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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9100 relief to file a late QSLOB election (Form 5310-A) for a walled-off defense contractor's 401(k) plan
A U.S. subsidiary that performs classified work for the U.S. government must be walled off from its foreign parent under a "Foreign Ownership, Control and Influence" (FOCI) security framework, and…
9100 relief to file a late Form 8832 classifying a foreign entity as a partnership
A foreign business entity, eligible under the check-the-box rules to choose how it is classified for U.S. federal tax purposes, wanted to be treated as a partnership as of a chosen effective date.…
9100 relief to file a late section 754 election after a partner's death
A limited partnership had a partner who died, an event that lets the partnership step up (or down) the basis of its assets to match the successor's basis in the partnership interest, but only if the…
9100 relief to make a late QSub election after the subsidiary was fixed to qualify as a corporation
An S corporation formed a wholly owned LLC subsidiary and tried to elect to treat it as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary (QSub), which lets the parent ignore the subsidiary as a separate entity…
9100 relief to make a late portability (DSUE) election for an estate not otherwise required to file
When a married person dies without using all of their federal estate-tax exclusion, the estate can elect "portability" to pass the unused amount (the deceased spousal unused exclusion, or DSUE) to…
Late-election relief to make a portability (DSUE) election for an estate that was not required to file an estate tax return
When one spouse dies without using all of the federal estate and gift tax exclusion, the survivor can inherit the unused amount (the deceased spousal unused exclusion, or DSUE) through a…
IRS grants a late-filing estate 120 days to make a portability election for the deceased spouse's unused exclusion
When one spouse dies, the estate can "port" the deceased spouse's unused estate-and-gift-tax exclusion (the DSUE amount) over to the surviving spouse, but only by making an election on a timely…
IRS grants a partnership 120 more days to make a section 754 basis-adjustment election
When a partnership interest changes hands, the partnership can make a "section 754 election" to adjust the tax basis of its assets, which usually benefits the incoming partner by aligning the inside…
IRS grants a historic-rehab entity 60 more days to elect out of "tax-exempt controlled entity" treatment
This ruling involves a historic building rehabilitation financed with federal historic tax credits (under Internal Revenue Code § 47). The taxpayer is an LLC wholly owned by a § 501 tax-exempt…
IRS grants a corporation 120 more days to elect to amortize research expenses over 10 years
A corporation that files a consolidated return for its group wanted to elect, under Internal Revenue Code § 59(e), to deduct its research and experimental (R&E) expenditures ratably over 10 years…
IRS grants a company 60 more days to make the 70/30 safe-harbor election for success-based fees
When a company pays fees that are contingent on closing a merger or acquisition ("success-based fees"), the tax rules presume the whole fee must be capitalized (spread out) rather than deducted,…
IRS grants a corporation 120 more days to make section 59(e) elections its accountant forgot to attach
A corporation that files a consolidated return decided to elect, under Internal Revenue Code § 59(e), to deduct its research and experimental (R&E) expenditures ratably over 10 years rather than all…
IRS denies a day-trader's request to make a late mark-to-market election, citing hindsight
A securities trader wanted to elect the "mark-to-market" method of accounting under Internal Revenue Code § 475(f), which lets a trader in securities treat trading gains and losses as ordinary…
IRS grants extension of time to make a Section 336(e) election for an S corporation stock sale
A purchaser bought all the stock of an S corporation from its shareholder in a deal the parties intended to treat, for tax purposes, as a sale of the company's assets rather than its stock. That…
IRS grants extension to make a Section 59(e) election to amortize R&E expenditures over 10 years
The parent company of an affiliated corporate group (a retail distributor of children's and infants' apparel) intended to elect under section 59(e) to deduct part of its research and experimental…
IRS grants a REIT extra time to make a taxable REIT subsidiary election it failed to file
A real estate investment trust (REIT) acquired a hotel, planning to own it through the REIT and lease it to a subsidiary that would be treated as a "taxable REIT subsidiary" (TRS). A REIT generally…
IRS grants extension to self-certify as a Qualified Opportunity Fund (Form 8996)
An LLC was formed to invest in a qualified opportunity zone and to act as a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF), the vehicle that lets investors defer tax on capital gains they reinvest in distressed…
IRS grants a decedent's estate more time to make the portability (DSUE) election
When one spouse dies without using all of their federal estate and gift tax exclusion, the unused amount (the "deceased spousal unused exclusion," or DSUE) can be transferred to the surviving…
IRS grants a decedent's estate more time to make the portability (DSUE) election
When one spouse dies without using all of their federal estate and gift tax exclusion, the unused amount (the "deceased spousal unused exclusion," or DSUE) can be transferred to the surviving…
IRS grants extra time to elect a taxable REIT subsidiary after a law-firm and fund each assumed the other would file
A real estate fund set up a structure to hold hotels through a REIT and a taxable REIT subsidiary (TRS), a common "RIDEA" arrangement that lets a REIT lease its lodging facilities to a TRS that…
