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 analyzes per diem meal allowances for transportation employees
Chief Counsel advised that meal and incidental-expense allowances paid to air-transportation employees who report for training or return to their duty station the same day are not per diem…
Manufacturing blister packs is MPGE beyond repackaging
Chief Counsel advised that a pharmaceutical provider's manufacture of blister packs is a manufacturing activity beyond merely repackaging pills. The provider bought pills in bulk, placed them into…
PLR 1246012: IRS approves refined-coal credit treatment and emissions testing methods
The IRS ruled that a taxpayer's facility produces qualifying refined coal for purposes of the section 45 credit, provided the coal comes from the same source or rank as the tested feedstock and…
PLR 1246007: IRS finds assessment bonds do not fail the private loan financing test
The IRS ruled that proposed assessment bonds used to help finance a new convention hall would not be treated as loans to a private company under the private loan financing test. The company would…
PLR 1246005: IRS allows alimony deduction but denies deduction for attorney fees
The IRS ruled that court-ordered rehabilitative alimony payments to a former spouse qualified as alimony and were deductible by the payor under sections 71 and 215. The ruling found that a…
PLR 1245017: IRS revokes a ruling on a public-sector retiree health trust
The IRS revoked an earlier private letter ruling that treated a trust funding retiree health benefits for a public-sector authority as having income excludible under IRC § 115. The IRS concluded…
PLR 1245010: IRS excludes mandatory retiree health contributions from employees' wages
The IRS ruled that mandatory employee contributions to a city's retiree health trust and retiree medical benefits account are treated as employer contributions and excluded from employees' gross…
PLR 1245007: IRS approves the division of an irrevocable trust into three separate trusts
The IRS approved a proposed pro rata division of an irrevocable trust created before September 25, 1985, into three separate trusts for three grandchildren and their descendants. The ruling…
TAM 1244015: Smart electric meters are six-year information-system assets
The taxpayer, a regulated electric utility, asked how to classify advanced smart meters and related data equipment for depreciation. Chief Counsel concluded that the meters and associated equipment…
PLR 1244010: Retiree-benefit trust income is excluded under section 115(1)
A political subdivision established a trust to provide health care and life insurance benefits to eligible former district employees and their dependents. The trust would be funded by the political…
CCA 1243014: Chief Counsel advises on consolidated net operating loss carrybacks
Chief Counsel reviewed advice about an unclaimed consolidated net operating loss carryback and agreed that the identified consolidated net operating loss should not be included in calculating…
PLR 1243011: IRS denies late election for a low-income housing credit project
The IRS denied a taxpayer's request for more time to elect the month used to determine the applicable percentage for a low-income housing credit project financed with tax-exempt bonds. The taxpayer…
PLR 1243004: Estate gets relief for QTIP and GST elections and trust divisions
The IRS granted an estate 120 more days to make a QTIP election, divide a trust into exempt and non-exempt trusts, make a reverse QTIP election, and allocate the decedent's available GST exemption.…
PLR 1243003: Integrated hotel and apartment units may be one building for depreciation
The IRS ruled that a mixed-use development containing hotel rooms and residential apartments could treat its hotel and apartment condominium units as a single building when determining whether the…
PLR 1243001: IRS declines to recognize a retroactive trust reformation
The IRS declined to recognize a state court's retroactive reformation of a trust for federal gift, estate, and generation-skipping transfer tax purposes. The reformation was intended to replace an…
PLR 1242012: IRS approves refined coal testing and feedstock rules for a production tax credit
The IRS approved four requested rulings for a refined-coal facility that uses a chemical process to reduce emissions from coal burned to produce electricity and steam. The ruling concludes that the…
IRS denies unusual-grant treatment for a recurring donor's facility grant
The IRS considered a nonprofit animal clinic's request to treat a proposed grant from a longtime major donor as an unusual grant. The donor had founded the organization, contributed substantial…
CCA says the extraterritorial income exclusion is zero for these subpart F inclusions
Chief Counsel Advice addressed whether the extraterritorial income exclusion under section 114 reduces a U.S. shareholder's subpart F income inclusions from controlled foreign corporations. The…
PLR 1240015: IRS allows a restitution-related loss deduction under section 165(c)(2)
A physician asked whether payments made under an insurance-fraud settlement could be deducted as trade-or-business losses under section 165(c)(1). The IRS concluded that the payments were…
PLR 1240011: IRS grants more time to elect current deduction of drilling costs
Married taxpayers who invested in an oil and gas joint venture missed the deadline to elect current deductions for intangible drilling and development costs. Their first tax preparer did not know…
