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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CCA 1117032: A dissolved LLC's authority to sign a statute extension depends on state law
Chief Counsel Advice addressed who should sign a statute extension for an LLC acting as a withholding agent. The advice stated that the extension would be in the LLC's name and typically signed by a…
CCA 1117031: The IRS had to release a premature wage levy and offer to return recent proceeds
Chief Counsel Advice addressed a continuous wage levy issued before the taxpayer received valid collection due process rights after assessment. The advice concluded that the premature levy violated…
CCA 1117030: A disregarded LLC's property could not be levied for its sole member's tax debt
Chief Counsel Advice confirmed that the IRS could not levy on property owned by a disregarded LLC to satisfy the tax liability of the LLC's sole member. The advice explained that the sole member had…
CCA 1117029: IRS files could not be used to distribute a public Tax Court memo
Chief Counsel Advice addressed whether IRS employees could give members of a law school tax procedure class a copy of a Tax Court trial memorandum that was already part of the court's public record.…
TAM 1117028: CO2 equipment costs were not deductible under section 193, but retroactive application was limited
The IRS considered whether an oil and gas company could deduct the costs of CO2 transportation assets, including pipelines, and CO2 injection and recycling facilities as qualified tertiary injectant…
PLR 1117014: Reward points did not trigger information reporting
The IRS ruled that a company did not have to file information returns for reward points offered to enrollees in a voluntary discount program. The points were not transferable, could not be redeemed…
CCA 1116027: IRS advised that a taxpayer generally may not undo a credit elect
Chief Counsel Advice addressed whether a taxpayer could undo a credit elect. The short answer was no. The IRS stated that a taxpayer may not generally undo a credit elect.
CCA 1116026: Form 872-i extends the period for a partner to file an AAR
Chief Counsel Advice addressed the effect of a Form 872-i, or a Form 872 with added language referring to partnership items. The IRS advised that this form extends the period for a partner to file…
CCA 1116025: No interest is allowed on an overpayment used as a credit elect
Chief Counsel Advice addressed whether a taxpayer is entitled to interest on an overpayment applied as a credit elect. The IRS advised that no interest is allowed on the portion of an overpayment…
CCA 1116024: A TC 716 signifies a credit elect on a transcript
Chief Counsel Advice addressed the meaning of transaction code 716 on a tax transcript. The IRS advised that a TC 716 signifies a credit elect on the transcript. The memorandum referred the reader…
CCA 1116023: IRS discussed Form 872-P extensions for partnership AARs
Chief Counsel Advice discussed requests for administrative adjustment under IRC § 6227 and extensions made with Form 872-P. The memorandum stated that a taxpayer may file a request resulting in a…
CCA 1116022: IRS discussed a trust's status as a tax matters partner
Chief Counsel Advice addressed whether a trust could remain the tax matters partner (TMP) of a partnership for a TEFRA proceeding. The IRS stated that a trust may be designated as TMP even if it is…
CCA 1116021: IRS discussed TEFRA proceedings and interest abatement
Chief Counsel Advice addressed whether a TEFRA proceeding belongs to the partners or the partnership and whether an examination could support interest abatement. The memorandum stated that a TEFRA…
CCA 1116020: IRS discussed settlement agreements by pass-through partners
Chief Counsel Advice addressed the effect of a settlement agreement made by a pass-through partner in a tiered partnership structure. It stated that a settlement agreement by a pass-through partner…
CCA 1116019: IRS discussed levies on property of a disregarded LLC
Chief Counsel Advice addressed whether the Service could levy property owned under local law by a disregarded LLC to collect the sole member's tax liability. It agreed that the Service could not…
CCA 1116018: IRS advised on a late-filing penalty and reasonable cause
Chief Counsel Advice evaluated asserting a penalty under IRC § 6651 for failure to timely file redacted gift tax returns. It explained that reasonable cause requires proof of ordinary business care…
CCA 1116017: IRS discussed Taxpayer Advocate refund claims
Chief Counsel Advice addressed whether a document filed by the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) could be a taxpayer's claim for refund and whether a Taxpayer Assistance Order (TAO) could qualify as…
A non-member officer may sign for an LLC
Chief Counsel Advice addressed whether a non-member of a limited liability company may sign documents for the LLC. The advice states that a non-member may sign if the person is an officer, manager,…
Levy may attach to an entire jointly held account
Chief Counsel Advice addressed ownership of funds in a jointly held account when determining a taxpayer's ability to pay and collecting by levy. It states that ownership is presumed to be divided…
Two-year period runs from the FPAA petition deadline
Chief Counsel Advice addressed the timing of a claim under IRC § 6230(c)(2)(b)(ii) after a no-change closure involving an FPAA. It states that the two-year period runs from the expiration of the…
