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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PLR 1119018: corporation may make a late S corporation election
A corporation intended to be treated as an S corporation but did not timely file the required election. The IRS found that the corporation established reasonable cause for the late filing. It…
PLR 1119017: S corporation restructuring may qualify as an F reorganization with a QSub election
An S corporation planned to place a newly formed entity above it, contribute its stock to that entity, and elect to treat the existing corporation as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary. The IRS…
PLR 1119014: Rental income from actively managed properties is not passive investment income
An S corporation asked whether rental income earned by its wholly owned subsidiaries from commercial properties would be passive investment income. The subsidiaries owned, leased, and managed the…
PLR 1119013: IRS allows a late S corporation election
A corporation intended to be treated as an S corporation but its shareholder failed to file the election on time. The IRS found that the taxpayer had reasonable cause for the missed filing. It ruled…
PLR 1119009: IRS grants time for entity-classification and S corporation elections
A limited liability company intended to be treated as an S corporation but missed both the entity-classification and S corporation election deadlines. The IRS granted 120 days to file Form 8832 and…
PLR 1119007: IRS granted relief for a late S corporation election
A corporation intended to be treated as an S corporation beginning on a specified date, but its Form 2553 election was filed late. The corporation requested relief under IRC § 1362(b)(5). The IRS…
PLR 1119005: IRS approved separate shares and successor QSST treatment
A trust that held S corporation stock was divided into two shares after the death of an income beneficiary. Each share was dedicated to a different successor income beneficiary, with income and…
PLR 1118016: IRS grants 120 days to make a late S corporation election
The IRS ruled that a corporation had reasonable cause for failing to timely file Form 2553 to elect S corporation status. The ruling allows the corporation to make the election effective for the…
PLR 1118011: IRS treats active real estate rental income as nonpassive investment income for an S corporation
The IRS considered a corporation that planned to elect S corporation status and that owned, leased, and managed real estate through itself and related entities. The corporation and its related…
PLR 1118008: IRS treats an S corporation election as continuing after an inadvertent trust-shareholder error
The IRS considered an S corporation whose shares were transferred from one trust to another after the death of the original trust's owner. The receiving trust was eligible to be an electing small…
PLR 1118005: IRS allows a late S corporation election
The IRS considered a corporation that intended to elect S corporation status but did not file the election by the required deadline. The IRS found that the corporation had reasonable cause for the…
PLR 1118004: IRS restores S corporation status after a missed QSST election
The IRS considered an S corporation whose trust shareholder lacked a timely and effective qualified subchapter S trust election. Because the trust was not treated as a permitted shareholder, the…
PLR 1117020: Corporation received permission to reelect S status before the five-year wait ended
The IRS permitted a corporation to reelect S corporation status before the five-year waiting period normally imposed after a prior S election terminates. The prior election ended when the…
PLR 1117016: S corporation status continued after mistaken trust distributions
The IRS determined that an S corporation’s election was inadvertently terminated after stock was distributed among trusts in a way that did not match the governing will and trust instruments. The…
PLR 1117015: S corporation status continued after an ineligible shareholder transfer
The IRS determined that an S corporation’s election was inadvertently terminated when an ineligible shareholder acquired shares. After the problem was discovered, an eligible shareholder acquired…
PLR 1117010: Relief for a late S corporation election
The IRS considered a corporation's request to be treated as an S corporation from its incorporation date even though its election was filed late. The IRS found that the corporation had reasonable…
PLR 1117008: Relief for an inadvertent S corporation termination
The IRS considered an S corporation whose shareholder trust did not timely make the election required for a qualified subchapter S trust. The IRS concluded that the S corporation election terminated…
PLR 1117004: Relief for a missed ESBT election
The IRS considered an S corporation whose stock was transferred to a trust after a shareholder's death. The trust did not timely elect to be treated as an electing small business trust, which…
PLR 1116016: IRS approved late S corporation election relief
The IRS considered a corporation's request to have a late Form 2553 treated as a timely S corporation election. The corporation had intended to elect S corporation status but did not file the form…
PLR 1116009: IRS allowed a late S corporation election
The IRS considered a corporation that intended to elect S corporation treatment when it was incorporated but did not timely file Form 2553. The IRS concluded that the corporation had established…
