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 revokes exemption after a charity's activities served private interests
The IRS revoked an organization's federal tax exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3), effective January 1 of the stated year. The organization was formed to operate foster homes, but the IRS concluded that…
IRS revokes exemption after a charity ceased all activities
The IRS revoked an organization's federal tax exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3), retroactive to the redacted effective date. The organization had provided housing to low- and moderate-income families…
Chief Counsel agrees with analysis concerning Form 8939 executors
Chief Counsel Advice addresses who may be treated as an executor for purposes of Form 8939 when no executor has been appointed. The underlying analysis suggested that each person in actual or…
IRS approves exclusion of certain REIT hedging income from gross-income tests
The IRS ruled for a real estate investment trust that income from certain original and counteracting interest-rate hedges would not count as gross income for the REIT income tests under IRC §…
IRS grants more time to submit mental-incompetency evidence for GST tax relief
The IRS granted an estate a 120-day extension to file a physician's certification or other evidence that the decedent was mentally incompetent during the period relevant to the generation-skipping…
IRS treats specified hedging derivatives as qualifying RIC income
The IRS ruled that income and gain from certain CPI swaps and volatility-index futures and options would qualify as other income derived from a regulated investment company's business of investing…
IRS allows a late S corporation election after finding reasonable cause
An entity formed in a state intended to elect S corporation status for a specified tax year but did not timely file Form 2553. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late election under IRC §…
IRS approves tax treatment for foreign subsidiary liquidations and a reorganization
The IRS ruled on a proposed series of transactions involving a taxpayer, foreign subsidiaries, disregarded entities, intercompany debt, and a merger. It treated two check-the-box elections as…
IRS grants an estate 120 days to make a portability election
An estate that was not otherwise required to file an estate tax return missed the deadline to elect portability of a deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount. The IRS concluded that the estate…
IRS grants a QDOT 60 days to report the surviving spouse's citizenship
A qualified domestic trust failed to notify the IRS and certify that its surviving spouse beneficiary had become a United States citizen. The trustee requested relief after learning that the notice…
IRS grants 120 days to make a disregarded-entity election
A foreign eligible entity inadvertently failed to timely file Form 8832 to elect disregarded-entity treatment for federal tax purposes. The IRS found that the company satisfied the requirements for…
Excise tax credits reduce the deductible excise tax liability
Chief Counsel advised that a claimant must apply excise tax credits under IRC § 6426(a) against fuel tax liabilities under §§ 4081 and 4041. To the extent the credits reduce those liabilities, they…
IRS grants 60 days to recharacterize a failed SEP IRA conversion
A taxpayer converted funds from a SEP IRA to a Roth IRA but later learned that the taxpayer's income exceeded the applicable conversion limitation. The IRS found that the taxpayer reasonably relied…
IRS grants 60 days to recharacterize a failed SEP IRA conversion
A taxpayer converted funds from a SEP IRA to a Roth IRA but later learned that the taxpayer's income exceeded the applicable conversion limitation. The IRS found that the taxpayer reasonably relied…
IRS waives the 60-day IRA rollover requirement
A taxpayer received what was represented as a duplicate required minimum distribution after a communication problem with a financial institution. The taxpayer deposited the distribution, later…
IRS waives the 60-day rollover requirement for an employee plan distribution
A taxpayer received a distribution from an employee plan and intended to roll part of it into an IRA. The taxpayer did not complete the rollover within 60 days because the taxpayer was caring for an…
IRS waives the 60-day rollover requirement for employee plan stock
A taxpayer received shares from an employee plan after a stockbroker mistakenly arranged for a stock distribution instead of the intended rollover. The taxpayer later learned that the transaction…
IRS treats an educational website as a periodical for advertising cost allocation
An educational private operating foundation replaced its print magazine with a free website containing archived and regularly updated editorial content. The foundation also received advertising…
IRS revokes a small insurance company's section 501(c)(15) exemption
The IRS revoked an organization's exemption under IRC § 501(c)(15), which applies to certain small insurance companies. The examination report concluded that the organization's gross receipts,…
IRS proposes revoking a social club's tax exemption
The IRS proposed revoking an organization's exemption as a social club under IRC § 501(c)(7). The examination report states that the organization provided housing and related services to sorority…