PLR 1240007: IRS allows deductions for certain restitution payments
A physician asked whether payments under an insurance-fraud settlement and a criminal restitution order could be deducted as losses. The IRS concluded that payments to the insurance company were…
IRS denies unusual-grant treatment for a recurring donor's facility grant
The IRS considered a nonprofit animal clinic's request to treat a proposed grant from a longtime major donor as an unusual grant. The donor had founded the organization, contributed substantial…
CCA 1239008: CCA distinguishes contiguous-property and enhancement rules
Chief Counsel advice addressed whether the enhancement rule should also apply when property is being valued under the contiguous-property rule for a conservation contribution. The advice stated that…
PLR 1238013: IRS approves refined-coal testing for an emissions tax credit
The IRS ruled that coal treated with the taxpayer's chemical process could qualify as refined coal for the IRC § 45 credit, provided the resulting fuel met the required emissions-reduction test and…
PLR 1238004: IRS approves a two-trust division and related tax treatment
The IRS approved a proposed division of an irrevocable trust into two separate trusts, one for each of the settlor's children and that child's descendants. The ruling concluded that the division…
PLR 1237013: IRS approves correction of an over-allocation of housing credits
The IRS approved a state housing credit agency’s correction of an administrative error that caused an over-allocation of low-income housing tax credit amounts. The agency had double-counted certain…
PLR 1237008: IRS approves refined-coal testing and qualification methods
The IRS approved several aspects of a refined-coal facility’s testing and qualification approach for the section 45 refined coal credit. The ruling accepted the use of a proprietary additive process…
PLR 1237007: IRS approves refined-coal testing and qualification methods
The IRS approved a refined-coal facility’s proposed process, coal sourcing, and testing methods for purposes of the section 45 refined coal credit. The ruling treated the additive process as capable…
PLR 1237005: IRS excludes a municipal retiree-health trust’s income
The IRS ruled that income from a trust established by a city to fund health benefits for eligible retirees and their dependents was excludable from gross income under section 115(1). The trust was…
PLR 1236017: Late Section 198 election treated as perfected
A corporate taxpayer deducted qualified environmental remediation expenditures but its tax preparer omitted the words “Section 198 Election” from the required schedules for two tax years. The…
PLR 1236013: IRS grants extra time to elect research-cost amortization
The IRS granted a taxpayer 60 days to make a late election to amortize certain research and experimental expenditures over ten years. The election applied to expenditures from three redacted taxable…
PLR 1236008: IRS approves refined coal credit testing methods
The IRS ruled on four questions involving a refined coal facility that used chemical additives to reduce nitrogen oxide and mercury emissions. It concluded that the treated coal could qualify as…
PLR 1236007: IRS approves refined coal credit testing methods
The IRS ruled on four questions involving a refined coal facility that used chemical additives to reduce nitrogen oxide and mercury emissions. It concluded that the treated coal could qualify as…
IDC preference exception unavailable with negative AMTI
Chief Counsel advice addresses the alternative minimum tax treatment of intangible drilling cost preferences for a non-integrated oil company with negative alternative minimum taxable income. The…
Refined coal qualifies for the credit subject to testing conditions
A taxpayer planned to produce refined coal by mixing coal with chemical additives designed to reduce nitrogen oxide and mercury emissions. The IRS ruled that the product could qualify as refined…
Separate-account ownership differs by contract type
A life insurance company planned to restructure how it held real estate investments backing pension and non-pension annuity contracts. The IRS concluded that the insurer would remain the federal tax…
CCA 1234027: Nonrefundable milestone payments do not qualify for the success-fee safe harbor
Chief Counsel Advice concluded that nonrefundable milestone payments credited against a success-based fee are not themselves success-based fees. The advice described a transaction in which two $1…
CCA 1234026: A go-shop provision does not change the bright-line date
Chief Counsel Advice concluded that a go-shop provision in a fully executed merger agreement did not change the bright-line date for allocating transaction costs. The agreement was executed and…
CCA 1234024: Vineyard development costs may qualify for section 179 expensing
Chief Counsel Advice concluded that a vineyard planted in 2005 and placed in service in 2009 could qualify as section 179 property. The advice treated the vineyard as tangible property to which…
IRS grants extra time for a rehabilitation credit pass-through election
The IRS granted a taxpayer 120 days to make a late election that would pass rehabilitation credits from a property owner to its tenant. The taxpayer had relied on an attorney and a certified public…
PLR 1233006: IRS grants more time for an extended net operating loss carryback election
