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 201320020: 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 201320019: 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 201320018: 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 201320017: 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 201320016: 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 201320015: 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 201320014: 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 201320013: 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 201320012: 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 201320011: 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 201320010: 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 201320009: 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 201320008: 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 201320007: 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 201320006: 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 201320005: 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 201320004: 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 201320003: 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 201320002: 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 201320001: 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 201319037: 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 201319036: 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 201319035: 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 201319034: 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 201319033: 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 201319032: 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 201319031: 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 201319021: 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 201319020: 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 201319019: 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 201319018: 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 201319017: 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 201319016: 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 201319015: 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 201319014: 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 201319013: 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 201319012: 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 201319011: 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 201319010: 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…
PLR 201319009: Acquisition qualified as a covered transaction for capitalization rules
The IRS ruled that a taxable acquisition of one company by a newly formed holding company was a “covered transaction” under Treas. Reg. § 1.263(a)-5(e)(3). The transaction combined two businesses,…
PLR 201319008: Partnership granted more time to elect capitalization of carrying charges
The IRS granted a partnership an additional 30 days to make a section 266 election to capitalize interest, property taxes, and other carrying charges for two taxable years. The partnership had…
PLR 201319007: Retroactive QEF election allowed after professional tax advice failed to identify a PFIC
The IRS consented to a shareholder's retroactive qualified electing fund election for an investment in a foreign corporation treated as a passive foreign investment company. The shareholder had…
PLR 201319006: Retroactive QEF election allowed for successor foreign corporation
The IRS consented to a shareholder's retroactive qualified electing fund election for an investment in a foreign corporation treated as a passive foreign investment company. The shareholder relied…
PLR 201319005: New parent granted more time to elect consolidated filing
The IRS granted a new parent corporation 60 days to make an election to file a consolidated federal income tax return for a short tax year. The election was missed because the parent reasonably…
PLR 201319004: Refined-coal credit positions approved for testing and facility rules
The IRS approved six requested positions concerning a refined-coal facility seeking the section 45 tax credit. The ruling accepted the taxpayer's additive process as producing refined coal, allowed…
PLR 201319003: Futures on volatility index qualified as RIC income under section 851
The IRS ruled that income and gains from a regulated investment company's futures contracts on a volatility index would qualify as “other income” derived from the fund's business of investing in…
PLR 201319002: Refined-coal credit positions approved for testing and facility rules
The IRS approved six requested positions concerning a refined-coal facility seeking the section 45 tax credit. The ruling accepted the additive process as producing refined coal, allowed feedstock…
PLR 201319001: Refined-coal credit positions approved for testing and facility rules
The IRS approved six requested positions concerning a refined-coal facility seeking the section 45 tax credit. The ruling accepted the additive process as producing refined coal, allowed feedstock…
TAM 201318034: Retroactive revocation of exempt status was not limited
The IRS considered whether to limit the retroactive revocation of a nonprofit organization's tax-exempt status under IRC § 501(c)(3). The organization had represented that it would provide credit…
PLR 201318033: Inherited IRA interests may be divided into four sub-IRAs
An estate inherited an individual retirement account after the account owner died without naming a beneficiary. The estate administrator planned to divide the account into four equal inherited…
PLR 201318032: 60-day rollover deadline waived after misleading advice
An IRA owner received a distribution and missed the 60-day rollover deadline after relying on an advisor's incorrect information. Part of the money was sent to an escrow agent and used to buy stock…
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.