IRS revokes a golf and country club's tax exemption
The IRS revoked a golf and country club's exemption under IRC § 501(c)(7). The examination report states that the club opened its golf course, restaurant, bar, pro shop, liquor service, and lessons…
IRS denies exemption to an organization operating a multiple listing service
The IRS issued a final adverse determination denying exemption under IRC § 501(c)(6) to an organization whose primary activity was operating a multiple listing service for real estate professionals.…
IRS denies exemption to an educational organization that benefited a related for-profit company
The IRS denied exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3) to an organization that assembled and distributed free educational courses and materials. The activities advanced education, but the organization was…
IRS denies exemption to a foreclosure referral organization
The IRS denied exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3) to an organization that referred homeowners to two for-profit affiliates for mortgage and foreclosure services. The organization received commissions…
IRS denies exemption to an internet security organization
The IRS denied exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3) to an organization that proposed to provide internet security services to civil society groups, bloggers, and other organizations, including in foreign…
IRS revokes an organization’s exemption for social activities and missing returns
The IRS revoked an organization’s exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3) because it operated primarily through social, recreational, and dining activities rather than exclusively for exempt purposes. The…
IRS revokes an organization’s exemption after it ceased operations
The IRS revoked an organization’s exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3) after finding that it had ceased operations and failed to establish that it was operating for an exempt purpose. The organization…
IRS proposes revoking exemption for failure to file a final return
The IRS proposed adjusting and revoking an organization’s exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3) after the organization failed to provide a final return needed to terminate its operations. The examination…
IRS proposes revoking a conservation easement organization’s exemption
The IRS proposed revoking exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3) for an organization that accepted conservation easements and related property transfers. The examination report concluded that the…
IRS proposes revoking exemption for charitable gaming activities
The IRS proposed revoking an organization’s exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3) after finding that its charitable gaming operations were not incidental to its exempt activities. The organization…
Statutory executor authority is limited to estate tax
Chief Counsel Advice explains that the statutory executor described in IRC § 2203 has authority only in the estate tax context. The provision does not authorize an executor to act for income tax,…
Restitution assessments require a court-ordered restitution amount
Chief Counsel Advice explains that the IRS's authority to assess criminal restitution under IRC § 6201(a)(4) depends on a court having ordered restitution in the first place. If a criminal court did…
Construction support payments to retailers need not be capitalized
Chief Counsel Advice considers whether construction support payments made by a product manufacturer to its retailers must be capitalized under the intangible-asset rules. The retailers had to…
An overpayment cannot offset a former subsidiary's underpayment under these facts
Chief Counsel Advice considers whether the IRS could apply a foreign parent's tax overpayment to a former domestic subsidiary's underpayment after the overpayment had been refunded. The IRS…
Extension granted to file Form 8848 for branch profits tax relief
The IRS granted a foreign corporation additional time to file Form 8848, which is required to support the complete termination exception from the branch profits tax. The taxpayer had sold its U.S.…
Oil and gas services produce qualifying income for a publicly traded partnership
The IRS ruled that a publicly traded limited partnership's income from providing specified services to customers involved in oil and natural gas production, processing, and transportation is…
Forty-five-day extension granted for a success-based-fee election statement
The IRS granted a taxpayer 45 more days to file the statement required to elect the safe harbor for allocating success-based transaction fees under Rev. Proc. 2011-29. The taxpayer had deducted 70…
Call option treated as an acquisition of foreign subsidiary stock
The IRS ruled on the tax treatment of a staged acquisition involving a target entity, a call option, and foreign corporate subsidiaries. For purposes of the controlled-group rules, the call option…
Section 83(b) election remains valid despite a missing tax-return copy
The IRS ruled that a taxpayer's § 83(b) election for restricted stock remained valid even though a copy was not attached to the taxpayer's income tax return. The taxpayer had timely mailed the…
Inadvertent S corporation termination relief granted after an ineligible transfer
