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 1208013: IRS treats an inadvertent S corporation termination as continuing
The IRS ruled that a company's S corporation election terminated when shares were transferred to two trusts that were not eligible S corporation shareholders. The trusts were later reformed to…
PLR 1208011: IRS grants more time for five QSub elections
The IRS granted an S corporation an extension of time to elect to treat five wholly owned subsidiaries as qualified subchapter S subsidiaries. The taxpayer said its representative prepared and…
PLR 1207004: IRS granted relief for a late S corporation election
The IRS granted a corporation 120 days to file Form 2553 and have its S corporation election treated as timely for its first taxable year. The corporation had been eligible to elect S corporation…
PLR 1207002: IRS ruled that an S corporation stock redemption was a distribution and did not terminate its election
The IRS ruled that an S corporation's proposed cash redemption of a shareholder's non-voting stock would be treated as a property distribution under IRC §§ 301 and 302, except as provided by § 1368.…
PLR 1206011: Late S corporation election treated as timely
The IRS ruled that a corporation could be treated as an S corporation from its redacted incorporation date even though the Service had no record of receiving Form 2553 on time. The corporation…
PLR 1206009: S corporation status restored after inadvertent termination
The IRS restored an S corporation election after determining that its termination was inadvertent. The termination followed transfers of stock to trusts whose beneficiaries had not made the required…
PLR 1205006: IRS grants relief for an inadvertent S corporation election failure and termination
The IRS granted relief to a corporation whose S corporation election was ineffective because two trusts filed defective Electing Small Business Trust elections. The IRS also agreed that the election…
PLR 1205002: IRS grants relief after an ineligible shareholder terminated an S corporation election
The IRS granted relief to an LLC that elected S corporation status and later discovered that one shareholder was ineligible. The shareholder’s ineligibility terminated the S corporation election,…
PLR 1204007: IRS grants relief for a late S corporation election
The IRS ruled that a corporation had reasonable cause for failing to timely elect S corporation status. The corporation was otherwise eligible to make the election, but it did not timely file Form…
PLR 1203012: S corporation status restored after an inadvertent second class of stock
The IRS considered a corporation that amended its articles to create voting and nonvoting shares and later eliminated the provision allowing different dividends. The corporation represented that it…
PLR 1203011: S corporation status preserved after late QSST elections
The IRS considered an S corporation whose shares were transferred to two trusts that were eligible to be qualified subchapter S trusts, but whose beneficiaries did not make timely QSST elections.…
PLR 1203009: Late S corporation election allowed for reasonable cause
The IRS considered a corporation whose shareholder intended S corporation treatment but did not timely file Form 2553. The IRS concluded that the corporation established reasonable cause for the…
PLR 1203008: Inadvertent S corporation termination disregarded
The IRS considered an S corporation whose election was inadvertently terminated when two shareholders temporarily ceased to qualify as eligible shareholders. The corporation and its shareholders…
PLR 1203007: Inadvertent S corporation termination disregarded
The IRS considered an S corporation whose election was inadvertently terminated when two shareholders temporarily ceased to qualify as eligible shareholders. The corporation and its shareholders…
PLR 1203006: Reasonable cause supports late S corporation election
The IRS considered a corporation whose shareholder intended S corporation treatment but whose Form 2553 was not timely filed. The IRS concluded that the corporation had reasonable cause for the late…
PLR 1203005: Inadvertent S corporation termination is cured under section 1362(f)
A corporation's S election ended when stock was transferred to ineligible shareholders. The corporation and its shareholders did not know the shareholders were ineligible and corrected the ownership…
PLR 1203002: Inadvertent S corporation termination is cured after an ineligible shareholder transfer
A corporation's S election terminated when it issued shares to an ineligible shareholder. The corporation promptly distributed those shares to eligible S corporation shareholders after discovering…
PLR 1202016: IRS allows a late S corporation election
The IRS allowed a corporation to make a late election to be treated as an S corporation. The shareholders intended the election to apply from the corporation's first taxable year, but Form 2553 was…
PLR 1202014: IRS approves consent dividend treatment in a REIT liquidation
The IRS ruled on a proposed complete liquidation of a real estate investment trust that owned a subsidiary holding industrial properties. It concluded that IRC section 1374(d)(7)(B) applied to the…
PLR 1202003: IRS restores an S corporation election after an inadvertent termination
The IRS ruled that a corporation's S corporation election terminated when its shares were transferred to partnerships that were ineligible shareholders. The corporation and its shareholders had not…
