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 1212005: IRS grants extra time for a partner to make a section 108 election
The IRS granted the taxpayer an additional 45 days to file an amended return and make an election under IRC § 108(c)(3)(C) to exclude income from the discharge of qualified real property business…
PLR 1212004: IRS grants extra time for a partner to make a section 108 election
The IRS granted the taxpayer an additional 45 days to file an amended return and make an election under IRC § 108(c)(3)(C) to exclude income from the discharge of qualified real property business…
PLR 1212003: IRS grants extra time for a partner to make a section 108 election
The IRS granted the taxpayer an additional 45 days to file an amended return and make an election under IRC § 108(c)(3)(C) to exclude income from the discharge of qualified real property business…
PLR 1212002: IRS grants extra time for a partner to make a section 108 election
The IRS granted the taxpayer an additional 45 days to file an amended return and make an election under IRC § 108(c)(3)(C) to exclude income from the discharge of qualified real property business…
CCA 1211021: Counsel explains adoption-credit carryforwards after the refund deadline
Chief Counsel analyzes how the statute of limitations for refund claims affects a taxpayer's adoption-credit carryforward. Under former IRC § 23, the nonrefundable credit could be carried forward…
CCA 1211011: Offshore jacket-type platforms qualify as real property for interest capitalization
Chief Counsel advice addresses the treatment of offshore jacket-type platforms under the interest-capitalization rules of IRC § 263A(f). The advice concludes that these platforms are real property…
PLR 1211003: Work-related disability benefits are excluded from income after a plan offset
An employer-sponsored pension system provided disability benefits to employees whose injuries or occupational diseases arose from their work. The IRS ruled that the benefits qualified for the…
PLR 1210023: Refined coal facilities qualify for section 45 credits under stated conditions
The IRS ruled for a taxpayer that leased and operated a refined coal production facility using chemical reagents to reduce nitrogen oxide and mercury emissions. It concluded that refined coal made…
PLR 1210022: Refined coal facilities qualify for section 45 credits under stated conditions
The IRS ruled for a taxpayer that leased and operated a refined coal production facility using chemical reagents to reduce nitrogen oxide and mercury emissions. It concluded that refined coal made…
PLR 1210014: Public-sector retiree-health trust qualifies for income exclusion
The IRS ruled that a trust established by a public-sector employer to fund health benefits for eligible retirees and their spouses and dependents performs an essential governmental function. The…
PLR 1210012: Injury payments to local government employees are excluded from income and employment taxes
The IRS ruled that payments made by a local government to police, fire, and other employees for injuries sustained during employment were paid under statutes in the nature of workers' compensation…
PLR 1210005: Taxpayer may revoke its election not to claim bonus depreciation
The IRS consented to a corporation's request to revoke its election not to deduct 50-percent additional first year depreciation for qualified property placed in service during two taxable years. The…
PLR 1210004: Energy projects qualify for safe-harbor timing rules for bonus depreciation
The IRS ruled on when a corporation could treat environmental-control projects and their components as acquired for purposes of 50-percent and 100-percent additional first year depreciation. For…
PLR 1208035: IRS allows an investment credit for a wind farm storage device
A wind farm planned to install a battery storage device to manage electricity deliveries and provide grid regulation services. The taxpayer asked whether the device would be qualified property at a…
CCA 1208030: IRS advises that litigation damages are fully taxable gain
Chief Counsel advised that damages received after a contract dispute were fully taxable as gain rather than a return of capital. The taxpayer had transferred an equity interest in exchange for debt…
CCA 1208029: IRS advises that gas leasehold rights are not domestic production receipts
Chief Counsel advised that gross receipts from selling oil and gas leasehold rights were not domestic production gross receipts for purposes of the former IRC § 199 deduction. The taxpayer had…
PLR 1208004: IRS approves trust modifications without GST, gift, estate, or income tax consequences
The IRS ruled on proposed changes to an irrevocable trust created before September 25, 1985. The changes would move the trust's administrative situs to another state, add distribution and investment…
PLR 1208003: IRS approves trust modifications without GST, gift, estate, or income tax consequences
The IRS ruled on proposed changes to an irrevocable trust created before September 25, 1985. The changes would move the trust's administrative situs to another state, add distribution and investment…
CCA 1207009: Chief Counsel discussed when an abandonment loss may be deductible
Chief Counsel advice discussed an abandonment deduction for equipment. The email stated that a prior technical advice memorandum allowed a deduction when the assets were held for salvage value…
PLR 1207001: IRS approved proposed administrative changes to an irrevocable family trust
