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 201224038: IRS approves a private foundation's scholarship grant procedures
The IRS approved a private foundation's proposed scholarship program for people employed in the produce industry and their immediate relatives. The foundation planned to select students based on…
IRS denies VEBA status to an insurance trust
The IRS denied an insurance trust's request for recognition as a voluntary employees' beneficiary association under IRC § 501(c)(9). The trust made insurance coverage available to employees of…
IRS denies exemption to a cannabis dispensary
The IRS denied a nonprofit corporation's application for exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3). The organization distributed cannabis to members who had medical referrals, and it also provided related…
IRS denies exemption to four-unit condominium association
The IRS denied a mutual benefit corporation's application for exemption under IRC § 501(c)(4). The organization maintained the exterior of four condominium units and related common areas, funded by…
IRS denies social-welfare exemption to founder-controlled advocacy group
The IRS denied a founder-controlled advocacy organization's application for exemption under IRC § 501(c)(4). The organization described programs involving environmental action, law-enforcement…
CCA discusses penalties and backup withholding in a worker-classification case
Chief Counsel Advice addresses how the government may protect its interests in a worker-classification case. The advice considers an employer that treated workers as independent contractors and an…
CCA addresses offsetting overpayments after an erroneous refund
Chief Counsel Advice considers whether the IRS may offset an overpayment of one excise tax against another tax liability when the liability was reported but never assessed before the assessment…
CCA addresses state privacy restrictions on IRS summonses
Chief Counsel Advice considers whether a Connecticut privacy statute would prevent IRS personnel from obtaining residential-address information about a taxpayer in a protected category. The advice…
CCA addresses electronic copies of gift tax returns
Chief Counsel Advice evaluates a proposed IRS system for scanning paper gift tax returns and attachments into a searchable electronic database. It explains when scanned copies may become the…
CCA finds a public utility eligible for the section 1341 exception
Chief Counsel Advice considers whether a taxpayer that sold a regulated product qualified as a regulated public utility for the public-utility exception to the inventory rule in IRC § 1341(b)(2).…
PLR 201224028: IRS allows late revocation of an investment-income election
The IRS granted an individual taxpayer 60 days to revoke an election that treated qualified dividends and net capital gains as investment income under IRC § 163(d)(4)(B). The taxpayer's former…
PLR 201224027: IRS allows late revocation of an investment-income election
The IRS granted an individual taxpayer 60 days to revoke an election that treated qualified dividends and net capital gains as investment income under IRC § 163(d)(4)(B). The taxpayer's former…
PLR 201224026: IRS grants late S corporation election relief
The IRS granted a corporation 120 days to submit a late Form 2553 election to be treated as an S corporation. The corporation intended the election to be effective on a specified date but did not…
PLR 201224025: IRS grants extra time to elect IC-DISC status
The IRS granted a corporation 60 days to file Form 4876-A and make a late election to be treated as an interest charge domestic international sales corporation, or IC-DISC. The corporation formed…
PLR 201224024: IRS treats a late Form 1128 as timely filed
The IRS granted a C corporation relief for a late Form 1128 requesting a change in its annual accounting period. The taxpayer missed the filing deadline because of a clerical error, but represented…
PLR 201224023: IRS treats LNG sales income as qualifying income
The IRS ruled that a publicly traded partnership's income from selling liquefied natural gas, or LNG, would be qualifying income under IRC § 7704(d)(1)(E). The partnership planned to buy domestic…
PLR 201224022: IRS grants one foreign entity more time to elect disregarded status
The IRS granted Z, a foreign limited liability company, 120 days to file Form 8832 to elect disregarded-entity treatment for federal tax purposes. Z missed the filing deadline for its intended…
PLR 201224021: IRS grants more time to elect disregarded-entity status
The IRS granted a foreign limited liability company 120 days to file Form 8832 and elect to be treated as a disregarded entity for federal tax purposes. The entity missed the filing deadline for its…
PLR 201224020: IRS grants more time to elect disregarded-entity status
The IRS granted a foreign limited liability company 120 days to file Form 8832 and elect to be treated as a disregarded entity for federal tax purposes. The entity missed the filing deadline for its…
PLR 201224019: IRS grants more time for a late special-use valuation election
The IRS granted an estate 120 days to make an election under IRC § 2032A to specially value qualified farmland and related structures. The executor did not include the election on the estate's…
PLR 201224018: IRS approves captive insurer's pooled reinsurance arrangement
