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.
No determinations match these filters
Try fewer or different words, check the spelling, or clear the filters to browse everything.
CCA 1204011: A partner must pay the tax before claiming a refund
Chief Counsel advised that a partner must pay the tax before filing a claim under IRC § 6230(c). The advice reasons that § 6230(c) authorizes a claim for a refund, and a taxpayer cannot claim a…
CCA 1204010: Counsel discusses deductions for ESOP stock redemptions
Chief Counsel discussed whether a taxpayer could deduct the redemption of stock held by its employee stock ownership plan. The advice notes that the 2006 regulations did not apply to deductions…
CCA 1204009: Outline addresses injured-spouse claims in community-property states
Chief Counsel provided an outline concerning injured-spouse claims under community-property laws. It explains that an injured spouse may seek allocation of a joint-return overpayment when the other…
CCA 1204008: Refund claims based on foreign-tax deductions were untimely
Chief Counsel concluded that a taxpayer's refund claim based on a net operating loss carryback was untimely under IRC § 6511(d)(2)(A). The advice also concluded that the special ten-year limitations…
PLR 1204007: IRS grants relief for a late S corporation election
The IRS ruled that a corporation had reasonable cause for failing to timely elect S corporation status. The corporation was otherwise eligible to make the election, but it did not timely file Form…
PLR 1204006: IRS rules on REIT treatment of sign structures, rents, and event rights
The IRS ruled on a proposed real estate investment trust structure involving office and retail property, advertising signs, sponsorship and media rights, and related partnerships. It concluded that…
PLR 1204005: IRS approves dividing and combining family trusts without current tax consequences
The IRS approved a proposed division of three family trusts into six separate trusts for six children, followed by the merger of related trust shares. The IRS ruled that the transaction would not…
PLR 1204004: IRS approves dividing and combining family trusts without current tax consequences
The IRS approved a proposed division of three family trusts into six separate trusts for six children, followed by the merger of related trust shares. The IRS ruled that the transaction would not…
PLR 1204003: IRS approves dividing and combining family trusts without current tax consequences
The IRS approved a proposed division of three family trusts into six separate trusts for six children, followed by the merger of related trust shares. The IRS ruled that the transaction would not…
PLR 1204002: IRS approves dividing and combining family trusts without current tax consequences
The IRS approved a proposed division of three family trusts into six separate trusts for six children, followed by the merger of related trust shares. The IRS ruled that the transaction would not…
PLR 1204001: IRS approves dividing and combining family trusts without current tax consequences
The IRS approved a proposed division of three family trusts into six separate trusts for six children, followed by the merger of related trust shares. The IRS ruled that the transaction would not…
PLR 1203035: IRS approves a conditional waiver of a pension plan's minimum funding standard
The IRS approved a conditional waiver of the minimum funding standard for a pension plan for the plan year ending December 31, 2011. The company had divested business operations during a downturn…
PLR 1203034: IRS waives the 60-day deadline for an IRA rollover
The IRS waived the 60-day rollover requirement for a taxpayer who received a distribution from an IRA and later contributed it to an employer plan after the deadline. The taxpayer had relied on an…
PLR 1203033: IRS approves trust beneficiaries and a life-expectancy method for inherited plan distributions
The IRS ruled that the beneficiaries of a marital trust could be treated as designated beneficiaries for required minimum distribution purposes. The ruling also determined that the spouse, who had…
IRS revokes an organization's section 501(c)(3) exemption for nonexempt activity and private inurement
The IRS revoked an organization's federal tax exemption under section 501(c)(3), effective on the redacted date stated in the letter. The IRS concluded that the organization was not operated…
IRS revokes a section 501(c)(3) exemption for private inurement and nonexempt activity
The IRS revoked an organization's federal tax exemption under section 501(c)(3), effective January 1, 2007. The examination report states that the organization commingled its bank account with the…
IRS revokes a section 501(c)(3) exemption for private inurement and personal activity
The IRS revoked an organization's federal tax exemption under section 501(c)(3), effective on the redacted date stated in the letter. The examination report states that the organization held…
PLR 1203029: IRS approves an employer-related scholarship program
The IRS approved a private foundation's proposed scholarship program for children of employees of a related employer. The program uses an external selection committee, excludes disqualified persons…
PLR 1203028: IRS approves grants for a leadership development program
The IRS approved a private foundation's proposed grant program for executive directors and other senior leaders of organizations it funds. The grants pay for participation in a week-long residential…
PLR 1203027: IRS approves scholarships for employees' children
