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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Descendant trusts preserve a trust's GST tax exemption
A trust established under a pre-October 22, 1986 revocable trust sought to change how shares for more remote descendants would be held. Property that otherwise could pass outright would instead…
IRS replaces the legend in an earlier S corporation ruling
The IRS issued this letter to modify an earlier private letter ruling dated September 26, 2022. The new letter replaces the earlier ruling's legend, which defines the redacted placeholders for the…
Corporation receives extra time for a foreign tax redetermination election
A domestic corporation had five foreign tax redeterminations involving two wholly owned foreign subsidiaries. It chose an election under Treas. Reg. § 1.905-5(e)(1) that would account for those…
Late-filed return is treated as a timely REIT election
A limited liability company taxed as a corporation intended to elect real estate investment trust status by filing Form 1120-REIT for its first REIT year. Its accounting firm electronically filed an…
IRS treats a late first-year REIT return as a timely election
A limited liability company taxed as a corporation planned to elect real estate investment trust status by filing Form 1120-REIT for its first REIT year. Its accounting firm timely transmitted Form…
Trust receives relief for a late first-year REIT election
A trust formed to invest in real estate intended to elect real estate investment trust status from its formation date. Its accounting firm electronically filed an extension for the first Form…
LLC receives relief for a late first-year REIT election
A limited liability company formed to invest in real estate intended to elect real estate investment trust status from its formation date. Its accounting firm electronically filed an extension for…
IRS grants late S corporation and QSub elections
A limited liability company intended to be taxed as an S corporation but inadvertently failed to file Form 2553 on time. Through a reorganization, it also became the sole owner of another limited…
IRS approves three need-based scholarship programs
A private foundation proposed three need-based scholarships. One would support a graduating scholar-athlete who planned to join a college athletic team, another would support a graduating student…
Archaeological-site construction set-aside approved
A private operating foundation asked to set aside funds for two buildings at an ancient archaeological site. One building would serve as a scientific laboratory, artifact-storage facility, and…
Local merit-and-need scholarship procedures approved
A private foundation proposed renewable scholarships for graduating seniors from specified local high schools. Awards would be based primarily on academic performance and financial need, with…
Three educational travel-grant programs receive advance approval
A private foundation requested advance approval for three programs that would pay or reimburse individuals' travel, lodging, meals, and related costs for educational events. The first program would…
Degree and trade-school scholarship procedures approved
A private foundation proposed scholarships, apprenticeships, and fellowships for people pursuing degrees, certifications, or similar credentials at accredited colleges, universities, and trade…
Charity loses exemption for unproven activities, poor records, and private benefit concerns
The IRS revoked a charity's § 501(c)(3) status after it failed to substantiate that its activities primarily served exempt purposes. The organization had one officer and director, provided only…
Property-owners association denied charity status
A membership organization of property owners applied for recognition under § 501(c)(3). Its stated purposes included furthering owners' interests, enforcing property restrictions, managing common…
Dog club denied social-club exemption because most income came from nonmembers
A licensed dog club applied for exemption as a social and recreational club under § 501(c)(7). It held dog shows, raffles, member meetings, public education programs, and occasional charitable…
Automobile club denied charity status because recreation was a substantial purpose
An automobile owners' and enthusiasts' club applied for exemption under § 501(c)(3). It held car and motorcycle shows, picnics, parade and rodeo appearances, and other events for members and the…
Corporation receives 90 days to file a missing IC-DISC election
A corporation was formed to operate as an interest charge domestic international sales corporation, or IC-DISC, for exports of machine components made by its parent. Its accounting firm prepared…
Partnership receives 120 days to make a late § 754 election
A partnership missed the deadline to make a § 754 election for the year a partner died because its tax advisers did not adequately advise it about the election. The partnership represented that it…
Corporation receives 45 days to file a late tax-year change request
A domestic accrual-method corporation sought to change its annual accounting period by filing Form 1128. An administrative error caused it to miss the form's deadline, but the corporation mailed the…
Loss corporation receives 75 days for a late closing-of-the-books election