The IRS considered proposed changes to an irrevocable trust created before September 25, 1985, for the benefit of a child and the child's descendants. The changes would move the trust's…
PLR 1206005: Lump-sum divorce settlement receives favorable tax treatment
The IRS ruled on the income, gift, and estate tax treatment of a lump-sum payment from one former spouse to the other under a proposed modification of their divorce settlement. The payment was…
PLR 1206002: Extension granted to correct a low-income housing election
The IRS granted a low-income housing project 120 days to correct an election that was mistakenly reported on Form 8609. The taxpayer intended to elect the 20 percent at 50 percent income set-aside…
PLR 1205005: IRS approves placed-in-service treatment for wind turbines despite temporary transmission limits
The IRS ruled that temporary transmission limits, temporary operation of a wind project’s substation at a lower voltage, and purchaser curtailment would not by themselves prevent individual wind…
CCA 1204010: Counsel discusses deductions for ESOP stock redemptions
Chief Counsel discussed whether a taxpayer could deduct the redemption of stock held by its employee stock ownership plan. The advice notes that the 2006 regulations did not apply to deductions…
CCA 1203015: Fuel-credit claims fall under income-tax rules
Chief Counsel advice addressed fuel-related credits claimed on income-tax returns. It concludes that a Form 4136 claim attached to an income-tax return is made under Subtitle A, even though the…
CCA 1203014: Advice confirms bonus depreciation for qualifying improvements
Chief Counsel advice addressed whether restaurant and retail improvement property that also qualifies as leasehold improvement property can receive the 50-percent additional first-year depreciation…
CCA 1203013: Settlement compensation may be a nontaxable return of capital
Chief Counsel advice addressed the tax treatment of compensation received after a manufacturer breached a purchase agreement and returned the taxpayer's deposits. The returned deposits were not…
PLR 1203004: Complex corporate spin-offs and related stock purchases qualify for requested tax treatment
A parent corporation planned a series of domestic and foreign restructuring transactions involving new controlled corporations, stock and asset transfers, section 338 elections, and distributions to…
CCA 1202021: CCA addresses removing an IRC section 163(j) interest limit
Chief Counsel advice considered whether removing an IRC section 163(j) limitation on a corporation's interest deduction would be a change in accounting method under section 446. The advice concluded…
PLR 1202017: IRS grants more time for a tax-exempt controlled entity election
The IRS granted a limited liability company 60 more days to make an election under IRC section 168(h)(6)(F)(ii). The election allowed the company, which was owned by a tax-exempt governmental…
PLR 1202012: IRS excludes a public retiree health trust's income under section 115
The IRS ruled that a trust funding health benefits for retirees of a city and participating public employers performs an essential governmental function. The trust's income would accrue to political…
PLR 1202004: IRS treats statutory PILOT payments as deductible real property taxes
The IRS ruled that certain payments in lieu of taxes, or PILOT payments, qualified as deductible real property taxes under IRC § 164. The payments were imposed under state statutory authority,…
CCA 1201017: Interest above residence-debt limits may be traced to its use
Chief Counsel advice addresses how taxpayers may calculate deductible qualified-residence interest when debt secured by a home exceeds the acquisition-debt or home-equity-debt limits. It concludes…
PLR 1201003: IRS excludes specified unemployment plan payments from employment taxes
The IRS ruled on the employment tax treatment of premium and benefit payments under an employer-related unemployment insurance plan. Employees paid the premiums under one option with after-tax…
CCA 1152017: CDP lien hearings do not suspend all tax-priority periods
Chief Counsel advised that BAPCPA's tolling rule for tax-priority periods applies when collection is prohibited during a collection due process hearing and appeal, plus 90 days. The advice…
PLR 1152014: IRS addresses a partnership transfer of bank-owned life insurance policies
The IRS ruled on a proposed transaction in which two banks would transfer certain bank-owned life insurance policies to a partnership in exchange for partnership interests. The transfer would not be…
PLR 1152010: IRS treats acquisition-interference damages as a return of capital
The IRS ruled on damages recovered after a defendant interfered with a taxpayer's agreement to acquire assets, causing the purchase price to increase. The recovery is treated as a nontaxable return…
PLR 1152006: IRS treats cooperative member payments as per-unit retains
The IRS ruled that cash payments by an agricultural marketing cooperative to its producer-members are per-unit retain allocations paid in money under IRC § 1382(b)(3). The payments were made under…
PLR 1152005: IRS addresses supplemental unemployment insurance premiums and benefits
The IRS ruled on a taxpayer's proposed purchase of private supplemental unemployment insurance. The premiums are deductible business expenses under IRC § 162(a) because the policy insures against…
CCA 1151025: Chief Counsel addresses appraisal substantiation timing
Chief Counsel advised that IRC § 170(f)(11)(E), as modified by the Pension Protection Act of 2006, applies to appraisals prepared for returns or submissions filed after August 17, 2006. The advice…
