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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CCA: A second notice may cover converted partnership items
Chief Counsel advised that a second notice of deficiency could be issued for partnership items converted by a bankruptcy filing. The advice concerned a married couple, a TEFRA partnership interest,…
CCA: Loss carrybacks do not revive barred overpayment items
Chief Counsel advised that a loss carryback does not allow a taxpayer to recover an overpayment attributable to other items that are barred by the statute of limitations. A refund or credit is…
CCA: Coordinated investment funds treated as one entity under section 382
Chief Counsel advised that six private investment funds should be treated as one entity under Treas. Reg. § 1.382-3(a)(1) when determining whether they were a 5-percent shareholder under IRC § 382.…
CCA: Interest abatement claims require final determinations when disallowed
Chief Counsel advised that a processable interest-abatement claim that is disallowed should receive a final determination letter, not a no-consideration letter. A final determination preserves the…
IRS approves a proposed two-step corporate spin-off
The IRS issued private letter rulings on a proposed two-step contribution and spin-off involving two businesses in a corporate group. In the first step, one subsidiary would contribute stock and…
IRS grants late S corporation election relief for reasonable cause
The IRS granted a corporation relief for a late S corporation election. The corporation intended the election to take effect on a redacted date but did not timely file Form 2553. The IRS found…
IRS approves an LLC's change to disregarded-entity status
The IRS consented to an LLC's request to change its federal tax classification from an association taxable as a corporation to a disregarded entity. The LLC had previously changed its classification…
IRS consents to an LLC's second classification change
The IRS consented to an LLC's request to change its federal tax classification from an association taxable as a corporation to a disregarded entity. The LLC had previously changed its classification…
IRS grants an LLC more time to elect corporate tax treatment
The IRS granted an LLC an extension of time to file Form 8832 and elect to be treated as an association taxable as a corporation for federal tax purposes. The LLC intended to make the election…
IRS denies exemption to a political campaign support organization
The IRS denied a political organization's application for exemption under IRC section 501(c)(4). The organization planned to devote 80 percent of its activities to supporting a political candidate,…
IRS approves a central-counterparty structure for a regional transmission organization
The IRS ruled that a regional transmission organization’s plan to become the central counterparty for transactions in the electricity markets it administers would not affect its section 501(c)(3)…
IRS approves a private foundation's amended scholarship procedures
The IRS approved a private foundation's amended procedures for awarding scholarships to graduates of a specified school. The foundation sought to stop sending annual notices to employees of a…
IRS approves a Parkinson's disease research grant program
The IRS approved a private foundation's program to award research grants for work on the causes and cure of Parkinson's disease. The foundation will solicit nominations from qualified nonprofit…
CCA explains estate-tax transferee liability and lien scope
Chief Counsel Advice addressed whether the estate tax rules create a lien on all property owned by children who received nonprobate property from an estate. The advice explains that section…
CCA explains when a pension levy remains effective
Chief Counsel Advice addressed whether the IRS must issue a new levy when a levy has already been served on a pension plan. The advice states that a levy reaches the taxpayer's vested rights under…
CCA 1214029: Chief Counsel advice explains what qualifies as Chief Counsel advice
Chief Counsel advice stated that IRC § 6110(i) defines Chief Counsel advice. The provision requires that this advice be prepared by a national office component of the Office of Chief Counsel. The…
CCA 1214028: IRS discusses who may claim proceeds after a federal tax lien discharge
Chief Counsel advice addressed whether a taxpayer could recover money from the IRS after a bank with a mortgage interest superior to the federal tax lien miscalculated its payoff from a property…
CCA 1214027: IRS advice rejects altered powers of attorney and authorizations
Chief Counsel advice recommended rejecting Forms 2848 and 8821 because taxpayers had signed them as executors for themselves, even though no estate or other entity was involved. The advice also said…
CCA 1214026: Chief Counsel advice comments on charter school employees and governmental plans
Chief Counsel advice responded to a question about whether charter school employees could participate in a governmental retirement plan without jeopardizing the plan's governmental-plan status. The…
CCA 1214025: IRS discusses disclosure of return information in examinations
Chief Counsel advice addressed when the IRS could disclose estate tax return information during an examination of an appraiser under IRC § 6695A. It stated that return information is confidential…
CCA 1214024: IRS explains when Form 8821 may authorize disclosure to an accountant
