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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CCA 1101021: A partnership signature may be ratified in writing
Chief Counsel Advice addressed how a prior signature could be ratified. It states that there is no boilerplate procedure, but a signature can be ratified if the proper person states in writing that…
CCA 1101020: A partnership-status determination may be a partnership item
Chief Counsel Advice addressed whether a determination about partnership status is a partnership item. The advice states that a determination that an entity is not a partnership is a partnership…
CCA 1101019: Chief Counsel discusses rental-property payment reporting
Chief Counsel Advice discusses the information-reporting provision for rental-property expense payments in the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010. The memorandum points to section 2101 of H.R. 5297,…
CCA 1101018: A state-law authorized official must sign for the entity
Chief Counsel Advice addressed a signature question involving a tax matters partner and Form 872-P. It directs the reader to page 10 of the attached Notice on Frequently Asked TEFRA Questions. The…
CCA 1101017: TEFRA audit may cover Form 8865 information attached to Form 1065
Chief Counsel Advice addressed the scope of a TEFRA audit involving foreign-source income. It states that the amount and character of foreign-source income would be within the scope of the audit. It…
CCA 1101016: Federal tax liens do not attach to property subject to forfeiture
Chief Counsel Advice addressed whether the IRS could collect from property covered by a criminal forfeiture order after taxes had been assessed. The advice concludes that collection against the…
CCA 1101015: A tax matters partner designation remains effective until termination
Chief Counsel Advice addressed whether a tax matters partner (TMP) remained designated and could bind the partners. It states that the designation remains effective until a terminating event occurs…
CCA 1101014: Advice on signing for a layered partnership structure
Chief Counsel Advice answered a question about how to identify the signatory for a document in a layered entity structure. It approved a signature block that identifies the individual as a general…
CCA 1101013: Delegation orders may authorize partnership-item settlements
Chief Counsel Advice addressed the authority for settling partnership items through a closing agreement. It states that the courts have treated a partnership-item settlement under IRC § 6224(c) as a…
CCA 1101012: A partnership may owe the maximum penalty for undisclosed reportable transactions
Chief Counsel Advice addressed the penalty for a partnership's failure to disclose a listed or reportable transaction. It states that, when the partnership had a disclosure obligation under IRC §…
CCA 1101011: A settlement agreement with a pass-through partner can satisfy section 6224(c)(1)
An IRS matter asked whether a settlement agreement with a pass-through partner would be sufficient under section 6224(c)(1). The Office of Chief Counsel advised that the statute does not require the…
CCA 1052016: Assessment may proceed for an uncontested tax year during a Tax Court case
Chief Counsel Advice considered whether assessment could proceed when a taxpayer had filed a Tax Court petition but did not contest an entire tax year. The advice states that the IRS should assess…
CCA 1052015: An offer-in-compromise regulation did not permit a dollar threshold
Chief Counsel Advice considered whether a dollar threshold could be used under the offer-in-compromise regulations. The advice states that no dollar threshold is permissible under Treas. Reg. §…
CCA 1052014: The offer-in-compromise evaluation rule applies to all offers
Chief Counsel Advice considered whether the regulation governing offers in compromise applies only to low-income taxpayers. It explains that IRC § 7122(d)(3) protects a low-income taxpayer from…
CCA 1052013: A trust that does not file a partnership return is not subject to TEFRA partnership provisions
Chief Counsel Advice considered whether the TEFRA partnership provisions apply to a trust. It explains that section 6231(a)(1) generally defines a partnership by reference to section 6031(a), which…
CCA 1052011: The assessment period for the employee share of FICA tax had expired
Chief Counsel Advice considered the assessment period for the employee share of FICA tax. It concludes that the IRS could not assess the tax because the limitations period had expired when the…
CCA 1052010: Available guidance on undue hardship under section 6161 was limited
Chief Counsel Advice considered whether the IRS had proposed or potential guidance on applying the undue-hardship requirement in IRC § 6161(a)(1). The advice states that the Internal Revenue Manual…
CCA 1052009: The IRS could request a waiver of the erroneous-refund limitations period
Chief Counsel Advice considered whether a taxpayer could waive the general limitations period in IRC § 6532(b) for an IRS suit to recover an erroneous refund. It explains that, although the statute…
CCA 1052008: Appeals may issue a final determination letter in appropriate cases
Chief Counsel Advice addressed which IRS office may issue a final determination letter in a case appropriate for Appeals review. It points to the general procedural regulations and states that…
