, but their beneficiary and trustee…
Late QSST and ESBT elections receive S corporation relief
After a shareholder died, S corporation shares passed from a revocable trust to two successor trusts. One trust qualified to be a QSST and the other to be an ESBT, but their beneficiary and trustee…
Late QSST and ESBT elections receive S corporation relief
After a shareholder died, S corporation shares passed from a revocable trust to two successor trusts. One trust qualified to be a QSST and the other to be an ESBT, but their beneficiary and trustee…
Late QSST and ESBT elections receive S corporation relief
After a shareholder died, S corporation shares passed from a revocable trust to two successor trusts. One trust qualified to be a QSST and the other to be an ESBT, but their beneficiary and trustee…
Late QSST and ESBT elections receive S corporation relief
After a shareholder died, S corporation shares passed from a revocable trust to two successor trusts. One trust qualified to be a QSST and the other to be an ESBT, but their beneficiary and trustee…
Trustee changes and unitrust conversion avoid gift tax
Before October 8, 1990, family members used their own funds to buy life and remainder interests in real property, and sale proceeds later entered an irrevocable trust preserving those interests. The…
Trustee changes and unitrust conversion avoid gift tax
Before October 8, 1990, family members used their own funds to buy life and remainder interests in real property, and sale proceeds later entered an irrevocable trust preserving those interests. The…
Trustee changes and unitrust conversion avoid gift tax
Before October 8, 1990, family members used their own funds to buy life and remainder interests in real property, and sale proceeds later entered an irrevocable trust preserving those interests. The…
Late disregarded-entity election receives 120-day extension
A foreign eligible entity with one owner intended to be treated as disregarded for federal tax purposes but did not timely file Form 8832. The IRS concluded that the entity satisfied the…
Administrative trustee changes preserve trust tax treatment
A settlor and the trustees of four irrevocable trusts created before September 25, 1985, proposed adding a distribution trustee and revising how trustees could be replaced. A beneficiary could…
Administrative trustee changes preserve trust tax treatment
A settlor and the trustees of four irrevocable trusts created before September 25, 1985, proposed adding a distribution trustee and revising how trustees could be replaced. A beneficiary could…
County deferred compensation plan qualifies under Section 457(b)
A county board maintained a deferred compensation plan for employees that allowed advance elective deferrals, statutory catch-up contributions, qualifying loans, required minimum distributions, and…
Corporation receives 60 days for late IC-DISC election
A domestic corporation was formed to operate as an interest charge domestic international sales corporation and relied on its accounting advisers to make the required first-year election. The Form…
Consolidated group gets 60 days for extended NOL carryback election
A consolidated corporate group failed to elect the temporary three-, four-, or five-year carryback period for a consolidated net operating loss after relying on a qualified tax professional. The IRS…
Multiemployer plan receives five-year funding amortization extension
A multiemployer pension plan requested the automatic extension permitted for amortizing specified unfunded liabilities. Its actuary certified that without relief the plan would face an accumulated…
Company receives conditional pension funding waiver for 2012
A company requested a waiver of its pension plan's minimum required contribution for the plan year ending December 31, 2012. It attributed the shortfall to a temporary substantial business hardship…
Care for elderly mother excuses missed IRA rollover deadline
A taxpayer withdrew funds from an IRA certificate of deposit intending to place them in a higher-paying IRA certificate, but deposited the distribution into a non-IRA account. During the 60-day…
Rural medical scholarship procedures receive approval
A private foundation proposed annual scholarships for students in accredited medical doctor or osteopathy programs who intended to practice in rural communities. A selection committee would evaluate…
Health-care internship grant procedures receive approval
A private foundation funded paid, academic-year internships placing local university students in health-care facilities serving Spanish-speaking and other underserved communities. Applicants were…
CLAT rulings partly approve estate deduction and foundation treatment
A charitable trust expected to receive a 20-year annuity from one of three charitable lead annuity trusts funded after the deaths of two founders, with a child holding the remainder interest. The…
Family CLAT rulings produce mixed foundation treatment
One of three family private foundations expected to receive a 20-year annuity from a charitable lead annuity trust whose remainder beneficiaries were a daughter and grandchild. The IRS conditionally…
Foundation Two CLAT rulings produce mixed treatment
One of three family private foundations expected to receive a 20-year annuity from CLAT Two, whose remainder beneficiaries were a daughter and Grandchild C. The IRS conditionally approved an…
Foundation One CLAT rulings produce mixed treatment
One of three family private foundations expected to receive a 20-year annuity from CLAT One, whose remainder beneficiary was a trust for a son and Grandchild A. The IRS conditionally approved an…
Exemption denied for nonprofit publisher benefiting insiders
An organization formed to teach about Islam and the Quran sought exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3), but its publishing activity focused on works by its founder and directors. Those authors retained…
Exemption denied for founder-controlled invention nonprofit
An organization controlled by its founder sought exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3) to raise funds for developing his patented inventions, software, and health ideas. Its plans included building…
Cooperative hospital service exemption denied
A nonprofit owned by three tax-exempt hospitals sought recognition under IRC § 501(c)(3) as a cooperative hospital service organization under § 501(e). It negotiated life, disability, and dental…
Exemption denied after incomplete activity disclosures
An organization proposed life-skills, counseling, trauma-recovery, domestic-violence, and referral programs delivered through volunteers and outside organizations. The IRS repeatedly requested…
Medical faculty support corporation denied exemption
