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 201325010: Voting trust does not prevent target from joining parent's consolidated group
The IRS ruled that a parent corporation was treated as the direct owner of all outstanding stock of a target after acquiring the target through a merger subsidiary. Regulatory approval required the…
PLR 201325009: IRS approves tax treatment for a corporation's separation into two public companies
A publicly traded parent corporation proposed transferring one business to a newly formed subsidiary, taking the subsidiary public, and then distributing the subsidiary's stock to the parent's…
PLR 201325008: IRS grants more time to make a qualified subchapter S subsidiary election
An S corporation acquired all of the stock of another corporation but did not timely file Form 8869 to elect qualified subchapter S subsidiary status for the subsidiary. The IRS concluded that the…
PLR 201325007: Licensing fees from active research activities are excluded from the royalty test for an ordinary loss
A parent corporation expected the stock of its wholly owned research subsidiary to become worthless. The parent asked whether licensing fees received by the subsidiary should be treated as royalties…
PLR 201325006: IRS grants relief for an inadvertent S corporation election failure
An S corporation owned two subsidiaries and had elected to treat them as qualified subchapter S subsidiaries. The corporation later discovered that the trust holding its stock had not made the…
PLR 201325005: Branch manufacturing contribution excludes payments from foreign base company sales income
A U.S. multinational's foreign partnership received payments connected with the manufacture, marketing, and sale of products in a foreign country. A branch of the partnership performed substantial…
PLR 201325004: IRS grants extra time to elect qualified real property indebtedness treatment
An individual received discharge-of-indebtedness income through a partnership after a lender forgave debt used to acquire an interest in real property. The taxpayer did not report the income or…
PLR 201325003: IRS restores S corporation status after an inadvertent transfer to an ineligible shareholder
An LLC that had elected S corporation status issued interests to a shareholder who was not eligible to own S corporation stock. The IRS concluded that the S corporation election terminated when the…
PLR 201325002: IRS treats qualifying income from inflation-indexed swaps as RIC income
An investment fund that sought to protect its debt investments from inflation asked whether income from CPI-based swaps would count as qualifying income for regulated investment company purposes.…
PLR 201325001: IRS grants late S corporation election relief
The shareholders of a corporation intended to elect S corporation treatment when the corporation was formed, but the Form 2553 election was not filed on time. The IRS determined that the corporation…
PLR 201324026: IRS waives the 60-day IRA rollover deadline after a bank error
An IRA owner received a distribution and intended to deposit it into a rollover IRA, but a bank employee placed the funds in a money-market account instead. The mistake was discovered after the…
PLR 201324025: IRS waives rollover deadlines after incorrect financial-institution advice
Two employees received taxable distributions when their employer moved from one retirement plan to another. They intended direct transfers, but taxes were withheld, and a representative of the new…
PLR 201324024: IRS waives an IRA rollover deadline after a decedent's medical incapacity
An executor asked to roll over the remaining portion of IRA distributions received by a decedent. The decedent had completed a partial rollover but did not complete the remainder within 60 days…
PLR 201324023: IRS waives an IRA rollover deadline after medical treatment
An IRA owner withdrew funds to move them to a self-directed IRA but did not complete the rollover within 60 days. The taxpayer's medical conditions and related treatments impaired the ability to…
PLR 201324022: IRS waives an IRA rollover deadline after a fraudulent spousal withdrawal
An individual's spouse withdrew money from the individual's IRA without knowledge or consent, claiming to act under a power of attorney. The spouse used the money for gambling, and the IRA owner…
PLR 201324021: IRS waives an IRA rollover deadline after advisors used a non-IRA account
An IRA owner instructed financial advisors to cash out and reinvest retirement funds, understanding that a rollover had to occur within 60 days. The advisors deposited the distribution into a…
IRS determination 201324020: IRS denies section 501(c)(3) exemption to a rural broadband organization
The IRS issued a final adverse determination after an organization seeking section 501(c)(3) status did not protest a proposed denial within 30 days. The organization said it would represent rural…
PLR 201324019: IRS approves a private foundation's scholarship procedures
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve its procedures for awarding scholarships to qualifying college students. The proposed program uses financial need, academic performance, aptitude,…
Partnership reporting controls passive-loss refund claims
Chief Counsel Advice addresses how partnership reporting affects passive-loss refund claims. It says the character of partnership income or loss is a partnership item, so changing the character…
Federal tax lien attaches to property in a revocable trust
