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.
No determinations match these filters
Try fewer or different words, check the spelling, or clear the filters to browse everything.
PLR 1222024: IRS allows another late S corporation election
The IRS ruled that a corporation may be treated as an S corporation from a specified effective date even though it did not timely file the election. The corporation established reasonable cause for…
PLR 1222023: IRS grants late entity-classification and S corporation relief
The IRS granted a limited liability company more time to elect to be treated as an association taxable as a corporation and also allowed a late S corporation election. The company had intended to be…
PLR 1222020: IRS allows a late S corporation election
The IRS ruled that a corporation may be treated as an S corporation from a specified effective date even though it did not timely file Form 2553. The corporation established reasonable cause for the…
PLR 1222003: IRS restores S corporation status after inadvertent termination
The IRS determined that a corporation’s S corporation election terminated after it had accumulated earnings and profits and more than 25 percent of its gross receipts were passive investment income…
PLR 1221010: IRS treats an S corporation election as continuing after an inadvertent ESBT filing failure
The IRS ruled that a corporation's S corporation election terminated when a trust acquired its shares without a timely electing small business trust election. The IRS found that the termination was…
PLR 1221009: IRS restores S corporation treatment after an inadvertent ESBT failure
The IRS ruled that a corporation's S corporation election terminated when a trust acquired its shares without a timely electing small business trust election. The IRS found that the termination was…
PLR 1221008: IRS grants relief for S corporation terminations and a deemed-dividend election
The IRS granted relief to an S corporation whose election terminated after three years of excessive passive investment income and may also have terminated because of disproportionate shareholder…
PLR 1221007: IRS grants relief for a late S corporation election
The IRS granted relief to a corporation that intended to elect S corporation status but did not file the election on time. The IRS found that the corporation had reasonable cause for the late filing…
PLR 1221006: IRS restores S corporation treatment after an ineligible shareholder event
The IRS ruled that an S corporation election terminated when one of the corporation's partners became an ineligible shareholder by electing C corporation treatment. After the event was discovered,…
PLR 1220024: S corporation keeps its election after stock and distribution errors
The IRS granted relief to a corporation whose S election may have been terminated after it issued additional stock and made non-pro rata distributions. The corporation represented that it intended…
PLR 1220023: Late S-election filing accepted for reasonable cause
The IRS granted a corporation relief after it failed to timely file Form 2553 to elect S-corporation status. The corporation's shareholder intended the election to be effective when the corporation…
PLR 1220002: Late S corporation election treated as timely
The IRS granted a newly formed corporation relief for failing to timely file its S corporation election. The corporation intended for the election to be effective on its formation date but did not…
PLR 1220001: Late S corporation election treated as timely
The IRS granted a newly formed corporation relief for failing to timely file its S corporation election. The corporation intended for the election to be effective on its formation date but did not…
PLR 1219014: Late S corporation election may be effective as of the intended date
The IRS granted relief to a small business corporation whose Form 2553, Election by a Small Business Corporation, was filed late. The corporation intended to be treated as an S corporation from a…
PLR 1219008: Late S corporation election may be treated as timely
A corporation asked for relief because it did not timely file its election to be treated as an S corporation. The IRS concluded that the corporation had reasonable cause for the late filing and…
PLR 1219003: S corporation shareholders receive a ruling on a divisive reorganization
Two related shareholders asked the IRS about the tax consequences of separating an S corporation’s business into two corporations. The proposed transaction would transfer half of the existing…
IRS grants a corporation relief for its late S corporation election
The IRS granted a corporation's request to have its S corporation election treated as timely. The corporation was formed on a redacted date, and its shareholders intended the election to take effect…
IRS grants a corporation relief for its late S corporation election
The IRS granted a corporation’s request to have its S corporation election treated as timely. The corporation intended to be treated as an S corporation from a redacted effective date, but it did…
IRS grants more time to elect QSub treatment
The IRS granted a corporation 120 days to elect to treat a wholly owned subsidiary as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary. The parent corporation had acquired all of the subsidiary’s stock and…
IRS rules that redemption agreements did not create a second class of stock
The IRS ruled that redemption agreements between an S corporation and two shareholders would not be treated as creating a second class of stock. The agreements provided for additional payments if…
