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 201308003: IRS grants more time for a Canadian RRSP tax election
The IRS granted a taxpayer and spouse an extension of time to make an election concerning U.S. taxation of income accrued in a Canadian registered retirement savings plan. The taxpayers had relied…
PLR 201308002: IRS approves tax treatment for a complex corporate separation and distribution
The IRS approved the requested federal tax treatment for a large, multi-step restructuring designed to separate one business segment from another and distribute the separated segment through a…
PLR 201308001: IRS approves a recapitalization into tracking-style stock classes
The IRS approved a privately held corporation's plan to replace one class of common stock with voting C stock and voting T stock. The new classes would track different groups of corporate assets,…
IRS revokes section 501(c)(3) status for an organization operating a foreclosure counseling and loan program
The IRS revoked an organization's tax-exempt status under section 501(c)(3), effective January 1, 2008. The organization proposed foreclosure counseling, mortgage assistance, and no-interest loans,…
IRS denies section 501(c)(3) exemption to a foreclosure home purchase program
The IRS denied tax-exempt recognition to an organization that bought homes from homeowners facing foreclosure and resold them to the original owners through land sale contracts. The IRS concluded…
IRS recognizes an organization as eligible under section 4945(f)
The IRS recognized an organization as described in section 4945(f) of the Internal Revenue Code. The letter states that the organization is already exempt under section 501(c)(3) and is not a…
IRS approves a private foundation's set-aside for a museum and archaeological project
The IRS approved a private foundation's request to treat a set-aside as a qualifying distribution under section 4942(g)(2). The funds were intended to support an addition to a museum and related…
IRS approves a private foundation's set-aside for facility expansion and renovation
The IRS approved a private foundation's request to treat a set-aside as a qualifying distribution under section 4942(g)(2). The funds would help pay for an expansion and renovations at facilities on…
IRS approves a private foundation's set-aside for a hospital matching grant
The IRS approved a private foundation's request to treat a set-aside as a qualifying distribution under section 4942(g)(2). The set-aside would fund a matching grant to a public charity for…
IRS denies exemption to an employment-services organization formed to pay its founder
The IRS denied exemption under section 501(c)(3) to an organization that planned to provide employment services to people with disabilities through a government referral and payment program. The IRS…
PLR 201307008: IRS treats a community trust and affiliated corporation as one entity
The IRS ruled that a community trust and a nonprofit corporation formed by its governing body could be treated as a single entity for federal tax purposes. The ruling accepted that the two…
CCA 201307007: Passive-loss characterization is determined at the partnership level
Chief Counsel Advice addresses how passive-loss issues should be handled when a partnership is examined. The advice states that the partnership-level proceeding determines whether the partnership…
CCA 201307006: IRS may not offset employees' FICA refund shares against an employer's liabilities
Chief Counsel Advice addresses refunds of overpaid FICA taxes in medical-resident cases where a hospital or other employer claims both its own share and consenting employees' shares. The advice…
CCA 201307005: EHR incentive payments are generally taxable and reportable
Chief Counsel Advice considers electronic health record incentive payments made by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to eligible health care providers. It concludes that a provider…
PLR 201307004: IRS grants more time to elect out of automatic GST exemption allocation
A married couple created an irrevocable trust for grandchildren and made a transfer to it. Their tax preparers filed the gift tax returns but failed to make the election that would prevent automatic…
PLR 201307003: IRS grants more time for a treaty election on Canadian RRSP earnings
A taxpayer who moved from Canada to the United States had two Canadian Registered Retirement Savings Plans. The taxpayer’s preparer did not advise the taxpayer to make the treaty election needed to…
PLR 201307002: IRS allows a late S corporation election
The IRS considered a corporation that was eligible to elect S corporation status but did not timely file Form 2553. Based on the submitted facts and representations, the IRS found reasonable cause…
PLR 201307001: LLC is treated as joining its parent’s consolidated return
An affiliated group filed a timely consolidated federal income tax return, but one LLC subsidiary had not filed Form 1122 and was not listed on the initial Form 851 because its entity-classification…
PLR 201306033: IRS waives the 60-day IRA rollover deadline after adviser fraud
The IRS considered a taxpayer and spouse who withdrew amounts from two IRAs intending to roll them into new IRAs within 60 days. An investment adviser falsely represented that the rollovers had been…
PLR 201306032: IRS waives the 60-day IRA rollover deadline after paperwork failure
The IRS considered a taxpayer who withdrew funds from an IRA intending to roll them into a new IRA. The taxpayer relied on an individual at another company to complete the rollover paperwork, but…
PLR 201306031: IRS denies a 60-day IRA rollover waiver for remodeling-related delay
The IRS considered a taxpayer who withdrew money from an IRA while remodeling a home and later decided to return the money after the 60-day rollover period had expired. The taxpayer said the…
PLR 201306030: IRS denies a 60-day IRA rollover waiver after medical delay
The IRS considered a taxpayer who received a distribution from an IRA and did not complete a rollover within 60 days. The taxpayer attributed the delay to a medical condition, disability, knee…
PLR 201306029: IRS waives a 60-day IRA rollover deadline after paperwork error
The IRS considered a surviving spouse who received a lump-sum distribution from a deceased spouse's IRA after being told that a partial withdrawal was unavailable. The taxpayer used part of the…
Determination 201306028: IRS revokes an organization’s section 501(c)(3) exemption for private benefit
The IRS revoked an organization’s federal income tax exemption under section 501(c)(3), effective January 1, 2006. The final adverse determination states that a substantial amount of the…
Determination 201306027: IRS denies a social club’s application to reinstate section 501(c)(7) exemption
The IRS denied a social club’s application to reinstate exemption under section 501(c)(7). Its earlier exemption had been revoked because it did not file tax returns. The club received a substantial…
Determination 201306026: IRS denies section 501(c)(3) exemption for a commercial representative-payee operation