Chief Counsel Advice considers a taxpayer who transferred property to a revocable trust before the IRS made an assessment. The memo explains that a federal tax lien under section 6321 attaches to…
Advice on fiduciary authority for deceased taxpayers
Chief Counsel Advice addresses who may act for deceased taxpayers in two fact patterns. For Case A, involving a deceased non-filer and a daughter who appeared to be a distributee, the memo says the…
Advice on signing a consolidated return statute extension
Chief Counsel Advice addresses who must sign a new Form 872-P in a consolidated-return situation. The memo says that the parent of the tax-matters person does not need to sign the form for the…
PLR 201324014: IRS grants more time to elect a multi-building low-income housing project
A taxpayer asked the IRS for more time to identify all buildings in a low-income housing project as part of a single, multiple-building project for section 42 purposes. The taxpayer said the…
IRS recommends sale treatment for a leveraged partnership transaction
Chief Counsel Advice analyzes a leveraged partnership transaction involving an S corporation, contributed assets, intercompany notes, a bank loan, guarantees, and an indemnity. The memo recommends…
PLR 201324012: 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 be treated as an S corporation effective on the specified date, but Form 2553…
PLR 201324011: IRS treats a corporation as an S corporation after an inadvertent election problem
The IRS considered whether a corporation's S corporation election was ineffective at the start because the corporation had no shareholders, assets, or business activity. The corporation later issued…
PLR 201324010: IRS treats subsidiaries as joining a consolidated return
The IRS determined that three subsidiaries had joined their parent corporation's initial consolidated federal income tax return even though Forms 1122 were not filed with the return. The…
PLR 201324009: IRS modifies rulings on cash distributions in a corporate reorganization
The IRS supplemented and modified earlier private letter rulings concerning a planned corporate reorganization. The taxpayer changed two contributions to include cash distributions, and the IRS…
PLR 201324008: IRS grants extra time for a research-cost amortization election
The IRS granted a taxpayer 60 additional days to make an election under IRC § 59(e) to amortize certain research and experimental expenditures. The taxpayer missed the election because its tax…
PLR 201324007: IRS grants relief for a late S corporation election
The IRS granted a corporation relief for failing to timely file Form 2553 to elect S corporation status. The corporation's sole shareholder intended the election to be effective from the…
PLR 201324006: IRS approves an exception for solar project property in a U.S. possession
The IRS ruled that depreciable property for a solar project in a U.S. possession could qualify for an exception to the alternative depreciation system. The taxpayer was a domestic limited liability…
PLR 201324005: IRS approves an exception for solar project property in a U.S. possession
The IRS ruled that depreciable property for a solar project in a U.S. possession could qualify for an exception to the alternative depreciation system. The taxpayer was a domestic limited liability…
PLR 201324004: IRS denies an early consolidated-return waiver after an S corporation election
The IRS denied a parent corporation's request to waive the waiting period before it and former subsidiaries could file a new consolidated federal income tax return. The parent had elected S…
PLR 201324003: IRS approves settlement treatment in a corporate reorganization
The IRS ruled that a cash settlement paid by an acquiring corporation to former target shareholders would not be treated as a payment of property other than voting stock for purposes of the…
PLR 201324002: IRS approves qualifying income from processing natural gas products
The IRS ruled that income earned by a publicly traded partnership from processing and marketing gasoline, liquefied petroleum gas, methanol, and synthesis gas made from natural gas would be…
PLR 201324001: IRS grants relief for a late S corporation election
The IRS granted a corporation relief for failing to timely file Form 2553 to elect S corporation status. The corporation's shareholders intended the election to be effective on the specified date,…
PLR 201323045: IRS treats an IRA transfer as modifying substantially equal payments
The IRS ruled that a partial trustee-to-trustee transfer from one IRA to another modified a series of substantially equal periodic payments. The taxpayer had been receiving payments intended to…
PLR 201323044: IRS waives the 60-day deadline for a retirement-plan rollover
The IRS considered a taxpayer who received a retirement-plan distribution but deposited it into a non-IRA account instead of completing a rollover within 60 days. The taxpayer said severe emotional…
PLR 201323043: IRS approves a church plan and related retiree benefit trust
The IRS considered a church convention's retiree health and life insurance plan and a trust intended to fund its premiums. The IRS ruled that the arrangement was a trust, that the convention would…
PLR 201323042: IRS denies church-plan status for a continuing multi-employer plan
The IRS considered whether a tax-exempt organization's retirement plan qualified as a church plan under IRC § 414(e). The organization was affiliated with a church, but the plan had originally…
PLR 201323041: IRS waives the rollover deadline after fraudulent IRA activity