CCA 1052006: Section 6229 provides a minimum period for partnership items, not a separate limitations period
Chief Counsel Advice addressed the assessment limitations periods for partnership items under the TEFRA rules. It states that section 6501 supplies the limitations period for the actual taxpayers,…
CCA 1052003: An amended return showing additional tax is not covered by the section 7502 postmark rule
Chief Counsel Advice considers whether the section 7502 postmark rule applies to an amended return mailed on the last day of the assessment period but received later. It concludes that the rule does…
CCA 1050032: Disclosures may support the sale of seized assets
Chief Counsel Advice considered whether the IRS could disclose information needed to conduct a sale of seized assets. It concluded that IRC § 6103(k)(6) and Treas. Reg. § 301.6103(k)(6)-1(a)(1)…
CCA 1050030: Notice delivery to a power of attorney can affect collection challenges
Chief Counsel Advice addressed whether a taxpayer could challenge an underlying tax liability during a Collection Due Process hearing when a Notice of Deficiency was sent to a power of attorney.…
CCA 1050029: Joint-return information may be disclosed while liability remains unresolved
Chief Counsel Advice considered whether the IRS could disclose a purported joint return and related return information to one spouse when that spouse claimed not to have signed the return. The…
CCA 1049041: IRS payment redesignation depends on the taxpayer's instructions
Chief Counsel Advice addresses when the IRS may transfer or redesignate a payment applied to a taxpayer's account. If the IRS applied the payment according to the taxpayer's instructions, it will…
CCA 1049039: A corporation's return signer must be authorized by the corporation
Chief Counsel Advice addresses how a corporation may establish the authority of a person signing its return. The memorandum states that there is no “TMP” for a corporation. A stockholder's statement…
CCA 1049037: An S corporation's power of attorney must be signed by an officer
Chief Counsel Advice addresses who may sign a power of attorney for an S corporation and what evidence may establish signing authority. A corporate officer must sign for the corporation. Stockholder…
CCA 1049036: A general partner may sign a partnership power of attorney
Chief Counsel Advice states that any general partner may sign a power of attorney for a partnership. For a TEFRA partnership, the same entity would be the tax matters partner because only a general…
CCA 1049035: An NOL carryback may reduce outstanding tax despite refund limits
Chief Counsel Advice distinguishes between a time-barred claim for a tax credit or refund and a net operating loss carryback used only to reduce an outstanding tax liability. The memorandum…
CCA 1049034: The refund limitations period barred return of old levy remittances
Chief Counsel Advice considers wage-levy remittances that the IRS applied to tax years not listed on the levy. The memorandum concludes that the IRS was prohibited from refunding the later…
CCA 1049033: Tax shown and paid on an amended Form 1042 may be assessed directly
Chief Counsel Advice considers whether the IRS may assess an amount shown on an amended Form 1042 and paid with that form. The advice concludes that IRC § 6201(a)(1) and the related regulation…
CCA 1049032: Late or improperly filed partnership adjustment requests may be invalid
Chief Counsel Advice addresses when a partnership-level administrative adjustment request, or AAR, is valid. It states that an AAR filed more than three years after the partnership return was filed…
CCA 1049031: A taxpayer may make a deposit of disputable tax before an audit
Chief Counsel Advice considers whether the IRS may accept a deposit of disputable tax before the taxpayer has been audited. The advice agrees that there is disputable tax and that the taxpayer…
CCA 1049030: A taxpayer may elect joint status after a substitute-for-return filing
Chief Counsel Advice considers whether a taxpayer may elect joint filing status after the IRS has prepared a substitute for return under IRC § 6020(b) and issued a notice of deficiency. Relying on…
CCA 1049027: Worker-classification litigation can suspend backup-withholding assessment limits
This Chief Counsel Advice addresses backup withholding issues that can arise in Tax Court litigation under IRC § 7436 over whether workers are employees or independent contractors. It concludes that…
CCA 1048043: AAR issues are handled in the FPAA after an NBAP is issued
Chief Counsel Advice addresses a TEFRA partnership-proceeding question involving an administrative adjustment request. The memorandum states that once a notice of beginning of administrative…
CCA 1048042: Inconsistent partner reporting can support assessment without an FPAA
Chief Counsel Advice considers partners who reported liabilities inconsistently with the partnership return without filing Form 8082, Notice of Inconsistent Treatment. The memorandum states that the…
CCA 1048041: Determination-letter revocation would apply prospectively after notice
Chief Counsel Advice discusses how a determination letter could be revoked prospectively. The memorandum states that the revocation would be effective only after the taxpayer was notified of the…
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.