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 1144035: IRS approves procedures for a two-year fellowship program
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve procedures for a new grant program supporting young people pursuing entrepreneurial activities and innovative scientific or technical ideas. The program…
PLR 1144034: IRS approves scholarship programs for students and teachers
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve two scholarship programs. One program would support students graduating from a public school district who plan to attend college, university, or…
PLR 1144033: IRS approves a scholarship for high school seniors
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve a scholarship program for deserving high school seniors at a redacted school. The program uses a published five-point rubric covering academic…
1144032: IRS revokes an organization's tax-exempt status
The IRS issued a final adverse determination revoking an organization's exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3), effective January 1, 20XX. The organization had changed from free-market research to medical…
1144031: IRS revokes exemption for failure to keep records and file reports
The IRS revoked an organization's exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3), effective January 1, 20XX. The organization failed to meet the recordkeeping and reporting requirements under IRC §§ 6001 and 6033,…
1144030: IRS denies section 501(c)(3) recognition to a breed association
The IRS finalized its determination that a membership association promoting a particular dairy breed did not qualify for exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3). The association's primary activities were…
Hurricane Irene relief extends the assessment limitations period
This Chief Counsel Advice addresses how Hurricane Irene relief affected the period for assessing tax. The IRS explained that when § 7508A postpones an affected taxpayer's deadline to petition the…
Late NOL carryback election does not support a refund claim
This Chief Counsel Advice addresses a taxpayer's late election to carry back a net operating loss for five years instead of the normal two-year period. Counsel concluded that the election was not…
CCA 1144027: Chief Counsel viewed the section 6166(b)(8) election as applying to the entire estate tax
Chief Counsel considered whether an estate's election under IRC § 6166(b)(8) applies to the entire estate tax or only to the portion that qualifies under that provision. The advice stated that a…
PLR 1144026: IRS grants more time to allocate generation-skipping transfer tax exemptions
The IRS granted a husband and wife 120 more days to allocate their available generation-skipping transfer tax exemptions to gifts made to two trusts. The couple had elected to split their gifts, but…
CCA 1144025: Advice on imported leased vehicles and the heavy truck excise tax
Chief Counsel analyzed the importer and excise-tax consequences of three arrangements involving foreign-made heavy vehicles leased to a United States company. In the first scenario, the United…
CCA 1144024: Renewable diesel taxed as diesel, producers must register as refinery operators
Chief Counsel advised that renewable diesel is taxed on the removals, entries, and sales covered by IRC § 4081(a)(1)(A). A facility that produces renewable diesel and from which the fuel may be…
CCA 1144023: Annual fishing-rights transfers produce ordinary income
Chief Counsel considered annual transfers of fishing allocation rights from a taxpayer to a related transferee. The taxpayer retained future rights, including the catch history that could support…
PLR 1144022: IRS grants more time to make taxable REIT subsidiary elections
The IRS granted a company and two subsidiaries 60 days to make elections treating the subsidiaries as taxable REIT subsidiaries of the company, effective as of a specified merger date. Before the…
PLR 1144021: IRS grants more time to waive a consolidated net operating loss carryback
The IRS granted a consolidated group 45 days to file an election waiving the entire carryback period for a consolidated net operating loss. The election had not been timely filed even though the…
PLR 1144020: IRS grants more time to waive a consolidated net operating loss carryback
The IRS granted a consolidated group 45 days to file an election waiving the entire carryback period for consolidated net operating losses. The election had not been timely filed even though the…
PLR 1144019: IRS grants late-filing relief for a Form 1128 tax-year change
The taxpayers asked the IRS to treat a late Form 1128 as timely. The form sought to change their federal tax year from a November 30 year-end to a December 31 year-end. The IRS found that they acted…
PLR 1144018: IRS preserves S corporation status after defective trust consents
An S corporation asked whether its S election and related elections remained effective after trustees, rather than beneficiaries, consented for several qualified subchapter S trusts, and another…
PLR 1144017: IRS accepts subsidiaries into a consolidated return despite missing Forms 1122
The parent company asked whether three subsidiaries should be treated as having joined an initial consolidated federal income tax return even though Forms 1122 were not filed and one subsidiary was…
PLR 1144016: IRS allows a TRS to own a condo-hotel without disqualification
