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 1232012: IRS grants more time to file a LIFO election after a restructuring
A successor discovered that a taxpayer had failed to file Form 970 when an internal restructuring resulted in the incorporation of a division as the taxpayer. The taxpayer had adopted the LIFO…
PLR 1232011: IRS rules on built-in loss limits after a REIT election is revoked
A corporation elected REIT status, causing certain wholly owned affiliates to become qualified REIT subsidiaries. After the corporation revoked its REIT election, those subsidiaries were treated as…
PLR 1232010: IRS grants more time to elect disregarded-entity status
A foreign limited liability company had one owner and was intended to be treated as a disregarded entity for federal tax purposes. The owner failed to timely file Form 8832, Entity Classification…
PLR 1232009: IRS preserves S corporation status after missed ESBT elections
An S corporation's shareholders included two trusts whose trustees failed to timely make elections for the trusts to qualify as electing small business trusts (ESBTs). The IRS concluded that the S…
IRS treats fuel additization fees as qualifying publicly traded partnership income
The IRS ruled that income earned by a publicly traded partnership from fuel additization activities was qualifying income under IRC § 7704(d)(1)(E). The partnership operated refined petroleum…
IRS preserves an S corporation election after warrants and convertible debt
The IRS ruled that a corporation's S corporation election may have terminated after it issued stock warrants and convertible debt that could have created a second class of stock. The corporation…
IRS grants extra time to elect the 40-60 test for a residential rental bond project
The IRS granted a public issuer 45 additional days to amend Form 8038 and elect the 40-60 test for tax-exempt private activity bonds financing a residential rental project. The issuer had mistakenly…
IRS grants late S corporation election relief
The IRS granted a corporation relief under IRC § 1362(b)(5) after it failed to timely file Form 2553, Election by a Small Business Corporation. The corporation had intended to elect S corporation…
IRS grants relief for an inadvertent S corporation termination
The IRS ruled that a corporation’s S corporation election terminated because the beneficiary of a qualified subchapter S trust did not timely file the required election. The IRS found that the…
IRS rules that QSST, not its beneficiary, reports gain from a section 338(h)(10) transaction
The IRS ruled that gain from a deemed asset sale under a section 338(h)(10) election, allocated to S corporation stock held by a qualified subchapter S trust, belongs to the trust rather than the…
IRS grants an estate more time to allocate GST exemption
The IRS granted an estate 120 additional days to allocate the decedent’s generation-skipping transfer tax exemption to a lifetime transfer to an irrevocable trust. The taxpayer’s tax professional…
IRS grants more time to opt out of bonus depreciation
The IRS granted a domestic partnership 60 days to make a late election not to claim 50-percent and 100-percent additional first-year depreciation for all qualifying property placed in service during…
IRS approves a five-year amortization extension for a plan
The IRS approved a five-year automatic extension for amortizing a plan’s unfunded liabilities as of April 1, 2010. The extension applies to eligible amortization charge bases identified in the…
IRS approves a five-year amortization extension for a plan
The IRS approved a five-year automatic extension for amortizing a plan’s unfunded liabilities as of January 1, 2010. The extension applies to eligible amortization charge bases identified in the…
IRS approves a five-year amortization extension for a plan
The IRS approved a five-year automatic extension for amortizing a plan’s unfunded liabilities as of March 1, 2010. The extension applies to eligible amortization charge bases established on that…
IRS approves a five-year amortization extension for a plan
The IRS approved a five-year automatic extension for amortizing a plan’s unfunded liabilities as of January 1, 2010. The extension applies to eligible amortization charge bases established on that…
IRS approves a five-year amortization extension for a plan
The IRS approved a five-year automatic extension for amortizing a plan’s unfunded liabilities as of January 1, 2010. The extension applies to eligible amortization charge bases established on that…
IRS approves a five-year amortization extension for a plan
The IRS approved a five-year automatic extension for amortizing a plan’s unfunded liabilities as of January 1, 2010. The extension applies to eligible amortization charge bases established on that…
IRS approves a five-year amortization extension for a plan
The IRS approved a five-year automatic extension for amortizing a plan’s unfunded liabilities as of January 1, 2009. The extension applies to eligible amortization charge bases established on that…
IRS approves a five-year amortization extension for a plan
The IRS approved a five-year automatic extension for amortizing a plan’s unfunded liabilities as of August 1, 2009. The extension applies to eligible amortization charge bases identified in the…
IRS approves a five-year amortization extension for a plan
