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 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 201214029: 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 201214028: 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 201214027: 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 201214026: Chief Counsel comments on redacted school determinations
In an email about private and public schools, a Chief Counsel writer agreed that unspecified determinations sounded right, while cautioning that the writer did not know all the facts. The released…
CCA 201214025: 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 201214024: 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 201214023: 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 201214022: 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 201214021: 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 201214020: 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 201214019: 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 201214018: 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 201214017: 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 201214016: 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 201214015: 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 201214014: 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 201214013: 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 201214012: 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 201214011: 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 201214010: 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 201214009: 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 201214008: 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 201214007: 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 201214006: 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 201214005: 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 201214004: 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 201214003: 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 201214002: 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 201214001: 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 denies section 501(c)(3) exemption to 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 201213035: 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 201213034: 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 201213029: 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 201213028: 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 201213027: 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 201213026: 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 201213025: 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 201213024: 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 201213023: 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 201213022: 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 201213021: 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…
PLR 201213020: IRS allows a late S corporation election
The IRS granted a corporation 120 days to file Form 2553 and make a late S corporation election effective on the requested date. The corporation's sole shareholder intended to make the election, but…
PLR 201213019: 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…
PLR 201213018: Parent's spin-off and subsidiary conversion receive nonrecognition treatment
The IRS ruled on a parent corporation's plan to distribute all of a subsidiary's stock to the parent and then convert that subsidiary into a state-law limited liability company. The distribution was…
PLR 201213017: IRS grants time to elect disregarded-entity status
The IRS granted a foreign entity 120 days to file Form 8832 and elect to be treated as a disregarded entity for federal tax purposes. The entity was wholly owned by one person and had intended to…
PLR 201213016: Long-term-care rider qualifies as insurance and benefits are excludable
The IRS ruled that a noncancellable long-term-care rider attached to certain annuity contracts was an insurance contract under IRC § 7702B(b)(1). The rider reimbursed qualifying long-term-care…
PLR 201213015: IRS grants late relief for a foreign entity's partnership election
The IRS granted a foreign eligible entity 120 days to file Form 8832 electing partnership treatment for federal tax purposes. The entity intended to make that election effective on a specified date,…
PLR 201213014: IRS grants extra time for a Canadian RRSP treaty election
The IRS granted a taxpayer 60 days to elect treaty treatment that defers U.S. tax on income accruing but not distributed by a Canadian registered retirement savings plan. The taxpayer became a U.S.…
PLR 201213013: IRS approves tax treatment for a proposed asset sale and merger
The IRS ruled on the federal tax consequences of a proposed transaction in which a buyer group would acquire selected business assets and stock from a parent company's affiliated group. The IRS…
PLR 201213012: IRS waives the five-year wait for a consolidated return
The IRS waived the general five-year waiting period that applied before a corporation could rejoin a consolidated return group after leaving one. The taxpayer had become the common parent of an…
PLR 201213011: IRS rules on a disproportionate stock-warrant distribution
The IRS ruled that a corporation's distribution of warrants to purchase its common stock was a property distribution governed by section 301. The recipients had a greater interest in the corporation…
PLR 201213010: Airport connector bond interest qualifies for tax exclusion
The IRS ruled that interest on bonds issued by political subdivisions to finance airport people-mover improvements and buses would be excludable from gross income under section 103(a). Although more…
PLR 201213009: IRS grants late entity-classification and S-election relief
The IRS granted a limited liability company 120 days to file Form 8832 electing association treatment as a corporation for federal tax purposes. The company had also failed to timely file Form 2553…
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.