IRS gives a REIT 90 days to make a late taxable REIT subsidiary election after a law-firm and fund each assumed the other would file
A real estate fund built a structure to hold hotels through a REIT and a taxable REIT subsidiary (TRS), a common "RIDEA" arrangement that lets a REIT lease its lodging facilities to a TRS which then…
IRS gives a GRAT settlor extra time to opt out of automatic GST-exemption allocation after the attorney never advised it
A person (the settlor) set up a grantor retained annuity trust (GRAT) and transferred property into it, reporting the gift on a timely Form 709. When the settlor's retained annuity interest ended…
IRS gives a GRAT settlor extra time to opt out of automatic GST-exemption allocation after the attorney never advised it
A person (the settlor) set up a grantor retained annuity trust (GRAT) and transferred property into it, reporting the gift on a timely Form 709. When the settlor's retained annuity interest ended…
IRS gives an S corporation 60 days to make a late safe-harbor election for success-based transaction fees
A holding company taxed as an S corporation paid "success-based fees" (fees contingent on a deal closing) to an advisor in connection with a business acquisition and reorganization. Under the…
IRS grants 75 more days to file a late Section 336(e) election statement after a tax pro missed the deadline
A partnership bought all the stock of an S corporation in a deal the parties treated as a qualified stock disposition. They intended to make a section 336(e) election, which lets a qualifying stock…
LLC gets 120 days to file a late election to be taxed as a corporation
A limited liability company intended to be classified as a corporation for federal tax purposes as of a chosen effective date, but it never filed the required Form 8832 (Entity Classification…
Partnership gets 120 days to make a late Section 754 basis-adjustment election after a partner's death
A limited partnership wanted to make a section 754 election, which lets a partnership adjust the tax basis of its assets when a partnership interest is transferred (here, after a partner died) or…
Consolidated group gets 75 days to make a late election waiving carryback of an acquired subsidiary's losses
A consolidated group acquired a target company and its subsidiaries that had previously been part of another consolidated group. To keep the acquired members' consolidated net operating losses from…
Company gets 60 days to refile accounting-method-change forms filed one hour late
A company decided to make three automatic accounting method changes for a tax year, which requires attaching an original Form 3115 for each change to a timely filed return (and filing a copy…
S corporation gets 120 days to make a late QSub election for its subsidiary
An S corporation wholly owns a subsidiary and intended to treat it as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary (QSub), which makes the subsidiary disregarded so its income and assets are treated as the…
S corporation gets 120 days to make late QSub elections for four subsidiaries
An S corporation wholly owns four subsidiaries and intended to treat each as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary (QSub), which makes the subsidiary disregarded so its income and assets are treated…
Married couple gets 60 days to undo Roth IRA contributions their bank made by mistake instead of backdoor conversions
A married couple earned too much to contribute directly to Roth IRAs, so they arranged with their financial institution to make nondeductible contributions to traditional IRAs and immediately…
IRS extends the deadline to fund a QDOT and set up its security so a noncitizen spouse's marital deduction survives
A U.S. citizen died and left his estate to his surviving spouse, who is a citizen and resident of a foreign country. When a surviving spouse is not a U.S. citizen, the estate tax marital deduction…
IRS modifies an earlier ruling to give an LLC 120 days to elect corporate treatment from the intended date
This letter modifies and supersedes an earlier private letter ruling. An LLC had intended to elect to be treated as an association taxable as a corporation effective on a chosen date, but it failed…
Estate gets 120 extra days to make a late portability election passing a spouse's unused estate-tax exclusion
When one spouse dies, the estate can make a portability election under section 2010(c)(5)(A) that lets the surviving spouse use the deceased spouse's unused estate-tax exclusion (the DSUE amount).…
Foreign-heavy mutual fund gets 90 days to make a late election passing foreign tax credits to shareholders
A regulated investment company (a mutual fund) that invests heavily in foreign securities intended to make the annual election under section 853(a). That election lets a qualifying fund pass the…
Estate gets 120 extra days to make a late portability election passing a spouse's unused estate-tax exclusion
When one spouse dies, the estate can make a portability election under section 2010(c)(5)(A) that lets the surviving spouse use the deceased spouse's unused estate-tax exclusion (the DSUE amount).…
IRS grants a non-filing estate 120 days to make a late portability election under Section 2010(c)(5)(A)
When one spouse dies, the estate can make a portability election under section 2010(c)(5)(A) that lets the surviving spouse use the deceased spouse's unused estate-tax exclusion (the DSUE amount).…
IRS grants a tax-exempt controlled entity 45 days to make a late Section 168(h)(6)(F)(ii) election out of tax-exempt entity status
A limited liability company that elected to be taxed as a corporation, and that is wholly owned by a 501(c)(3) charity, counts as a "tax-exempt controlled entity" under section 168(h). That status…
IRS grants a tax-exempt controlled entity 60 days to make a late Section 168(h)(6)(F)(ii) election to protect a rehabilitation credit
Two limited liability companies that each elected to be taxed as a corporation, and that are each wholly owned by a 501(c)(3) charity, are "tax-exempt controlled entities" under section 168(h).…
