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 1312033: a foreign entity's classification affected whether TEFRA applied
Chief Counsel advised that filing Form 1120F did not by itself establish that a foreign partner was treated as a C corporation for TEFRA purposes. Under the check-the-box regulations, an eligible…
CCA 1312032: counsel may participate in post-Appeals mediation
Chief Counsel advised that counsel may participate in a post-Appeals mediation. The advice relied on Rev. Proc. 2009-44, which provides procedures for post-Appeals mediation, and Rev. Proc. 2012-18,…
CCA 1312031: deficiency reserves count toward the statutory reserve cap
Chief Counsel advised that deficiency reserves included in an insurance contract's statutory reserve should be included when applying the maximum financial statement reserve limitation. The advice…
CCA 1312030: prior-year wage repayments require corrected payroll reporting
Chief Counsel advised that a corrected Form W-2c properly leaves Box 1 unchanged when an employee repays wages received in an earlier year. The social security and Medicare wage and tax boxes should…
PLR 1312029: IRS grants an estate more time to make the section 1022 election
The IRS granted the executors of an estate 120 additional days to file Form 8939, make the section 1022 election, and allocate basis increases to eligible property. The decedent died in 2010, and…
PLR 1312028: IRS approves a REIT's cash-or-stock distribution structure
The IRS ruled on a real estate investment trust's proposed distributions in which shareholders could elect to receive all cash or all common stock, subject to a cash limit and proration. The common…
PLR 1312027: IRS excludes most remaining intercompany gains in a restructuring
The IRS ruled on a consolidated corporate group's proposed mergers, liquidations, and conversions to disregarded LLCs. The group had intercompany gains from an earlier liquidation that remained…
PLR 1312026: IRS treats a late accounting-period change request as timely
The IRS granted a taxpayer relief for a late Form 1128 requesting a change in its annual accounting period. The taxpayer sought to change its year end from February to April and filed the form after…
PLR 1312025: IRS grants more time to elect an extended NOL carryback
The IRS granted a consolidated corporate group 60 additional days to elect an extended carryback period for a consolidated net operating loss. The group intended to carry the loss back under section…
PLR 1312024: IRS approves elective stock-compensation cost-sharing methods
The IRS granted a multinational taxpayer prospective consent to use an elective method for measuring and timing employee stock options, restricted shares, and restricted share units included as…
PLR 1312023: IRS permits an S corporation to re-elect S status early
The IRS permitted a corporation whose S election had terminated after shares were transferred to an ineligible shareholder to re-elect S corporation status before the usual five-year waiting period…
PLR 1312022: IRS approves a cross-border spin-off and related reorganizations
The IRS approved a proposed transaction in which a foreign subsidiary would contribute assets to a newly classified corporation, distribute that corporation's stock in a spin-off, and complete…
PLR 1312021: IRS grants more time to decline bonus depreciation
The IRS granted a corporation 60 days to make a late election not to deduct additional first-year depreciation under section 168(k)(5). The corporation had claimed 100-percent bonus depreciation but…
PLR 1312020: IRS approves a nonprofit parent's section 355 distribution
The IRS ruled that a nonprofit parent could distribute the stock of a controlled corporation through its taxable holding company under section 355. The distribution satisfied the requirement that…
PLR 1312019: IRS grants more time to waive a consolidated group's loss carryback
The IRS granted a successor corporation 45 days to make a late election for a consolidated group to waive the entire carryback period for a consolidated net operating loss. The taxpayer had failed…
PLR 1312018: IRS grants more time to elect out of automatic GST exemption allocation
The IRS granted a taxpayer 120 days to elect out of the automatic allocation of generation-skipping transfer tax exemption to transfers made to a trust. The taxpayer's gift tax return did not…
PLR 1312017: IRS approves a complex separation, spin-off, and merger plan
The IRS approved specified federal tax treatment for a large corporate separation in which a parent would separate one business from its remaining businesses, distribute stock of a controlled…
PLR 1312016: IRS restores a corporation's S election after an inadvertent termination
The IRS ruled that a corporation would continue to be treated as an S corporation after a share transfer may have terminated its S election. The transfer violated an agreement, but the corporation…
PLR 1312015: IRS grants more time to classify an LLC as a corporation
The IRS granted a limited liability company 120 days to file Form 8832 and elect to be treated as an association, meaning a corporation, for federal tax purposes. The LLC had missed the deadline for…
PLR 1312014: IRS grants more time to classify an LLC as a corporation
The IRS granted a limited liability company 120 days to file Form 8832 and elect to be treated as an association, meaning a corporation, for federal tax purposes. The LLC had missed the deadline for…
PLR 1312013: IRS grants more time to classify an LLC as a corporation
