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 1310009: Subsidiary treated as having joined its parent's consolidated return
The IRS considered a subsidiary that had been included in its parent's consolidated federal income tax return but had not filed the required Form 1122 or appeared on Form 851. The parent had…
PLR 1310008: IRS grants relief for an inadvertent S corporation election termination
The IRS considered a corporation whose S corporation election terminated after shares were transferred to an ineligible shareholder. The corporation and its shareholders corrected the ownership…
PLR 1310007: Estate receives more time to make the Section 1022 election
The IRS considered an estate whose decedent died in 2010 and whose executor missed the deadline to file Form 8939. Form 8939 was needed to make the Section 1022 Election and allocate basis increases…
PLR 1310006: Trust powers do not make committee members the taxable owners or gift donors on the submitted facts
The IRS considered an irrevocable trust created for a grantor's descendants, with distributions controlled by a distribution committee and certain powers retained by the grantor. It concluded that…
PLR 1310005: Trust powers do not make committee members the taxable owners or gift donors on the submitted facts
The IRS considered an irrevocable trust created for a grantor's descendants, with distributions controlled by a distribution committee and certain powers retained by the grantor. It concluded that…
PLR 1310004: Trust powers do not make committee members the taxable owners or gift donors on the submitted facts
The IRS considered an irrevocable trust created for a grantor's descendants, with distributions controlled by a distribution committee and certain powers retained by the grantor. It concluded that…
PLR 1310003: Trust powers do not make committee members the taxable owners or gift donors on the submitted facts
The IRS considered an irrevocable trust created for a grantor's descendants, with distributions controlled by a distribution committee and certain powers retained by the grantor. It concluded that…
PLR 1310002: Trust powers do not make committee members the taxable owners or gift donors on the submitted facts
The IRS considered an irrevocable trust created for a grantor's descendants, with distributions controlled by a distribution committee and certain powers retained by the grantor. It concluded that…
PLR 1310001: Indian tribe may pass renewable-energy investment credits to its lessee
The IRS considered a federally recognized Indian tribe that planned to lease renewable energy assets to an unrelated lessee. The tribe represented that the assets would qualify as energy property…
Other 1309029: IRS denies exemption to an organization serving related for-profit entities
The IRS denied an organization's application for exemption under section 501(c)(3). The organization initially provided automotive training under contracts with for-profit companies, later…
PLR 1309028: IRS recognizes three retirement plans as church plans
The IRS considered three retirement plans sponsored by a tax-exempt corporation controlled by an association of churches. The corporation operated senior housing and related religious services, and…
PLR 1309027: IRS waives the 60-day IRA rollover deadline after illness and a financial institution error
The IRS considered a taxpayer who received a distribution from an IRA but did not complete the rollover within 60 days. The taxpayer had instructed one financial institution to transfer the funds to…
PLR 1309026: IRS waives the 60-day IRA rollover deadline after an unauthorized distribution
The IRS considered a taxpayer whose IRA custodian caused a distribution that she had not requested. She did not learn about the distribution until after the 60-day rollover period had expired, and…
PLR 1309025: IRS waives the 60-day IRA rollover deadline after incorrect financial advice
The IRS considered a taxpayer who withdrew money from an IRA to fund a residence purchase after a financial adviser gave an incorrect rollover deadline. The taxpayer redeposited the amount after the…
PLR 1309024: IRS waives the 60-day IRA rollover deadline after a bank error
The IRS considered a taxpayer who withdrew IRA assets intending to roll part of them into another IRA certificate of deposit and use the remainder for living and medical expenses. A bank employee…
PLR 1309023: IRS declines a 60-day IRA rollover waiver when the taxpayers had notice of the deadline
The IRS considered two taxpayers who received distributions from separate IRAs and used the funds for household and tax expenses. They requested waivers of the 60-day rollover requirement, saying…
PLR 1309022: IRS waives the 60-day IRA rollover deadline after a divorce-related transfer error
The IRS considered a taxpayer who received an IRA distribution after a divorce-related transfer was mishandled by a financial institution. The taxpayer had instructed the institution to treat the…
PLR 1309021: IRS waives the 60-day IRA rollover deadline after an adviser failed to establish the receiving IRA
The IRS considered a taxpayer who withdrew money from an IRA to roll it into a new IRA and invest through that account. The taxpayer sent the money to a financial adviser, who was supposed to…
PLR 1309020: Missed and make-up IRA payments do not disrupt substantially equal payments
The IRS considered a taxpayer receiving substantially equal periodic payments from an IRA under the fixed amortization method. The IRA custodian missed one scheduled annual payment because the…
IRS denies section 501(c)(3) exemption to a mortgage-assistance and credit-counseling organization