The IRS ruled that a captive insurer's contracts with affiliated businesses, combined with participation in a reinsurance pool of unrelated insurers and insureds, constituted insurance for federal…
PLR 201224017: IRS grants more time to file an accounting-method change
The IRS granted an affiliated group 60 days to file the original and signed duplicate copies of Form 3115 for a change in the amortization method for certain assets. The group had filed its…
PLR 201224016: IRS grants more time to file a depreciation-method change
The IRS granted an affiliated group 60 days to file the original and signed duplicate copies of Form 3115 for a change in the depreciation method for certain assets. The group had filed its…
PLR 201224015: IRS allows a late Canadian RRSP tax-deferral election
The IRS granted a taxpayer 60 days to make a late election to defer U.S. federal income tax on income accruing in one Canadian Registered Retirement Savings Plan. An accounting firm had filed the…
PLR 201224014: IRS restores S corporation status after missed ESBT elections
The IRS ruled that a corporation's S election terminated when two trusts became shareholders without timely making the required Electing Small Business Trust elections. The IRS determined that the…
PLR 201224013: IRS preserves S corporation status after eight missed ESBT elections
The IRS ruled that a corporation could continue to be treated as an S corporation after the trustees of eight shareholder trusts failed to make timely Electing Small Business Trust elections. The…
PLR 201224012: IRS rules reorganized funds will not be publicly traded partnerships
The IRS ruled that, after a reorganization, each new investment fund that is classified as a partnership for federal tax purposes will not be treated as a publicly traded partnership. The funds will…
PLR 201224011: IRS rules reorganized funds will not be publicly traded partnerships
The IRS ruled that, after a reorganization, each new investment fund that is classified as a partnership for federal tax purposes will not be treated as a publicly traded partnership. The funds will…
PLR 201224010: IRS grants more time for a foreign disregarded-entity election
The IRS granted a domestic corporation 120 days to file Form 8832 for its wholly owned foreign subsidiary and elect to treat the subsidiary as a disregarded entity effective on its formation date.…
PLR 201224009: IRS grants more time for a foreign disregarded-entity election
The IRS granted foreign subsidiary Y 120 days to file Form 8832 and elect to be treated as a disregarded entity effective on its formation date. Y had missed the filing deadline, while its parent,…
PLR 201224008: IRS grants more time for a foreign partnership election
The IRS granted foreign company X 120 days to file Form 8832 and elect to be treated as a partnership effective on a specified earlier date. X had been classified by default as an association and…
PLR 201224007: IRS restores S corporation status after a missed ESBT election
The IRS ruled that a corporation's S corporation election terminated when shares were transferred to a trust whose trustee failed to make the required Electing Small Business Trust election. The IRS…
PLR 201224006: IRS approves a multi-step corporate reorganization
The IRS approved federal tax treatment for a multi-step corporate reorganization involving a conversion, a reincorporation, and contributions of interests in newly formed entities. The conversion…
PLR 201224005: IRS allows late filing of accounting-method forms
The IRS granted a taxpayer 30 days to attach the original Forms 3115 to the correct tax return for two accounting-method changes. The taxpayer had attached the forms to an earlier year's return even…
PLR 201224004: IRS allows a late S corporation election
The IRS granted a corporation relief for failing to timely file its S corporation election. The IRS found that the corporation had reasonable cause for the late filing and allowed the election to be…
PLR 201224003: IRS allows a late extended NOL carryback election
The IRS granted a consolidated group 60 days to make a late election under IRC § 172(b)(1)(H) to carry back a consolidated net operating loss for an extended period. The parent had intended to make…
PLR 201224002: IRS allows late filing of a duplicate Form 3115
The IRS granted a taxpayer 30 days to file a signed duplicate Form 3115 with the IRS Ogden office. The taxpayer had timely attached the original form to its return but mailed the required duplicate…
PLR 201224001: IRS approves refined-coal process and emissions testing
The IRS ruled that a process adding proprietary chemicals to feedstock coal before combustion produces refined coal under IRC § 45(c)(7), provided the coal comes from the same source or rank as the…
PLR 201223023: IRS waives the 60-day IRA rollover deadline
The IRS waived the 60-day rollover requirement for a taxpayer who had taken a distribution from an individual retirement annuity and failed to complete the rollover because of a cognitive…
IRS approves a private foundation's grant-making program
The IRS approved a private foundation's procedures for a grant-making program intended to develop leadership and community-development skills. The program uses an open nomination process, objective…
IRS approves endowment units for a charitable remainder trust
