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 1202028: CCA explains payroll-tax recapture coverage
Chief Counsel advice addressed the recapture provisions in the temporary payroll tax cut law referenced in H.R. 3765 and Public Law 112-78. The advice states that recapture applies to reduced FICA…
CCA 1202027: CCA addresses NOL carryback refund claims
Chief Counsel advice addressed refund claims attributable to net operating loss carrybacks when the assessment period for the source years has expired. The advice states that the Service may examine…
CCA 1202026: CCA addresses the gross valuation misstatement penalty
Chief Counsel advice addressed the reasonable-cause and good-faith exception for the 40 percent gross valuation misstatement penalty under IRC section 6662(h). The advice states that, when the…
CCA 1202025: CCA addresses a bankrupt partner's converted items
Chief Counsel advice addressed a bankrupt partner whose partnership items had converted to nonpartnership items under Treasury Regulation § 301.6231(c)-7. The advice states that the IRS must issue a…
CCA 1202024: CCA addresses a tax matters partner's authority
Chief Counsel advice addressed the authority of a tax matters partner under the TEFRA partnership procedures. The advice states that a tax matters partner generally has no power, solely in that…
CCA 1202023: CCA addresses partner-level affected items
Chief Counsel advice addressed a partner-level audit involving affected items, including a partner's worthlessness loss. The advice states that the Service need not open a TEFRA proceeding or keep…
CCA 1202022: CCA addresses disclosure of taxpayer return information
Chief Counsel advice addressed whether information about a taxpayer's position in two audits could be disclosed. Because the same taxpayer was involved in both audits, the advice concluded that the…
CCA 1202021: CCA addresses removing an IRC section 163(j) interest limit
Chief Counsel advice considered whether removing an IRC section 163(j) limitation on a corporation's interest deduction would be a change in accounting method under section 446. The advice concluded…
PLR 1202020: IRS treats a stock redemption as substantially disproportionate
The IRS ruled that a completed corporate transaction would be treated as a substantially disproportionate redemption under IRC section 302(b)(2). A corporation redeemed shares from a shareholder who…
PLR 1202019: IRS grants a trust more time to elect a charitable deduction
The IRS granted a trust an extension of time to make an election under IRC section 642(c)(1). The election would treat charitable contributions paid to a tax-exempt foundation in a later tax year as…
CCA 1202018: IRS analyzes proposed lien agreements with state authorities
Chief Counsel advised that the IRS may enter a binding agreement with a state taxing authority about competing liens on personal property if the agreement is consistent with federal law and the…
PLR 1202017: IRS grants more time for a tax-exempt controlled entity election
The IRS granted a limited liability company 60 more days to make an election under IRC section 168(h)(6)(F)(ii). The election allowed the company, which was owned by a tax-exempt governmental…
PLR 1202016: IRS allows a late S corporation election
The IRS allowed a corporation to make a late election to be treated as an S corporation. The shareholders intended the election to apply from the corporation's first taxable year, but Form 2553 was…
PLR 1202015: IRS grants more time for a disregarded-entity election
The IRS granted a foreign entity 120 more days to elect to be treated as disregarded from its owner for federal tax purposes. The entity was wholly owned by another entity and was eligible to make…
PLR 1202014: IRS approves consent dividend treatment in a REIT liquidation
The IRS ruled on a proposed complete liquidation of a real estate investment trust that owned a subsidiary holding industrial properties. It concluded that IRC section 1374(d)(7)(B) applied to the…
PLR 1202013: IRS grants late entity classification elections
The IRS granted three foreign entities 120 more days to file late entity classification elections. Two entities were allowed to elect partnership status, and a third was allowed to elect…
PLR 1202012: IRS excludes a public retiree health trust's income under section 115
The IRS ruled that a trust funding health benefits for retirees of a city and participating public employers performs an essential governmental function. The trust's income would accrue to political…
PLR 1202011: IRS permits an early entity classification change
The IRS permitted a foreign entity to elect classification as an association taxable as a corporation within 60 months of a prior entity classification election. The entity had previously elected…
PLR 1202010: IRS treats a stock redemption as substantially disproportionate
The IRS ruled on the federal income tax consequences of a completed transaction involving a public corporation and a shareholder. The transaction included a corporate redemption of shares, a sale of…
PLR 1202009: IRS permits subsidiaries to join a consolidated return despite missing Forms 1122
The IRS considered whether four subsidiaries had joined their parent's initial consolidated federal income tax return even though they did not file Forms 1122. The parent and its affiliated group…
PLR 1202008: IRS permits two subsidiaries to join a consolidated return
