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 1321009: IRS grants relief for a late S corporation election
The IRS ruled that a corporation may make a late election to be treated as an S corporation effective on its intended date. The corporation had not timely filed Form 2553 and established reasonable…
PLR 1321008: IRS grants relief for a late S corporation election
The IRS granted a corporation relief for failing to timely file its election to be treated as an S corporation. The corporation intended the election to be effective on its incorporation date and…
PLR 1321007: IRS approves specified nonrecognition treatment for a foreign parent’s U.S. domestication
The IRS ruled on the U.S. tax consequences of a publicly traded foreign parent’s proposed domestication as a U.S. corporation. The parent owned a domestic subsidiary that held significant U.S. real…
PLR 1321006: IRS grants extra time to elect out of automatic GST exemption allocation
The IRS granted an estate 120 additional days to elect out of the automatic allocation of generation-skipping transfer tax exemption for several lifetime transfers. The transfers were made to two…
PLR 1321005: IRS grants extra time to elect out of automatic GST exemption allocation
The IRS granted a taxpayer 120 additional days to elect out of the automatic allocation of generation-skipping transfer tax exemption for several lifetime transfers. The transfers were made to two…
PLR 1321004: IRS grants late-election relief for foreign entity classification
The IRS granted a foreign eligible entity 120 additional days to file Form 8832 and elect to be treated as a disregarded entity for federal tax purposes. The entity was eligible to make the election…
PLR 1321003: IRS grants extra time for a 2010 estate basis election
The IRS granted the personal representative of a 2010 decedent’s estate 120 additional days to file Form 8939, make the § 1022 election, and allocate additional basis to eligible property. The…
PLR 1321002: IRS grants extra time to allocate GST exemption to a trust
The IRS granted a donor 120 additional days to allocate available generation-skipping transfer tax exemption to an irrevocable trust. The donor’s attorneys were expected to prepare and timely file a…
PLR 1321001: IRS grants two foreign entities more time to elect disregarded-entity status
Two foreign entities asked the IRS for more time to file Form 8832 elections to be treated as disregarded entities for federal tax purposes. Their parent intended the elections to be effective on…
TAM 1320023: Insurance sales to non-member widows are unrelated business
The IRS considered whether a fraternal beneficiary society's sales of life insurance to widows of deceased insured members were substantially related to its exempt purposes. The widows were not…
PLR 1320022: IRS grants more time to recharacterize Roth IRA conversions
An individual asked the IRS for more time to recharacterize two Roth IRA conversions as contributions to traditional IRAs. The individual relied on a tax attorney's advice and later learned that the…
PLR 1320021: Surviving child is the sole designated beneficiary of an IRA held through a trust
The IRS considered an inherited IRA payable to a trust created under a decedent's will. The trust was represented to be valid, irrevocable at death, identifiable as to its beneficiaries, and…
CCA 1320020: Internal communication about a court opinion may comply with ex parte rules
The memorandum addresses whether an IRS originating function may alert Appeals to a public court opinion. It concludes that a generic, non-taxpayer-specific discussion of the issue is permissible…
CCA 1320019: Civil liabilities and criminal restitution assessments must be kept distinct
The memorandum considers whether Exam may use a closing agreement to resolve civil tax liabilities and penalties for tax periods covered by a federal district court's restitution order in a criminal…
CCA 1320018: Partners may file their own AARs only while their statutes remain open
The memorandum addresses whether partners may file their own administrative adjustment requests. It states that they may do so only if the statute of limitations remains open under their own Forms…
PLR 1320017: IRS permits a switch to tax-book-value asset valuation
The IRS considered a domestic corporation's request to change the method it used to value assets when apportioning interest expense. The corporation had used the fair-market-value method for the…
PLR 1320016: IRS grants more time to elect corporate tax classification
The IRS considered a business entity's request for extra time to elect to be treated as an association taxable as a corporation. The entity had been formed in a state, defaulted to partnership…
PLR 1320015: IRS grants more time to elect out of additional depreciation
The IRS considered a corporation's request for extra time to elect not to claim 100-percent additional first-year depreciation for certain classes of property. The corporation had filed its tax…
CCA 1320014: IRS advises that a structured investment does not qualify for the dividends-received deduction
Chief Counsel advised that a domestic corporate group was not entitled to a dividends-received deduction for distributions routed through a controlled foreign corporation and a regulated investment…
PLR 1320013: IRS allows a late election concerning tax-exempt use property
