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 1306003: IRS rules on section 382 limitations after a bankruptcy reorganization
A publicly traded parent company entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy and proposed a reorganization in which its creditors would receive the stock of the reorganized parent. The IRS ruled that the…
PLR 1306002: IRS grants extra time to elect out of automatic GST exemption allocation
A married couple transferred assets to a trust for their grandchildren and intended that the transfer would not use their generation-skipping transfer tax exemption. Their accountants prepared the…
PLR 1306001: IRS grants extra time for a consolidated NOL carryback election
A consolidated corporate group failed to timely make an election to carry back a consolidated net operating loss for an extended period under IRC § 172(b)(1)(H). The IRS found that the parent…
IRS denies late request to change a corporation's tax year
A corporation asked the IRS to treat its late Form 1128 as timely so it could change its federal tax year from one ending August 31 to one ending March 31. The corporation had missed the deadline…
PLR 1305022: IRS waives the 60-day IRA rollover deadline after incorrect financial-institution advice
A taxpayer withdrew an amount from an IRA to cover an escrow account for a construction project. An employee of the credit union incorrectly said the taxpayer had more than 60 days to put the amount…
PLR 1305021: IRS approves a change in the method for picking up governmental pension contributions
Three participating governmental employers asked about changing how they pick up mandatory contributions to a defined benefit pension plan. The prior method offset the contributions against future…
PLR 1305020: IRS waives the 60-day IRA rollover deadline after an online account mix-up
A taxpayer wanted to divide an IRA among several financial institutions. While completing an online application, the taxpayer believed an account was an IRA, but it was actually a non-IRA account.…
PLR 1305019: IRS waives two 60-day IRA rollover deadlines after a bank error
Two taxpayers received distributions from separate IRAs and intended to place the funds into rollover IRAs. A bank instead placed both amounts into a non-IRA certificate-of-deposit account. The…
PLR 1305018: IRS waives the rollover deadline after a bank opens non-IRA accounts
A taxpayer moved an IRA from one bank to another using a cashier's check payable to the taxpayer's traditional IRA. The receiving bank instead opened a non-IRA savings account and a checking…
PLR 1305017: IRS waives the rollover deadline after an employer delays mailing a check
A taxpayer took an IRA distribution because of a family emergency and instructed an employer to send a larger check to the financial institution holding the IRA. The employer prepared the check…
PLR 1305016: IRS waives the rollover deadline after a disabling medical episode
A taxpayer withdrew funds from an IRA and placed them in a savings account, intending to roll them into another IRA within 60 days. The taxpayer was permanently disabled and had periodic episodes of…
PLR 1305015: IRS waives the 60-day rollover deadline after a family medical emergency
A taxpayer received a distribution from a qualified plan and intended to roll it into an IRA within 60 days. Shortly afterward, the taxpayer's mother-in-law became terminally ill, was hospitalized,…
IRS recognizes an organization under IRC § 4945(f)
The IRS recognized an organization as exempt from federal income tax under IRC § 501(a) because it qualifies under § 501(c)(3). The IRS also determined that the organization is not a private…
IRS denies exemption to a mortgage-mitigation counseling organization
The IRS issued a final adverse determination denying an organization's application for recognition under IRC § 501(c)(3). The organization planned to provide mortgage-mitigation counseling and…
IRS denies exemption to a fee-based creditor-harassment service
The IRS issued a final adverse determination denying an organization's application for recognition under IRC § 501(c)(3). The organization charged fees to communicate with creditors on behalf of…
IRS denies exemption to a fee-based credit-repair organization
The IRS issued a final adverse determination denying an organization's application for recognition under IRC § 501(c)(3). The organization planned to repair clients' credit reports, charged setup…
PLR 1305010: IRS grants extra time to waive an NOL carryback period
A parent company asked for more time to file an election waiving the entire carryback period for a consolidated group's net operating loss. The election was late because the parent relied on a…
PLR 1305009: IRS treats a late Form 1128 as timely filed
A taxpayer filed Form 1128 late to change its federal tax year from a December 31 year-end to a March 31 year-end. The taxpayer requested relief under § 301.9100-3 shortly after the filing deadline.…
PLR 1305008: IRS denies late Form 1128 relief filed after 90 days
A taxpayer filed Form 1128 late to change its federal tax year from an August 31 year-end to a March 31 year-end. The taxpayer did not request relief under § 301.9100-3 until more than 90 days after…
PLR 1305006: IRS treats a contractual joint venture as a foreign business entity
A taxpayer planned to enter into a profit participation agreement with an affiliate for the operation of branches outside the United States. The agreement would give the affiliate an interest in the…