The IRS considered whether two subsidiaries had joined their parent's initial consolidated federal income tax return even though they did not file Forms 1122. The parent included the subsidiaries'…
PLR 1202007: IRS approves tax treatment for two related corporate separations
The IRS ruled on the federal income tax consequences of two proposed corporate separations involving a publicly traded parent, its foreign subsidiaries, and two controlled corporations. In the…
PLR 1202006: IRS permits regulated investment companies to revoke a tax-year election
The IRS consented to the revocation of elections made by several regulated investment companies under IRC § 4982(e)(4)(A). The elections had allowed the funds to use their tax year instead of the…
PLR 1202005: IRS denies late election relief for an NOL carryback
The IRS denied a request for additional time to elect an extended net operating loss carryback under IRC § 172(b)(1)(H). The taxpayers had directed their accounting firm to make the election, but…
PLR 1202004: IRS treats statutory PILOT payments as deductible real property taxes
The IRS ruled that certain payments in lieu of taxes, or PILOT payments, qualified as deductible real property taxes under IRC § 164. The payments were imposed under state statutory authority,…
PLR 1202003: IRS restores an S corporation election after an inadvertent termination
The IRS ruled that a corporation's S corporation election terminated when its shares were transferred to partnerships that were ineligible shareholders. The corporation and its shareholders had not…
PLR 1201019: IRS waives the 60-day IRA rollover deadline after illness
The IRS waived the 60-day deadline for an IRA rollover after a taxpayer became seriously ill, was hospitalized, and was treated for cancer during the rollover period. The taxpayer deposited the…
PLR 1201018: IRS waives rollover deadline after erroneous financial advice
The IRS waived the 60-day rollover deadline for a surviving spouse who took a pension distribution after receiving erroneous advice from a financial advisor. The advisor recommended a lump-sum…
CCA 1201017: Interest above residence-debt limits may be traced to its use
Chief Counsel advice addresses how taxpayers may calculate deductible qualified-residence interest when debt secured by a home exceeds the acquisition-debt or home-equity-debt limits. It concludes…
PLR 1201016: IRS approves active-financing treatment for most sale gain
The IRS ruled on the treatment of gain recognized by a controlled foreign corporation when it sold a disregarded subsidiary that operated an active lending or finance business. The IRS concluded…
PLR 1201015: IRS treats late Form 1128 as timely filed
The IRS granted a taxpayer relief for filing Form 1128 late when changing its annual accounting period. The taxpayer sought to change from a June 30 year-end to a December 31 year-end and filed the…
PLR 1201014: IRS grants partnership 120 days to make a section 754 election
The IRS granted a state limited partnership 120 days to make a late election under IRC section 754. The partnership had timely filed its tax return but inadvertently omitted the election to adjust…
PLR 1201013: IRS permits a retroactive qualified electing fund election
The IRS consented to a taxpayer's retroactive qualified electing fund election for an investment in a passive foreign investment company. The taxpayer had relied on tax professionals who did not…
PLR 1201012: IRS approves a holding-company reorganization and subsidiary transfers
The IRS approved a proposed restructuring in which a public corporation would become a holding company with separate subsidiaries for two business lines. The steps included a type F reorganization,…
PLR 1201011: IRS grants 45 days to make consent dividend elections
The IRS granted a limited liability company 45 days to file the forms needed to make consent dividend elections for three taxable years. The taxpayer had been advised that it might be a personal…
PLR 1201010: IRS grants more time for a bank-affiliate disaffiliation election
The IRS granted a bank holding company 90 days to make an election to disaffiliate a failed bank subsidiary from its consolidated tax group. The state banking department had placed the institution…
PLR 1201009: IRS treats a possible S corporation termination as inadvertent
The IRS considered whether a company's stock warrants may have created a second class of stock and terminated its S corporation election. The company represented that it did not know the warrants…
PLR 1201008: IRS grants more time for a partnership basis election
The IRS granted a lower-tier partnership 120 days to make a late IRC § 754 election. An upper-tier partnership had acquired an interest in the lower-tier partnership, and the lower-tier partnership…
PLR 1201007: IRS grants more time for a late section 754 election
The IRS granted a partnership 120 days to make a late IRC § 754 election. The partnership had timely filed its tax return but inadvertently did not include the election to adjust the basis of…
PLR 1201006: IRS preserves S corporation status after missed trust elections
The IRS ruled that a corporation's S corporation election could continue after its shareholder trusts failed to file elections to be treated as electing small business trusts. The corporation…
PLR 1201005: IRS restores S corporation status after a missed QSST election