The IRS denied federal income tax exemption under section 501(c)(3) to a nonprofit organization that planned to provide mortgage and financial assistance, credit counseling, and other charitable…
IRS revokes a private foundation's section 501(c)(3) exemption for personal expenses and self-dealing
The IRS revoked a private foundation's section 501(c)(3) exemption retroactively to its formation. The foundation was created to make grants to other charitable organizations, but it made no such…
PLR 1309017: IRS approves a cooperative telephone company's discounted patronage-credit retirement program
The IRS considered a tax-exempt cooperative telephone company that wanted to retire members' and former members' patronage capital credits earlier than its usual cycle and pay their present value…
IRS denies section 501(c)(3) exemption to an advertising and fundraising website
The IRS denied exemption under section 501(c)(3) to an organization that planned to operate an advertising and fundraising website and offer nonprofit-management workshops. The Service concluded…
IRS revokes exemption from an organization that failed to establish medical research and made interest-free loans
The IRS revoked an organization’s section 501(c)(3) exemption because it did not establish that its current activity, transcribing decades of accumulated medical data, furthered an exempt purpose.…
Determination 1309014: IRS revokes a title-holding corporation's section 501(c)(2) exemption
The IRS revoked a title-holding corporation's exemption under IRC § 501(c)(2). The corporation had been formed to own an office building, lease it to a state agency, and use the lease payments to…
CCA 1309013: IRS explains how section 382 limits recognized built-in losses
Chief Counsel advised that a recognized built-in loss is not treated as a separately determined net operating loss for the year. Instead, the loss is taken into account as a deduction in the annual…
PLR 1309012: IRS extends the expenditure period for qualified school construction bonds
A state public authority asked for more time to spend the available project proceeds from qualified school construction bonds. Most participating localities had spent their allocated proceeds, but…
PLR 1309011: IRS approves continued diversification treatment during variable-fund liquidation
A foreign life insurance company treated as a domestic corporation for federal tax purposes asked whether two funds supporting variable life insurance contracts would continue to satisfy the section…
PLR 1309010: IRS requires utility to aggregate related cash payments for Form 8300
A regulated natural gas and electric utility asked how IRC § 6050I applies to cash payments from customers. Customers were billed periodically, and some paid in cash at payment centers or by mail.…
PLR 1309009: IRS requires utility to aggregate related cash payments for Form 8300
A regulated natural gas and electric utility asked how IRC § 6050I applies to cash payments from customers. Customers were billed periodically, and some paid in cash at payment centers or by mail.…
PLR 1309008: IRS requires utility to aggregate related cash payments for Form 8300
A regulated natural gas and electric utility asked how IRC § 6050I applies to cash payments from customers. Customers were billed periodically, and some paid in cash at payment centers or by mail.…
PLR 1309007: IRS requires utility to aggregate related cash payments for Form 8300
A regulated natural gas and electric utility asked how IRC § 6050I applies to cash payments from customers. Customers were billed periodically, and some paid in cash at payment centers or by mail.…
PLR 1309006: Utility must aggregate customer cash payments for energy supplied
The IRS considered a regulated utility's cash collections from customers who pay periodic energy bills. It ruled that the underlying transaction is the supply of energy, not each separate billing or…
PLR 1309005: Utility must aggregate customer cash payments for energy supplied
The IRS considered a regulated utility's cash collections from customers who pay periodic energy bills. It ruled that the underlying transaction is the supply of energy, not each separate billing or…
PLR 1309004: PILOT payments qualify as deductible real property taxes
The IRS considered payments in lieu of taxes, or PILOT payments, for a condominium project built on leased public land. It ruled that the payments were real property taxes for purposes of section…
PLR 1309003: Buy-sell agreement and bonus plan did not create a second stock class
The IRS considered an S corporation's amended buy-sell agreement and a bonus plan tied to a possible recovery from a third-party claim. It ruled that the arrangements did not create a second class…
PLR 1309002: Estate received extra time to make the section 1022 election
The IRS considered an estate representative's request for more time to file Form 8939 and make the section 1022 election for property acquired from a decedent who died in 2010. It concluded that the…
PLR 1309001: Couple received extra time for Canadian pension elections
The IRS considered a married couple's request for more time to elect the treatment provided by Revenue Procedure 2002-23 for Canadian registered pension and retirement savings accounts. It found…
PLR 1308037: IRS waived the 60-day rollover deadline for part of a pension distribution
The IRS considered a taxpayer's request to roll part of a pension distribution into an IRA after the 60-day deadline. The plan had not provided the written rollover notice required by section…
Determination 1308036: IRS approved a five-year amortization extension for a pension plan
The IRS approved a request for a five-year automatic extension to amortize a multiemployer plan's unfunded liabilities. The approval was based on the plan's submission of the information and…