Partner has two years to claim refund after a no-change FPAA
Chief Counsel Advice addressed the deadline for a partner to claim a refund after a no-change FPAA. It states that a partner entitled to a refund would have two years under IRC § 6230(c)(1)(B) to…
Applying an overpayment to another liability is not a refund-claim disallowance
Chief Counsel Advice clarified that the IRS did not disallow a taxpayer's refund claim when it determined that an overpayment existed and applied the overpayment to an outstanding liability for…
IRS explains when an invoice must be paid after a summons
Chief Counsel Advice addresses when the Service must pay an invoice related to a summons. The advice states that payment is not required until the party complies with the summons by providing the…
IRS explains disclosure of responsible-person information for trust fund penalties
Chief Counsel Advice addresses disclosure when more than one person may be liable for a trust fund recovery penalty. It states that if the Service determines that one person is liable under IRC…
IRS explains a limited partner's participation rights
Chief Counsel Advice addresses participation in an administrative proceeding involving partnership items and a partnership's withholding tax liability. It states that a limited partner has the right…
IRS explains who may agree to a partnership withholding liability
Chief Counsel Advice addresses a 60-day letter and Form 870-P concerning partnership withholding tax. It states that the letter should determine the partnership's withholding liability and the…
IRS addresses an accuracy-related penalty tied to a loss carryback or carryover
Chief Counsel Advice addresses when an accuracy-related penalty may apply to an underpayment connected with a loss, deduction, or credit carried to another year. It states that the loss must…
IRS addresses 60-day objection letters for partnership AARs
Chief Counsel Advice addresses deficiency TMP-filed administrative adjustment requests involving more than 100 partners and no proceeding. It states that the Service should issue 60-day objection…
IRS analyzes reporting of corporate stock redemptions
Chief Counsel Advice analyzes whether a corporation must report its own stock redemptions on Form 1099-B. The advice says the corporation is subject to broker reporting under IRC section 6045 only…
CCA 1114024: The section 6707A penalty is based on the penalized person's return
Chief Counsel Advice addressed how to calculate the penalty under IRC § 6707A when the person being penalized is a transferee. The advice agreed with the field that the calculation is based on the…
CCA 1114023: A return showing no tax decrease may call for the minimum penalty
Chief Counsel Advice considered the amount of a penalty under IRC § 6707A when a return shows no decrease in tax. The advice stated that, in that situation, it did not see how the penalty could be…
PLR 1114001: IRS treats certain partnership sale income as qualifying income
An LLC planned to form a publicly traded partnership whose interests would be listed on a nationally recognized exchange. The partnership would conduct redacted activities through affiliated…
CCA 1113033: Bankruptcy need not be addressed in a notice of deficiency
Chief Counsel advice addressed whether a notice of deficiency must discuss the effect of a taxpayer's bankruptcy. The advice stated that there is no legal requirement to address bankruptcy in the…
CCA 1113030: TEFRA law requires only the NBAP and FPAA notices
Chief Counsel advice addressed the notices required in a TEFRA partnership proceeding. It stated that IRC § 6223 requires the notice of beginning of administrative proceedings and the final…
CCA 1113029: A writ of entry may be obtained during an examination
Chief Counsel advice addressed whether the IRS could obtain a writ of entry while a case was under examination and no jeopardy was involved. The advice stated that obtaining a writ of entry was…
CCA 1113028: A generic TMP FPAA may be issued without designating a TMP
Chief Counsel advice addressed whether the IRS could send a generic tax matters partner final partnership administrative adjustment without designating a tax matters partner. The advice stated that…
CCA 1113027: Dissolution terminates a tax matters partner's status
Chief Counsel advice addressed the effect of a tax matters partner's dissolution. It stated that under Treas. Reg. § 301.6231(a)(7)-1(l)(iii), the dissolution terminated the entity's status as tax…
PLR 1113018: CFC subpart F inclusions treated as qualifying income
The IRS ruled that certain income inclusions from controlled foreign corporations would count as qualifying income for a publicly traded partnership relying on the qualifying-income exception. The…
CCA 1113001: Paid but unassessed underpayment interest may qualify for netting
Chief Counsel advised that, assuming the other requirements for interest netting are met, a taxpayer may net underpayment interest that it paid but the Service never assessed and is now barred from…
CCA 1112021: Who signs Form 872-P for a subsidiary in a consolidated group
Chief Counsel advised on the signatures required for Form 872-P when a subsidiary corporation is the tax matters partner in a consolidated group. For partnership years ending by the close of a…
CCA 1112020: Gross payments between a partnership and partner are partnership items