Chief Counsel advice stated that a taxpayer generally may use Form 8821 to authorize the IRS to disclose the taxpayer's returns and return information to an accountant. The advice also stated that…
CCA 1214023: IRS explains social security taxes for employees transferred abroad
Chief Counsel advice concluded that the second theory in the underlying question was correct. A U.S. citizen permanently transferred by an employer to work in a foreign country generally would be…
PLR 1214022: Trust reformation did not create a taxable general power of appointment
The IRS ruled on the federal gift and estate tax effects of a state court reformation of a trust. The trust document mistakenly allowed a surviving spouse to appoint trust property to herself, her…
TAM 1214021: Put exercises in collar transactions were closed and completed for tax purposes
The IRS considered whether a taxpayer's exercise of put options in four stock collar transactions created closed and completed transactions for federal income tax purposes. The taxpayer had…
PLR 1214020: Corporation X and its subsidiaries may file a consolidated return after a distribution and merger
The IRS considered whether a corporation that had distributed stock and later merged into another corporation could be treated as the common parent of a consolidated federal income tax return. The…
PLR 1214019: IRS grants more time to make an extended NOL carryback election
The IRS considered a consolidated group's request for more time to elect an extended carryback period for a consolidated net operating loss. The election had not been filed by its deadline because…
PLR 1214018: IRS grants more time to file a section 338 election
The IRS considered a request for more time to file a section 338 election after a foreign purchasing corporation acquired all of the stock of a controlled foreign corporation. The election was…
PLR 1214017: IRS treats a late S corporation election as timely made
The IRS considered a newly incorporated company's request to treat its late S corporation election as timely. The company was eligible to elect S corporation status from its incorporation date, and…
PLR 1214016: IRS grants more time for one homeowners association election year
The IRS considered a homeowners association's request to make late elections under IRC § 528 for two taxable years. The association had filed Forms 1120 instead of Forms 1120-H after relying on an…
PLR 1214015: Omitted subsidiaries are treated as having joined a consolidated return
The IRS considered whether several subsidiaries omitted from a consolidated return could be treated as having filed the required Forms 1122. The parent had included the subsidiaries' income and…
PLR 1214014: Partnership conversion receives section 351 treatment and preserves post-1993 intangible basis
The IRS considered the federal tax consequences of a partnership's conversion into a corporation in connection with an initial public offering. The ruling treated the conversion as a transfer of…
PLR 1214013: Parent reorganization and downstream merger qualify as tax-free reorganizations
The IRS considered a proposed restructuring in which a parent company would exchange a subsidiary's stock, convert to a disregarded LLC, and then combine two lower-tier corporations in a downstream…
PLR 1214012: Asset sale and stock merger receive specified consolidated tax treatment
The IRS considered a complex acquisition combining an asset sale and a stock merger involving a consolidated group. The ruling addressed how the sellers' gain, distributions, taxes, and related…
PLR 1214011: IRS treats another late S corporation election as timely made
The IRS considered a newly incorporated company's request to have its late S corporation election recognized from its incorporation date. The company's sole shareholder intended S corporation…
PLR 1214010: IRS grants relief for a late S corporation election
The IRS considered a corporation's request to be treated as an S corporation from a specified effective date even though Form 2553 was filed late. The corporation established reasonable cause for…
PLR 1214009: REIT rents remain qualifying despite a TRS investment in a facility manager
The IRS considered whether a real estate investment trust's rents from health care facilities would remain rents from real property when its taxable REIT subsidiary invested in the parent of an…
PLR 1214008: IRS grants relief for another late S corporation election
The IRS considered a corporation's request to be treated as an S corporation from a specified effective date even though the election was not timely filed. The corporation established reasonable…
PLR 1214007: Facility-specific power purchase agreements are not separate assets
The IRS considered how to allocate the purchase price when a taxpayer acquired wind energy facilities together with facility-specific power purchase agreements. The agreements required the facility…
PLR 1214006: IRS grants more time to make a section 754 election
The IRS considered a limited partnership's request for more time to make a section 754 election after interests in the partnership were sold and transferred. The partnership's tax advisors had not…
PLR 1214005: IRS permits revocation of an election foregoing bonus depreciation
The IRS considered a corporation's request to revoke its election not to claim 50 percent additional first-year depreciation for qualified property. The corporation had made the election after…
PLR 1214004: IRS permits partial revocation of an investment income election