The IRS granted relief to an S corporation whose election terminated when shares were transferred to an ineligible shareholder. The corporation and its shareholders were unaware that the transfer…
IRS grants 30 days to file missing LIFO election forms
The IRS granted a parent company an extension to file Forms 970 for two newly formed subsidiaries that had adopted the last-in, first-out inventory method. The parent had transferred assets and…
S corporation redemption qualifies for exchange treatment and installment reporting
The IRS ruled on a proposed transaction in which an S corporation would redeem all stock held by two retiring shareholders in exchange for promissory notes, then issue stock to four key employees.…
S corporation termination relief granted after a missed QSST election
The IRS granted relief to an S corporation whose election terminated when a trust transferred its shares to another trust without a timely qualified subchapter S trust election. The corporation said…
Split-off reorganization approved for an S corporation business separation
The IRS approved a proposed split-off designed to resolve disputes between the two shareholders of an S corporation. The corporation would transfer several business subsidiaries to a newly formed…
IRS permits aggregation of two related net profits interests
The IRS granted a taxpayer permission to aggregate two aggregate net profits interests in mineral properties and treat them as one property for federal income tax purposes. The taxpayer represented…
Foreign entities receive more time to elect partnership classification
The IRS granted eight foreign entities 120 additional days to file valid Forms 8832 electing to be treated as partnerships for federal tax purposes. The entities had intended to use partnership…
IRS grants 60 days to recharacterize a failed Roth IRA conversion
The IRS granted a taxpayer 60 days to recharacterize a failed SEP IRA to Roth IRA conversion as a contribution to a traditional IRA. The taxpayer exceeded the income limit for the Roth IRA…
IRS waives 60-day rollover deadline after a participant's death
The IRS waived the 60-day rollover deadline for a deceased retirement-plan participant's estate. The participant had received a distribution from a qualified plan and intended to roll it into an…
IRS grants 60 days to recharacterize a failed Roth IRA conversion
The IRS granted a taxpayer 60 days to recharacterize a failed SEP IRA to Roth IRA conversion as a contribution to a traditional IRA. The taxpayer exceeded the income limit for the Roth IRA…
Private foundation grant procedures receive approval
The IRS approved proposed changes to a private foundation's grant program for employees of a hospital. The changes broadened the eligible fields of study, made the selection committee independent of…
Educational grant procedures receive advance approval
The IRS approved a private foundation's procedures for awarding educational grants to individuals pursuing work in fields related to social justice. The program uses objective and nondiscriminatory…
Community grocery cooperative denied section 501(c)(3) exemption
The IRS finalized its denial of tax-exempt status for a nonprofit community grocery cooperative. The organization planned to operate a grocery store, restaurant, bakery, and food-processing…
Organization denied section 501(c)(3) exemption for unclear and commercial activities
The IRS finalized an adverse determination denying exemption to an organization that described health and education advocacy, grantmaking, and community programs. The IRS found that the…
Overpaid tax cannot be credited to a different year's penalty balance after the refund deadline
Chief Counsel Advice considered whether an overpayment from an amended return could be credited to a penalty balance for a different tax year after the assessment and refund periods had expired. The…
IRS limits disclosure of separated spouses' financial information in a joint offer
The Office of Chief Counsel addressed whether the IRS could disclose financial information from a joint offer in compromise to a former or separated spouse who lived in a different household. The…
Banks may not deduct processing fees from levy proceeds
Chief Counsel reaffirmed that banks may not deduct processing fees from proceeds collected under an IRS levy. The advice states that this position is based on IRC § 6331 and the applicable…
IRS grants extra time to make an IC-DISC election
A domestic corporation intended to operate as an interest charge domestic international sales corporation, or IC-DISC, but its Form 4876-A election was not timely filed. The taxpayer said its…
IRS approves tax treatment for TRAC leases in a vehicle refinancing
A vehicle leasing business used terminal rental adjustment clauses, or TRACs, in leases of motor vehicles. It planned to transfer beneficial ownership of leased vehicles to a special-purpose entity…
IRS approves a university-affiliated corporation's Type F reorganization
A business association affiliated with a state university planned to convert into an unincorporated cooperative association and then into a nonstock corporation. The new entity would continue the…
IRS approves a cash-or-stock special dividend for a new REIT
A publicly traded corporation planned to elect REIT status and distribute accumulated earnings as a special dividend during its first REIT taxable year. Shareholders could elect cash, stock, or a…
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.