Chief Counsel advised that a payment from a partnership to a partner in the partner's capacity other than as a partner, under section 707, is a partnership item under the cited Treasury regulations.…
CCA 1112018: TEFRA authorization rules do not apply to Form 8821
Chief Counsel advised that the cited regulation addresses powers of attorney for TEFRA partnerships but does not impose the same requirements on Form 8821, Tax Information Authorization. The advice…
CCA 1112017: Limitations period begins with a late Form 944 filing
Chief Counsel advised that, where a taxpayer required to file Form 944 filed a rejected Form 941 for the first quarter but no other Forms 941 and later filed Form 944 after the due date, the…
CCA 1112016: Community-property wages do not support injured spouse relief here
Chief Counsel advised that a wife living with her husband in California was not entitled to injured spouse relief from a refund offset under the stated facts. The wages withheld from the joint…
CCA 1112014: Offer in compromise for a single-member LLC owner's employment taxes
Chief Counsel analyzed an offer in compromise submitted by the owner of a single-member LLC to settle employment taxes for periods before January 1, 2009. The advice stated that, under Notice 99-6,…
CCA 1112008: Settlement payments reducing unfair loan balances were not borrowers' income
Chief Counsel considered payments made through a settlement fund after a company was accused of unfair lending practices. The payments would reduce borrowers' loan balances to the amounts they would…
CCA 1111011: no FPAA is required after the limitations period expires
Chief Counsel advice stated that the IRS is not required to issue a notice of final partnership administrative adjustment, or FPAA, after the applicable limitations period has expired. The…
CCA 1111010: manager-managed LLC may be authorized to sign partnership return
Chief Counsel advice considered who may sign a partnership return for an LLC that elects partnership tax treatment. It stated that section 6063 requires a partner's signature and that filing a…
CCA 1111009: foreign tax credit carrybacks, carryovers, and refund period
Chief Counsel advice addressed foreign tax credit carrybacks, carryovers, and a refund claim. It stated that excess foreign taxes carried forward under section 904(c) may generally be carried…
CCA 1111008: levy and sale procedures for stock held electronically
Chief Counsel advice addressed how an IRS revenue officer should handle a levy and sale of stock represented by a certificate. The advice recommended asking the broker for a letter confirming that…
CCA 1111007: redacted art appraisals remain protected return information
Chief Counsel advice considered whether a redacted art appraisal report remains taxpayer information. It concluded that the report is return information under section 6103 even after the taxpayer's…
CCA 1111005: refund check remains payable to original overpayer after asset sale
Chief Counsel advice considered an excise-tax refund claimed before a corporation sold most of its assets. The advice concluded that the IRS should issue the refund to the person who made the…
CCA 1111001: third-party summons noncompliance can suspend assessment limitations period
Chief Counsel advice considered whether a third-party witness's failure to comply with a summons for more than six months suspended the assessment limitations period under section 7609(e)(2). The…
Refund claims cannot be allowed after the taxpayer's suit period expires
Chief Counsel advised that the Office of Appeals cannot allow a refund claim after the taxpayer's two-year period for filing a refund suit has expired. Section 6532 addresses the deadline for filing…
IRS revokes an organization's tax-exempt status over private benefits and nonqualifying conservation easements
The IRS issued a final adverse determination revoking an organization's exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3), effective January 24, 1996. The determination found that the organization operated for a…
CCA 1109026: A lower-tier LLC member cannot sign for the tax matters partner under state law
Chief Counsel advice addressed whether a member of a lower-tier LLC, who was not a member manager, could bind the entity for purposes of extending a statute of limitations. The question referred to…
CCA 1109024: A section 481 adjustment is a partnership item
Chief Counsel advice addressed the classification of a section 481 adjustment for partnership tax purposes. It concluded that the adjustment is a partnership item under Treas. Reg. § 301.6231(a)(3)-1(b).
CCA 1109023: An FPAA must identify the starting numbers for partnership adjustments
Chief Counsel advice addressed an audit of a partnership taxable year under the TEFRA rules. It concluded that a second return changing the reported numbers would not affect the result, so long as…
CCA 1109022: Section 6707A penalties are calculated separately for each covered year
Chief Counsel advice addressed how to calculate the penalty for failing to include a required disclosure with a return. It concluded that the decrease in tax is determined separately for each year…
CCA 1109021: Section 6229 keeps the section 6501 period open for affected items
Chief Counsel advice addressed the period for assessing a related excise tax treated as an affected item of a partnership. It concluded that IRC § 6229 keeps the IRC § 6501 period open for every…
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.