PLR 1308035: IRS waived the 60-day IRA rollover deadline after a financial institution error
The IRS considered an IRA distribution that was intended to be rolled into a new IRA but was placed into an account with the wrong ownership. The taxpayer represented that the distribution had not…
PLR 1308034: IRS waived the 60-day IRA rollover deadline after misleading account instructions
The IRS considered an IRA distribution that the taxpayer intended to divide between two new IRAs. Representatives directed the taxpayer to online forms but did not explain the difference between IRA…
PLR 1308033: IRS ruled that a religious employer’s retirement plan was a church plan
The IRS considered a retirement plan maintained by a religious educational employer. The plan was administered by a committee connected to the employer’s governing structure and affiliated with a…
Other 1308032: IRS denies exemption to a foreclosure-counseling organization
The IRS issued a final adverse determination denying tax exemption under section 501(c)(3) to an organization that counseled homeowners about foreclosure and loan modifications. The IRS concluded…
PLR 1308031: IRS approved changes to an employer-related scholarship program
The IRS considered changes to a private foundation’s scholarship program for children of employees of a company and its controlled group. The changes expanded the applicant pool, altered eligibility…
CCA 1308030: Chief Counsel rejected a retroactive election to exclude disability benefits
Chief Counsel considered an S-corporation shareholder-employee who had excluded employer-paid disability insurance premiums from income and later received disability benefits. The advice concluded…
CCA 1308029: Chief Counsel addressed NUBIG and NUBIL computations
Chief Counsel advised that the taxpayer’s position did not alter the net unrealized built-in gain or loss computation under sections 382(h) and 56(g)(4)(G). Instead, it affected how the taxpayer…
CCA 1308028: Chief Counsel explained when LLC debt guarantees create at-risk basis
Chief Counsel advised that an LLC debt guarantor may be at risk even without completely waiving subrogation and reimbursement rights, if the guaranty is bona fide and enforceable and the guarantor…
CCA 1308027: IRS analyzes whether a settlement payment is a nondeductible penalty
This Chief Counsel Advice analyzes whether part of a taxpayer's payment under a settlement agreement with a state attorney general was a fine or similar penalty under IRC § 162(f). The visible…
CCA 1308026: IRS addresses NUBIG and NUBIL computations after an ownership change
This Chief Counsel Advice addresses whether a taxpayer could exclude certain redacted bank-loan items from the net unrealized built-in gain or loss computation after acquiring a target corporation.…
CCA 1308025: IRS identifies the discovery year for a Ponzi-scheme theft loss
This Chief Counsel Advice addresses which year an investor should use as the discovery year for a theft-loss claim involving a fraudulent investment arrangement. Applying Rev. Proc. 2011-58, the IRS…
PLR 1308024: IRS allows a successor payor to rely on transferred Form W-9 records
The IRS ruled that a partnership formed by two brokerage businesses may rely on the predecessor businesses' records and procedures to establish that Forms W-9 were obtained and maintained for…
PLR 1308023: IRS permits reelection of the foreign earned income exclusion
The IRS permitted a taxpayer to reelect the foreign earned income exclusion under section 911 before the usual six-year waiting period had expired. The taxpayer had revoked a prior election after…
PLR 1308022: IRS restores an S election after untimely ESBT elections
The IRS ruled that an S corporation's election terminated when four trusts received its shares and the trustees failed to file the required electing small business trust elections. The IRS also…
PLR 1308021: IRS permits a renewable-energy credit without reducing it for project loans
The IRS ruled that loans from a binational environmental-finance bank for wind projects were not subsidized energy financing under section 45(b)(3)(A)(iii). The bank was funded by the United States…
PLR 1308020: IRS says exchange-management software does not disqualify a like-kind exchange intermediary
The IRS ruled that a company serving as a qualified intermediary for like-kind exchanges did not become a disqualified person merely by providing clients with proprietary software. The software…
PLR 1308019: IRS approves tax treatment for banks contributing life-insurance policies to a partnership
The IRS considered a plan in which banks would contribute permanent, cash-value life-insurance policies to a partnership in exchange for partnership interests. The IRS ruled that the contributions…
PLR 1308018: IRS approves a tax-free split-off of an operating business
The IRS ruled on a proposed split-off in which an S corporation would transfer part of its interest in an operating limited liability company to a newly formed S corporation and distribute the new…
PLR 1308017: IRS approves a tax-free split-off of an operating business
The IRS ruled on a proposed split-off in which an S corporation would transfer part of its interest in an operating limited liability company to a newly formed S corporation and distribute the new…
PLR 1308016: IRS says adding discretionary trust beneficiaries does not trigger gain or loss
The IRS considered proposed modifications to two irrevocable trusts that made discretionary distributions to charitable organizations. The modifications would add the settlor's two children as…
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.