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 201322016: IRS restores S corporation status after missed QSST elections
The IRS ruled that a corporation's S corporation election terminated when beneficiaries of four trusts failed to make timely qualified subchapter S trust elections. The IRS found that the…
PLR 201322015: IRS preserves GST-tax-exempt status after proposed trust divisions and mergers
The IRS ruled that proposed divisions and mergers of several irrevocable family trusts would not cause the trusts to lose their effective-date exemption from generation-skipping transfer tax. The…
PLR 201322014: IRS preserves GST-tax-exempt status after proposed trust divisions and mergers
The IRS ruled that proposed divisions and mergers of several irrevocable family trusts would not cause the trusts to lose their effective-date exemption from generation-skipping transfer tax. The…
PLR 201322013: IRS preserves GST-tax-exempt status after proposed trust divisions and mergers
The IRS ruled that proposed divisions and mergers of several irrevocable family trusts would not cause the trusts to lose their effective-date exemption from generation-skipping transfer tax. The…
PLR 201322012: IRS preserves GST-tax-exempt status after proposed trust divisions and mergers
The IRS ruled that proposed divisions and mergers of several irrevocable family trusts would not cause the trusts to lose their effective-date exemption from generation-skipping transfer tax. The…
PLR 201322011: IRS preserves GST-tax-exempt status after proposed trust divisions and mergers
The IRS ruled that proposed divisions and mergers of several irrevocable family trusts would not cause the trusts to lose their effective-date exemption from generation-skipping transfer tax. The…
PLR 201322010: IRS preserves GST-tax-exempt status after proposed trust divisions and mergers
The IRS ruled that proposed divisions and mergers of several irrevocable family trusts would not cause the trusts to lose their effective-date exemption from generation-skipping transfer tax. The…
PLR 201322009: IRS applies PFIC look-through rules to a foreign holding company structure
The IRS clarified how the passive foreign investment company, or PFIC, look-through rules applied to a foreign holding company that owned a domestic software company, which in turn owned a domestic…
PLR 201322008: IRS approves an insurer's conversion to a reciprocal insurer
The IRS ruled that a property and casualty insurance company could convert from a stock insurer to a reciprocal insurer through a merger and restructuring. The conversion qualified as a Type F…
PLR 201322007: IRS permits revocation of a section 83(b) election
The IRS consented to a taxpayer's revocation of an election under section 83(b) concerning shares of employer stock received for services. The taxpayer requested revocation within the 30-day period…
PLR 201322006: IRS restores S corporation treatment after an inadvertent termination
The IRS ruled that a corporation's S election was inadvertently terminated when one of its shareholders became ineligible. The corporation represented that the termination was not motivated by tax…
PLR 201322005: IRS approves refined-coal credit treatment for an emissions-reduction process
The IRS ruled on a taxpayer's proposed use of chemical additives to produce refined coal for a power plant. The ruling approved treating the resulting fuel as refined coal under section 45, subject…
PLR 201322004: IRS approves refined-coal treatment for a leased facility and blended coal
The IRS ruled on a taxpayer's use of chemical reagents at a leased facility to produce refined coal for a power plant. The process and reagents qualified for refined-coal treatment under section 45,…
PLR 201322003: IRS approves refined-coal treatment for a leased facility and blended coal
The IRS ruled on a taxpayer's use of chemical reagents at a leased facility to produce refined coal for a power plant. The process and reagents qualified for refined-coal treatment under section 45,…
PLR 201322002: IRS grants extra time for a consolidated-group election
The IRS granted a taxpayer an extension of time to file an election under Treas. Reg. § 1.1502-13(l)(3) for certain stock-elimination transactions in a consolidated group. The original common parent…
PLR 201322001: IRS excludes deferred intercompany gain after a target liquidation
The IRS ruled on the treatment of deferred intercompany gain after a target company was to merge upstream into the new common parent of a consolidated group. The gain arose from an earlier sale of…
IRS determination 201321041: Exempt status revoked for failure to meet section 501(c)(3) requirements
The IRS issued a final adverse determination revoking an organization's federal tax exemption under section 501(c)(3), effective August 1, 2000. The letter states that the organization was not…
Determination 201321040: IRS revokes exemption after recordkeeping and private-benefit failures
The IRS revoked an organization's exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3), effective January 1, 2007. The determination says the organization did not meet the recordkeeping requirements of IRC § 6033 and…
IRS revokes a homeowners association's section 501(c)(4) exemption
The IRS revoked a homeowners association's exemption under section 501(c)(4). The association maintained a swimming pool, roads, security lights, trees, and other common areas, but those facilities…
IRS revokes an organization's exemption after it failed to respond to an examination
The IRS revoked an organization's exemption under section 501(c)(4). The organization failed to file required Form 990 returns and did not respond to repeated IRS requests for records and…
IRS revokes a social-welfare organization's exemption after it ceased its activities
The IRS revoked an organization's exemption under section 501(c)(4). The organization had been engaged in activities intended to promote social welfare, including advocacy concerning the quality of…
IRS revokes an employee association's exemption for substantial commercial insurance activity
The IRS revoked a local employee association's section 501(c)(4) exemption. The association provided commercial-type insurance to its members, and the IRS determined that this was a substantial part…
IRS revokes a homeowners association's exemption because its common areas served members
The IRS revoked a homeowners association's exemption under section 501(c)(4). The association maintained an office building, swimming pool, play areas, a dumpster, utility meters, and roads, but…
PLR 201321034: Estate settlement does not create self-dealing excise tax
A private foundation was named to receive partnership interests and other assets under a decedent's will. The decedent's children, the estate's executors, and the foundation's trustees became…
IRS revokes exemption from organization whose only activity was gaming
The IRS revoked an organization's exemption under IRC § 501(c)(4), effective January 1 of the redacted year. The organization had originally been formed to support a youth football league, but it…
