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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PLR 1322028: IRS grants relief for a late S corporation election
The IRS granted a corporation 120 days to make an S corporation election effective as of its intended start date. The corporation had been incorporated under state law, but its Form 2553 was not…
PLR 1322016: IRS restores S corporation status after missed QSST elections
The IRS ruled that a corporation's S corporation election terminated when beneficiaries of four trusts failed to make timely qualified subchapter S trust elections. The IRS found that the…
PLR 1322006: IRS restores S corporation treatment after an inadvertent termination
The IRS ruled that a corporation's S election was inadvertently terminated when one of its shareholders became ineligible. The corporation represented that the termination was not motivated by tax…
PLR 1321016: IRS grants relief for a late S corporation election
The IRS granted a corporation relief for failing to timely file its election to be treated as an S corporation. The corporation intended the election to be effective on its incorporation date and…
PLR 1321009: IRS grants relief for a late S corporation election
The IRS ruled that a corporation may make a late election to be treated as an S corporation effective on its intended date. The corporation had not timely filed Form 2553 and established reasonable…
PLR 1321008: IRS grants relief for a late S corporation election
The IRS granted a corporation relief for failing to timely file its election to be treated as an S corporation. The corporation intended the election to be effective on its incorporation date and…
PLR 1320012: IRS permits a corporation to re-elect S corporation status early
The IRS considered a corporation's request to re-elect S corporation status before the normal five-year waiting period had expired after its earlier S election was terminated. The corporation's…
PLR 1320011: IRS grants more time to elect QSub treatment
The IRS considered an S corporation's request for more time to elect to treat a wholly owned subsidiary as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary. The S corporation had purchased the subsidiary but…
PLR 1320010: IRS treats a late S corporation election as timely
The IRS considered a corporation's late election to be treated as an S corporation. The corporation had been formed with that status in mind, but its shareholders did not timely file Form 2553. The…
PLR 1320008: IRS restores S corporation treatment after an inadvertent termination
The IRS considered a corporation's request to preserve its S corporation status after the election terminated because the corporation had accumulated earnings and profits and excessive passive…
PLR 1320006: IRS restores S corporation treatment after a missed ESBT election
The IRS considered a corporation whose S corporation election terminated after stock was transferred to a trust that did not timely file an election to be treated as an electing small business…
PLR 1317004: IRS treats an S corporation election as continuing after an inadvertent termination
The IRS ruled that an S corporation's election terminated when shares were transferred to a trust that had not made the required Electing Small Business Trust election. The IRS found that the…
IRS grants late S corporation election relief
The IRS granted a corporation relief for failing to timely file Form 2553 to elect S corporation status. The corporation showed reasonable cause for the late election. The IRS will recognize the…
PLR 1315012: S corporation election remains effective after an inadvertent termination
The IRS granted relief to a corporation whose S corporation election terminated when a trust became a shareholder without making the required qualified subchapter S trust election. The trust had…
PLR 1315010: Entity receives relief for late corporation and S corporation elections
The IRS granted an entity 120 days to make a late election to be treated as a corporation for federal tax purposes and to file a late S corporation election. The entity had intended both elections…
PLR 1315003: S corporation election reinstated after missed QSST elections
The IRS ruled on an S corporation whose shares had been transferred to five trusts. The trust beneficiaries had failed to make timely qualified subchapter S trust (QSST) elections, which caused the…
PLR 1314041: Late S corporation election treated as timely for reasonable cause
A corporation intended to elect S corporation status when it was incorporated, but its Form 2553 was filed late. Based on the submitted facts and representations, the IRS concluded that the…
PLR 1314040: Late S corporation election relief granted for reasonable cause
A corporation’s sole shareholder intended the corporation to be treated as an S corporation from a redacted effective date, but the required election was not timely filed. The IRS found that the…
PLR 1314036: Late S corporation election relief granted
A corporation intended to be treated as an S corporation from a redacted effective date, but it did not timely file the required election. The IRS concluded that the corporation established…
PLR 1314034: IRS grants 120-day relief for late entity-classification and S corporation elections
An LLC's sole member intended to have the entity treated as a corporation and to make an S corporation election, with both elections effective on a specified date. The required Forms 8832 and 2553…