The IRS considered a corporation's request to make a late election under § 168(h)(6)(F)(ii). The corporation was owned by a tax-exempt parent and held an interest in a partnership that owned…
PLR 1320012: IRS permits a corporation to re-elect S corporation status early
The IRS considered a corporation's request to re-elect S corporation status before the normal five-year waiting period had expired after its earlier S election was terminated. The corporation's…
PLR 1320011: IRS grants more time to elect QSub treatment
The IRS considered an S corporation's request for more time to elect to treat a wholly owned subsidiary as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary. The S corporation had purchased the subsidiary but…
PLR 1320010: IRS treats a late S corporation election as timely
The IRS considered a corporation's late election to be treated as an S corporation. The corporation had been formed with that status in mind, but its shareholders did not timely file Form 2553. The…
PLR 1320009: IRS approves converting grandfathered trusts to unitrusts
The IRS considered whether two irrevocable trusts created before September 25, 1985 could be converted to unitrusts under a state statute. The proposed conversion would define trust income as a…
PLR 1320008: IRS restores S corporation treatment after an inadvertent termination
The IRS considered a corporation's request to preserve its S corporation status after the election terminated because the corporation had accumulated earnings and profits and excessive passive…
PLR 1320007: IRS approves several REIT treatment questions for correctional facilities
The IRS considered a publicly traded corporation's planned election to be taxed as a real estate investment trust while it owned and operated correctional and detention facilities. It ruled that the…
PLR 1320006: IRS restores S corporation treatment after a missed ESBT election
The IRS considered a corporation whose S corporation election terminated after stock was transferred to a trust that did not timely file an election to be treated as an electing small business…
PLR 1320005: IRS grants more time for a trust severance and reverse QTIP election
The IRS considered an estate's request to divide a marital trust into GST-exempt and GST-nonexempt trusts and make a reverse QTIP election after the original estate tax return omitted those actions.…
PLR 1320004: IRS approves a trust modification without adverse tax consequences
The IRS considered a proposed modification to an irrevocable trust that would give trustees discretion to distribute or accumulate income instead of requiring annual distributions. The trust had a…
PLR 1320003: IRS approves refined-coal credit treatment and testing methods
The IRS considered a partnership's planned production and sale of refined coal treated with chemical additives to reduce emissions. It ruled that the product could qualify as refined coal under IRC…
PLR 1320002: IRS treats surface-site payments as REIT rents from real property
The IRS considered whether payments for a surface site used to access underground oil and gas would qualify as rents from real property for a REIT. The surface land and subsurface mineral rights had…
PLR 1320001: IRS treats surface-site payments as REIT rents from real property
The IRS considered whether payments for a surface site used to access underground oil and gas would qualify as rents from real property for a REIT. The surface land and subsurface mineral rights had…
Determination 1319037: IRS approves a five-year amortization extension for an employee benefit plan
The IRS approved a request for a five-year automatic extension to amortize specified unfunded liabilities of an employee benefit plan. The approval applied to the eligible amortization charge bases…
PLR 1319036: IRS recognizes a hospital retirement plan as a church plan
Two tax-exempt hospitals asked whether their defined contribution profit-sharing plan qualified as a church plan. The hospitals were controlled or associated with a church through a religious order…
PLR 1319035: IRS approves a conditional minimum funding waiver
The IRS approved a waiver of a plan's required minimum funding contribution for a specified plan year. The approval was conditional on the sponsor making later contributions, timely quarterly…
PLR 1319034: IRS waives the 60-day IRA rollover deadline after a bank error
An individual asked the IRS to waive the 60-day deadline for rolling an IRA distribution into another IRA. The individual intended to transfer the distribution into a rollover IRA, but a bank…
PLR 1319033: IRS approves educational grants for fine artists
The IRS approved a private foundation's procedures for awarding one-time educational grants to fine artists. Eligible applicants are U.S. citizens who are no longer students, and recipients are…
PLR 1319032: IRS approves a scholarship program for students affected by a medical condition
The IRS approved a private foundation's procedures for awarding scholarships to qualifying college students whose lives have been affected by a redacted medical condition. Applicants must meet the…
Determination 1319031: IRS denies exemption to a member-benefit association
The IRS finalized its denial of exemption under IRC § 501(c)(4) for a membership association that offered members limited medical indemnity benefits, discounts, health information, and scholarships.…
An incorrect return may still start the assessment period