A nonprofit corporation supported a medical school department by receiving hospital fees and making salary-equity payments to faculty physicians, providing paid administrative services to unrelated…
Forfeited casino winnings are not reported or included in income
A state casino asked how federal tax rules apply when a gambler enrolled in the state's voluntary exclusion program wins but is barred from receiving the money. The IRS advised that the casino does…
Former QSub cannot prorate post-termination items with its parent
An S corporation revoked its election during the year, causing its qualified subchapter S subsidiary (QSub) to become a separate C corporation. The IRS advised that the former QSub is treated as a…
Target joins consolidated group only after 80 percent purchase
A consolidated group parent agreed to acquire a target corporation through staged stock purchases, with unpurchased shares held in escrow for the sellers. Before the second purchase, the parent…
Insurer receives extension for late alternative-tax election
A foreign property-and-casualty insurer elected domestic treatment and sought to use the alternative tax under IRC § 831(b), which taxes qualifying small insurers only on investment income. Its…
Company receives extension for late REIT election
A real-estate company intended to qualify as a REIT from its first tax year, but its accounting firm filed an ordinary corporate return instead of Form 1120-REIT. The firm had also encountered a…
Partnership receives extension for section 754 election
A partner died, and portions of the deceased partner's partnership interest passed to two trusts. The partnership could have elected under IRC § 754 to adjust the basis of partnership property for…
Taxpayer receives extension for foreign-earned-income election
A U.S. taxpayer lived and worked in two foreign countries but did not timely elect the foreign earned income exclusion under IRC § 911 for one tax year. The taxpayer explained under penalty of…
Donor may elect out of automatic GST allocation late
A donor created two irrevocable trusts benefiting family members and later made additional transfers to them. The donor wanted to elect out of the automatic allocation of generation-skipping…
Subsidiary liquidations and REIT spin-off receive tax rulings
A publicly traded parent planned to separate asset businesses into a newly formed controlled company that would become an independent publicly traded REIT. The steps included deemed liquidations and…
Trustee changes preserve estate and GST tax treatment
A settlor created four irrevocable family trusts before September 25, 1985, and proposed adding a trustee responsible for distribution decisions while keeping investment authority with a separate…
REIT may exclude lender patronage dividends from income tests
A publicly traded timberland REIT financed property acquisitions through loans from a cooperative bank and planned to amend its credit agreement so it could receive patronage dividends. Those…
Corporation receives extension for IC-DISC election
A domestic corporation was formed to operate as an interest charge domestic international sales corporation (IC-DISC) for its parent. Its treasurer relied on an accounting firm and CPA to make the…
Miscommunication excused late IC-DISC election
An S corporation formed a domestic subsidiary solely to operate as an interest charge domestic international sales corporation (IC-DISC). The subsidiary's secretary believed the law firm had filed…
Worker may reelect foreign income exclusions early
A U.S. citizen living abroad had elected the foreign earned income and housing cost exclusions, then revoked those elections on an enrolled agent's advice while expecting to remain in the same…
REIT and subsidiary receive extension for TRS election
A REIT indirectly owned a subsidiary involved in a hotel leasing structure and intended to elect taxable REIT subsidiary (TRS) status effective when the hotel transaction closed. Transaction…
Beauty-pageant organization loses exemption
An organization conducted beauty pageants under license from a national § 501(c)(4) organization, raised money through pageant sales and other events, and gave education-related monetary awards to…
Financial-institution error excuses late IRA rollover
A taxpayer received a distribution from one IRA and intended to roll it into a self-directed IRA. Following a financial-institution representative's instructions, the taxpayer instead deposited the…
Medical impairment supports IRA rollover waiver
A taxpayer with a medical condition affecting neurological function received advice to change IRA beneficiaries and take a small charitable distribution. Confused by the condition, the taxpayer…
Multiemployer plan receives funding-amortization extension
A multiemployer plan requested the automatic extension available for amortizing specified unfunded liabilities. Its actuary certified that without relief the plan would have an accumulated funding…
Five-year funding-amortization extension approved
A multiemployer plan applied for the automatic extension of time to amortize specified unfunded liabilities. The plan's actuary certified that without the extension the plan would have an…
Business investment did not qualify for a late IRA rollover
A taxpayer withdrew funds from an IRA to buy an interest in a limited partnership after advisers said the interest could be titled directly in the IRA's name. The arrangement did not use a bank or…
Five-year funding-amortization extension approved
A multiemployer plan requested an automatic extension for amortizing specified unfunded liabilities. The plan's actuary certified that without the extension the plan would have an accumulated…
Failure to explain rollover deadline did not excuse late deposits
A taxpayer took distributions from a traditional IRA and a Roth IRA, then deposited the amounts into like accounts after the 60-day rollover period expired. She said the original custodian acted as…
Court-approved IRA settlement avoided gift, income, and excise taxes
After two IRA owners died, a beneficiary, an estate, and a charity litigated who owned the inherited accounts. A mediated court-approved settlement determined that the estate and charity had owned…
University retirement and welfare plans qualified as church plans
A religious order reorganized a university into a separate tax-exempt entity while retaining religious oversight through membership, board, mission, and operating arrangements. The order's…
Charity status revoked for nonexempt purpose and private benefit
The IRS issued a final adverse determination revoking an organization's § 501(c)(3) status effective July 1, 2001. It found that the organization did not operate exclusively for exempt purposes or…
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.