IRS grants a tax-exempt controlled entity 60 days to make a late Section 168(h)(6)(F)(ii) election to protect a rehabilitation credit
Two limited liability companies that each elected to be taxed as a corporation, and that are each wholly owned by a 501(c)(3) charity, are "tax-exempt controlled entities" under section 168(h).…
A late section 336(e) election on the sale of an S corporation's stock gets extra time under the 9100 relief rules
A buyer purchased all of the stock of an S corporation from its shareholder. When a buyer acquires stock like this, a section 336(e) election lets the parties treat the stock sale as if it were a…
An LLC that missed both the forms to be taxed as an S corporation gets 120 days to file each one
A limited liability company wanted to be taxed as an S corporation. To get there an LLC normally needs two elections: Form 8832 to be classified as a corporation (an "association taxable as a…
A day-trader who waited too long is refused permission to make a late mark-to-market election
A married couple asked the IRS for extra time to make a "mark-to-market" election under section 475(f), which lets a securities trader treat trading gains and losses as ordinary (rather than…
A grantor whose accountant forgot to opt out of automatic GST exemption allocation gets 120 days to fix it
A person set up four grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs) funded with company stock. When those trusts ended, the remainder passed to trusts for the grantor's two children and their descendants.…
An LLC that missed the deadline to be taxed as a corporation gets 120 days to file a late Form 8832
A limited liability company wanted to be taxed as a corporation (an "association taxable as a corporation") instead of getting the default treatment for an LLC, which is a partnership or a…
A foreign entity that missed the deadline to be disregarded gets 120 days to file a late Form 8832
A single-owner business entity formed under the laws of a foreign country wanted to be treated as a "disregarded entity" for U.S. tax purposes, meaning it is ignored as separate from its owner and…
A foreign entity that missed the deadline to be disregarded gets 120 days to file a late Form 8832
A single-owner business entity formed under the laws of a foreign country wanted to be treated as a "disregarded entity" for U.S. tax purposes, meaning it is ignored as separate from its owner and…
A foreign entity that missed the deadline to be disregarded gets 120 days to file a late Form 8832
A single-owner business entity formed under the laws of a foreign country wanted to be treated as a "disregarded entity" for U.S. tax purposes, meaning it is ignored as separate from its owner and…
A foreign entity that missed the deadline to be disregarded gets 120 days to file a late Form 8832
A single-owner business entity formed under the laws of a foreign country wanted to be treated as a "disregarded entity" for U.S. tax purposes, meaning it is ignored as separate from its owner and…
A foreign entity that missed the deadline to be disregarded gets 120 days to file a late Form 8832
A single-owner business entity formed under the laws of a foreign country wanted to be treated as a "disregarded entity" for U.S. tax purposes, meaning it is ignored as separate from its owner and…
A foreign entity that missed the deadline to be disregarded gets 120 days to file a late Form 8832
A single-owner business entity formed under the laws of a foreign country wanted to be treated as a "disregarded entity" for U.S. tax purposes, meaning it is ignored as separate from its owner and…
A foreign entity that missed the deadline to be disregarded gets 120 days to file a late Form 8832
A single-owner business entity formed under the laws of a foreign country wanted to be treated as a "disregarded entity" for U.S. tax purposes, meaning it is ignored as separate from its owner and…
A foreign entity that missed the deadline to be disregarded gets 120 days to file a late Form 8832
A single-owner business entity formed under the laws of a foreign country wanted to be treated as a "disregarded entity" for U.S. tax purposes, meaning it is ignored as separate from its owner and…
A foreign entity that missed the deadline to be disregarded gets 120 days to file a late Form 8832
A single-owner business entity formed under the laws of a foreign country wanted to be treated as a "disregarded entity" for U.S. tax purposes, meaning it is ignored as separate from its owner and…
A foreign entity that missed the deadline to be disregarded gets 120 days to file a late Form 8832
A single-owner business entity formed under the laws of a foreign country wanted to be treated as a "disregarded entity" for U.S. tax purposes, meaning it is ignored as separate from its owner and…
A foreign entity that missed the deadline to be disregarded gets 120 days to file a late Form 8832
A single-owner business entity formed under the laws of a foreign country wanted to be treated as a "disregarded entity" for U.S. tax purposes, meaning it is ignored as separate from its owner and…
A foreign entity that missed the deadline to be taxed as a partnership gets 120 days to file a late Form 8832
A business entity formed under the laws of a foreign country wanted to be treated as a partnership for U.S. tax purposes. By default, a foreign entity whose members all have limited liability is…
A corporation gets 9100 relief to treat its late Form 1128 as timely, so it can change its tax year-end
A domestic corporation wanted to change its tax year-end from December 31 to November 30, which normally requires filing Form 1128 by the due date of the short-period return. Its board approved the…
A partnership gets 120 days of 9100 relief to make a late section 754 election
A limited liability company taxed as a partnership was supposed to make a section 754 election but missed the deadline. A section 754 election lets a partnership adjust the inside basis of its…
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.