PLR 1217016: IRS grants relief for a late S corporation election
An incorporated company asked the IRS to treat its late Form 2553 filing as a timely election to be taxed as an S corporation. The company stated that it intended to make the election effective on a…
PLR 1217013: IRS grants relief for a late S corporation election
An organization asked the IRS to recognize it as an S corporation after it failed to timely file Form 2553. The IRS found that the organization had reasonable cause for missing the filing deadline.…
PLR 1217010: IRS restores S corporation treatment after inadvertent trust-election failures
An S corporation's status terminated when three trusts that held its stock failed to make timely qualified subchapter S trust elections. The corporation and its shareholders had filed returns…
PLR 1217009: IRS preserves S corporation treatment after inadvertent transaction concerns
An S corporation asked whether a series of stock issuances, ownership changes, disproportionate distributions, a tax indemnification agreement, and a later transfer to an ineligible shareholder had…
PLR 1217008: IRS restores S corporation treatment after late QSST elections
A corporation asked whether it could keep S corporation status after two trusts held its shares without timely qualified subchapter S trust (QSST) elections. The IRS concluded that the S corporation…
PLR 1217007: IRS grants late-election relief for S corporation status
A corporation intended to elect S corporation status for its first tax year but did not timely file Form 2553. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late filing under section 1362(b)(5). It allowed…
PLR 1217006: IRS restores S corporation treatment after late QSST elections
A corporation's shares were held by two trusts that did not timely elect qualified subchapter S trust (QSST) treatment. The IRS concluded that the resulting termination of the corporation's S…
PLR 1216034: IRS rules on trust ownership, S corporation status, and estate inclusion
The IRS considered a domestic trust that was created for an individual who also served as trustee and beneficiary. The individual could withdraw contributions, subject to an annual lapse rule, and…
PLR 1216032: IRS restores S corporation status after an inadvertent termination
A corporation's S corporation election was inadvertently terminated when an ineligible shareholder acquired its stock. The corporation later redeemed all of that shareholder's stock and represented…
PLR 1216030: IRS grants relief for a late S corporation election
A corporation intended to elect S corporation status but did not timely file Form 2553. The IRS determined that the corporation had reasonable cause for the late election under IRC § 1362(b)(5). The…
PLR 1216028: IRS grants relief for a late S corporation election
A corporation intended to be an S corporation but did not timely file Form 2553. The IRS determined that the corporation had reasonable cause for the late election under IRC § 1362(b)(5). The IRS…
PLR 1216027: IRS approves a tax-free spin-off of a QSub business
An S corporation planned to distribute all the stock of a wholly owned subsidiary to its shareholders. The subsidiary's qualified subchapter S subsidiary (QSub) election would terminate when the…
PLR 1216025: IRS restores S corporation status after a trust becomes ineligible
A corporation's S corporation election terminated when a revocable trust continued holding its stock after the period during which the trust was an eligible shareholder ended. The trust later…
PLR 1216016: IRS permits a late S corporation election
A corporation's sole shareholder intended to elect S corporation status effective on a redacted date but did not timely file Form 2553. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late filing and…
IRS grants late S corporation election relief for reasonable cause
The IRS granted a corporation relief for a late S corporation election. The corporation intended the election to take effect on a redacted date but did not timely file Form 2553. The IRS found…
IRS grants an LLC more time to elect corporate tax treatment
The IRS granted an LLC an extension of time to file Form 8832 and elect to be treated as an association taxable as a corporation for federal tax purposes. The LLC intended to make the election…
PLR 1214017: IRS treats a late S corporation election as timely made
The IRS considered a newly incorporated company's request to treat its late S corporation election as timely. The company was eligible to elect S corporation status from its incorporation date, and…
PLR 1214011: IRS treats another late S corporation election as timely made
The IRS considered a newly incorporated company's request to have its late S corporation election recognized from its incorporation date. The company's sole shareholder intended S corporation…
PLR 1214010: IRS grants relief for a late S corporation election
The IRS considered a corporation's request to be treated as an S corporation from a specified effective date even though Form 2553 was filed late. The corporation established reasonable cause for…
PLR 1214008: IRS grants relief for another late S corporation election
The IRS considered a corporation's request to be treated as an S corporation from a specified effective date even though the election was not timely filed. The corporation established reasonable…