Chief Counsel Advice discusses whether an incorrect return can still be treated as a valid return for statute-of-limitations purposes. The advice states that the Germantown Trust rule was not…
A TEFRA proceeding may affect partners with open individual statutes
Chief Counsel Advice addresses a TEFRA partnership proceeding where some partners' individual statutes of limitations remain open. The advice states that the IRS can conduct a TEFRA proceeding…
A statute cannot be extended after it expires
Chief Counsel Advice addresses whether a statute may be extended after it has expired. The IRS advice gives a direct answer: an expired statute cannot be extended. The memo concerns the execution of…
How TEFRA partnership items are handled in a Munro computation
Chief Counsel Advice explains how to calculate a deficiency in a docketed non-TEFRA proceeding when the taxpayer's return includes TEFRA partnership items. The general method removes reported TEFRA…
Federal tax partnership status depends on joining capital or services for profit
Chief Counsel Advice addresses whether state law determines whether a person is a partner for federal tax purposes. The advice states that state law is irrelevant under the Supreme Court decisions…
A TMP can bind small-interest partners in a large partnership
Chief Counsel Advice addresses whether a tax matters partner, or TMP, can bind partners holding less than a one-percent interest in a large partnership. The advice states that the TMP can bind those…
How a partnership settlement affects spouses filing jointly
Chief Counsel Advice explains how a partnership settlement or conversion affects spouses who file a joint return. In a community-property state, the regulations generally treat the spouses as…
A TEFRA partnership cannot sign for another partnership merely through its TMP
Chief Counsel Advice addresses who may sign for a TEFRA partnership when the partner is another TEFRA partnership. The advice states that state law determines who may sign for the partner. The tax…
Spousal partnership-item conversion can affect consistent-settlement rights
Chief Counsel Advice addresses whether a non-partner spouse may request consistent settlement of partnership items after the other spouse settles. If the non-partner spouse's partnership items…
CCA 1319021: Partnership income follows the partnership tax year
Chief Counsel Advice addresses which parent corporation should report partnership income covered by a settlement agreement when the parent changed during one partner's tax year. The advice states…
CCA 1319020: Appeals testimony is covered by the CCDM
Chief Counsel Advice points to a provision in the IRS Chief Counsel Directives Manual concerning testimony in appeals proceedings. The message identifies CCDM section 35.6.2.18.2 as covering appeals…
CCA 1319019: Case markings may show how authorities were used in advice
Chief Counsel Advice asks whether markings on cases in a legal file could show which portions were cited in advisory memoranda. The message specifically asks about highlighted, bracketed, or…
CCA 1319018: Unincluded liabilities do not increase amount realized on receivables
Chief Counsel Advice addresses the amount realized when a taxpayer sells receivables. The advice states that the amount realized should not be increased by liabilities that the taxpayer did not…
CCA 1319017: Unassessed tax bars related underpayment interest
Chief Counsel Advice addresses whether the IRS may retain tax payments and assess related underpayment interest when the underlying tax was not timely assessed. The advice says the Service may…
CCA 1319016: IRS enforcement authority applies in Puerto Rico
Chief Counsel Advice states that IRC § 7651 gives the IRS authority to apply the Code's enforcement provisions in Puerto Rico. It separately states that the Dominican Republic is a foreign country…
CCA 1319015: Cash paid instead of health benefits is taxable wages
Chief Counsel Advice addresses cash payments made instead of employer-provided health benefits. The advice states that the cash payments are regular wages reported on Form W-2, even if the health…
CCA 1319014: TEFRA classification is generally determined at audit start
Chief Counsel Advice considers whether the IRS may continue relying on a partnership return after learning facts that appear contrary to the return's treatment under IRC § 6231(g)(2). The advice…
CCA 1319013: Summoned bank records may be disclosed to an authorized representative
Chief Counsel Advice states that a taxpayer's bank records obtained through an IRS summons are return information under IRC § 6103(b)(2)(A). The IRS must maintain confidentiality unless the Code…
CCA 1319012: Fraud can leave no limitation period for transferee assessment
Chief Counsel Advice addresses the period for assessing transferee liability when the transferor filed a fraudulent return. The advice states that when IRC § 6501(c)(1) applies and there is no…
CCA 1319011: Section 34 refund claims were not barred by the lookback period
Chief Counsel Advice considers whether a corporation's claims for income tax refunds under IRC § 34 were barred by the lookback rules in IRC § 6511(b). The corporation had been charged amounts equal…
CCA 1319010: Park restrictions can affect the value of donated mineral property
Chief Counsel Advice addresses the valuation of land and mineral rights donated to the National Park Service for purposes of a charitable contribution deduction under IRC § 170. The advice states…
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.