The IRS ruled that a corporation's S corporation election terminated because the beneficiary of a trust did not timely file a qualified subchapter S trust election. The corporation represented that…
PLR 1201004: IRS treats an erroneous corporation replacement as a Type F reorganization
The IRS ruled that a transaction carried out after an attorney mistakenly dissolved an existing S corporation and formed a new corporation could be treated as a Type F reorganization. The buyer had…
PLR 1201003: IRS excludes specified unemployment plan payments from employment taxes
The IRS ruled on the employment tax treatment of premium and benefit payments under an employer-related unemployment insurance plan. Employees paid the premiums under one option with after-tax…
PLR 1201002: IRS treats specified natural-resource processing income as qualifying income
The IRS ruled that a planned publicly traded partnership's income from processing, transporting, storing, marketing, and distributing specified natural resources would be qualifying income under IRC…
PLR 1201001: IRS finds no information reporting duty for a pharmacy network manager
The IRS determined that a pharmacy benefit management business did not have an information reporting obligation under IRC § 6050W for its payments to pharmacies. The business gave health plan…
PLR 1152023: IRS waives the 60-day IRA rollover deadline
The IRS waived the 60-day deadline for an individual retirement account rollover after an investment advisor sent the distributed funds to a non-IRA account instead of the new IRA account. The…
PLR 1152022: IRS approves a private foundation's community scholarship program
The IRS approved a private foundation's proposed scholarship program for high school seniors connected to a redacted community through a local high school or a qualifying employer. The program uses…
PLR 1152021: IRS approves debt funding for charitable set-aside expenditures
The IRS ruled that a private foundation may use loans to pay all or part of the costs of a construction project funded through previously approved IRC § 4942(g)(2) set-asides. The foundation serves…
IRS determination 1152020: IRS denies exemption to a farmers' market organization
The IRS denied tax-exempt status under IRC § 501(c)(3) to a farmers' market organization whose primary activities facilitated produce sales for its vendors. The organization planned to operate a…
IRS determination 1152019: IRS denies exemption to a mortgage mitigation counseling organization
The IRS denied tax-exempt status under IRC § 501(c)(3) to an organization that provided mortgage mitigation and foreclosure-prevention services. The organization spent most of its time preparing…
CCA 1152018: IRS may examine an entire year when reviewing a refund claim
The Office of Chief Counsel advised that the IRS may request additional information covering an entire previously audited tax year when evaluating refund claims reserved in a Form 870-AD. Reviewing…
CCA 1152017: CDP lien hearings do not suspend all tax-priority periods
Chief Counsel advised that BAPCPA's tolling rule for tax-priority periods applies when collection is prohibited during a collection due process hearing and appeal, plus 90 days. The advice…
CCA 1152016: unpaid preferred-stock dividends are not an unreasonable redemption premium
Chief Counsel advised that accumulated preferred-stock dividends, already reported as income as they accrued, should not be treated as an unreasonable redemption premium under IRC § 1504(a)(4)(C).…
PLR 1152015: IRS approves a foreign Type F reorganization
The IRS approved a series of proposed transactions involving a domestic parent, foreign subsidiaries, a new foreign entity, and a change in entity classification. The transactions were integrated…
PLR 1152014: IRS addresses a partnership transfer of bank-owned life insurance policies
The IRS ruled on a proposed transaction in which two banks would transfer certain bank-owned life insurance policies to a partnership in exchange for partnership interests. The transfer would not be…
PLR 1152013: IRS allows a retroactive QEF election for a PFIC investment
The IRS granted a taxpayer consent to make a retroactive qualified electing fund (QEF) election for an investment in a foreign corporation treated as a passive foreign investment company (PFIC). The…
PLR 1152012: IRS permits reelection of the foreign earned income exclusion
The IRS permitted a taxpayer to reelect the IRC § 911 foreign earned income exclusion for a specified year and later tax years. The taxpayer had previously revoked the election after moving between…
PLR 1152011: IRS grants relief for an inadvertent S corporation termination
The IRS ruled that a corporation's S corporation election terminated inadvertently when an ineligible shareholder acquired a portion of its stock. The corporation had later revoked its election and…
PLR 1152010: IRS treats acquisition-interference damages as a return of capital
The IRS ruled on damages recovered after a defendant interfered with a taxpayer's agreement to acquire assets, causing the purchase price to increase. The recovery is treated as a nontaxable return…
PLR 1152009: IRS grants more time to file an extended NOL carryback election
The IRS granted a consolidated group an extension of time to file an election for an extended carryback period for a consolidated net operating loss. The group had failed to make the election by the…
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.