The IRS approved a five-year automatic extension for amortizing a plan’s unfunded liabilities as of January 1, 2009. The extension applies to eligible amortization charge bases established on that…
IRS approves a five-year amortization extension for a plan
The IRS approved a five-year automatic extension for amortizing a plan’s unfunded liabilities as of January 1, 2009. The extension applies to amortization charge bases identified in the application…
IRS approves a five-year amortization extension for a plan
The IRS approved a five-year automatic extension for amortizing a plan’s unfunded liabilities as of October 1, 2009. The extension applies to eligible amortization charge bases established on that…
IRS approves a five-year amortization extension for a plan
The IRS approved a five-year automatic extension for amortizing a plan's unfunded liabilities as of September 1, 2010. The extension applies to eligible amortization charge bases established on that…
IRS approves a five-year amortization extension for a plan
The IRS approved a five-year automatic extension for amortizing a plan's unfunded liabilities as of January 1, 2010. The extension applies to eligible amortization charge bases identified in the…
IRS approves a five-year amortization extension for a plan
The IRS approved a five-year automatic extension for amortizing a plan's unfunded liabilities as of January 1, 2010. The extension applies to eligible amortization charge bases established on that…
IRS approves a five-year amortization extension for a plan
The IRS approved a five-year automatic extension for amortizing a plan's unfunded liabilities as of January 1, 2010. The extension applies to eligible amortization charge bases identified in the…
IRS approves a five-year amortization extension for a plan
The IRS approved a five-year automatic extension for amortizing a plan's unfunded liabilities as of January 1, 2010. The extension applies to eligible amortization charge bases established on that…
IRS approves a five-year amortization extension for a plan
The IRS approved a five-year automatic extension for amortizing a plan's unfunded liabilities as of January 1, 2010. The extension applies to eligible amortization charge bases established on that…
IRS approves a five-year amortization extension for a plan
The IRS approved a five-year automatic extension for amortizing a plan's unfunded liabilities as of January 1, 2010. The extension applies to eligible amortization charge bases identified in the…
IRS approves a five-year amortization extension for a plan
The IRS approved a five-year automatic extension for amortizing a plan's unfunded liabilities as of May 1, 2010. The extension applies to eligible amortization charge bases identified in the…
IRS approves a five-year amortization extension for a plan
The IRS approved a request for a five-year automatic extension to amortize a plan's unfunded liabilities as of January 1, 2010. The extension applies to eligible amortization charge bases…
IRS approves a five-year amortization extension for a plan
The IRS approved a five-year automatic extension for amortizing a plan's unfunded liabilities as of January 1, 2009. The extension applies to amortization charge bases identified in the application…
IRS approves a five-year amortization extension for a plan
The IRS approved a five-year automatic extension for amortizing a plan's unfunded liabilities as of January 1, 2010. The extension applies to eligible amortization charge bases identified in the…
PLR 1231020: IRS waives the 60-day IRA rollover deadline after a financial institution error
The IRS considered a taxpayer who received a distribution from an IRA intending to roll the funds into another IRA within 60 days. A financial institution mistakenly deposited the amount into a…
PLR 1231019: IRS waives the 60-day IRA rollover deadline after an annuity cancellation delay
The IRS considered a taxpayer who received an IRA distribution and invested it in an IRA annuity. Before annuity payments began, the taxpayer canceled the annuity, but the refund was delayed and the…
PLR 1231018: IRS waives the 60-day rollover deadline after an account was mistaken for an IRA
The IRS considered a taxpayer who received a distribution from a cash or deferred plan and intended to roll it into an IRA. The taxpayer and her spouse believed that an online account was an IRA,…
IRS revokes an organization's exemption after repeated failures to provide information
The IRS revoked an organization's tax-exempt status under IRC §§ 501(a) and 501(c)(3), effective January 1 of a redacted year. The IRS stated that the organization did not establish that it…
PLR 1231016: IRS grants more time for a private foundation election
The IRS granted a private foundation an extension of time to elect to treat prior-year excess qualifying distributions as current-year distributions out of corpus. The foundation had not made the…
PLR 1231015: Proposed division of a charitable lead trust will not trigger termination tax or excise taxes
A charitable lead unitrust asked whether it could divide its assets between two successor trusts with related charitable foundations as beneficiaries. The IRS ruled that the transfers would be…
PLR 1231014: Proposed division of a charitable lead trust will not trigger termination tax or excise taxes
A charitable lead unitrust asked whether it could divide its assets between two successor trusts while preserving the charitable and remainder interests described in its trust instrument. The IRS…
