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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IRS grants relief after a partnership return omitted its QOF self-certification
A partnership was formed to operate as a qualified opportunity fund (QOF) and hired one accounting firm for its tax filings and another firm for opportunity-zone consulting and oversight. The parties …
IRS gives a corporate group 60 days to elect out of bonus depreciation
A corporate parent and two subsidiaries claimed additional first-year depreciation on five-year property placed in service during two taxable years. Their internal accounting team lacked federal tax e…
IRS grants 120 days for a late corporate classification election
A single-owner limited liability company was treated by default as disregarded from its owner for federal tax purposes. It intended to change its classification and become an association taxable as a …
IRS grants 60 days to perfect a success-based fee safe-harbor election
A corporate group paid success-based fees to three financial consultants in connection with an acquisition of its parent partnership. Revenue Procedure 2011-29 offers a safe harbor that treats 70 perc…
Proposed charitable distributions will not disqualify a charitable remainder unitrust
Two individuals created a charitable remainder unitrust that paid them a five-percent annual unitrust amount for life, then paid the survivor after the first death. After one creator died, the survivo…
Missing ESBT election caused an inadvertent S corporation termination
An individual held S corporation stock through an eligible trust and later died. After the original trust elected to be included in the estate, it distributed the S corporation stock to a second trust…
Pension amendment increases liabilities but qualifies as reasonable and de minimis
A multiemployer pension plan had received a five-year extension for amortizing unfunded liabilities. Its terms imposed six additional months of benefit suspension when an early retiree returned to cov…
Private foundation lost exemption after five years without exempt activity
A nonoperating private foundation was examined after reporting no operational or financial activity for five years. Its president said the organization lacked funding and resources and expected a rela…
Employee discount-card group does not qualify as a business league
An organization of local employers applied for exemption as a business league under Section 501(c)(6). It collected annual dues and provided member employees with a digital card offering discounts fro…
Partnership receives 60 days to make its qualified opportunity fund election
A partnership intended to operate as a qualified opportunity fund and relied on professional advisers to handle the required tax filings. Although its advisers had discussed the fund's status, the ret…
Partnership receives extra time to change to its required tax year
A partnership acquired a majority partner whose tax year required the partnership to change its own accounting period. During a transition between service providers, the partnership missed the deadlin…
Corporation receives extra time for an outbound intangible-property election
A domestic corporation was treated as transferring operating intangibles to a foreign corporation when a foreign disregarded entity elected corporate status. Its accounting firm reported the outbound …
Corporation keeps S status after trusts miss ESBT elections
Two trusts acquired shares of a newly formed corporation but their trustees failed to make timely electing small business trust elections. That failure made the corporation's S election ineffective fr…
S corporation receives relief for two missed ESBT elections
Three shareholder trusts initially qualified to hold S corporation stock under the grantor-trust rules. After their terms changed, all three were eligible to become electing small business trusts, but…
Partnership receives 45 days to file its original accounting-method form
A partnership affiliated with a corporation in the IRS Compliance Assurance Process sought an automatic accounting-method change under section 446(e). It timely filed the duplicate copy of Form 3115 b…
Partnership receives 120 days to make a late section 754 election
A partnership intended to elect under section 754 after a partner who held an interest through a grantor trust died. It timely filed its partnership return but inadvertently omitted the election. The …
S corporation receives 120 days to make a late QSub election
An S corporation indirectly owned all of a subsidiary corporation through a disregarded limited liability company. It intended the subsidiary to be a qualified subchapter S subsidiary, but the subsidi…
Partnership receives late section 754 election relief after an interest sale
A partnership failed to make a section 754 election for the year in which a buyer purchased a partnership interest. It represented that the failure was inadvertent, that it acted reasonably and in goo…
Fund receives 60 days to make a late QOF self-certification
A partnership was formed to invest in qualified opportunity zone property and intended to operate as a qualified opportunity fund. Its accountant lacked QOF experience and, amid COVID-related restrict…
LLC receives 120 days to elect corporate tax status
A domestic limited liability company intended to be treated as an association taxable as a corporation from its formation date. It inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time and requested late-ele…
