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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Medical-provider association denied tax exemption
The IRS considered a medical-provider association's application for exemption under IRC § 501(c)(6). The association negotiated managed-care contracts, credentialed members, arranged discounts, and…
Referendum committee denied section 501(c)(4) exemption
The IRS considered a referendum committee's application for exemption under IRC § 501(c)(4). The committee was formed and funded by one limited liability company, which also controlled its…
Religious consulting and travel organization denied exemption
The IRS considered a religious organization's application for exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3). The organization provided consulting services to congregations and arranged religious heritage and…
Religious congregation denied exemption over president's building lease
The IRS considered a religious congregation's application for exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3). The congregation leased an unusable building from its president, paid most of its revenue toward…
Counsel coordinates advice on a section 1031 exchange examination
Chief Counsel discussed an ongoing examination involving a section 1031 exchange program. The email refers to taxpayer-favorable advice in another similar case, but says that guidance had not yet…
Married owners presumed to form a partnership
Chief Counsel advised that an entity owned by a husband and wife is presumed to be a partnership unless they elect to treat it as disregarded. Additional facts suggesting a sham would be needed to…
Full marina management fee allowed as boat-slip sale expense
Chief Counsel considered whether a marina management fee paid before the sale of a seized boat slip could be deducted from the sale proceeds as an expense of sale. The advice treated the management…
Section 6652 penalty follows nondeficiency procedures
Chief Counsel advised on the proposed assessment of an IRC § 6652 penalty. The advice states that the IRS can assess a penalty not related to a tax without first issuing a statutory notice of…
Swap payments treated as sale-price adjustments
Chief Counsel considered the timing and characterization of payments under an agreement labeled as a stock share swap. The taxpayer sold restricted stock and agreed to make payments tied mainly to…
Bankruptcy filing does not suspend assessment period before deficiency notice
Chief Counsel advised that filing a bankruptcy petition does not suspend the assessment statute of limitations when no notice of deficiency has been issued. The automatic stay does not prohibit a…
FSA citations removed from revised Form 886A
Chief Counsel advised that Field Service Advice could not be cited as authority. After those citations were removed, the Form 886A had to be revised so the text made sense. Counsel recommended using…
Refund limited by section 6511 two-year lookback
Chief Counsel concluded that a refund was limited to two restricted interest payments made during the two-year lookback period before the refund claim was filed. The advice relied on cases holding…
Boat-slip sale expense limited to seizure-to-sale period
Chief Counsel revised earlier advice about fees connected with the sale of a seized boat slip. Under IRC §§ 6341 and 6342, the expense of sale covers fees incurred from the seizure date through the…
Receivership depreciation deductible as an administrative expense
Chief Counsel advised that depreciation on commercial real estate held by a receivership was deductible in calculating the modified gross income of a designated settlement fund. The depreciation was…
IRA property may lose exclusion after rollover
Chief Counsel discussed whether property could be excluded from a bankruptcy estate. The existing exclusion was based on the spendthrift-type restriction applicable under ERISA. Counsel questioned…
Employee cannot group employer activity with owned activities
Chief Counsel considered whether a taxpayer could group two owned activities with the activity of a closely held C corporation where the taxpayer worked as an employee but owned no interest. The…
Managing member may sign an LLC’s Form 872 extension
Chief Counsel advised that when an LLC is treated as a C corporation but lacks the specific officers listed in IRC § 6062, a managing member or another person authorized under state law may sign…
Consolidated return member may receive the full return for membership years
Chief Counsel advised that a member of a consolidated return group is authorized to receive a copy of the entire consolidated return for each period in which it was a member. The advice relied on…
Third-party return information remains protected when copied into another exam file
Chief Counsel advised that the item and transactional relationship tests generally restrict disclosure of third-party return information. Information or documents obtained from another revenue…
Unsigned protective-claim Form 1040 did not start the assessment period
Chief Counsel advised that a Form 1040 submitted with a protective refund claim was not a valid return because it was marked as a protective claim and as amended, was not intended to be the…