The IRS considered a taxpayer whose IRA assets were transferred to an entity that falsely represented itself as a qualified IRA custodian. The taxpayer said the custodian's owner engaged in…
PLR 201323040: IRS waives the rollover deadline after incorrect tax advice
The IRS considered a taxpayer who received a distribution from a 403(b) annuity and did not timely roll over part of it after receiving incorrect information from the annuity company. The taxpayer…
Determination 201323039: IRS revokes exemption after private benefit and inurement findings
The IRS revoked an organization’s exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3) after finding that its partnership and donor program provided private benefits and inurement. The organization allowed donors to…
IRS determination 201323038: Exempt status revoked after organization activities failed to qualify
The IRS revoked an organization’s exemption under IRC § 501(c)(4), effective on a redacted date. The organization operated a central structure for subordinate organizations, including activities…
Determination 201323037: IRS finalizes denial of exemption for a fee-based charity website
The IRS issued a final adverse determination that an organization did not qualify for exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3). The organization operated a website connecting people who offered goods or…
Determination 201323036: IRS revokes exemption from a public-facing employee association store
The IRS revoked an employee association's exemption under IRC § 501(c)(4). The association operated a public-facing store selling public safety apparel and equipment, and the IRS found that store…
IRS denies exemption after finding private benefit and inurement
The IRS determined that a nonprofit did not qualify for exemption under section 501(c)(3), effective September 19, 2007. The organization’s founder controlled its finances and used personal credit…
IRS revokes exemption after finding commercial activity and officer inurement
The IRS revoked an organization’s section 501(c)(3) exemption, effective January 1, 2007. The examination found that the organization’s primary activity was providing immigration services for fees…
IRS revokes a social club's exemption after it ceases operations
The IRS revoked a social club’s exemption under section 501(c)(7), effective July 1 of the redacted year. The organization had ceased active operations, did not provide requested books and records,…
IRS revokes a civic organization's exemption after it operated a public bar
The IRS revoked an organization's tax exemption under section 501(c)(4). The organization operated a bar for its members and the general public, and the IRS concluded that this activity was not…
IRS revokes a dissolved organization's tax exemption
The IRS revoked an organization's exemption under section 501(c)(4), effective on a redacted date. The organization told the IRS that its exemption did not meet its purposes, stopped doing business,…
IRS proposes revoking an organization's exemption after missed reporting
The IRS proposed revoking an organization's tax-exempt status after it failed to file required Forms 990 for two tax periods and did not timely respond to IRS requests for the information. The…
PLR 201323029: Foundation's art subsidiary is functionally related and its management fees are not UBTI
The IRS considered a private foundation's plan to receive all stock of a corporation holding an artist's collection and copyrights. The foundation planned to use those assets for exhibitions,…
IRS denies exemption for fee-based credit-repair activities
The IRS denied an organization's application for recognition under section 501(c)(3). The organization proposed credit counseling, credit education, budget education, and a fee-based do-it-yourself…
IRS revokes a section 501(c)(4) organization's exemption for missing records
The IRS revoked a section 501(c)(4) organization's exemption after the organization failed to provide records needed to examine its Forms 990 and failed to meet reporting requirements under sections…
IRS revokes a section 501(c)(4) organization's exemption for nonresponse
The IRS revoked a section 501(c)(4) organization's exemption after it failed to respond to repeated requests for records and failed to file required Forms 990 for a tax period ending June 30 of a…
IRS denies exemption to organization advocating for polygamy-related legal change
The IRS denied an organization's application for section 501(c)(3) exemption. The organization described its work as educational, charitable, and supportive of a polygamous community, including…
IRS denies exemption to donor-fund organization tied to a for-profit platform
The IRS denied an organization's application for section 501(c)(3) exemption. The organization proposed receiving donations, allowing donors to identify charitable causes, and distributing funds to…
CCA explains when section 409A grandfathering rules may apply to a deferred compensation plan
Chief Counsel Advice addresses whether the section 409A transition rules apply to a deferred compensation plan for the open years under review. The advice says the transition rules do not apply and…
CCA addresses trust fund recovery penalties after worker reclassification
Chief Counsel Advice concludes that a trust fund recovery penalty may apply even when an employer never withheld taxes from workers it treated as independent contractors. The advice explains that 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.