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 1228049: IRS grants a five-year extension to amortize a pension plan’s unfunded liabilities
The IRS approved a five-year automatic extension for a pension plan to amortize specified unfunded liabilities. The plan’s actuary certified that, without the extension, the plan would face an…
PLR 1228048: IRS conditionally waives pension-plan excise taxes while closing a funding-waiver case
The IRS closed a company's request for a waiver of the minimum funding standard after the request was withdrawn. It separately granted conditional waivers of the 100 percent excise tax under IRC §…
PLR 1228047: IRS declines to waive the 60-day IRA rollover deadline
The IRS declined to waive the 60-day rollover requirement for an individual who withdrew stock from an IRA and did not complete the rollover on time. The taxpayer said an account representative…
PLR 1228046: IRS waives the 60-day IRA rollover deadline because of medical impairment
The IRS waived the 60-day IRA rollover requirement for a taxpayer who received a distribution and mistakenly deposited it into a non-IRA account. The taxpayer supported the request with medical…
PLR 1228045: IRS approves a limited lump-sum window for pension annuitants
The IRS ruled that two defined benefit plans could offer a limited window for certain participants and beneficiaries who had already begun receiving annuity payments to elect a lump-sum payment…
PLR 1228044: IRS waives the 60-day rollover deadline after an IRA owner was defrauded
The IRS waived the 60-day rollover requirement for an older taxpayer who was misled by an individual into transferring IRA funds to an account controlled by the individual and an associated company.…
PLR 1228043: IRS waives the 60-day rollover deadline for a late § 457(b) rollover
The IRS waived the 60-day rollover requirement for a taxpayer who received a distribution from a governmental § 457(b) plan and transferred part of it to an IRA about a week late. The taxpayer…
IRS denies § 501(c)(3) exemption to an organization formed to benefit a related business
The IRS issued a final adverse determination denying an organization exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3). The organization was formed primarily to obtain grant funding for a related for-profit company,…
IRS denies § 501(c)(3) exemption to a water-conservation organization linked to a for-profit publisher
The IRS issued a final adverse determination denying a water-conservation organization exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3). The organization shared board control with a related for-profit publisher…
IRS denies § 501(c)(3) exemption to a mortgage-foreclosure counseling organization
The IRS issued a final adverse determination denying a mortgage-foreclosure counseling organization exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3). The organization proposed counseling and possible mortgage…
IRS grants a private foundation five more years to dispose of excess business holdings
The IRS granted a private foundation an additional five-year period to dispose of shares that constituted excess business holdings. The foundation had received a minority interest in a closely held…
IRS approves a scholarship competition and grant program for students
The IRS approved a private foundation’s proposed scholarship and grant-making program under IRC § 4945(g)(1). The program would select high-school students from several schools to give short…
IRS advice confirms Medicare premium deductions under IRC § 162(l)
The Office of Chief Counsel concluded that all Medicare parts constitute medical care insurance for purposes of the self-employed health insurance deduction under IRC § 162(l). The memorandum…
IRS advice treats an airplane lease as a change in use for depreciation
The Office of Chief Counsel concluded that an airplane’s primary use changed when it was leased to a certified air carrier for charter operations. The taxpayers had previously depreciated the…
IRS advice defers cooperative patronage-dividend deductions under IRC § 267
The Office of Chief Counsel concluded that IRC § 267(a)(2) applies to patronage dividends paid by a cooperative to related domestic patrons, so the cooperative may not deduct the amounts until they…
IRS treats a refinancing transaction as separate from an earlier restructuring
The IRS issued a supplemental private letter ruling concerning a refinancing involving affiliated entities, stock sales, a stock distribution, and debt restructuring. It ruled that the later…
PLR 1228033: Corporate separation and merger planned for tax-free treatment
A corporate group asked the IRS about a proposed separation of two business lines, followed by a merger of one separated business with an unrelated public company. The plan included converting three…
PLR 1228032: IRS grants 120-day extension to elect disregarded-entity status
A domestic corporation asked for more time to elect to treat a foreign subsidiary as disregarded for federal tax purposes. The corporation said it had intended the election to be effective on an…
PLR 1228031: IRS grants 120-day extension to elect disregarded-entity status
A domestic corporation asked for more time to elect to treat a foreign subsidiary as disregarded for federal tax purposes. The corporation said it had intended the election to be effective on an…
PLR 1228030: IRS approves a complex corporate separation and spin-off plan