The IRS considered a trust's request to partially revoke an election that treated net capital gain and qualified dividend income as investment income for purposes of the investment interest…
PLR 1214003: Self-constructed generating units qualify for bonus depreciation
The IRS considered whether two self-constructed electric generating units qualified for 50 percent additional first-year depreciation and whether components of one unit could qualify for 100 percent…
PLR 1214002: IRS grants late taxable REIT subsidiary election relief
The IRS considered a REIT and its wholly owned subsidiary's request for more time to elect taxable REIT subsidiary status. The company's accountant mistakenly believed the election could be filed…
PLR 1214001: IRS preserves S corporation status after possible second-class stock issue
The IRS considered whether convertible debt, warrants, and employee options may have created a second class of stock and terminated an S corporation election. The corporation had not issued the…
IRS revokes section 501(c)(3) exemption for a sorority housing organization
The IRS denied section 501(c)(3) exemption to an organization that owned and operated a sorority chapter house. The organization maintained the property and described historic preservation and…
PLR 1213035: IRS revokes prior ruling on gain from a social club's property sale
The IRS revoked and superseded a 2003 ruling for a section 501(c)(7) club that planned to dissolve and sell land used in its exempt activities. The earlier ruling had concluded that the sale would…
PLR 1213034: IRS revokes prior ruling on gain from a boating club's property sale
The IRS revoked and superseded a 2004 ruling for a section 501(c)(7) boating club that planned to sell and liquidate its assets. The earlier ruling had concluded that gain from the sale would not be…
IRS denies section 501(c)(7) exemption to a property-rights club
The IRS finalized its denial of section 501(c)(7) exemption to a club formed by cabin owners and their supporters. The club's main activity was pooling member resources to litigate individual…
IRS denies exemption under sections 501(c)(4) and 501(c)(6) to a trade-services organization
The IRS finalized its denial of exemption under sections 501(c)(6) and 501(c)(4) to an organization that promoted trade, investment, and business opportunities for selected small and medium-sized…
IRS denies section 501(c)(3) exemption to a mortgage counseling organization
The IRS denied section 501(c)(3) exemption to an organization providing mortgage mitigation and credit counseling services. The organization charged fees, shared operations and personnel with a…
IRS denies section 501(c)(3) exemption to a mortgage assistance foundation
The IRS denied section 501(c)(3) exemption to an organization that helped homeowners refinance mortgages and paid related costs. The organization also performed paid research for a for-profit…
PLR 1213029: Central counterparty structure does not affect exemption or create unrelated business income
The IRS considered whether an independent system operator's planned central-counterparty structure would affect its section 501(c)(3) exemption. The operator would briefly take title to electricity…
CCA 1213028: FPAA and Form 870-LT extend affected-item notice periods
Chief Counsel Advice addressed the period for issuing affected-item notices of deficiency in a TEFRA matter. It said an FPAA extends that period through the 150-day petition period plus one year…
CCA 1213027: TEFRA proceeding notices generally go to partners for the year at issue
Chief Counsel Advice addressed who should receive notice at the beginning of a TEFRA partnership proceeding. It said IRC § 6223(c) generally limits notice to the partners for the tax year at issue…
CCA 1213026: Carryback-year underpayments may be tied to source-year transactions for section 6662(b)(6)
Chief Counsel Advice addressed the effective date and transition treatment for the accuracy-related penalty under IRC § 6662(b)(6). That provision applies to underpayments attributable to…
CCA 1213025: An electronic signature can have the same effect as a handwritten signature
Chief Counsel Advice addressed whether an electronic signature could be used on a Form 872, which extends the period for assessing tax. It said an electronic signature has the same effect as a…
PLR 1213024: IRS grants 120 days to make a late section 754 election
The IRS granted a partnership 120 days to make a late election under IRC § 754 for a specified taxable year. The partnership's tax adviser had inadvertently failed to make the election on time after…
CCA 1213023: Slot-machine conversion costs are generally deductible maintenance expenses
Chief Counsel Advice considered whether a casino operator had to capitalize costs for converting reel and video slot machines to new games or configurations. The advice concluded that, on the facts…
CCA 1213022: Investment losses can be theft losses despite intermediary fund managers
Chief Counsel Advice considered whether taxpayers' losses from an investment scheme qualified as theft losses under IRC § 165, even though the taxpayers invested through fund managers and other…
PLR 1213021: Reverse merger and related transactions qualify as a reorganization
The IRS ruled on a proposed series of corporate transactions involving a reverse subsidiary merger, a distribution of a regulated subsidiary, and an upstream merger. The transaction also included…
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.