FICA exemption applies to both H-2A and H-2B visa holders
Chief Counsel advised that IRC § 3121(b)(18) applies to both H-2A and H-2B visa holders. The statute refers to H-2 workers and does not distinguish between agricultural H-2A workers and…
IRS and New Jersey MOU addresses competing tax liens in a voluntary sale
Chief Counsel addressed a voluntary sale of business assets in New Jersey where escrowed proceeds had to satisfy federal employment-tax liabilities and New Jersey tax liabilities. The advice…
Public higher-education organization qualifies as a state instrumentality
The IRS ruled that a redacted organization operating as a public institution of higher learning is an instrumentality of its state. The organization was established by state law, served a…
Joint-filing election could not be changed after the filing deadline
Chief Counsel advised that after a valid joint return was filed and the filing deadline passed, one spouse could not change the filing status to head of household on an amended return. The…
Affiliated group receives extra time to elect consolidated filing
The IRS granted an affiliated group an extension of time to make an election to file a consolidated federal income tax return, with the parent as common parent. The group missed the regulatory…
Low-income housing project receives time to identify all project buildings
The IRS granted a taxpayer more time to elect to treat all buildings in a redacted low-income housing project as one multiple-building project under IRC § 42(g)(3)(D). The taxpayer had inadvertently…
Nuclear decommissioning funds may reimburse specified employee and transition costs
The IRS ruled that severance payments and broadly described transitional costs incurred as nuclear plants move from operation to shutdown and dismantlement are nuclear decommissioning costs under…
IRS grants relief for a late S corporation election
The IRS granted a corporation relief for failing to timely file its S corporation election. The corporation intended to elect S corporation status when it was formed and had filed its tax returns as…
IRS approves a tax-free corporate split-off to resolve shareholder disputes
The IRS approved a proposed split-off designed to resolve disagreements between two shareholders of a corporation operating two businesses. The corporation will transfer part of its business assets…
IRS grants more time to waive a consolidated group's NOL carryback period
The IRS granted a consolidated corporate group 60 days to file an election waiving the entire carryback period for a consolidated net operating loss. The election was due with the group's…
IRS grants more time for a foreign entity to elect disregarded status
The IRS granted a foreign eligible entity 120 days to file Form 8832 and elect to be treated as a disregarded entity for federal tax purposes. The entity had failed to timely file the form for its…
IRS grants more time for a tax-exempt controlled entity election
The IRS granted a corporation 60 days to file an amended return making an election under IRC § 168(h)(6)(F)(ii). The election allows a tax-exempt controlled entity to avoid being treated as a…
IRS grants more time to elect IC-DISC status
The IRS granted a domestic corporation 60 days to file Form 4876-A and make a late election to be treated as an interest charge domestic international sales corporation, or IC-DISC. The corporation…
IRS rules on an intercompany loss after a corporate restructuring
The IRS ruled on the treatment of an intercompany loss after a corporate group completed several restructurings and sold a business. A subsidiary distributed stock, related corporations liquidated,…
IRS approves a stock contribution that combines two consolidated groups
The IRS approved a proposed restructuring intended to combine two affiliated consolidated groups under one corporate parent. Through a series of steps, a foreign parent will contribute stock of a…
IRS grants late S corporation election relief
The IRS granted a corporation relief for failing to timely file its S corporation election. The corporation intended to be treated as an S corporation beginning on a specified date, but it did not…
IRS treats RIN sales and remote fuel delivery as qualifying partnership income
The IRS ruled that certain income earned by a publicly traded partnership qualifies for the exception to the publicly traded partnership corporate-treatment rule. The partnership generated renewable…
IRS grants more time for a disregarded-entity election
The IRS granted a foreign eligible entity 120 additional days to file Form 8832 and elect disregarded-entity status for federal tax purposes. The entity intended the election to be effective on a…
IRS approves a multi-step corporate separation and reorganization
The IRS approved specified federal tax consequences for a publicly traded corporate group's planned separation of one business from another. The transaction involved internal reorganizations,…
IRS permits a retroactive QEF election for a foreign investment
The IRS consented to a married couple's retroactive qualified electing fund election for an investment in a foreign corporation classified as a passive foreign investment company. The taxpayers had…
IRS revokes an organization's section 501(c)(3) status