The IRS granted a limited liability company 120 days to file Form 8832 and elect to be treated as an association, meaning a corporation, for federal tax purposes. The LLC had missed the deadline for…
PLR 1312012: IRS grants more time to classify an LLC as a corporation
The IRS granted a limited liability company 120 days to file Form 8832 and elect to be treated as an association, meaning a corporation, for federal tax purposes. The LLC had missed the deadline for…
PLR 1312011: IRS grants more time to classify an LLC as a corporation
The IRS granted a limited liability company 120 days to file Form 8832 and elect to be treated as an association, meaning a corporation, for federal tax purposes. The LLC had missed the deadline for…
PLR 1312010: IRS grants more time to classify an LLC as a corporation
The IRS granted a limited liability company 120 days to file Form 8832 and elect to be treated as an association, meaning a corporation, for federal tax purposes. The LLC had missed the deadline for…
PLR 1312009: IRS grants more time to classify an LLC as a corporation
The IRS granted a limited liability company 120 days to file Form 8832 and elect to be treated as an association, meaning a corporation, for federal tax purposes. The LLC had missed the deadline for…
PLR 1312008: IRS grants more time to classify an LLC as a corporation
The IRS granted a limited liability company 120 days to file Form 8832 and elect to be treated as an association, meaning a corporation, for federal tax purposes. The LLC had missed the deadline for…
PLR 1312007: IRS grants more time to classify an LLC as a corporation
The IRS granted a limited liability company 120 days to file Form 8832 and elect to be treated as an association, meaning a corporation, for federal tax purposes. The LLC had missed the deadline for…
PLR 1312006: IRS grants more time to classify an LLC as a corporation
The IRS granted a limited liability company 120 days to file Form 8832 and elect to be treated as an association, meaning a corporation, for federal tax purposes. The LLC had missed the deadline for…
PLR 1312005: IRS grants more time to classify an LLC as a corporation
The IRS granted a limited liability company 120 days to file Form 8832 and elect to be treated as an association, meaning a corporation, for federal tax purposes. The LLC had missed the deadline for…
PLR 1312004: IRS grants more time to classify an LLC as a corporation
The IRS granted a limited liability company 120 days to file Form 8832 and elect to be treated as an association, meaning a corporation, for federal tax purposes. The LLC had missed the deadline for…
PLR 1312003: IRS grants more time to classify an LLC as a corporation
The IRS granted a limited liability company 120 days to file Form 8832 and elect to be treated as an association, meaning a corporation, for federal tax purposes. The LLC had missed the deadline for…
PLR 1312002: IRS grants more time to classify an LLC as a corporation
The IRS granted a limited liability company 120 days to file Form 8832 and elect to be treated as an association, meaning a corporation, for federal tax purposes. The LLC had missed the deadline for…
PLR 1312001: IRS grants more time to classify an LLC as a corporation
The IRS granted a limited liability company 120 days to file Form 8832 and elect to be treated as an association, meaning a corporation, for federal tax purposes. The LLC had missed the deadline for…
PLR 1311045: IRS approves a five-year automatic amortization extension for a multiemployer plan
The IRS approved a five-year automatic extension for a multiemployer plan to amortize unfunded liabilities. The extension applies to the eligible amortization charge base identified in the request.…
PLR 1311044: IRS approves a five-year automatic amortization extension for a multiemployer plan
The IRS approved a five-year automatic extension for a multiemployer plan to amortize unfunded liabilities. The extension applies to eligible amortization charge bases identified in the application.…
PLR 1311043: IRS waives the 60-day rollover deadline after misleading tax advice
The IRS waived the 60-day rollover requirement for an elderly taxpayer who moved an IRA distribution into a non-IRA trust account after receiving misleading advice from a CPA and financial adviser.…
PLR 1311042: IRS waives the 60-day rollover deadline after a plan failed to explain rollover rights
The IRS waived the 60-day rollover requirement for a surviving spouse who received a lump-sum distribution from an employer plan. The IRS found that the plan sponsor’s failure to explain the…
PLR 1311041: IRS waives the 60-day rollover deadline after checks were mailed to the wrong address
The IRS waived the 60-day rollover requirement for a taxpayer whose plan distribution checks were mailed to an incorrect address by a financial institution. The taxpayer retrieved the checks shortly…
PLR 1311040: IRS approves a conditional waiver of a pension plan's minimum funding contribution
The IRS approved a conditional waiver of a plan’s required minimum funding contribution for the plan year ending December 31, 2011. The waiver covered the remaining unpaid contribution and required…
PLR 1311039: IRS waives the 60-day rollover deadline after a financial institution distributed the wrong assets
The IRS waived the 60-day rollover requirement after a financial institution mistakenly transferred shares instead of the requested cash amount from an IRA. The taxpayer did not discover the error…
PLR 1311038: IRS waives the 60-day rollover deadline for a taxpayer with a disabling mental condition