A loss corporation underwent a § 382 ownership change, which limited its use of pre-change losses against later income. It missed the deadline to elect the closing-of-the-books method for dividing…
REIT and hotel operator receive 90 days for a late TRS election
A real estate investment trust indirectly owned a company that leased a hotel from another REIT subsidiary and hired an independent contractor to operate it. The REIT and company intended to elect…
S corporation may revoke an unintended installment-sale opt-out
Four shareholders sold all the stock of an S corporation, and the buyer later requested a § 338(h)(10) election that treated the deal as an asset sale for tax purposes. The taxpayer told its…
Estate receives 120 days to correct a missed QTIP election
A decedent's revocable trust became irrevocable at death and directed part of the remaining assets to a marital trust for the surviving spouse. The spouse was entitled to all trust income at least…
Bankruptcy liquidating trust keeps its tax classification after another extension
A liquidating trust was created under a Chapter 11 plan to turn assets into cash and distribute the proceeds to beneficiaries. Unresolved litigation had already required several court-approved…
Estate receives 120 days to give notice of a partial QTIP trust division
A revocable trust divided at the first spouse's death into a survivor's trust and a marital trust for the surviving spouse. The estate timely elected QTIP treatment for part of the marital trust but…
Nine foreign entities receive 120 days for late disregarded-entity elections
Nine foreign eligible entities intended to be treated as disregarded entities for federal tax purposes from their respective formation or requested effective dates. Each failed to timely file Form…
Twenty-three foreign entities receive late disregarded-entity elections
Twenty-three foreign eligible entities were classified by default as associations taxable as corporations. Each intended to change to disregarded-entity status on the same effective date but failed…
Opportunity fund receives 60 days for late self-certification
A limited liability company taxed as a partnership was formed to operate as a qualified opportunity fund and invest in opportunity-zone property. It had no income or expenses in its first year and…
Partnership receives 120 days for a late § 754 election after an interest sale
A limited liability company taxed as a partnership engaged in a transaction that it represented was a sale of partnership interests for federal tax purposes. It inadvertently failed to make a § 754…
S corporation receives relief for a trust's missing ESBT election
A trust owned shares of two S corporations but its trustee failed to make an electing small business trust election when required. Because the trust was therefore an ineligible shareholder, the…
Missing ESBT election does not defeat intended S corporation status
A trust owned shares of a corporation from the date the corporation intended its S election to begin, but the trustee failed to timely elect electing small business trust status. The omission made…
LLC receives relief for a late first-year REIT election
A limited liability company formed to invest in real estate intended to elect real estate investment trust status from its formation date. Its accounting firm timely transmitted Form 7004…
Child-recovery charity loses exemption after its president ran personal spending through its accounts
A volunteer organization formed to help recover missing and exploited children was recognized as a section 501(c)(3) charity after filing a short-form Form 1023-EZ application. Its president and…
Student-athlete NIL collective denied charity status for private benefit
A nonprofit proposed to raise funds and pay selected high-profile student-athletes at one school for name, image, and likeness services benefiting local and regional charities. The athletes would…
Lake property owners' litigation group denied charity status
An association of lake-area property owners sought § 501(c)(3) status while raising money to fund a lawsuit against nearby campground operations. The suit sought to stop alleged permit violations…
Partnership receives limited time to make a late § 754 election
A limited liability company taxed as a partnership intended to make a § 754 election but inadvertently failed to file a valid election with its partnership return. The IRS concluded that the…
Consolidated group may exclude deferred intercompany gain after subsidiary conversion
A member of a consolidated corporate group sold interests in a foreign subsidiary to another group member, creating deferred intercompany gain under the consolidated-return rules. Later…
Parties receive more time to file a section 336(e) election statement
A partnership-taxed purchaser acquired all the stock of an S corporation through a disregarded entity. The parties intended to elect under section 336(e) to treat the qualified stock disposition as…
Partnership receives 120 days to make a late section 754 election
A partnership failed to file a section 754 election for the tax year in which one of its partners died. That election allows partnership property basis adjustments following certain distributions or…
Corporation keeps S status after stock transfers to ineligible trusts
An S corporation transferred shares to seven trusts whose beneficiaries timely attempted to elect qualified Subchapter S trust status. The trust terms nevertheless allowed income accumulation and…