Corporation receives 120 days to file a late S election
A corporation's sole shareholder intended the company to be an S corporation from a specified date, but the company failed to file Form 2553 on time. The corporation requested relief under the statuto…
Estate may elect out of automatic GST exemption allocations to two trusts
A taxpayer created and funded separate trusts primarily for a daughter and a son, both with generation-skipping transfer potential. The taxpayer did not intend to allocate GST exemption to the transfe…
Corporation keeps S status after a trust misses its QSST election
A grantor trust held shares in an S corporation and later became a complex trust. The trust represented that it qualified as a qualified subchapter S trust at that point, but its beneficiary did not m…
Business keeps S status despite second-class-of-stock problems
A state-law limited partnership elected corporate and S corporation tax treatment, but its partnership agreement contained provisions that created a second class of stock for federal tax purposes. The…
Scholarship procedures for graduating high school seniors approved
A private foundation proposed scholarships for graduating high school seniors in a specified state who plan to attend accredited colleges full time. Applicants must meet academic and enrollment requir…
Scholarships for fatherless students at religious schools approved
A private foundation proposed scholarships for students whose fathers are deceased and who plan to attend private religious K-12 schools in two specified states. It will consider financial need, tuiti…
Employer-related STEM scholarship procedures approved
A private foundation proposed scholarships for children of a company's full-time and part-time employees who pursue four-year undergraduate degrees in science, technology, engineering, or math. An ind…
Scholarships for employees and their families approved
A private foundation proposed renewable scholarships for a company's employees and their spouses, dependent children, and grandchildren. Eligible recipients may attend undergraduate or trade and techn…
Scholarships for inner-city students and veterans' children approved
A private foundation proposed scholarships to help inner-city children and children of veterans with financial need and a strong showing of faith attend high school or college. Applicants must live in…
Sustainability scholarships and research grants approved
A private foundation proposed two programs related to environmental sustainability. The scholarship program will support undergraduate and graduate students studying environmental sciences, sustainabi…
Vocational scholarships for students overcoming obstacles approved
A private foundation proposed one-time scholarships for high school seniors who overcame significant educational obstacles and plan to attend accredited vocational or technical schools. Applicants mus…
Litigation-related contingent set-aside approved
A private foundation was subject to a court order requiring a fiduciary to hold distributions potentially owed to one beneficiary while litigation remained pending. The order permitted ordinary distri…
Skilled-trade scholarships for support-program students approved
A private foundation proposed scholarships for high school seniors who participated in a school elective that helps students address issues affecting their educational outcomes. Applicants must plan t…
Hunting-dog club denied section 501(c)(3) status
An organization applied for recognition as a section 501(c)(3) charity based on activities involving the training and testing of versatile hunting dogs. It offered member-only training days, equipment…
Cemetery organization denied section 501(c)(3) status
A nonprofit corporation applied for section 501(c)(3) status for cemetery activities that included selling burial plots, collecting maintenance fees, and maintaining a cemetery. It said the services b…
Member welfare and recreation group denied section 501(c)(3) status
An organization applied for section 501(c)(3) status while describing its mission as promoting member welfare, recreation, fellowship, and common interests. Its activities included a memorial run bene…
Corporation receives 60 days to complete its accounting-method filing
A corporation requested extra time to complete an automatic accounting-method change for certain related-party transactions. Its tax adviser timely faxed a copy of Form 3115 to the IRS, and the corpor…
Joint filers receive 30 days to make late mixed straddle account elections
An individual and spouse requested permission to make late mixed straddle account elections for four tax years. The individual had traded exchange-traded options, offsetting positions, and section 125…
Mortgage certificate exchange trust retains fixed investment trust status
A taxpayer proposed exchange trusts that would hold one class of mortgage-backed certificates and issue multiple classes of exchange certificates with different rights to principal and interest. Certi…
Partnership may make late bonus depreciation elections for film and television productions
A partnership intended to elect out of bonus depreciation for qualified film and television productions placed in service during three tax years. Its timely filed returns used the income forecast meth…
Modified lifetime trust retains its generation-skipping tax exemption