PLR 1116007: IRS granted a late S corporation election
The IRS considered a corporation whose shareholder intended it to be treated as an S corporation from its incorporation date, but the election was not timely filed. The IRS found reasonable cause…
PLR 1116002: IRS restored an S corporation election after an inadvertent trust transfer
The IRS considered an S corporation whose stock was transferred from a grantor trust into two trusts intended to be qualified subchapter S trusts. One trust was eligible but did not make a timely…
S corporation may use an F reorganization and QSub structure before a stock sale
The IRS ruled on a proposed restructuring in which an S corporation would transfer its stock to a newly formed corporation, make a qualified subchapter S subsidiary election, distribute retained…
IRS grants 120-day extension for a late QSub election
The IRS granted an S corporation an additional 120 days to elect to treat its wholly owned domestic subsidiary as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary. The taxpayer had intended the QSub election to…
IRS grants relief for a late S corporation election
The IRS granted a corporation 120 days to file a late election to be treated as an S corporation. The corporation had intended the election to be effective on its incorporation date but had not…
PLR 1114020: IRS grants relief for a late S corporation election
The IRS granted a corporation relief for failing to timely file its S corporation election. The shareholders intended the corporation to be treated as an S corporation beginning on a specified date,…
CCA 1114017: A QSub election does not create income or increase shareholder stock basis
Chief Counsel Advice considered whether an S corporation's election to treat its wholly owned subsidiary as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary would give the S corporation's shareholders a basis…
PLR 1114016: IRS grants relief for a late S corporation election
The IRS granted a corporation relief after it failed to timely file Form 2553 to elect S corporation treatment. The corporation intended the election to be effective on a specified date and…
PLR 1114009: IRS restores S corporation status after an inadvertent ineligible-shareholder transfer
The IRS treated a corporation as continuing to be an S corporation after its shares were transferred to an individual retirement account that was an ineligible shareholder. The transfer would…
PLR 1114002: IRS permits an ESBT revocation and late QSST election
The IRS allowed a trust that owned shares of an S corporation to revoke its electing small business trust status as of a specified date. The IRS also granted the trust 120 days to make a qualified…
PLR 1113024: late S corporation election accepted for reasonable cause
The IRS granted a corporation relief for failing to timely elect S corporation status. The corporation intended to make the election effective on its incorporation date, but the proper election was…
PLR 1113021: inadvertent S corporation termination disregarded
The IRS granted relief to a corporation whose S corporation election may have terminated during a specified period. The corporation and its shareholders were unaware of the possible termination, and…
PLR 1113020: late S corporation election accepted for reasonable cause
The IRS granted a corporation relief for failing to timely elect S corporation status. The corporation intended to make the election effective on its incorporation date, but the proper election was…
PLR 1113019: late S corporation election accepted for reasonable cause
The IRS granted a corporation relief for failing to timely elect S corporation status. The corporation intended to make the election effective on its incorporation date, but the proper election was…
PLR 1113017: inadvertent S corporation termination cured after trust election failure
The IRS granted relief after a trust received shares of an S corporation without timely making the election needed to qualify as a Qualified Subchapter S Trust or an Electing Small Business Trust.…
PLR 1113004: IRS treats an inadvertent S corporation election as effective
The IRS determined that a corporation's S corporation election was invalid because an individual retirement arrangement held its stock through an ineligible shareholder. After the arrangement became…
PLR 1112007: Corporation received relief for a late S corporation election
A corporation asked the IRS for relief after it failed to timely file an election to be treated as an S corporation. The corporation established reasonable cause for the late election. The IRS ruled…
PLR 1112006: Corporation received relief for a late S corporation election
A corporation asked the IRS for relief after it failed to timely file an election to be treated as an S corporation. The corporation established reasonable cause for the late election. The IRS ruled…
PLR 1110008: IRS grants late S corporation election relief
The IRS determined that a company had reasonable cause for failing to timely file Form 2553 to elect S corporation status. The company was formed in a redacted state and intended the election to…
PLR 1110003: IRS restores S corporation status after an inadvertent transfer to an ineligible shareholder
The IRS ruled that a corporation's S corporation election terminated when its shareholders transferred the corporation's stock to an ineligible S corporation shareholder. The IRS found that the…