PLR 1314031: IRS upholds S corporation status despite election-date and stock-class issues
An S corporation had several issues involving its initial election and share administration. The IRS concluded that the S election was effective on the corporation's formation date even though the…
PLR 1314030: IRS grants late entity-classification and S corporation election relief
An LLC intended to be treated as an S corporation effective on a specified date, but it did not timely file Forms 8832 and 2553. The IRS found that the taxpayer satisfied the standards for relief…
PLR 1314014: IRS preserves an S corporation election after an inadvertent second class of stock
A corporation asked the IRS to address an S corporation election that became ineffective because its charter created two classes of stock with different liquidation rights. The corporation amended…
PLR 1314012: IRS restores an S corporation election after an ineligible shareholder issue
An S corporation asked for relief after issuing shares to a partnership that was not an eligible S corporation shareholder. The corporation cancelled those shares and reissued them to two eligible…
PLR 1314008: IRS approves tax treatment for a family business restructuring
A family-owned business group proposed converting a partnership-taxed LLC into a corporation, merging two S corporations into that surviving entity, and then making an S corporation election for the…
PLR 1314006: IRS restores S corporation status and permits a late QSub election
A corporation's S corporation election was ineffective because one shareholder was not eligible to own S corporation stock. The corporation transferred that shareholder's stock to eligible…
PLR 1314003: IRS approves an F reorganization and related S corporation restructuring
An S corporation proposed a multi-step restructuring involving subsidiary liquidations, entity-classification changes, a new S corporation holding the old corporation's stock, and a conversion of…
PLR 1313002: QSub status treated as continuing after inadvertent termination
The IRS ruled that a subsidiary's qualified subchapter S subsidiary election terminated when a lender acquired shares of the subsidiary, because the parent corporation was no longer its sole…
PLR 1312023: IRS permits an S corporation to re-elect S status early
The IRS permitted a corporation whose S election had terminated after shares were transferred to an ineligible shareholder to re-elect S corporation status before the usual five-year waiting period…
PLR 1312016: IRS restores a corporation's S election after an inadvertent termination
The IRS ruled that a corporation would continue to be treated as an S corporation after a share transfer may have terminated its S election. The transfer violated an agreement, but the corporation…
PLR 1311017: IRS grants late-election relief for LLC classification and S corporation status
The IRS granted a limited liability company additional time to elect classification as an association taxable as a corporation and to file an S corporation election. The company had failed to timely…
PLR 1311015: IRS grants relief for a late S corporation election
The IRS granted a corporation relief for a late Form 2553 S corporation election. The corporation's sole shareholder intended the corporation to be an S corporation from its incorporation date, but…
PLR 1311005: IRS grants relief for a late S corporation election
The IRS granted a corporation relief after its Form 2553, Election by a Small Business Corporation, was not received by the IRS. The corporation intended to elect S corporation status effective on a…
CCA 1310035: A late S election does not reopen closed tax years
Chief Counsel explained the effect of a private letter ruling that allowed a taxpayer to make a late S corporation election effective on its incorporation date. The ruling did not authorize the…
PLR 1310022: Corporation granted extra time to elect QSubs
The IRS granted an S corporation 120 days to file elections treating two wholly owned subsidiaries as qualified subchapter S subsidiaries. The elections were missed through inadvertence, although…
PLR 1310021: Corporation granted relief for a late S election
The IRS granted a corporation relief for failing to timely elect S corporation status. The corporation's sole shareholder intended the election to be effective for the corporation's first taxable…
PLR 1310019: Company may make a late S corporation election
The IRS considered a company's request to be treated as an S corporation from an earlier date. The company had intended to elect S corporation status but did not timely file Form 2553. The IRS found…
PLR 1310017: Corporation receives relief for a late S corporation election and incorrect EINs
The IRS considered a corporation that intended to elect S corporation status but did not timely file Form 2553. The corporation had also filed Forms 1120S under incorrect employer identification…
PLR 1310008: IRS grants relief for an inadvertent S corporation election termination
The IRS considered a corporation whose S corporation election terminated after shares were transferred to an ineligible shareholder. The corporation and its shareholders corrected the ownership…
PLR 1309003: Buy-sell agreement and bonus plan did not create a second stock class
The IRS considered an S corporation's amended buy-sell agreement and a bonus plan tied to a possible recovery from a third-party claim. It ruled that the arrangements did not create a second class…