The IRS denied an organization’s application for exemption under section 501(c)(3). The organization proposed serving as a representative payee for government-benefit recipients and planned to…
Determination 201306025: IRS approves employer-related scholarship grant procedures
The IRS approved a private foundation’s procedures for awarding employer-related scholarships. The program will provide grants to eligible children of employees of a company and its affiliate…
Determination 201306024: IRS approves employer-related scholarship grant procedures
The IRS approved a private foundation’s procedures for awarding employer-related scholarships. The program will provide grants to eligible children of employees of a company and its affiliate…
PLR 201306023: IRS approves sale of long-held land interests without unrelated business income
The IRS considered a private operating foundation that owned land under condominium units and leased that land to unit owners. The foundation planned to sell its leased-fee interests gradually to…
CCA 201306022: IRS advice compares nominee and alter-ego theories for federal tax liens
Chief Counsel advice addressed whether a person can potentially be treated as the alter ego of a business for federal tax lien purposes even without a legal ownership interest. The advice states…
CCA 201306021: IRS explains REMIC suspended loss carryforwards for a residual-interest holder
Chief Counsel advice addressed how the basis limitation and suspended-loss rules apply to a taxpayer holding non-economic residual interests in real estate mortgage investment conduits. In the…
PLR 201306020: IRS grants extra time to make a QSub election
The IRS granted an S corporation an extension of time to elect to treat its wholly owned subsidiary as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary. The corporation had filed Form 2553 instead of Form 8869…
CCA 201306019: CCA applies the heavy-truck excise tax to renovated chassis
Chief Counsel advice considered when renovating a used highway truck chassis creates a new taxable article for purposes of the 12% retail excise tax. In the first scenario, the cost of repairs and…
CCA 201306018: CCA denies deductions for closing-agreement taxes and treats a settlement as income
Chief Counsel advice considered taxpayers who paid federal income taxes, penalties, and interest under a closing agreement resolving an abusive employee stock ownership plan transaction. The IRS…
CCA 201306017: CCA addresses the timing and form of a disaster-loss election
Chief Counsel advice considered whether a corporation could elect under § 165(i) to deduct disaster casualty losses in the preceding tax year through an informal refund claim. The advice states that…
PLR 201306016: IRS preserves S corporation status after a late QSST election
The IRS ruled that an S corporation's election had been inadvertently terminated when stock moved from one trust to another trust and the new trust did not make a timely qualified subchapter S trust…
PLR 201306015: IRS preserves S corporation status after a late QSST election
The IRS ruled that an S corporation's election was inadvertently terminated when stock was transferred from one trust to another and the new trust did not make a timely qualified subchapter S trust…
PLR 201306014: IRS approves a RIC's cash-or-stock dividend distribution plan
A regulated investment company requested rulings on planned dividends that shareholders could receive in cash or equivalent-value common stock. The plan limited aggregate cash distributions to an…
PLR 201306013: IRS approves a RIC's cash-or-stock dividend distribution plan
A regulated investment company requested rulings on planned dividends that shareholders could receive in cash or equivalent-value common stock. The plan used a dividend reinvestment plan and limited…
PLR 201306012: IRS approves a RIC's cash-or-stock dividend distribution plan
A regulated investment company requested rulings on planned dividends that shareholders could receive in cash or equivalent-value common stock. The plan used a dividend reinvestment plan and limited…
PLR 201306011: IRS grants more time for a 2010 estate's Section 1022 election
The trustee of an estate for a person who died in 2010 asked for more time to file Form 8939, make the Section 1022 Election, and allocate basis increases to eligible property. The request explained…
PLR 201306010: IRS approves an S corporation split-off and related reorganization
An S corporation planned to form a wholly owned subsidiary, transfer part of its active business to that subsidiary, and distribute the subsidiary's stock to two shareholders in exchange for their…
PLR 201306009: IRS preserves QSub status after an inadvertent termination
A parent S corporation planned to sell shares of its wholly owned subsidiary, but the sale agreement was terminated before any shares were transferred when the parties discovered that the subsidiary…
PLR 201306008: IRS preserves consolidated-group status after governance changes
A parent corporation and its subsidiary asked whether preferred-stock provisions, a bankruptcy reorganization, a state-law rehabilitation proceeding, and related governance and consent rights would…
PLR 201306007: IRS preserves consolidated-group eligibility under a security proxy arrangement
A foreign parent and its U.S. affiliated group used a proxy arrangement to insulate a subsidiary from foreign ownership, control, or influence while preserving required security clearances. The…
PLR 201306006: IRS approves tax treatment for a series of corporate separations
Several related corporations proposed a series of contributions, internal separations, and an external spin-off. The IRS ruled on the requested federal tax consequences, including nonrecognition of…
PLR 201306005: IRS confirms shareholder distribution provisions do not create a second class of S corporation stock
An S corporation planned an agreement governing several types of shareholder distributions, including payments based on shareholders' varying interests in income, discretionary payments, and pro…
PLR 201306004: IRS confirms shareholder distribution provisions do not create a second class of S corporation stock
An S corporation planned an agreement governing several types of shareholder distributions, including payments based on shareholders' varying interests in income, discretionary payments, and pro…
PLR 201306003: 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 201306002: 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 201306001: 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 201305022: 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 201305021: 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 201305020: 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 201305019: 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 201305018: 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 201305017: 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 201305016: 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 201305015: 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,…
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.