PLR 1110001: IRS restores S corporation status after passive investment income termination
The IRS ruled that a corporation's S corporation election terminated after it had accumulated earnings and profits and more than 25 percent of its gross receipts were passive investment income for…
PLR 1109015: The IRS allowed a late S corporation election
An incorporated company asked the IRS to treat it as an S corporation from an earlier date even though it had not timely filed Form 2553. The company represented that reasonable cause explained the…
PLR 1109011: The IRS allowed a late S corporation election for a company
A company asked the IRS to recognize it as an S corporation from its incorporation date even though Form 2553 had not been timely filed. The company represented that its shareholders intended S…
PLR 1109006: The IRS granted relief for a late S corporation election
A corporation asked the IRS to recognize its S corporation election from its incorporation date even though the election was not timely filed. The IRS found that the corporation had reasonable cause…
PLR 1108028: S corporation status restored after an inadvertent termination
The IRS granted relief to a corporation whose S corporation election terminated when shares were transferred to a trust that had not filed an electing small business trust election. The corporation…
PLR 1108026: Late S corporation election permitted for reasonable cause
The IRS granted a corporation permission to make a late election to be treated as an S corporation. The corporation intended to elect S corporation status, but its Form 2553 was not timely filed.…
PLR 1108017: Late S corporation election receives relief
A company asked for relief after it failed to timely file its election to be treated as an S corporation. The IRS concluded that the company had reasonable cause for the late filing. It ruled that…
PLR 1108015: Late S corporation election receives relief
A company asked for relief after it failed to timely file its election to be treated as an S corporation. The IRS concluded that the company had reasonable cause for the late filing. It ruled that…
PLR 1108012: S corporation status restored after an inadvertent trust election failure
An S corporation's election terminated after stock was transferred to a trust that did not timely make the required electing small business trust election. The corporation represented that the…
PLR 1107001: Late S corporation election receives reasonable-cause relief
The IRS ruled that a corporation could be recognized as an S corporation from its requested effective date even though it did not timely file Form 2553. The corporation established reasonable cause…
PLR 1106005: S corporation status preserved after an inadvertent ineligible-shareholder issue
The IRS considered a corporation that had elected S corporation status and whose wholly owned subsidiary was treated as a disregarded entity. An employee of the subsidiary became entitled under an…
PLR 1106002: S corporation status preserved after late ESBT and QSST elections
The IRS considered an S corporation whose shares were transferred to two trusts. One trust intended to be an electing small business trust but did not file a timely ESBT election, and the other…
PLR 1105031: Certain post-change bad-debt deductions are not recognized built-in losses
The IRS considered a proposed merger involving a bank holding company and a wholly owned bank subsidiary that had net operating losses and a net unrealized built-in loss. After the merger, the…
PLR 1105028: Late S corporation election may be treated as timely after reasonable-cause showing
The IRS considered a corporation that intended to elect S corporation status but did not timely file Form 2553. The corporation requested relief under § 1362(b)(5) and represented that it had…
PLR 1105025: Inadvertent S corporation termination is treated as continuing
The IRS considered an S corporation whose election was inadvertently terminated when an ineligible shareholder acquired stock. The corporation later redeemed that shareholder’s stock and represented…
PLR 1105021: IRS grants late S corporation election relief
A corporation asked for relief because the Service had no record of receiving its Form 2553, the election to be treated as an S corporation. The corporation's shareholder intended the S election to…
PLR 1105017: IRS treats a possible S corporation termination as inadvertent
An S corporation paid state taxes on behalf of some nonresident shareholders but did not initially treat those payments as constructive distributions. The corporation later determined that the…
PLR 1104030: The IRS allowed an inadvertent QSub election to continue
The IRS ruled that a corporation's ineffective election to treat a subsidiary as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary was inadvertent. The election failed because of procedural defects, and the…
PLR 1104021: IRS permits a late S corporation election
A corporation asked the IRS to recognize it as an S corporation effective on an earlier date after it failed to file Form 2553 because of inadvertence. The IRS concluded that the corporation…
PLR 1104019: IRS treats a potentially terminated S election as continuing
An S corporation asked the IRS to address a possible termination of its S election after it made disproportionate allocations and distributions while two classes of common stock were outstanding.…
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.