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 grants late relief for a foreign entity's disregarded-entity election
A single-owner business entity formed abroad wanted to be treated as a "disregarded entity" for U.S. tax, meaning its owner reports the entity's income directly as if the entity did not exist…
IRS grants extra time to file a missed IC-DISC election
A newly formed domestic corporation intended to operate as an interest charge domestic international sales corporation (IC-DISC), a structure that gives certain exporters a tax benefit. To get that…
Estate received 120 days to make the 65-day distribution election
An estate made a distribution during the first 65 days of a fiscal year and intended to treat it as paid on the last day of the preceding year under section 663(b). The estate inadvertently failed…
Parties received more time to complete a section 336(e) election
A purchaser acquired all stock of an S corporation, after which the target converted to a disregarded limited liability company. The parties intended to elect under section 336(e) to treat the…
S corporation parties received more time for a section 336(e) election
A purchaser acquired all stock of an S corporation in a transaction represented to be a qualified stock disposition. The target, purchaser, and shareholders intended to elect under section 336(e) to…
An S corporation target received more time for a section 336(e) election
An individual purchased all stock of a limited liability company that had elected S corporation status. The target, seller, and purchaser intended to elect under section 336(e) to treat the…
Six foreign entities received late disregarded-entity election relief
Six foreign eligible entities defaulted to association status when their classifications first became relevant for U.S. tax purposes. Each intended to be treated as a disregarded entity from a…
A foreign entity received a late partnership-classification election
A foreign eligible entity wanted partnership treatment from the date its classification first became relevant for U.S. tax purposes. It failed to timely file Form 8832 electing that classification.…
A foreign company received a late partnership election with return-filing conditions
A foreign eligible entity intended to be classified as a partnership but failed to timely file Form 8832. The IRS concluded that the entity satisfied the standards for late regulatory-election…
A successor LLC received more time for a section 336(e) election
A partnership purchaser acquired all stock of an S corporation through disregarded entities, after which the target merged into a successor disregarded LLC. The parties intended to elect under…
A corporation received 60 days to file a success-fee safe-harbor election
A corporation acquired a business in a merger intended to qualify as a tax-free reorganization and paid contingent fees that became due only when the transaction closed. It timely filed its return…
An S corporation received 120 days to make a late QSub election
An S corporation owned all stock of a domestic subsidiary and intended to treat it as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary from a specified date. Through inadvertence, the parent failed to file Form…
An S corporation received late QSub election relief
An S corporation owned all outstanding stock of a domestic subsidiary and intended to treat it as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary from a specified date. The parent inadvertently failed to file…
A REIT and hotel subsidiary received 90 days for a late TRS election
A company intended to elect REIT status and formed a wholly owned corporate subsidiary to lease a hotel and hire an eligible independent contractor to operate it. The parent and subsidiary intended…
A partnership received 45 days to file its missed QOF election and return
Two members formed a limited liability company to operate as a qualified opportunity fund and invested gains that the company placed into an opportunity-zone real estate business. Their longtime…
A partnership received 120 days to make a late section 754 election
After a member died, a partnership and its lower-tier partnerships intended to make section 754 elections so transferred interests would receive basis adjustments under section 743. The…
A parent partnership received late section 754 election relief
Following a member's death, a partnership and its lower-tier partnerships intended to make section 754 elections to obtain basis adjustments under section 743. The partnership's representative…
A partnership received late section 754 election relief
A partner died while owning an interest in a partnership, but the partnership did not file a section 754 election with its timely return because its tax adviser failed to explain the election and…
A partnership received more time to make a section 754 election
A partnership redeemed two partners during a taxable year but did not file a section 754 election because it mistakenly believed a valid election was already in effect. After discovering the error,…
An LLC received relief to become a disregarded entity
An LLC had elected S corporation status and was later treated as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary. Its corporate parent then transferred all of the LLC interests to an entity treated as a…
Foreign entity received 120 days to file a late disregarded-entity election