The IRS granted a consolidated corporate group an extension of time to make an election for an extended carryback period for a consolidated net operating loss. The group intended to make the…
PLR 1232024: IRS rules that a contingent lawsuit assignment will not shift taxable income
The taxpayer held an interest in a trust lawsuit that was still subject to pending appeals. The taxpayer proposed assigning that interest and related recovery rights to a college before the lawsuit…
PLR 1232018: IRS allows deductions for certain real estate taxes on a cooperative building
A corporation held a long-term ground lease for property containing a newly constructed cooperative apartment building. The lease required the corporation to pay real estate taxes, and an appraisal…
IRS grants extra time to elect the 40-60 test for a residential rental bond project
The IRS granted a public issuer 45 additional days to amend Form 8038 and elect the 40-60 test for tax-exempt private activity bonds financing a residential rental project. The issuer had mistakenly…
PLR 1230021: IRS allows corrective treatment of advanced coal project credits without disallowance
A regulated electric utility received qualifying advanced coal project credits under IRC § 48A, but later had part of the credits reallocated to another facility owner. The utility also amortized…
PLR 1230019: Association serving municipal supervisors qualifies for section 115 income exclusion
The IRS ruled that an association serving municipal supervisors could exclude its income from gross income under IRC § 115(1). The association conducted educational conferences, provided technical…
PLR 1230017: IRS approves exclusion for a public retiree health-benefit trust
The IRS ruled that a trust established by a town to provide health and welfare benefits to former town employees and their dependents could exclude its income from gross income under IRC § 115(1).…
PLR 1230011: IRS permits revocation of an election not to claim bonus depreciation
The IRS permitted a partnership to revoke its elections not to deduct 50-percent and 100-percent additional first-year depreciation for qualified property placed in service in two taxable years. The…
IRS advice confirms Medicare premium deductions under IRC § 162(l)
The Office of Chief Counsel concluded that all Medicare parts constitute medical care insurance for purposes of the self-employed health insurance deduction under IRC § 162(l). The memorandum…
IRS advice treats an airplane lease as a change in use for depreciation
The Office of Chief Counsel concluded that an airplane’s primary use changed when it was leased to a certified air carrier for charter operations. The taxpayers had previously depreciated the…
IRS advice defers cooperative patronage-dividend deductions under IRC § 267
The Office of Chief Counsel concluded that IRC § 267(a)(2) applies to patronage dividends paid by a cooperative to related domestic patrons, so the cooperative may not deduct the amounts until they…
PLR 1228029: Utility management agreement does not create private business use
A governmental electric utility asked whether a proposed agreement to operate and maintain its bond-financed transmission and distribution system would create private business use of the bond…
PLR 1228026: Donations to federal commemorative organization are deductible
A congressionally created organization asked whether contributions made to it would be tax deductible. The organization was part of a federal agency, staffed by federal employees, subject to…
PLR 1228019: IRS grants more time for a historic rehabilitation credit election
A limited partnership that owned a historic structure had agreed to make an election treating its tenant as having purchased the property for purposes of the rehabilitation credit. The election was…
PLR 1228016: IRS treats three historic buildings as one project for rehabilitation credit purposes
Three partnerships planned to rehabilitate three historic buildings as part of an interconnected research and commercial development. The taxpayer asked whether the buildings' combined net rentable…
PLR 1228015: IRS treats three historic buildings as one project for rehabilitation credit purposes
Three partnerships planned to rehabilitate three historic buildings as part of an interconnected research and commercial development. The taxpayer asked whether the buildings' combined net rentable…
PLR 1228013: IRS allows net operating loss carryovers across residency changes
A resident alien planned to move abroad, become a nonresident alien, and later return to live in the United States while continuing a U.S. business through disregarded entities. The IRS ruled that…
PLR 1228011: IRS approves a qualified stock purchase and related corporate separation steps
A publicly traded corporate group planned to separate a business through a newly formed corporation, an exchange of target stock for Newco stock, public and private sales of Newco stock, and later…
CCA 1226025: Advice addresses online software and domestic production gross receipts
Chief Counsel advice addresses whether a taxpayer can treat receipts from online computer software as domestic production gross receipts under IRC § 199. It concludes that the taxpayer cannot…
CCA 1226021: Advice allows charitable deductions to reduce alternative tax NOL absorption
Chief Counsel advice addresses whether a corporate taxpayer's charitable contribution deduction can reduce the amount of alternative tax net operating loss absorbed in a carryover year. It concludes…
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.