PLR 1214001: IRS preserves S corporation status after possible second-class stock issue
The IRS considered whether convertible debt, warrants, and employee options may have created a second class of stock and terminated an S corporation election. The corporation had not issued the…
PLR 1213020: IRS allows a late S corporation election
The IRS granted a corporation 120 days to file Form 2553 and make a late S corporation election effective on the requested date. The corporation's sole shareholder intended to make the election, but…
PLR 1213009: IRS grants late entity-classification and S-election relief
The IRS granted a limited liability company 120 days to file Form 8832 electing association treatment as a corporation for federal tax purposes. The company had also failed to timely file Form 2553…
PLR 1213003: IRS grants late S corporation election relief
The IRS granted a corporation 120 days to file Form 2553 and obtain S corporation treatment effective from the requested date. The corporation intended to make the election but did not file it on…
PLR 1211009: Rescinded stock sale may be followed by a valid section 338(h)(10) election
The IRS addressed a transaction in which two sellers sold stock of an S corporation, but the parties later learned that their intended section 338(h)(10) election was unavailable for that sale. The…
PLR 1211007: S corporation status continues after inadvertent trust-shareholder termination
An S corporation's stock was transferred to several trusts whose beneficiaries had not made the required qualified subchapter S trust elections. Because the trusts were therefore not eligible S…
PLR 1211006: S corporation status continues after inadvertent trust-shareholder termination
An S corporation's stock was transferred to several trusts whose beneficiaries had not made the required qualified subchapter S trust elections. Because the trusts were therefore not eligible S…
PLR 1211005: S corporation status continues after inadvertent trust-shareholder termination
An S corporation's stock was transferred to several trusts whose beneficiaries had not made the required qualified subchapter S trust elections. Because the trusts were therefore not eligible S…
PLR 1211004: S corporation status continues after inadvertent trust-shareholder termination
An S corporation's stock was transferred to several trusts whose beneficiaries had not made the required qualified subchapter S trust elections. Because the trusts were therefore not eligible S…
PLR 1211002: S corporation election restored after missed QSST and ESBT elections
An S corporation's stock was transferred to two qualified subchapter S trusts and one electing small business trust, but the required QSST and ESBT elections were not timely made. The IRS concluded…
PLR 1210025: Late S corporation election permitted for reasonable cause
The IRS ruled for a corporation that intended to elect S corporation status but did not timely file Form 2553. Based on the submitted facts and representations, the IRS concluded that the…
PLR 1210024: Late S corporation election permitted for reasonable cause
The IRS ruled for a corporation whose shareholders intended to elect S corporation status but did not timely file Form 2553. Based on the submitted facts and representations, the IRS concluded that…
PLR 1210016: Late S corporation election permitted for reasonable cause
The IRS granted a corporation relief for its late S corporation election. The corporation intended to elect S status as of its formation date but did not timely file the required election. The IRS…
PLR 1210010: Corporation receives relief for late S corporation election
The IRS granted a corporation relief for failing to timely elect S corporation status under IRC § 1362(a). The corporation established reasonable cause for the late election and could be treated as…
PLR 1208024: IRS grants late S corporation election relief for reasonable cause
The IRS ruled that a corporation could have its late S corporation election treated as timely because it established reasonable cause for missing the filing deadline. The relief applied only if the…
PLR 1208023: IRS grants relief for an inadvertent S corporation termination
The IRS ruled that an S corporation election terminated when shares were transferred to a trust whose beneficiary had not timely filed a qualified subchapter S trust election. The termination was…
PLR 1208022: IRS grants extra time for a qualified subchapter S subsidiary election
The IRS granted a corporation 120 days to file Form 8869 and elect to treat its wholly owned subsidiary as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary. The parent intended the election to be effective when…
PLR 1208018: IRS grants relief for a late S corporation election
The IRS ruled that a company had reasonable cause for failing to file its S corporation election on time. The company asked to have the election treated as effective on its intended date under IRC §…
PLR 1208016: IRS grants relief for a late S corporation election
The IRS ruled that a company had reasonable cause for failing to file its S corporation election on time. The company asked to have the election treated as effective on its incorporation date under…
PLR 1208015: IRS grants relief for a late S corporation election
The IRS ruled that a company had reasonable cause for failing to file its S corporation election on time. The company asked to have the election treated as effective on its intended date under IRC §…
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.