CCA 1151021: Chief Counsel addresses increased deductions and closed-year NOLs
Chief Counsel advised that increased interest deductions can increase a taxpayer's net operating losses for closed tax years even after the period for claiming a refund has expired. The taxpayer…
CCA 1151020: Chief Counsel addresses crew meals and eating facilities
Chief Counsel considered meals provided to flight crews while they perform their duties. The meals may be excludable from employees' income under IRC § 119 because the crew must remain on the…
PLR 1150027: IRS allowed a late election for a tax-exempt controlled entity
The IRS granted a tax-exempt controlled entity extra time to elect to be treated as a taxable entity for purposes of the tax-exempt use property rules. The taxpayer had attached the election to the…
PLR 1150026: IRS granted extra time to waive an arbitrage investment right
The IRS granted a city 45 days to make an election related to refunding bonds. The election waived the city's right to invest certain net sale proceeds and investment proceeds in higher-yielding…
Worthless-stock deduction and intercompany gross-receipts look-through rules
The IRS ruled that a parent could claim a worthless-stock deduction for a subsidiary’s stock after the subsidiary dissolved, subject to the section 165(g) requirements and the consolidated-return…
Garage basis and optional garage fees excluded from housing-credit calculations
The IRS ruled that a low-income housing project could exclude the adjusted basis of separately leased garages from eligible basis under section 42(d)(1). The garages were not residential rental…
IRS rejects reporting gross back pay without the excess-pay offset
The IRS considered how a federal agency's back-pay award should be reported for income-tax withholding and FICA purposes. Employees had received more pay than they should have during part of the…
PLR 1148005: Proposed bonds would not qualify as 501(c)(3) bonds
An issuer proposed bonds to refinance debt incurred by a for-profit subsidiary to acquire, construct, and equip a wellness and fitness facility. The facility was later donated to a § 501(c)(3)…
PLR 1148003: Future insurance rate credits were not taxable in Year 3
The IRS considered when a time-value credit from an insurer's refund of erroneously collected state premium taxes became income to a multiple-employer VEBA. The credit could be used only through…
CCA 1147029: IRS explains vehicle lease-value and personal-use valuation rules
Chief Counsel advice addresses an employer's questions about valuing employee use of trucks in a fuel compliance program. The advice says the employer may use the annual lease value method for…
CCA 1147025: Continuing-care retirement facilities qualify as residential rental property
Chief Counsel advice concludes that both types of continuing-care retirement community facilities operated by the taxpayer qualify as residential rental property under IRC § 168(e)(2). The…
CCA 1147024: IRS explains the federal tax treatment of transferable Massachusetts tax credits
Chief Counsel advice addresses the federal tax treatment of several transferable Massachusetts state tax credits. The advice concludes that selling a credit is a taxable event, that the original…
CCA 1147001: Loan repayments under a health care program are excluded from income
Chief Counsel advised that loan repayments made under a state program for health care professionals serving an underserved population are excluded from recipients' gross income under IRC §…
CCA 1146016: Foreclosure does not automatically recapture low-income housing credits
Chief Counsel advised that termination of a building's extended-use period upon foreclosure, or an instrument in lieu of foreclosure, does not by itself automatically recapture low-income housing…
PLR 1146008: IRS excludes a municipal retiree health trust's income under IRC § 115(1)
The IRS ruled that a trust established by a city to pre-fund medical benefits for retirees, spouses, dependents, and participating governmental employers performs an essential governmental function.…
Advice supported allowing a deduction claim in the Ninth Circuit
Chief Counsel's Office advice concerned a deduction claim under IRC § 162. The memo states that the reviewer agreed the claim should be allowed because the matter arose in the Ninth Circuit. The…
Advice favored disallowing a deduction claim despite Ninth Circuit location
Chief Counsel's Office advice concerned a deduction claim under IRC § 162. The author said the claim should be disallowed even though the matter was in the Ninth Circuit, because the Service viewed…
Storm-recovery surcharges are income from future sales, not casualty-loss compensation
Chief Counsel's Office advice addressed whether a regulated utility's securitized storm-recovery surcharge reduced its casualty-loss deduction or was taxable income. The memo concluded that the…
Management contract does not create private business use of bond-financed facility
A political subdivision asked whether a management contract for a bond-financed exhibition and convention facility would cause private business use under IRC § 141. The contract included a base fee,…
Late NOL carryback election does not support a refund claim
This Chief Counsel Advice addresses a taxpayer's late election to carry back a net operating loss for five years instead of the normal two-year period. Counsel concluded that the election 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.