Written determination 1231013: IRS denies exemption to a single-brand franchisee association
The IRS issued a final adverse determination after a franchisee association did not protest a proposed adverse determination within 30 days. The association served franchisees of one restaurant…
Written determination 1231012: IRS denies exemption to a community wireless-network organization
The IRS issued a final adverse determination after a proposed denial of exemption was not protested within 30 days. The organization planned to provide free community Internet access through a…
CCA 1231011: Advice addresses accrual-method income from telephone excise-tax refunds
Chief Counsel advice addresses when an accrual-method business should recognize income from a telephone excise-tax refund. It states that income is generally recognized when all events fixing the…
CCA 1231010: U.S.-U.K. treaty advice addresses pension rollovers
Chief Counsel advice considers whether a U.K. resident could transfer funds from a U.S. pension scheme to a U.K. pension scheme without current U.S. tax. The advice concludes that Article 18(1) of…
PLR 1231009: IRS grants more time to elect corporate tax classification
A business entity asked for more time to file Form 8832 and elect to be treated as an association taxable as a corporation for federal tax purposes. The IRS concluded that the entity acted…
PLR 1231008: IRS grants more time to elect partnership classification
A foreign eligible entity asked for more time to file Form 8832 and elect partnership treatment for federal tax purposes. The IRS concluded that the entity had acted reasonably and in good faith and…
PLR 1231007: IRS rules that a testamentary power of appointment is not a general power
A daughter asked whether her testamentary power to appoint trust property among the settlors' issue would be treated as a general power of appointment under IRC § 2041. The IRS concluded that the…
PLR 1231006: IRS permits early reelection of the foreign earned income exclusion
An individual who had previously elected the foreign earned income exclusion asked to elect it again before the normal waiting period had ended. The individual had revoked the earlier election after…
PLR 1231005: IRS grants more time to elect corporate classification
A foreign eligible entity asked for more time to file Form 8832 and elect to be treated as an association taxable as a corporation for federal tax purposes. The entity had intended to make the…
CCA 1231004: Chief Counsel analyzes accounting method changes and § 481(a) adjustments
Chief Counsel advice analyzed whether changing the time for deducting expenditures, or changing from deducting expenditures to capitalizing them, constitutes a change in method of accounting under…
PLR 1231003: IRS grants more time to file the 2010 estate basis election
The personal representative of an estate asked for more time to file Form 8939 and make the election under IRC § 1022 for an individual who died in 2010. A qualified tax professional had been…
PLR 1231002: IRS grants more time to allocate GST exemption to a trust
An individual asked for more time to allocate generation-skipping transfer tax exemption to a trust after the allocation was omitted from the individual's gift tax return. The individual had…
CCA 1231001: Chief Counsel approves a bond-backed collateral agreement in lieu of an NFTL
Chief Counsel considered whether the IRS could accept a collateral agreement secured by a bond instead of filing a Notice of Federal Tax Lien against a corporation that could not immediately pay its…
PLR 1230036: IRS approves a five-year extension for a multiemployer plan's unfunded liabilities
The IRS approved a five-year automatic extension for a multiemployer plan to amortize specified unfunded liabilities. The plan provided the required information and an actuary's certification that,…
PLR 1230035: IRS grants associated businesses a conditional pension funding waiver
Associated businesses asked the IRS to waive the minimum funding standard for a pension plan. The businesses were experiencing financial hardship after declining sales and profits, excess facility…
PLR 1230034: IRS denies a pension funding waiver because the hardship was not temporary
A mutual insurance company asked the IRS to waive the minimum funding standard for its pension plan. The company reported declining sales and revenue, but its interim financial statements showed…
PLR 1230033: IRS approves a five-year pension liability amortization extension
A pension plan asked the IRS for a five-year automatic extension to amortize unfunded liabilities existing as of January 1, 2010. The IRS approved the extension under IRC § 431(d)(1), effective for…
PLR 1230032: IRS waives the 60-day IRA rollover deadline for an elderly taxpayer
An elderly taxpayer asked the IRS to waive the 60-day deadline for rolling an IRA distribution into another IRA. The taxpayer represented that dementia and prior strokes impaired his memory and…
PLR 1230031: IRS confirms that a college pension plan is a church plan
A college asked the IRS whether its defined benefit pension plan qualified as a church plan under IRC § 414(e). The college was affiliated with a religious convention, shared its religious bonds and…
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.