LLC may change classification within the 60-month limit
A limited liability company had elected to be taxed as a corporation and wanted to change to disregarded-entity status less than 60 months later. The entity-classification regulations generally…
Foundation scholarship procedures receive advance approval
A private foundation proposed renewable scholarships for low- to moderate-income students pursuing construction management, civil engineering, related fields, or vocational training. An independent…
Private foundation received advance approval for two visual-arts grant programs
A private foundation proposed two nonrenewable grant programs for underrepresented early-career visual-arts professionals and artists. One program combines an unrestricted grant with mentoring,…
Membership association was denied charity status because its social activities served a substantial nonexempt purpose
An ethnic membership association sought recognition as a charity under IRC § 501(c)(3). Its bylaws focused on cultural ties, mutual assistance, friendly relations, social connection, and unification…
Organization received a final denial after it did not protest the proposed adverse determination
The IRS issued a final determination that an organization did not qualify for exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3). The final letter says the IRS had sent a proposed adverse determination explaining the…
Tax-exempt employer may exclude qualifying 403(b) deferrals and cafeteria-plan health amounts from Section 4960 remuneration
Chief Counsel considered whether remuneration for the IRC § 4960 excise tax includes an employee’s elective deferrals to a § 403(b) annuity and salary reductions under a § 125 cafeteria plan for…
Estate may face the 40 percent gross valuation misstatement penalty for undervaluing an annuity
Chief Counsel considered an estate tax return that reported an annuity at a redacted value after the annuity apparently had been exchanged for bonds worth a much larger redacted amount. IRC §…
Pension plan may use its 401(h) account for active employees eligible for age-59½ in-service pensions
An employer’s qualified defined benefit plan maintained a separate IRC § 401(h) account for retiree medical benefits. The employer proposed allowing certain non-key, non-collectively bargained…
Company received more time to elect out of tax-exempt controlled entity treatment
A corporation was treated as a tax-exempt controlled entity because tax-exempt partners held more than half of its parent. The corporation intended to elect under IRC § 168(h)(6)(F)(ii) not to be…
Corporation received 90 more days to file a signed IC-DISC election
A newly formed corporation intended from the outset to operate as an interest charge domestic international sales corporation. Its law firm filed Form 4876-A within the applicable election period,…
Foreign insurer received 60 more days to elect domestic-corporation treatment
A foreign insurance company and its U.S. corporate parents consistently treated the insurer as though it had made an IRC § 953(d) election to be taxed as a domestic corporation and included it in…
Consolidated group received 75 more days to make a unified-loss stock-basis election
A consolidated group transferred a loss subsidiary, causing that subsidiary and its lower-tier companies to leave the group. The group could have elected under Treas. Reg. § 1.1502-36(d)(6)(i)(A) to…
Debtors’ liquidation plan received another extension while assets and disputed claims are resolved
A taxpayer group sought a second supplemental ruling concerning an existing plan to liquidate debtors. It represented that it had continuously pursued liquidation as quickly as commercially…
Corporation kept S status after a trust missed its ESBT election
An irrevocable trust acquired stock in an S corporation and qualified to elect treatment as an electing small business trust, but its trustee did not file the ESBT election on time. The trust…
Partnership’s late Form 8996 was treated as a timely qualified opportunity fund election
A married couple formed a partnership to operate as a qualified opportunity fund but misunderstood counsel’s explanation of the entity’s tax-filing obligations. They believed the fund’s activity…
Partnership received 120 more days to make its Section 754 basis election
A partnership intended to make an IRC § 754 election for a particular tax year but failed to include the election with its timely partnership return. The election would apply the basis-adjustment…
Foreign entity received 120 more days to elect disregarded-entity status
A foreign single-owner eligible entity intended to elect treatment as disregarded from its owner for federal tax purposes but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832. The IRS concluded that the…
REIT received 45 more days to make its intended consent-dividend election
A real estate investment trust and its partnership shareholder had used consent dividends in prior years to support the REIT’s dividends-paid deduction. For the year at issue, the shareholder…
Corporation kept S status after a trust beneficiary missed the QSST election
A grantor trust held stock in an S corporation until its deemed owner died. The trust could remain an eligible shareholder for two years after the death, but the income beneficiary failed to make 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.