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 201216038: Advice treats employee payments as wages rather than royalties
Chief Counsel advice addresses payments made to employees under an unidentified royalty arrangement. The advice concludes that the payments appear to be compensation for services, so they should be…
CCA 201216037: Advice addresses late relief for an alternate-valuation election
Chief Counsel advice addresses whether a taxpayer may seek relief to make an IRC § 2032 alternate-valuation election more than one year after the return's due date. The advice says relief may be…
CCA 201216036: Advice addresses Treasury access to tax return information
Chief Counsel advice confirms that the Treasury Department's Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau is part of Treasury and may access returns and return information for official tax…
CCA 201216035: Tax matters partner may bind certain other partners
Chief Counsel advice explains when a tax matters partner (TMP) may bind partners who were not entitled to notice. A TMP may do so under IRC § 6224(c)(3) if the TMP specifically states that the TMP…
PLR 201216034: IRS rules on trust ownership, S corporation status, and estate inclusion
The IRS considered a domestic trust that was created for an individual who also served as trustee and beneficiary. The individual could withdraw contributions, subject to an annual lapse rule, and…
CCA 201216033: Form 843 may amend a timely refund claim
Chief Counsel advice concludes that a taxpayer's Form 843 could be treated as a permissible amendment to a timely Form 1040X, rather than as a new and untimely refund claim. The taxpayer had…
PLR 201216032: IRS restores S corporation status after an inadvertent termination
A corporation's S corporation election was inadvertently terminated when an ineligible shareholder acquired its stock. The corporation later redeemed all of that shareholder's stock and represented…
PLR 201216031: REIT distribution qualifies for the dividends paid deduction
A publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) issued common and convertible stock while declaring a quarterly distribution. The transaction included a payment intended to adjust for the…
PLR 201216030: IRS grants relief for a late S corporation election
A corporation intended to elect S corporation status but did not timely file Form 2553. The IRS determined that the corporation had reasonable cause for the late election under IRC § 1362(b)(5). The…
PLR 201216029: IRS classifies cellular antenna towers as land improvements
A communications company asked how its cellular antenna towers and supporting foundations should be classified for depreciation. The IRS concluded that the land towers, rooftop towers, horizontal…
PLR 201216028: IRS grants relief for a late S corporation election
A corporation intended to be an S corporation but did not timely file Form 2553. The IRS determined that the corporation had reasonable cause for the late election under IRC § 1362(b)(5). The IRS…
PLR 201216027: IRS approves a tax-free spin-off of a QSub business
An S corporation planned to distribute all the stock of a wholly owned subsidiary to its shareholders. The subsidiary's qualified subchapter S subsidiary (QSub) election would terminate when the…
PLR 201216026: IRS approves a qualified stock purchase and section 338(g) election
A multinational affiliated group acquired more than 80 percent of a publicly traded foreign corporation. The group planned to sell a minority block to unrelated persons to comply with the foreign…
PLR 201216025: IRS restores S corporation status after a trust becomes ineligible
A corporation's S corporation election terminated when a revocable trust continued holding its stock after the period during which the trust was an eligible shareholder ended. The trust later…
PLR 201216024: IRS grants more time for a partnership classification election
A foreign business entity intended to elect partnership classification for federal tax purposes but failed to timely file Form 8832. The IRS concluded that the requirements for relief under Treas.…
PLR 201216023: IRS approves a tax-free spin-off with debt and share exchanges
A publicly traded corporation planned to separate one business into a newly formed controlled corporation and distribute at least 80 percent of that corporation's stock pro rata to its shareholders.…
PLR 201216022: IRS rules that excess hydrogen sales qualify as partnership income
A publicly traded partnership that produces fertilizer used a gasification process that generated hydrogen as a by-product. The partnership had an agreement with an adjacent refinery to exchange…
PLR 201216021: IRS grants a foreign entity more time to elect partnership classification
A foreign entity intended to be treated as a partnership for federal tax purposes but did not timely file Form 8832. The IRS concluded that the requirements for relief under the regulations were…
PLR 201216020: IRS grants more time to make a corporate classification election
A business entity formed under the laws of a redacted state intended to elect treatment as an association taxable as a corporation but did not timely file Form 8832. The IRS concluded that the…
PLR 201216019: IRS permits aggregate § 704(c) allocations after a partnership merger
Two partnerships treated as securities partnerships for federal tax purposes planned an assets-over merger. One used a full-netting method and the other used a partial-netting method for reverse…
PLR 201216018: IRS grants more time to file consolidated return elections
A parent corporation's consolidated group sold a subsidiary and failed to timely file elections intended to reduce possible duplication of losses and avoid reduction of tax attributes. The IRS…
PLR 201216017: IRS approves an additive process and testing method for the refined coal credit
A taxpayer planned to produce refined coal by mixing proprietary additives with feedstock coal before combustion at several power plants. The taxpayer asked whether the additive process produced…
PLR 201216016: IRS permits a late S corporation election
A corporation's sole shareholder intended to elect S corporation status effective on a redacted date but did not timely file Form 2553. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late filing and…
PLR 201216015: IRS grants more time to elect qualified subchapter S subsidiary status
An S corporation acquired a wholly owned subsidiary and intended to elect qualified subchapter S subsidiary status for that subsidiary, but it did not timely file Form 8869. The IRS found that the…
PLR 201216014: IRS grants more time for a foreign entity to elect partnership status