PLR 1305005: IRS grants extra time for an extended NOL carryback election
A parent company asked for more time to elect an extended carryback period for a consolidated group’s net operating loss. The election was not filed on time because the parent relied on a qualified…
PLR 1305004: IRS consents to RICs revoking their section 4982 election
Thirty-seven regulated investment companies asked to revoke elections under IRC § 4982(e)(4)(A). Those elections allowed them to use their taxable years instead of the one-year period ending October…
PLR 1305003: IRS approves a recapitalization and four related section 355 spin-offs
A corporate group asked the IRS to rule on the federal tax consequences of a planned recapitalization, an internal contribution and spin-off, two additional internal spin-offs, and a final…
PLR 1305002: IRS grants extra time to make an IC-DISC election
A domestic corporation intended to be treated as an interest charge domestic international sales corporation, or IC-DISC, for its first taxable year. Its Form 4876-A election was filed late after…
PLR 1305001: IRS rules that mutual fund redemptions do not create a section 382 ownership change
An open-end investment company asked about redemptions of its shares by target-date mutual funds that invested in it as part of their asset-allocation strategies. The funds were not formed or…
PLR 1304013: IRS waives the 60-day rollover deadline after a medical condition
A former spouse received a distribution from a qualified plan under a divorce settlement and intended to roll it into an IRA or another qualified plan. The taxpayer said a medical condition and…
PLR 1304012: IRS waives the 60-day IRA rollover deadline after financial-institution error
A taxpayer withdrew funds from an IRA to provide short-term capital to a company owned by the taxpayer's wife. A financial advisor incorrectly told the taxpayer that the rollover deadline was June…
IRS denies exemption to a farmer's market organization
The IRS denied tax-exempt status under IRC § 501(c)(3) to an organization that operated a weekly farmer's market. The organization described the market as a community gathering place and planned…
PLR 1304010: IRS approves three competitive grant programs for students
A private foundation asked the IRS for advance approval of three international grant programs for students. One program supports research projects, another provides nonrenewable graduate…
IRS approves a private foundation's scholarship grant procedures
The IRS approved a private foundation's procedures for awarding scholarships to qualifying students. The foundation proposed to award grants objectively and without discrimination, pay tuition…
Chief Counsel updates guidance on who may sign for a TEFRA partnership
Chief Counsel advice states that an older Internal Revenue Manual provision was outdated about who may sign documents for a TEFRA partnership. The advice explains that, before limited liability…
Chief Counsel approves an IRS procedure for extending the erroneous-refund suit period
Chief Counsel advice discusses an IRS procedure under which a taxpayer may waive a defense based on the period in IRC § 6532(b) for the government to sue to recover an erroneous refund. The advice…
A later estate tax deficiency does not expand a partial § 6166 election
Chief Counsel considered whether an estate that elected to defer estate tax on only part of its interest in a closely held business could later expand that election after an estate tax deficiency…
PLR 1304005: Proposed TRAC leases qualify under IRC § 7701(h)
A financial services company asked whether new leases for motor vehicles containing terminal rental adjustment clauses would qualify for the special treatment in IRC § 7701(h). The proposed…
PLR 1304004: REIT may issue multiple common-stock classes with different fees
A corporation planning to elect REIT status proposed seven classes of common stock with different selling, dealer-manager, distribution, and service fees. The classes were intended for different…
PLR 1304003: IRS approves a post-death exchange of life insurance policies under § 1035
After one insured under a survivorship life insurance policy died, a trust exchanged the policy for a new policy covering only the surviving insured. The IRS ruled that the trust did not have to…
PLR 1304002: REIT may pay special dividends in cash, stock, or a combination
A REIT planned special dividends after selling properties and realizing taxable gain. Each shareholder could elect all cash, all common stock, or a combination of 20% cash and 80% stock, subject to…
PLR 1304001: IRS grants late-election relief for an IC-DISC
A domestic corporation asked the IRS for permission to make a late election to be treated as an interest charge domestic international sales corporation, or IC-DISC. Its advisers completed most of…
PLR 1303024: IRS confirms a church plan retroactive to 1974
A tax-exempt health care organization asked whether its retirement plan qualified as a church plan under IRC § 414(e). The organization was part of a religious health care structure, and the plan…
PLR 1303023: IRS waives the 60-day IRA rollover deadline
An individual received a distribution from an IRA and asked the IRS to waive the 60-day rollover requirement. The individual said a financial adviser refused to accept the deposit even though the…
PLR 1303022: IRS waives an IRA rollover deadline after the account holder's death