The IRS ruled that a charitable remainder trust's contractual units in an organization's endowment would not generate unrelated business taxable income. The trust would have a contractual right to…
IRS denies exemption to a time-bank membership organization
The IRS issued a final adverse determination denying § 501(c)(3) exemption to a membership organization that operated a community time bank. Members exchanged services using units of time, and the…
CCA 201223019: IRS clarifies an excise-tax overpayment credit
Chief Counsel advice corrected an earlier analysis concerning whether an excise-tax overpayment could be credited against another excise-tax liability. The advice states that if the taxpayer paid…
CCA 201223018: IRS identifies the form for waiving a CDP hearing
Chief Counsel advice identifies Form 13207 as the form for waiving the right to receive a Collection Due Process hearing under IRC § 6330. The advice also points to the Internal Revenue Manual…
CCA 201223017: IRS explains review of a supplemental CDP determination
Chief Counsel advice states that the attorney handling a remanded Collection Due Process case should review the supplemental notice of determination before it is issued to the taxpayer. The review…
CCA 201223016: IRS may issue separate deficiency notices for different taxes
Chief Counsel advice states that IRC § 6212(c) does not prevent the IRS from issuing deficiency notices for different taxes reported on separate returns. After a notice concerning an individual's…
TAM 201223015: Trade promotion rebates accrue when customers buy goods
The IRS concluded that an accrual-method manufacturer's trade promotion rebate liabilities become fixed and determinable when customers purchase the goods. The later submission of claim forms and…
PLR 201223014: IRS approves utility normalization treatment for excess project costs
The IRS ruled that a public utility's treatment of project costs above a regulatory cost cap satisfied the normalization requirements for accelerated depreciation. The utility included the full…
PLR 201223013: IRS allows a late S corporation election
The IRS allowed a corporation to make a late S corporation election effective on its intended date. The corporation had filed Form 1120S but had not timely filed Form 2553, and the IRS found…
PLR 201223012: IRS approves a tax-neutral trust division and modification
The IRS approved corrections to two scrivener's errors in an irrevocable trust and a pro rata division of the trust into two successor trusts for separate family lines. The IRS ruled that the…
PLR 201223011: IRS allows late homeowners association elections
The IRS granted a homeowners association 120 days to make late elections under IRC § 528 for two taxable years. The association's CPA firm had filed Forms 1120 instead of the required Forms 1120-H.…
PLR 201223010: IRS grants ten foreign entities more time to elect disregarded status
The IRS granted ten foreign entities 120 days to file Form 8832 elections to be treated as disregarded entities for federal tax purposes. Each entity had missed the filing deadline for its intended…
PLR 201223009: IRS grants ten foreign entities more time to elect partnership status
The IRS granted ten foreign entities 120 days to file Form 8832 elections to be treated as partnerships for federal tax purposes. Each entity had missed the filing deadline for its intended…
PLR 201223008: IRS allows a late S corporation election
The IRS allowed a corporation to make a late S corporation election effective on its intended date. The corporation had not timely filed Form 2553, and the IRS found reasonable cause for the…
PLR 201223007: IRS preserves S corporation status after QSST and shareholder errors
The IRS ruled that a corporation's S election terminated when a trust became an ineligible shareholder after a missed QSST election, shares were issued late to other eligible shareholders, and stock…
PLR 201223006: IRS approves expansion of a domestic 80/20 company's mineral business
The IRS ruled that a Delaware corporation owned by foreign shareholders could expand its existing mineral extraction and processing business without adding a substantial new line of business under…
PLR 201223005: IRS allows a late low-income housing credit election
The IRS granted a taxpayer 120 days to correct Forms 8609 and elect to begin the low-income housing credit period in the year after a building was placed in service. An accountant had inadvertently…
PLR 201223004: IRS allows a late election to waive an NOL carryback
The IRS granted a consolidated group 45 days to make a late election to relinquish the entire carryback period for a consolidated net operating loss. The parent had intended to file the election but…
PLR 201223003: IRS allows a late election to waive an NOL carryback
The IRS granted a consolidated group 45 days to make a late election to relinquish the entire carryback period for a consolidated net operating loss. The parent had intended to file the election but…
PLR 201223002: IRS approves refined coal credit production and testing methods
The IRS approved three requested positions concerning a refined-coal facility that used chemical additives to reduce nitrogen oxide and mercury emissions. It concluded that coal produced through the…
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.