The IRS issued a final adverse determination revoking an organization's recognition as exempt under IRC § 501(c)(3), effective on the stated date. The determination says the organization operated a…
IRS revokes an organization's section 501(c)(3) status
The IRS issued a final adverse determination revoking an organization's recognition as exempt under IRC § 501(c)(3), effective on the stated date. The letter says the organization was not operated…
IRS waives the 60-day IRA rollover deadline
The IRS waived the 60-day rollover requirement for a taxpayer who received a distribution from an individual retirement account. The taxpayer represented that an ongoing medical condition, worsened…
IRS waives the 60-day IRA rollover deadline after a mental condition caused a missed rollover
The IRS considered a taxpayer who received a distribution from an IRA and did not complete a rollover within 60 days. The taxpayer said that a mental condition and related memory and retention…
IRS waives the 60-day IRA rollover deadline after an advisor's mistake
The IRS considered a taxpayer who received an IRA distribution and did not complete a partial rollover within 60 days. The taxpayer’s advisor mistakenly believed that the IRA annuity was a non-IRA…
IRS waives the 60-day rollover deadline after an employer failed to provide rollover information
The IRS considered a retired participant who received distributions from her former employer’s qualified plan after the plan failed to provide the written rollover explanation required by IRC §…
VEBA may use remaining trust assets to pay current health insurance benefits
The IRS considered a voluntary employees’ beneficiary association that planned to terminate its insurance coverage and liquidate its remaining assets. After paying expenses and liabilities, the…
Dissolving VEBA may preserve exemption and avoid unrelated business income tax
The IRS considered a self-insured VEBA that planned to terminate after several significant claims and use its excess assets to continue providing medical and dental benefits. The trust proposed to…
IRS approves a private foundation’s scholarship grant procedures
The IRS approved a private foundation’s procedures for awarding scholarships to students pursuing academic degrees at a university. The program uses an objective and nondiscriminatory selection…
IRS denies exemption to a raffle-based outdoor excursion organization
The IRS denied tax-exempt status under IRC § 501(c)(3) to an organization that planned to raise money through online raffles for hunting and fishing excursions and outdoor equipment. The…
IRS grants more time to identify buildings in a low-income housing credit project
The IRS granted a taxpayer more time to elect to treat all buildings in a project as one multiple-building project for purposes of the low-income housing credit. The taxpayer had inadvertently…
IRS grants more time to identify buildings in a low-income housing credit project
The IRS granted a taxpayer more time to elect to treat all buildings in a project as one multiple-building project for purposes of the low-income housing credit. The taxpayer had inadvertently…
IRS grants more time to identify buildings in a low-income housing credit project
The IRS granted a taxpayer more time to elect to treat all buildings in a project as one multiple-building project for purposes of the low-income housing credit. The taxpayer had inadvertently…
IRS grants more time to identify buildings in a low-income housing credit project
The IRS granted a taxpayer more time to elect to treat all buildings in a project as one multiple-building project for purposes of the low-income housing credit. The taxpayer had inadvertently…
IRS approves tax treatment of a retiree medical reimbursement plan
The IRS ruled that contributions to and coverage under a medical reimbursement plan, along with payments and reimbursements made by the plan, would be excluded from the gross income of eligible…
IRS approves correlative depreciation adjustments for earnings and profits
The IRS ruled that a corporation changing its depreciation method for federal income tax purposes must make a corresponding change in the depreciation used to compute earnings and profits. The…
IRS grants more time to elect partnership classification for a foreign entity
The IRS granted a foreign eligible entity 120 more days to file Form 8832 and elect to be treated as a partnership for federal tax purposes. The entity had intended that classification from its…
IRS grants more time to identify buildings in a low-income housing credit project
The IRS granted a taxpayer more time to elect to treat all buildings in a project as one multiple-building project for purposes of the low-income housing credit. The taxpayer had inadvertently…
IRS grants more time to make a partnership basis election
The IRS granted a limited partnership 120 more days to make a § 754 election for the year a partner died. The partnership had inadvertently failed to make the election on time, but represented that…
IRS grants more time to make a partnership basis election
The IRS granted a limited partnership 120 more days to make a § 754 election for the year a partner died. The partnership had inadvertently failed to make the election on time, but represented that…
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.