The IRS approved a private foundation's scholarship program for dependent children of eligible employees. An independent scholarship administrator will receive applications, select recipients,…
PLR 1203026: IRS approves rural scholarships and educator grants
The IRS approved two private foundation grant programs serving rural communities. One program provides scholarships to students attending accredited postsecondary institutions, and the other…
IRS determination 1203025: IRS denies exemption to a fee-based referral program
The IRS denied section 501(c)(3) exemption to an organization that connected designated community workers, military personnel, and other people with for-profit providers offering discounted…
IRS determination 1203024: IRS denies exemption to a foreclosure and credit counseling organization
The IRS denied section 501(c)(3) exemption to an organization planning to provide foreclosure prevention, loan modification, homebuyer, and credit counseling services. The organization charged…
IRS determination 1203023: IRS revokes exemption after private benefit and recordkeeping failures
The IRS revoked an organization's section 501(c)(3) exemption effective January 1 of the redacted year. The examination found that the organization routed contributed funds through related entities…
IRS determination 1203022: IRS revokes exemption for personal use of organizational assets
The IRS revoked the organization's section 501(c)(3) exemption effective January 1 of the redacted year. The examination found that organizational assets were used for the president's personal…
IRS revokes a grocery trade association's section 501(c)(6) exemption
The IRS revoked a grocery trade association's section 501(c)(6) exemption, effective January 1 of the redacted year. The determination found that the organization's primary activities, including…
IRS revokes a carbon-offset organization's section 501(c)(3) exemption
The IRS revoked a carbon-offset organization's section 501(c)(3) exemption, effective January 1 of the redacted year. The determination concluded that the organization was not operated exclusively…
IRS revokes an organization's section 501(c)(3) exemption after reincorporation
The IRS revoked an organization's section 501(c)(3) exemption after it reincorporated in a different jurisdiction. The organization had first been incorporated in one state, lost its corporate…
IRS denies section 501(c)(6) exemption to an investor networking organization
The IRS denied section 501(c)(6) exemption to an organization serving investors, economic development agencies, and early-stage companies. The organization’s main activity was an annual conference…
CCA 1203017: Advice favors installment-method basis calculation
Chief Counsel advice addressed how to calculate gain attributable to an installment sale. The advice recommends using the installment method under IRC section 453(c), including the gross profits…
PLR 1203016: IRS approves nuclear decommissioning deduction and ruling schedules
The IRS approved a taxpayer’s request for a schedule of deduction amounts and a revised schedule of ruling amounts for a nuclear decommissioning fund. The taxpayer had acquired interests in a…
CCA 1203015: Fuel-credit claims fall under income-tax rules
Chief Counsel advice addressed fuel-related credits claimed on income-tax returns. It concludes that a Form 4136 claim attached to an income-tax return is made under Subtitle A, even though the…
CCA 1203014: Advice confirms bonus depreciation for qualifying improvements
Chief Counsel advice addressed whether restaurant and retail improvement property that also qualifies as leasehold improvement property can receive the 50-percent additional first-year depreciation…
CCA 1203013: Settlement compensation may be a nontaxable return of capital
Chief Counsel advice addressed the tax treatment of compensation received after a manufacturer breached a purchase agreement and returned the taxpayer's deposits. The returned deposits were not…
PLR 1203012: S corporation status restored after an inadvertent second class of stock
The IRS considered a corporation that amended its articles to create voting and nonvoting shares and later eliminated the provision allowing different dividends. The corporation represented that it…
PLR 1203011: S corporation status preserved after late QSST elections
The IRS considered an S corporation whose shares were transferred to two trusts that were eligible to be qualified subchapter S trusts, but whose beneficiaries did not make timely QSST elections.…
PLR 1203010: Offshore barge excluded from controlled foreign corporation U.S. property
The IRS considered a controlled foreign corporation that owned a foreign-flagged combination barge used in offshore oil and gas work. The barge was a flat-bottom, surface-floating structure with…
PLR 1203009: Late S corporation election allowed for reasonable cause
The IRS considered a corporation whose shareholder intended S corporation treatment but did not timely file Form 2553. The IRS concluded that the corporation established reasonable cause for the…
PLR 1203008: Inadvertent S corporation termination disregarded
The IRS considered an S corporation whose election was inadvertently terminated when two shareholders temporarily ceased to qualify as eligible shareholders. The corporation and its shareholders…
PLR 1203007: Inadvertent S corporation termination disregarded
The IRS considered an S corporation whose election was inadvertently terminated when two shareholders temporarily ceased to qualify as eligible shareholders. The corporation and its shareholders…