A multinational corporate group asked about a complex restructuring that would separate transferred businesses from retained businesses. The plan included multiple subsidiary liquidations and…
PLR 1228029: Utility management agreement does not create private business use
A governmental electric utility asked whether a proposed agreement to operate and maintain its bond-financed transmission and distribution system would create private business use of the bond…
PLR 1228028: IRS permits late S corporation election
A corporation asked the IRS to recognize a late election to be treated as an S corporation. Its shareholders intended the S election to be effective on an earlier date, but Form 2553 was not timely…
PLR 1228027: IRS permits late S corporation election
A newly incorporated company asked the IRS to recognize a late election to be treated as an S corporation. Its sole shareholder intended the election to be effective on an earlier date, but Form…
PLR 1228026: Donations to federal commemorative organization are deductible
A congressionally created organization asked whether contributions made to it would be tax deductible. The organization was part of a federal agency, staffed by federal employees, subject to…
PLR 1228025: IRS restores S corporation status after inadvertent termination
An S corporation issued stock to a partnership and a corporation, making those shareholders ineligible for S corporation status. The corporation later redeemed the partnership's shares and replaced…
PLR 1228024: IRS restores S corporation status after an inadvertent termination
An S corporation's election terminated when a trust that held its stock failed to make an electing small business trust election. The stock then passed to another trust before being transferred to…
PLR 1228023: IRS permits an extended bankruptcy liquidation period and delays cancellation-of-debt income
A corporate group in Chapter 11 bankruptcy asked whether its wind-down plan would continue to qualify as a plan of liquidation for federal income tax purposes. The IRS ruled that the plan could…
PLR 1228022: IRS allows a late S corporation election for reasonable cause
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 missed filing and allowed the…
PLR 1228021: IRS permits a retroactive qualified electing fund election
The IRS allowed a regulated investment company to make a retroactive qualified electing fund election for its investment in a passive foreign investment company. The taxpayer had relied on tax…
PLR 1228020: IRS rules on the tax treatment of government-allocated carbon credits
A real estate investment trust with a controlled foreign corporation that operated timber plantations asked about government-allocated carbon credits. The IRS ruled that the foreign corporation…
PLR 1228019: IRS grants more time for a historic rehabilitation credit election
A limited partnership that owned a historic structure had agreed to make an election treating its tenant as having purchased the property for purposes of the rehabilitation credit. The election was…
PLR 1228018: IRS restores S corporation status after an ineligible shareholder transfer
An S corporation's election terminated when an ineligible shareholder became the owner of its stock. The corporation took corrective action so that the shareholder was no longer a shareholder and…
PLR 1228017: IRS finds proposed trust disclaimers would not be taxable gifts
A taxpayer planned to disclaim contingent interests in two irrevocable trusts created before 1977. The disclaimers would be executed within nine months after the taxpayer reached the age of…
PLR 1228016: IRS treats three historic buildings as one project for rehabilitation credit purposes
Three partnerships planned to rehabilitate three historic buildings as part of an interconnected research and commercial development. The taxpayer asked whether the buildings' combined net rentable…
PLR 1228015: IRS treats three historic buildings as one project for rehabilitation credit purposes
Three partnerships planned to rehabilitate three historic buildings as part of an interconnected research and commercial development. The taxpayer asked whether the buildings' combined net rentable…
PLR 1228014: IRS treats a rural telephone cooperative's stock-sale gain as patronage-sourced
A rural telephone cooperative planned to sell stock in a telecommunications service company and use the proceeds for construction projects serving its members. The cooperative had acquired and held…
PLR 1228013: IRS allows net operating loss carryovers across residency changes
A resident alien planned to move abroad, become a nonresident alien, and later return to live in the United States while continuing a U.S. business through disregarded entities. The IRS ruled that…
PLR 1228012: IRS approves a family succession redemption with installment treatment
A corporation's sole shareholder planned to give stock to two children and then have the corporation redeem the shareholder's remaining shares for cash and a promissory note. The IRS ruled that the…
PLR 1228011: IRS approves a qualified stock purchase and related corporate separation steps
A publicly traded corporate group planned to separate a business through a newly formed corporation, an exchange of target stock for Newco stock, public and private sales of Newco stock, and later…
PLR 1228010: IRS restores S corporation status after a missed QSST election
An S corporation's election terminated when a trust became a shareholder without filing the required qualified subchapter S trust election. The IRS concluded that the termination was inadvertent and…