A foreign entity wanted to be treated as disregarded from its single owner for U.S. federal tax purposes beginning when its classification first became relevant, but it missed the deadline to file…
Housing partnership received extra time to defer its credit period
A partnership acquired and rehabilitated a building for low-income rental housing. It intended to begin the ten-year low-income housing credit period in the year after the building was placed in…
S corporation received 120 days to file a late QSub election
An S corporation acquired all the stock of a subsidiary and intended to treat it as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary (QSub) from the acquisition date. It did not timely file Form 8869 to make the…
Estate received 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate was not otherwise required to file Form 706 because the decedent's gross estate and adjusted taxable gifts were below the filing threshold. The estate nevertheless needed a timely return…
Parties received extra time to complete a section 336(e) election
A purchaser acquired all the stock of an S corporation from its shareholder, and the parties intended to elect under section 336(e) to treat the qualified stock disposition as an asset disposition.…
S corporation received 120 days to file a late QSub election
An S corporation intended to treat a wholly owned subsidiary as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary (QSub) but did not timely file Form 8869. It asked for an extension under Treasury Regulation §…
Foreign entity received 120 days to elect partnership status
A foreign eligible entity intended to be classified as a partnership for U.S. federal tax purposes but did not timely file Form 8832. It represented that it acted reasonably and in good faith and…
Real estate business received 60 days to make a late interest election
A real estate and investment advisory company intended to make the real property trade or business election that removes an electing business from the section 163(j) business-interest limitation.…
Partnership received 120 days to make a late section 754 election
A limited partnership missed a section 754 election for the year in which a partner died and the partner's interest was to pass to testamentary lifetime trusts. The partnership had relied on its…
LLC received 120 days to elect corporate tax status
A limited liability company reorganized in a second state and intended to be treated as an association taxable as a corporation from the reorganization date. It failed to file Form 8832 on time…
Foreign corporation received 30 days to file a late branch-tax election statement
A foreign corporation owned a disregarded U.S. limited liability company that conducted a U.S. trade or business. When the LLC elected corporate status, its assets were treated as contributed to a…
Corporation received 120-day relief for a late GILTI high-tax election
A domestic corporation sought to make the GILTI high-tax exclusion election for its wholly owned controlled foreign corporation on an amended return. The election regulations were not final when the…
Affiliated group received 75 days to make a late consolidated-return election
A corporate parent and its affiliated group failed to timely elect to file a consolidated federal income tax return for a redacted tax year. The parent sought discretionary relief before the IRS…
Consolidated group received 75 days to waive an NOL carryback period
A consolidated corporate group incurred a consolidated net operating loss and intended to give up the entire carryback period for that loss. The group filed its return consistently with that…
Foreign entity received 120 days for a late corporate classification election
A foreign eligible entity was formed through an amalgamation and intended from formation to be treated as an association taxable as a corporation for U.S. federal tax purposes. It failed to file…
Parties received relief for a late section 336(e) election
A partnership, acting through a disregarded entity, acquired more than 80 percent of an S corporation target from its shareholders. The parties intended to elect under section 336(e) to treat the…
Estate received 120 days to make a late QTIP election
A decedent's trust divided at death into a family trust and a marital trust intended to qualify as qualified terminable interest property. The marital trust required all income to be paid to the…
Foreign entity received 120 days for a late disregarded-entity election
A foreign eligible entity intended to be disregarded as separate from its owner from its formation date but failed to timely file Form 8832. The IRS found the discretionary late-election standards…
LLC received 120 days for late corporate-classification and S elections
A domestic limited liability company intended to be taxed as an S corporation from its formation date but did not properly and timely file Form 2553. Because an LLC must first be treated as a…
Three foreign entities received 120 days for late disregarded-entity elections
Three foreign eligible entities intended to be disregarded as separate from their common owner from their respective formation dates but failed to timely file Forms 8832. The IRS found that all…
Spouse received 120 days to allocate GST exemption to an irrevocable trust