PLR 1308022: IRS restores an S election after untimely ESBT elections
The IRS ruled that an S corporation's election terminated when four trusts received its shares and the trustees failed to file the required electing small business trust elections. The IRS also…
PLR 1308009: IRS grants relief for an inadvertent S corporation termination
The IRS granted a corporation relief under IRC § 1362(f) after an irrevocable trust acquired the corporation’s shares and may not have qualified as an S corporation shareholder. The parties had…
PLR 1308008: IRS grants relief for a possible second class of stock
The IRS granted relief to a corporation whose redemption agreement may have created a second class of stock and made its S corporation election invalid. The corporation represented that any…
PLR 1307002: IRS allows a late S corporation election
The IRS considered a corporation that was eligible to elect S corporation status but did not timely file Form 2553. Based on the submitted facts and representations, the IRS found reasonable cause…
PLR 1306020: IRS grants extra time to make a QSub election
The IRS granted an S corporation an extension of time to elect to treat its wholly owned subsidiary as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary. The corporation had filed Form 2553 instead of Form 8869…
PLR 1306016: IRS preserves S corporation status after a late QSST election
The IRS ruled that an S corporation's election had been inadvertently terminated when stock moved from one trust to another trust and the new trust did not make a timely qualified subchapter S trust…
PLR 1306015: IRS preserves S corporation status after a late QSST election
The IRS ruled that an S corporation's election was inadvertently terminated when stock was transferred from one trust to another and the new trust did not make a timely qualified subchapter S trust…
PLR 1306009: IRS preserves QSub status after an inadvertent termination
A parent S corporation planned to sell shares of its wholly owned subsidiary, but the sale agreement was terminated before any shares were transferred when the parties discovered that the subsidiary…
PLR 1306005: IRS confirms shareholder distribution provisions do not create a second class of S corporation stock
An S corporation planned an agreement governing several types of shareholder distributions, including payments based on shareholders' varying interests in income, discretionary payments, and pro…
PLR 1306004: IRS confirms shareholder distribution provisions do not create a second class of S corporation stock
An S corporation planned an agreement governing several types of shareholder distributions, including payments based on shareholders' varying interests in income, discretionary payments, and pro…
IRS grants relief for an inadvertent S-corporation termination
The IRS ruled that a corporation’s S-corporation election terminated when its shares were transferred to an ineligible shareholder. The corporation and the affected parties did not intend to…
PLR 1302013: IRS grants relief for a late S corporation election
The IRS granted relief to a corporation that intended to elect S corporation status but did not timely file Form 2553. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late election under IRC § 1362(b)(5).…
PLR 1302006: IRS restores S corporation status after an inadvertent trust failure
An S corporation asked the IRS for relief after shares were held by a trust that was not eligible to make a qualified subchapter S trust election, causing the corporation's S election to terminate.…
PLR 1302005: IRS restores S corporation status after an inadvertent trust failure
An S corporation asked the IRS for relief after shares were held by a trust that was not eligible to make a qualified subchapter S trust election, causing the corporation's S election to terminate.…
PLR 1302004: IRS restores S corporation status after an inadvertent trust failure
An S corporation asked the IRS for relief after shares were held by a trust that was not eligible to make a qualified subchapter S trust election, causing the corporation's S election to terminate.…
PLR 1301012: IRS grants late S corporation election relief
A corporation asked the IRS for relief after it failed to timely file an election to be treated as an S corporation. The IRS found that the corporation had reasonable cause for the late filing under…
PLR 1301011: IRS allows S corporation status after an inadvertent invalid election
A corporation discovered that its S corporation election was invalid because some shares were held through an ineligible shareholder. It later redeemed those shares, but another transfer to an…
PLR 1301008: IRS grants late S corporation election relief
A corporation asked the IRS to recognize it as an S corporation after it failed to timely file Form 2553. The corporation intended to be treated as an S corporation from a specified date and…
PLR 1301004: IRS allows an S corporation to continue after an inadvertent election termination
An S corporation's election terminated when shares were held by a trust that was not eligible to be a qualified subchapter S trust. The corporation represented that the termination was inadvertent…
PLR 1301003: IRS restores S corporation treatment after an inadvertent termination
An S corporation's election terminated after another S corporation acquired shares, creating an ineligible shareholder. The taxpayer represented that the termination was inadvertent and was not…
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.