PLR 1201009: IRS treats a possible S corporation termination as inadvertent
The IRS considered whether a company's stock warrants may have created a second class of stock and terminated its S corporation election. The company represented that it did not know the warrants…
PLR 1201006: IRS preserves S corporation status after missed trust elections
The IRS ruled that a corporation's S corporation election could continue after its shareholder trusts failed to file elections to be treated as electing small business trusts. The corporation…
PLR 1201005: IRS restores S corporation status after a missed QSST election
The IRS ruled that a corporation's S corporation election terminated because the beneficiary of a trust did not timely file a qualified subchapter S trust election. The corporation represented that…
PLR 1152011: IRS grants relief for an inadvertent S corporation termination
The IRS ruled that a corporation's S corporation election terminated inadvertently when an ineligible shareholder acquired a portion of its stock. The corporation had later revoked its election and…
PLR 1152001: IRS grants relief for a late S corporation election
The IRS ruled that a company had reasonable cause for failing to timely file its S corporation election. Under IRC § 1362(b)(5), the company will be recognized as an S corporation effective on the…
PLR 1151015: IRS grants relief for a late S corporation election
The IRS ruled that a corporation had reasonable cause for failing to timely file its S corporation election. If the corporation files a completed Form 2553 with the appropriate service center within…
PLR 1151009: IRS grants relief for a late S corporation election
The IRS ruled that a corporation had reasonable cause for failing to timely file its S corporation election. If the corporation files a complete Form 2553 with the appropriate service center within…
PLR 1151006: IRS grants relief for a late S corporation election
The IRS concluded that a corporation had reasonable cause for failing to timely file its S corporation election. The corporation will be recognized as an S corporation from the specified effective…
PLR 1151005: IRS grants relief for a late S corporation election
The IRS concluded that a corporation had reasonable cause for failing to timely file its S corporation election. The corporation will be recognized as an S corporation from the specified effective…
PLR 1151004: IRS grants relief for an incorrectly signed S election and QSST election
The IRS ruled that an S corporation election and a related qualified subchapter S trust (QSST) election were invalid because the wrong person signed them. The error was inadvertent, and the…
PLR 1150030: IRS preserved an S election after an inadvertent second-class-of-stock concern
The IRS considered whether a corporation's disproportionate advances to its shareholders may have created a second class of stock and terminated its S election. The corporation said its governing…
PLR 1150024: IRS preserved an S corporation election after an inadvertent termination
The IRS ruled that a corporation's S corporation election terminated when a shareholder became a nonresident alien. The termination was inadvertent because the corporation and its shareholders did…
PLR 1150023: IRS addressed built-in gain from a REIT's installment-note prepayment
The IRS ruled on the treatment of gain that a real estate investment trust expected to recognize when a related entity prepaid installment notes. The taxpayer had converted from a C corporation to a…
IRS granted inadvertent S-corporation termination relief
The IRS ruled that an S-corporation election terminated when the corporation’s stock was transferred to a partnership that was an ineligible shareholder. The transfer was not motivated by tax…
IRS granted late S-corporation election relief
The IRS granted relief for a corporation’s late election to be treated as an S corporation. The corporation intended the election to be effective on a specified date but did not timely file Form…
PLR 1147017: IRS permits a late S corporation election
A corporation asked the IRS to recognize a late election to be treated as an S corporation. Its sole shareholder intended the S corporation status to begin on a specified date, but Form 2553 was not…
PLR 1147016: IRS treats an inadvertent S election termination as cured
A corporation's S election terminated after portions of its stock were transferred to two trusts that were not eligible shareholders because the required qualified subchapter S trust elections had…
PLR 1147013: IRS permits a late S corporation election
A corporation asked the IRS to recognize a late S corporation election effective on a specified date. It intended to elect S corporation status but did not timely file Form 2553. The IRS found…
PLR 1147012: IRS preserves S corporation status after missed ESBT election
An S corporation's shareholder trust became ineligible after the trust's beneficiary died and the trustee did not make the election to treat the trust as an electing small business trust. The IRS…
PLR 1147011: IRS grants extra time for a QSub election
An S corporation acquired all of the stock of another S corporation and intended to treat the subsidiary as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary. The parent did not timely file Form 8869, the QSub…
PLR 1147008: IRS permits a late S corporation election