A married couple created separate irrevocable trusts and transferred assets to them, but their attorney did not adequately advise them to file gift tax returns or allocate generation-skipping…
S corporation sale received relief for a late section 336(e) election
A partnership, acting through a disregarded entity, acquired more than 80 percent of an S corporation target from its shareholders. The parties intended to elect under section 336(e) to treat the…
Parties received relief to complete a late section 336(e) election
A partnership, acting through a disregarded entity, acquired more than 80 percent of an S corporation target from its shareholders. The parties intended to elect under section 336(e) to treat the…
Estate received 120 days to make a late portability election
A decedent’s estate was not otherwise required to file an estate tax return but needed Form 706 to elect portability of the deceased spouse’s unused exclusion amount to the surviving spouse. The…
GRAT donor received 120 days to opt out of automatic GST allocation
A taxpayer transferred a company interest to a grantor retained annuity trust whose remainder would pass to a family trust after the retained annuity period ended. The taxpayer intended to preserve…
Parties receive more time to complete a section 336(e) election
A purchaser acquired all the stock of an S corporation, and the parties intended to elect under section 336(e) to treat the stock transaction as an asset disposition. They did not fully complete the…
Corporation receives more time for a GILTI high-tax election
A domestic corporation wanted to make the GILTI high-tax exclusion election for four controlled foreign corporations for an earlier tax year. The corporation intended to amend that year’s return…
Estate receives more time to allocate GST exemption to a trust
A decedent and spouse created separate irrevocable trusts and made gifts to them in the same year. Their attorney drafted the trusts but did not adequately advise them to file gift and…
Estate receives more time for QTIP and reverse QTIP elections
A decedent’s revocable trust divided at death into a bypass trust and a marital trust for the surviving spouse. The marital trust was to be divided into generation-skipping transfer tax exempt and…
Foreign entity receives more time for disregarded-entity election
A foreign eligible entity intended to elect classification as an entity disregarded from its owner for federal tax purposes but did not timely file Form 8832. The IRS found that the entity met the…
Late Section 336(e) election allowed for an S corporation stock sale
When buyers acquire all the stock of an S corporation, the parties can elect under Section 336(e) to treat the stock sale as if it were an asset sale, which can produce a better tax result (a…
Late portability election allowed so a surviving spouse can use the deceased spouse's unused estate-tax exclusion
When someone dies, any unused portion of their federal estate-tax exclusion can be passed to a surviving spouse (the "deceased spousal unused exclusion," or DSUE) through a "portability" election.…
Late check-the-box election allowed for a foreign entity to be disregarded
Under the "check-the-box" rules, an eligible business entity can choose how it is taxed by filing Form 8832. A single-owner entity can elect to be "disregarded," meaning it is ignored as separate…
Late check-the-box election allowed for a foreign entity to be disregarded
Under the "check-the-box" rules, an eligible business entity can choose how it is taxed by filing Form 8832. A single-owner entity can elect to be "disregarded," meaning it is ignored as separate…
IRS grants extra time to make a branch-profits-tax E&P election after a check-the-box conversion
A foreign parent corporation wholly owned a U.S. limited liability company that was a disregarded entity running a U.S. trade or business, so the parent paid the branch profits tax on the branch's…
IRS grants extra time to file a late Form 8996 self-certifying as a Qualified Opportunity Fund
A real estate LLC taxed as a partnership set itself up to invest in Qualified Opportunity Zone property and intended to be a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF). To become a QOF, an entity must…
IRS grants extra time for a partnership to make a section 1045 rollover election on qualified small business stock
A partnership sold qualified small business (QSB) stock and reinvested the proceeds in replacement QSB stock, intending to defer the gain by electing section 1045 rollover treatment. Section 1045…
IRS grants a foreign entity extra time to elect disregarded-entity status
A foreign business entity with a single owner wanted to be treated as a "disregarded entity" (ignored as separate from its owner) for U.S. federal tax purposes, effective from a specific date. To do…
IRS grants a single-owner foreign entity extra time to elect disregarded-entity status
A foreign entity wholly owned by a single member wanted to be treated as a disregarded entity (ignored as separate from its owner) for U.S. federal tax purposes from the date it was formed. That…
A low-income housing project got more time to make its 40-60 minimum set-aside election
A taxpayer owns a single-building low-income housing project and claims the low-income housing tax credit under Section 42. To qualify, a project must commit to a "minimum set-aside": renting enough…
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.