The IRS waived the 60-day rollover requirement for a taxpayer whose mental condition impaired the ability to make financial decisions during the rollover period. The taxpayer represented that the…
PLR 1311037: IRS waives rollover deadlines for a married couple affected by a mental condition
The IRS waived the 60-day rollover requirement for three IRA distributions received by a married couple. The wife’s mental condition impaired her ability to make financial decisions, and the couple…
PLR 1311036: IRS rules that endowment units do not generate UBTI
The IRS ruled that a charitable remainder trust’s proposed contractual units in an educational organization’s endowment would not generate unrelated business taxable income. The units would provide…
PLR 1311035: IRS rules donated nonvoting stock is permitted business holding
The IRS ruled that a supporting organization’s nonvoting stock in a corporation would be permitted holdings under IRC § 4943 after a related foundation received a specified portion of the…
PLR 1311034: IRS rules that two foundation grants are not self-dealing
A private foundation asked whether two grants would be treated as self-dealing under IRC § 4941. One proposed grant would fund a healthcare research center built on a university campus. The other…
IRS finalizes denial of tax-exempt status for a financial education organization
The IRS finalized its proposed adverse determination that an organization did not qualify for exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3). The organization planned to provide financial education and financial…
IRS determination 1311032: IRS rules that contractual endowment units do not generate UBTI
The IRS ruled that a charitable remainder trust’s proposed contractual units in an educational organization’s endowment would not generate unrelated business taxable income. The units would give the…
IRS determination 1311031: IRS approves expanded training and advertising activities for a labor organization
The IRS ruled that a training trust exempt as a labor organization could amend its governing document to add safety training, professional development, and advertising and marketing activities. The…
Determination 1311030: IRS denies section 501(c)(3) exemption to a scientific organization
The IRS denied exemption to an organization formed to research, develop, and commercialize a medical-detection device. The organization planned to market devices and license results, while its…
IRS determination 1311029: IRS finalizes denial of exemption for a mortgage counseling organization
The IRS finalized its adverse determination that a mortgage counseling organization did not qualify for exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3). The organization’s activities included mortgage mitigation…
IRS determination 1311028: IRS finalizes denial of exemption for an organization with insufficiently described operations
The IRS finalized its adverse determination that an organization did not qualify for exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3). The IRS said the organization had not described its operations in enough detail…
CCA 1311027: CCA concludes that disclosure of third-party return information is not authorized
Chief Counsel advice addressed whether third-party return information could be disclosed in an IRS examination under IRC § 6103(h)(4)(B) or (C). The advice explained that disclosure may be allowed…
CCA 1311025: CCA explains AAR filing and refund-petition periods
Chief Counsel advice explains that section 6227 generally provides three years to file an administrative adjustment request, including for affected carryover years. After an AAR is filed, section…
CCA 1311024: CCA distinguishes ocean activity income from transportation income
Chief Counsel advice addresses the source of income from chartering and moving a vessel. If a day rate covers only moving the vessel from Norway to the Gulf, the income should be characterized as…
CCA 1311023: CCA advises that the taxpayer is generally bound by transaction form
Chief Counsel advice addresses whether a taxpayer could use the substance-over-form doctrine to recast a transaction. The advice states that taxpayers are generally bound by the form they chose,…
CCA 1311022: CCA concludes that class-representative incentive payments are wages
Chief Counsel advice considers incentive awards paid to named plaintiffs in an employee class-action settlement. The advice concludes that the awards are remuneration arising from the employment…
Prepaid FDIC assessments are not currently deductible
The Office of Chief Counsel considered whether a consolidated group could deduct prepaid FDIC assessments for two taxable years. It concluded that the prepaid assessment was part of a capital…
PLR 1311020: IRS allows late filing of a Form 8716 tax-year election
The IRS granted a taxpayer relief for a late-filed Form 8716, which elects a tax year other than a required tax year. The taxpayer had hired a qualified tax professional, but the form was not filed…
PLR 1311019: IRS allows late filing of a Form 8716 tax-year election
The IRS granted a taxpayer relief for a late-filed Form 8716, which elects a tax year other than a required tax year. The taxpayer had hired a qualified tax professional, but the form was not filed…
PLR 1311018: IRS approves changes to stock-based compensation methods in a cost sharing arrangement
The IRS granted a taxpayer consent to change how it measures and identifies employee stock options and restricted shares for a cost sharing arrangement. The taxpayer sought to use an elective method…
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.