IRS revokes exemption from homeowners association with member-only facilities
The IRS revoked an organization's exemption under IRC § 501(c)(4), effective January 1 of the redacted year. The organization administered covenants, maintained common property, and operated a…
PLR 201321031: IRS approves employer-related scholarship grant procedures
The IRS approved a private foundation's procedures for awarding scholarships to children of an employer's full-time employees. The program considers financial need, academic merit, and educational…
PLR 201321030: IRS approves a private foundation's scholarship grant procedures
The IRS approved a private foundation's procedures for awarding a scholarship to a qualifying high school senior pursuing post-secondary education. The program is needs-based, open to the senior…
PLR 201321029: IRS approves a global employee-family scholarship program
The IRS approved a private foundation's procedures for scholarships to dependent children of eligible full-time employees and their subsidiaries. The program uses an independent third party to…
PLR 201321028: IRS approves a foundation's historic-property restoration set-aside
The IRS approved a private operating foundation's request to set aside funds for the restoration of a historic property. After restoration, the property would be used for exempt activities,…
PLR 201321027: IRS rules that a court-approved estate settlement is not self-dealing
The IRS considered a settlement involving partnership interests that a decedent's will had directed to a private foundation. The decedent's children, the estate's executors, and the foundation's…
Final adverse determination: IRS denies business-league exemption for an identity-theft services organization
The IRS issued a final adverse determination denying federal income tax exemption under IRC § 501(c)(6) to an organization formed by nonprofit groups representing financial-services companies. The…
PLR 201321025: IRS approves a private foundation's asset transfer, termination plan, and related tax treatment
A private non-operating foundation planned to transfer substantially all of its remaining assets to a related private operating foundation controlled by the same people. The IRS ruled that the…
PLR 201321024: IRS approves a private foundation's asset transfer, termination plan, and related tax treatment
A private non-operating foundation planned to transfer substantially all of its remaining assets to a related private operating foundation controlled by the same people. The IRS ruled that the…
CCA 201321023: CAPCO must recognize income from tax-credit offsets used for investor payments
Chief Counsel Advice addresses a certified capital company, or CAPCO, that uses insurance premium tax-credit offsets to pay interest and principal on notes issued to investors. The advice concludes…
CCA 201321022: IRS supports refund statute dates based on filing deadlines and extensions
Chief Counsel Advice addresses how the IRS should calculate refund statute expiration dates, or RSEDs, under IRC § 6511. It agrees that the ordinary three-year period should run from the statutory…
CCA 201321021: Appeals may accept an amended return for a late real-estate election
Chief Counsel Advice addresses a procedural requirement for relief under Rev. Proc. 2011-34. That procedure allows certain taxpayers to make a late election under Treas. Reg. § 1.469-9(g) to treat…
CCA 201321020: IRS gives internal routing guidance for IRC § 6110 petitions
Chief Counsel Advice provides internal procedural guidance for petitions under IRC § 6110. It states that an IRC § 6110 petition receives a “D” after the docket number. It also states that all IRC §…
TAM 201321019: Court order fixed the date of discharge of indebtedness
The IRS considered when an S corporation's debt was discharged after a settlement with its creditor. The settlement required payments and a court order dismissing the related claims, and it included…
CCA 201321018: Section 367(d) applies to an outbound reorganization's indirect disposition of intangible property
The IRS analyzed an outbound reorganization in which a domestic corporation transferred intangible property to a foreign corporation and then distributed the foreign corporation's stock to domestic…
PLR 201321017: IRS rules that three officers are not covered employees under section 162(m)
The IRS ruled that three officers of a publicly held corporation were not covered employees for the corporation's taxable year. Two officers served as the corporation's principal financial officer…
PLR 201321016: 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 201321015: IRS grants more time for a foreign entity classification election
The IRS granted a foreign eligible entity 120 additional days to file Form 8832 and elect disregarded-entity treatment for federal tax purposes. The entity intended the election to be effective on…
PLR 201321014: IRS grants more time for a foreign entity classification election
The IRS granted a foreign eligible entity 120 additional days to file Form 8832 and elect disregarded-entity treatment for federal tax purposes. The entity intended the election to be effective on…
PLR 201321013: IRS grants more time for a foreign entity classification election
The IRS granted a foreign eligible entity 120 additional days to file Form 8832 and elect disregarded-entity treatment for federal tax purposes. The entity intended the election to be effective on…
PLR 201321012: IRS approves charitable transfers of trust remainder and unitrust interests
The IRS ruled that a married couple may transfer their charitable remainder unitrust remainder and unitrust interests to a charitable organization. The couple will irrevocably give up the power to…
PLR 201321011: IRS permits a retroactive change to the alternative tax book value method
The IRS permitted a domestic corporation to retroactively change its method for valuing assets when apportioning interest expense. The corporation had used the tax book value method for earlier…
PLR 201321010: IRS permits a retroactive qualified electing fund election
The IRS consented to an individual's retroactive election to treat a passive foreign investment company as a qualified electing fund. The individual had not known that the foreign company was a PFIC…
PLR 201321009: 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 201321008: 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 201321007: 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 201321006: 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 201321005: 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 201321004: 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 201321003: 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 201321002: 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 201321001: 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 201320023: 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 201320022: 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 201320021: 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…
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.