A surviving spouse asked the IRS to waive the 60-day rollover requirement after the account holder died before completing an intended IRA rollover. The distributed amount remained in a bank account…
PLR 1303021: Private foundation's nonvoting stock and trust holdings approved
A private foundation asked whether it could hold nonvoting stock in a corporation without incurring the excise tax on excess business holdings. It also asked whether four family and charitable…
Determination 1303020: IRS denies exemption to a proposed government-services venture
The IRS denied exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3) to an organization that proposed researching government services, developing private-sector businesses from those services, and offering scholarships.…
Determination 1303019: IRS denies exemption to a fee-based credit counseling venture
The IRS denied exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3) to an organization that planned to market personal-finance education through financial professionals and distribute a related for-profit company's…
Determination 1303018: IRS denies exemption to an open-source music software organization
The IRS denied tax-exempt status under IRC § 501(c)(3) to a nonprofit corporation that planned to develop open-source software and provide online education for musicians and music companies. The…
Determination 1303017: IRS denies exemption to a charity funding a private farm
The IRS denied exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3) to a charity that funded projects connected to a farm owned by its director of operations and his family. The organization sent most of its…
IRS guidance on testimony by an employee using a pseudonym
An IRS employee asked what language should be used when an employee testifies in court under a pseudonym. Chief Counsel advised that no special language was required, but suggested pointing to the…
Revoking an election not to claim bonus depreciation requires consent
Chief Counsel advised that the bonus depreciation regulations specifically govern revocation of an election not to deduct bonus depreciation. A taxpayer seeking to revoke that election must obtain…
Untimely partnership adjustment requests do not start an extendable petition period
Chief Counsel advised that the three-year period in IRC § 6227(a) applies to a partnership’s Administrative Adjustment Request. An AAR filed more than three years after the partnership return…
Bankruptcy filing date controls conversion of partnership items
Chief Counsel advised when partnership items convert in a bankruptcy case. For the year in which the bankruptcy proceeding is filed, conversion occurs on the filing date. For later years, conversion…
TEFRA treatment depends on the partnership’s status and the method of proof
Chief Counsel advised that a sham partnership that files no partnership return is not subject to TEFRA because it does not meet the partnership definition. A legitimate partnership with a trust as a…
Small-partnership exception makes section 6229 inapplicable
Chief Counsel advised that IRC § 6229 does not apply when a partnership falls within the small-partnership exception in § 6231(a)(1)(B). The advice suggests considering other mechanisms to extend…
Reasonable cause may be considered at the partnership level
Chief Counsel confirmed that the IRS considers a partnership’s reasonable-cause defense to be an issue that may be raised in a partnership-level proceeding. The relevant facts include the state of…
IRS grants relief for an inadvertent S-corporation termination
The IRS ruled that a corporation’s S-corporation election terminated when its shares were transferred to an ineligible shareholder. The corporation and the affected parties did not intend to…
PLR 1303008: Retiree health trust income qualifies for a section 115 exclusion
A governmental employer asked whether income earned by a trust funding retiree health benefits would be excluded from gross income under IRC § 115. It also asked whether the trust had to file an…
PLR 1303007: Taxpayer receives more time to elect out of additional depreciation
A taxpayer that rehabilitated and operated an affordable apartment community intended to elect out of the additional first-year depreciation deduction for its qualified property. Its tax preparer…
PLR 1303006: Estates receive more time to allocate GST tax exemptions to trust transfers
The estates of a husband and wife asked for more time to allocate their generation-skipping transfer tax exemptions to transfers of company stock made to three irrevocable trusts. The IRS concluded…
PLR 1303005: Foreign insurer receives more time to make two tax elections
A foreign insurance company asked for more time to elect to be treated as a domestic corporation for U.S. tax purposes and to elect the alternative tax regime for certain insurance companies. The…
PLR 1303004: Estate receives more time to make a section 1022 election
An estate representative asked for more time to file Form 8939, make the section 1022 election, and allocate basis increases to property transferred after the decedent's death. The representative…
PLR 1303003: IRS approves dividing a marital trust and renouncing one spouse's interest
A surviving spouse and the other trust beneficiaries asked whether a marital trust could be divided into two trusts and whether the spouse could renounce her interest in one of them. The IRS ruled…
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.