A corporation intended to elect S corporation status but did not timely file Form 2553. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed deadline and allowed the corporation to file the form within 120…
PLR 1147006: IRS grants late-election relief for S corporation status
A business asked the IRS to treat its late Form 2553 filing as timely so it could elect S corporation status effective on an earlier date. The IRS found that the business had reasonable cause for…
PLR 1146003: IRS allows a corporation to make a late S corporation election
The IRS ruled that a corporation could make a late election to be treated as an S corporation effective from its incorporation date. The corporation intended to elect S status but did not timely…
PLR 1146002: IRS treats an S corporation election as continuing after an inadvertent termination
The IRS ruled that a corporation's S corporation election terminated inadvertently after a trust received its stock and the trust beneficiary failed to make a qualified subchapter S trust election.…
PLR 1146001: IRS treats an S corporation election as continuing after missed QSST elections
The IRS ruled that a corporation's S corporation election terminated inadvertently after the beneficiaries of two trusts that held its stock failed to make qualified subchapter S trust elections.…
S corporation election reinstated after inadvertent ineligible-shareholder transfer
An S corporation asked the IRS for relief after transferring part of its stock to an ineligible limited liability company shareholder. The corporation and its shareholders did not intend to end the…
S corporation election reinstated after transfer to an ineligible S-corporation shareholder
An S corporation asked the IRS for relief after transferring part of its stock to another S corporation that was an ineligible shareholder. The corporation and its shareholders did not intend to end…
PLR 1144018: IRS preserves S corporation status after defective trust consents
An S corporation asked whether its S election and related elections remained effective after trustees, rather than beneficiaries, consented for several qualified subchapter S trusts, and another…
PLR 1144012: IRS grants late entity-classification and S corporation election relief
The taxpayer, a limited liability company, asked for more time to elect corporate tax classification and relief for a late S corporation election. The IRS granted 120 days to file Form 8832…
PLR 1144009: IRS permits an early S corporation re-election after termination
A corporation whose S corporation election had terminated asked to re-elect S corporation status before the normal five-year waiting period ended. The IRS found that a majority shareholder who was…
PLR 1144003: IRS approves an S corporation election after a restructuring
A corporation proposed to place its shares under a newly formed holding company and have the holding company elect S corporation status. The corporation represented that the holding company would…
PLR 1144002: IRS approves QSub treatment after a restructuring
A corporation proposed to place its shares under a newly formed holding company and have the holding company elect S corporation status. The corporation would then elect to treat its wholly owned…
PLR 1143005: IRS grants relief for a late S corporation election
A corporation intended to elect S corporation status effective on its incorporation date but did not timely file Form 2553. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late filing and allowed the…
PLR 1140014: LLC receives relief for late entity-classification and S corporation elections
An LLC asked for relief after failing to timely file elections to be treated as a corporation and as an S corporation for federal tax purposes. The IRS granted the LLC 120 days to file Form 8832 and…
PLR 1140010: S corporation election reinstated after a missed ESBT election
A company asked whether its S corporation election could continue after stock was sold to a trust that qualified as an electing small business trust, but no ESBT election was properly filed. The IRS…
PLR 1139001: IRS treated an S election as continuing after an inadvertent stock-issuance error
An S corporation had an agreement to issue shares to a shareholder but mistakenly treated the shares as not outstanding while holding them in trust. The IRS ruled that, if this error terminated the…
PLR 1138013: IRS allows a late S corporation election after finding reasonable cause
A corporation intended to elect S corporation status for a specified tax year but did not timely file Form 2553. The corporation asked the IRS for relief under IRC § 1362(b)(5). The IRS found…
PLR 1138008: IRS grants relief for a late S corporation election
A corporation intended to be treated as an S corporation from its formation date but did not timely file the election. The corporation asked for relief under IRC § 1362(b)(5). The IRS found…
PLR 1137002: IRS treats an inadvertent S corporation termination as continuing
A corporation's S corporation election terminated when all of its stock was acquired by an ineligible shareholder. The corporation represented that the termination was inadvertent, was not motivated…
PLR 1136004: Inadvertent S corporation election remains effective
A limited liability company elected to be taxed as a corporation and then elected S corporation status, but its operating agreement gave members different rights to distributions and liquidation…
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.