A foreign limited liability partnership intended to be classified as a partnership for federal tax purposes but did not timely file Form 8832. The entity had sold an interest in a domestic limited…
PLR 201216013: IRS grants more time to make an alternate valuation election
The co-executors of an estate timely filed Form 706 but did not make the alternate valuation election under IRC § 2032. They later determined that the election should have been made and filed a…
PLR 201216012: IRS grants more time for a foreign entity to elect partnership status
A foreign entity intended to be treated as a partnership for federal tax purposes but did not timely file Form 8832. The IRS concluded that the requirements for relief under Treas. Reg. § 301.9100-3…
PLR 201216011: IRS treats cooperative payments as per-unit retains for the § 199 deduction
A farmers' cooperative marketed agricultural products for its member associations and their patrons through both consignment sales and direct purchase arrangements. The cooperative asked whether…
PLR 201216010: IRS approves merger of grandfathered trusts without adverse tax effects
The parties proposed merging sixteen subtrusts within four pre-1985 trusts into four surviving trusts, one for each beneficiary, while preserving the original beneficial interests and vesting and…
PLR 201216009: IRS finds a hospital alliance does not create private business use of bond-financed facilities
A public hospital district and a public university planned a strategic alliance to coordinate healthcare services and manage hospital facilities financed with tax-exempt bonds. The IRS concluded…
PLR 201216008: IRS applies the possession exception to a domestic partnership's wind project
A domestic partnership planned to develop a wind project in a United States possession through a disregarded subsidiary. The partnership had two domestic corporate members, neither of which had an…
PLR 201216007: IRS permits a related-party like-kind exchange series under stated conditions
A real estate investment trust asked whether the related-party limits in § 1031(f) would prevent tax deferral for a series of like-kind exchanges involving the taxpayer, a qualified intermediary, an…
PLR 201216006: IRS grants extra time to make an IC-DISC election
A domestic corporation asked for more time to file Form 4876-A, the form used to elect IC-DISC status, effective from its incorporation date. The corporation believed the form had been timely filed,…
PLR 201216005: IRS finds a proposed spousal trust arrangement outside Rev. Rul. 71-51
Married spouses who held property as tenants by the entirety proposed an agreement under which half of the property would be held in trust for the surviving spouse after the first spouse's death.…
PLR 201216004: IRS grants extra time to make a disregarded-entity election
A foreign entity intended to elect disregarded-entity treatment for federal tax purposes but inadvertently failed to timely file Form 8832. The IRS concluded that the requirements for relief under…
PLR 201216003: IRS grants extra time to make a disregarded-entity election
A foreign entity intended to elect disregarded-entity treatment for federal tax purposes but inadvertently failed to timely file Form 8832. The IRS concluded that the requirements for relief under…
PLR 201216002: IRS grants extra time to make a disregarded-entity election
A foreign entity intended to elect disregarded-entity treatment for federal tax purposes but inadvertently failed to timely file Form 8832. The IRS concluded that the requirements for relief under…
PLR 201216001: IRS grants extra time to make a disregarded-entity election
A foreign entity intended to elect disregarded-entity treatment for federal tax purposes but inadvertently failed to timely file Form 8832. The IRS concluded that the requirements for relief under…
IRS denies exemption to a fertility pharmacy operated in a commercial manner
The IRS considered an organization's request for recognition as a section 501(c)(4) social welfare organization. The organization operated a pharmacy that sold fertility medication, sometimes at…
PLR 201215018: IRS confirms that a religious order's retirement plan is a church plan
A religious order asked whether its retirement savings plan qualified as a church plan under IRC § 414(e). The IRS concluded that the order was an integral part of a church, shared common religious…
PLR 201215017: IRS grants a conditional waiver of the minimum funding standard
The IRS considered a healthcare organization's request for a waiver of the minimum funding standard for its retirement plan for the year ending December 31, 2007. It granted the waiver under IRC §…
PLR 201215016: IRS waives the 60-day IRA rollover requirement after a bank error
A taxpayer intended to transfer funds from one IRA into another IRA but the funds were placed into a non-IRA account by mistake. The IRS found that the failure to complete the rollover within 60…
PLR 201215015: IRS waives the 60-day rollover requirement after a credit union error
A taxpayer received a distribution from an employer retirement plan and instructed a credit union to deposit it into an IRA. The credit union instead deposited the funds into a non-IRA account,…
IRS denies exemption to a homeowners advocacy association
The IRS finalized an adverse determination for a homeowners advocacy association that sought exemption under IRC §§ 501(c)(6) and 501(c)(4). The association represented property owners in a private…
IRS denies exemption to a housing and financial-literacy organization
The IRS denied an organization's request for recognition under IRC § 501(c)(3). The organization proposed affordable housing services, foreclosure assistance, financial-literacy programs, home…
IRS denies exemption to a free credit-repair organization
The IRS denied an organization's request for recognition under IRC § 501(c)(3). The organization offered free credit repair and planned to seek donations and grants, but its sole substantive…
IRS denies exemption to a fundraising organization supporting a foreign research project
The IRS denied a U.S. organization's application for recognition under IRC § 501(c)(3). The organization raised funds for a foreign organization and said its money supported rabbis researching and…
IRS denies exemption to a stock-trading charity
The IRS denied an organization's application for recognition under IRC § 501(c)(3). The organization planned to buy and sell stocks and options with donated funds, retain some proceeds, and give a…
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…
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.