An irrevocable trust created before September 25, 1985, had previously been divided into separate trusts for a grantor's grandchildren. A state court conditionally approved modifying one grandchild's …
Modified lifetime trust retains its generation-skipping tax exemption
An irrevocable trust created before September 25, 1985, had previously been divided into separate trusts for a grantor's grandchildren. A state court conditionally approved modifying one grandchild's …
Court-approved settlement trust qualifies as a qualified settlement fund
A court approved a statutory trust to help resolve product-related claims against manufacturers and distributors. The trust receives a stated share of settlement payments through a separate administra…
Court-approved settlement trust qualifies as a qualified settlement fund
A court approved a statutory trust to help resolve product-related claims against manufacturers and distributors. The trust receives a stated share of settlement payments through a separate administra…
Court-approved settlement trust qualifies as a qualified settlement fund
A court approved a statutory trust to help resolve product-related claims against manufacturers and distributors. The trust receives a stated share of settlement payments through a separate administra…
Settlement trust qualifies once all qualified fund requirements are met
A court approved a statutory trust to help resolve product-related claims against manufacturers and distributors. The trust receives a stated share of settlement payments through a separate administra…
Settlement trust qualifies once all qualified fund requirements are met
A court approved a statutory trust to help resolve product-related claims against manufacturers and distributors. The trust receives a stated share of settlement payments through a separate administra…
Longevity contract qualifies as an annuity while the linked brokerage account remains separate
A taxpayer proposed buying a life insurance company's longevity contract linked to a separately owned taxable investment account. The contract would support lifetime withdrawals and begin guarantee pa…
Estate receives 120 days to make a reverse QTIP election
A decedent's revocable trust funded a federal marital trust for the surviving spouse, and the estate elected qualified terminable interest property treatment on a late-filed Form 706. The estate's att…
Consolidated group receives 75 days to waive former-group loss carrybacks
A consolidated group's parent acquired corporations that had belonged to another consolidated group. The parent intended to elect to relinquish the portion of the carryback period covering the acquire…
Late Form 8996 treated as timely for opportunity fund self-certification
A limited liability company taxed as a partnership was formed to invest in qualified opportunity zone property and operate as a qualified opportunity fund. Its managing member asked an accounting firm…
Domestic business separation qualifies as a tax-free reorganization and distributions
A foreign-parented corporate group proposed separating a domestic subsidiary that conducted one business from domestic affiliates conducting another business. Before the separation, an intermediate su…
Public-school workers' compensation trust may exclude its income
A trust pools workers' compensation liabilities for public school districts and similar public entities in one state. Each member must be a political subdivision, an integral part of one, or an entity…
School district property insurance pool may exclude its income
Public school districts formed an entity to self-insure their property and share casualty risks at a lower cost than commercial coverage. The entity maintains the risk-sharing pool, buys commercial in…
Partnership receives 120 days to make a late section 754 election
A limited partnership failed to make a section 754 election for a year in which two partners died because its tax advisers did not adequately advise it about the election. The IRS found that the partn…
Clerical error excused for opportunity fund self-certification
A limited liability company taxed as a partnership was formed to qualify as a qualified opportunity fund and invest indirectly in qualified opportunity zone property. The controller intended for a CPA…
Court-approved settlement trust qualifies as a qualified settlement fund
A court approved a statutory trust to help resolve product-related claims against manufacturers and distributors. The trust receives a stated share of settlement payments through a separate administra…
Court-approved settlement trust qualifies as a qualified settlement fund
A court approved a statutory trust to help resolve product-related claims against manufacturers and distributors. The trust receives a stated share of settlement payments through a separate administra…
S corporation receives 120 days to file a late QSub election
An S corporation acquired all the stock of another domestic corporation and intended the acquired company to be a qualified subchapter S subsidiary from the acquisition date. It inadvertently failed t…
New captive life insurer may join the consolidated life subgroup
A parent of a life-nonlife consolidated group formed a captive life insurance subsidiary under an existing life insurance company. Another life subsidiary distributed funds to the owner, which contrib…
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.