PLR 1203006: Reasonable cause supports late S corporation election
The IRS considered a corporation whose shareholder intended S corporation treatment but whose Form 2553 was not timely filed. The IRS concluded that the corporation had reasonable cause for the late…
PLR 1203005: Inadvertent S corporation termination is cured under section 1362(f)
A corporation's S election ended when stock was transferred to ineligible shareholders. The corporation and its shareholders did not know the shareholders were ineligible and corrected the ownership…
PLR 1203004: Complex corporate spin-offs and related stock purchases qualify for requested tax treatment
A parent corporation planned a series of domestic and foreign restructuring transactions involving new controlled corporations, stock and asset transfers, section 338 elections, and distributions to…
PLR 1203003: Power-purchase agreement right is a capital asset
A taxpayer received a power-purchase agreement right through a corporate reorganization and later assigned that right to a buyer. The IRS determined that the right had an indeterminable useful life…
PLR 1203002: Inadvertent S corporation termination is cured after an ineligible shareholder transfer
A corporation's S election terminated when it issued shares to an ineligible shareholder. The corporation promptly distributed those shares to eligible S corporation shareholders after discovering…
PLR 1203001: IRS approves nuclear decommissioning deduction and ruling schedules
A corporation that owns and operates a nuclear plant requested a deduction schedule and a revised schedule of ruling amounts for its nuclear decommissioning fund. The IRS determined that the…
PLR 1202042: Trust beneficiary with shortest life expectancy controls inherited IRA distributions
A taxpayer asked whether a trust and two subtrusts qualified as see-through trusts and whose life expectancy controlled required distributions after the IRA owner and the owner's spouse died. The…
IRS revokes section 501(c)(3) status of a consumer credit counseling organization
The IRS issued a final adverse determination revoking an organization's section 501(c)(3) exemption. The determination states that the organization did not primarily conduct activities serving…
IRS revokes section 501(c)(3) status of a foundation that sold donated boats
The IRS revoked a foundation's section 501(c)(3) exemption after finding that it was not operated exclusively for exempt purposes and had ceased operations. The examination report states that the…
IRS denies a charitable organization's tax exemption after no protest
The IRS issued a final adverse determination denying a nonprofit organization's application for exemption under IRC section 501(c)(3) after the organization did not protest a proposed adverse…
IRS denies exemption to a nonprofit formed to support a related HVAC business
The IRS denied a nonprofit organization's application for exemption under IRC section 501(c)(3). The organization was formed after a related HVAC business was told that creating a nonprofit could…
PLR 1202037: IRS approves a private foundation's scholarship grant procedures
The IRS approved a private foundation's procedures for funding undergraduate scholarships through a publicly supported organization. The scholarship program serves students pursuing careers in a…
PLR 1202036: IRS approves a medical scholarship grant program
The IRS approved a private foundation's procedures for awarding a scholarship to an individual pursuing a medical degree at a redacted school. The scholarship is selected through a committee using…
PLR 1202035: IRS approves an employer-related scholarship program
The IRS approved a private foundation's employer-related scholarship procedures for children and other relatives of employees of a company and its eligible subsidiaries. The program uses independent…
PLR 1202034: IRS approves an employer-related scholarship program
The IRS approved a private foundation's employer-related scholarship procedures for children and other relatives of employees of a company and its eligible subsidiaries. The program uses independent…
PLR 1202033: IRS approves a graduate scholarship program
The IRS approved a private foundation's procedures for awarding scholarships to first-year master's or doctoral students in a redacted field of study. The program limits awards by institution, uses…
PLR 1202032: IRS approves broad scholarship grant-making procedures
The IRS approved a private foundation's procedures for awarding scholarships for study at qualified educational institutions. The procedures cover several possible scholarship categories, including…
PLR 1202031: IRS approves a rural-county scholarship program
The IRS approved a private foundation's scholarship procedures for students from eligible rural counties who demonstrate financial need and meet academic and other criteria. The program can cover…
PLR 1202030: IRS approves an employer-related graduate scholarship program
The IRS approved an employer-related scholarship program for eligible children of employees of a redacted company who pursue post-graduate study. Eligibility depends on employment history,…
CCA 1202029: CCA addresses property acquired from a decedent
Chief Counsel advice briefly addressed which assets are treated as “acquired from the decedent” for purposes of IRC section 1022(e). The advice pointed to Revenue Procedure 2011-41 as the relevant…
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.