PLR 1228009: IRS preserves S corporation status after trust election failures
An S corporation's two trust shareholders stopped qualifying as qualified subchapter S trusts after failing to distribute all their income, and additional events may have affected one trust's…
PLR 1228008: IRS grants more time for a consolidated NOL carryback election
A consolidated corporate group missed the election to carry back a consolidated net operating loss for an extended period under IRC § 172(b)(1)(H). The IRS found that the group acted reasonably and…
PLR 1228007: IRS grants a consolidated group more time to make an extended 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. The IRS found that the group acted reasonably and in good…
PLR 1228006: IRS allows late entity classification and S corporation elections
A newly formed limited liability company intended to be treated as a corporation and to elect S corporation status for federal tax purposes. It failed to timely file both Form 8832, the entity…
PLR 1228005: IRS grants more time to waive the carryback period for a consolidated NOL
A corporation that became part of another consolidated group failed to timely elect to waive the entire carryback period for a consolidated net operating loss. The IRS found that the former common…
PLR 1228004: IRS grants a consolidated group more time to make an extended 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. The IRS found that the group acted reasonably and in good…
PLR 1228003: IRS recognizes a corporation as an S corporation after a late election
A corporation intended to be treated as an S corporation beginning on a specified date but did not timely file Form 2553. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late election. Provided the…
PLR 1228002: IRS approves tax treatment for a corporate spin-off and consolidated group restructuring
A foreign parent planned to place its U.S. distributing corporation under a newly formed subsidiary, then have the distributing corporation distribute all of the stock of a controlled corporation to…
PLR 1228001: IRS grants relief for a late S corporation election
A corporation's sole shareholder intended for it to be treated as an S corporation, but the corporation did not timely file Form 2553. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late election. Provided…
PLR 1227011: IRS declines to waive the 60-day IRA rollover requirement
An individual received a distribution from an IRA and intended to roll the amount into another retirement account, but forgot to deposit the check within the 60-day period. The IRS declined to waive…
PLR 1227010: IRS waives the 60-day IRA rollover requirement after erroneous advice
An individual received a distribution from an IRA and intended to move it into a self-directed IRA, but the amount was instead placed in a non-IRA account after the individual relied on erroneous…
PLR 1227009: IRS waives the 60-day IRA rollover requirement after postal error
Two taxpayers received distributions from their IRAs and mailed checks to a financial institution to complete rollovers. The checks were returned after the 60-day rollover period had expired because…
PLR 1227008: IRS grants more time to recharacterize ineligible Roth IRA conversions
An individual converted amounts from a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA in 2008 and 2009. Later, additional dividend income caused the individual's modified adjusted gross income to exceed the limit…
IRS approval of a five-year extension for amortizing a pension plan's unfunded liabilities
The IRS approved a five-year automatic extension for a pension plan to amortize unfunded liabilities. The plan submitted the required information and an actuary's certification that it would…
Final adverse determination denying exemption for a grant-funded organization
The IRS issued a final adverse determination denying exemption under § 501(c)(3) to an organization formed to obtain grant funding for a related for-profit company. The organization's founders…
PLR 1227005: IRS approves a private foundation's scholarship grant procedures
The IRS approved a private foundation's proposed scholarship grant-making procedures under § 4945(g)(1). The foundation planned to award scholarships for elementary, secondary, undergraduate, and…
PLR 1227004: IRS treats a late S corporation election as timely for reasonable cause
The IRS granted a corporation relief for failing to timely file Form 2553 to elect S corporation status. The corporation's sole shareholder intended the election to be effective on a specified date,…
PLR 1227003: IRS preserves S corporation status after an inadvertent termination
An S corporation's election terminated after stock was transferred to two trusts and the required electing small business trust elections were not properly filed. The corporation represented that…
PLR 1227002: IRS treats oilfield waste treatment and recovered products as qualifying income
The IRS ruled that income from removing, treating, recycling, and disposing of waste generated by oil and gas wells during hydraulic fracturing qualified as qualifying income under § 7704(d)(1)(E).…
PLR 1227001: IRS treats specialized transport of petroleum products as qualifying income
The IRS ruled that a limited partnership's gross income from transporting refined petroleum products and other products to customers working at drilling, exploration, production, and mining sites…
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.