The taxpayer, a REIT, asked whether its taxable REIT subsidiary could acquire and hold a condo-hotel without being treated as directly or indirectly operating or managing a lodging facility. The…
PLR 1144015: IRS treats a subsidiary as joining a consolidated return despite missing Form 1122
The parent company asked whether a subsidiary should be treated as joining its initial consolidated federal income tax return even though no Form 1122 had been filed. The parent had included the…
PLR 1144014: IRS approves a multi-step spin-off separating two business lines
Parent sought rulings on a proposed transaction separating Business B from Business A through contributions to a controlled corporation, a dividend, and a stock purchase. The IRS will disregard the…
PLR 1144013: IRS allows funds to revoke a special excise-tax year election
Three regulated investment company funds asked to revoke elections that let them use their taxable year instead of the standard October 31 measurement period for the § 4982 required-distribution…
PLR 1144012: IRS grants late entity-classification and S corporation election relief
The taxpayer, a limited liability company, asked for more time to elect corporate tax classification and relief for a late S corporation election. The IRS granted 120 days to file Form 8832…
PLR 1144011: IRS grants more time for an estate's alternate valuation election
An estate asked for more time to make the alternate valuation election under § 2032 after its attorney failed to advise the executrix about the election. The IRS found that the estate met the…
PLR 1144010: IRS approves a revised nuclear decommissioning-fund schedule
A nuclear power plant owner asked the IRS to revise its schedule of ruling amounts for deductible contributions to a nuclear decommissioning fund. The IRS found that the taxpayer had a qualifying…
PLR 1144009: IRS permits an early S corporation re-election after termination
A corporation whose S corporation election had terminated asked to re-elect S corporation status before the normal five-year waiting period ended. The IRS found that a majority shareholder who was…
PLR 1144008: IRS approves a revised nuclear decommissioning-fund schedule after funding changes
A nuclear power plant owner asked the IRS to revise its nuclear decommissioning-fund ruling-amount schedule after a public utility commission approved additional funding. The IRS found that the…
PLR 1144007: IRS grants late election relief for a taxable REIT subsidiary
A REIT and its subsidiary asked for more time to file Form 8875, the joint election to treat the subsidiary as a taxable REIT subsidiary. The election was missed after the responsible officer left…
PLR 1144006: IRS treats a state economic-development grant as a capital contribution
A corporation asked whether a state economic-development grant used for construction, renovation, and business expansion was a nonshareholder contribution to capital. The IRS concluded that the…
PLR 1144005: IRS says amended installment notes are not disposed of
A shareholder planned to modify promissory notes and stock purchase agreements after an economic downturn reduced the value of the shares sold to employee purchasers. The proposed changes reduced…
PLR 1144004: IRS grants late election relief for post-October capital losses
A regulated investment company asked for more time to elect to defer all or part of its post-October capital losses when computing taxable income and net capital gain. Its accounting firm had…
PLR 1144003: IRS approves an S corporation election after a restructuring
A corporation proposed to place its shares under a newly formed holding company and have the holding company elect S corporation status. The corporation represented that the holding company would…
PLR 1144002: IRS approves QSub treatment after a restructuring
A corporation proposed to place its shares under a newly formed holding company and have the holding company elect S corporation status. The corporation would then elect to treat its wholly owned…
PLR 1144001: IRS approves tax treatment for a modified personal residence trust
The taxpayer transferred a residence to a trust intended to qualify as a qualified personal residence trust. The taxpayer later proposed modifying and restating the trust so the taxpayer's children…
Written determination 1143035: IRS revokes exemption after repeated private inurement
The IRS revoked a daycare organization's recognition as exempt under § 501(c)(3), effective January 1, 2003. The examination found repeated and substantial withdrawals and expenditures that were not…
PLR 1143034: IRS approves continued qualified replacement plan status after a sale
A company planned to sell a subsidiary that sponsored a qualified replacement plan with a suspense account funded by excess pension-plan assets. The company asked whether the plan and suspense…
PLR 1143033: IRS approves a five-year extension for amortizing unfunded liabilities
The IRS approved a plan's request for a five-year automatic extension to amortize unfunded liabilities existing as of July 1, 2010. The extension applied to eligible amortization charge bases and…
PLR 1143032: IRS approves employer pickup of mandatory retirement contributions
A public university established a defined contribution plan for a class of employees and required participants to contribute 4 percent of compensation. The university formally agreed to pay those…
PLR 1143031: IRS waives the 60-day IRA rollover deadline because of diminished capacity
The IRS granted a waiver of the 60-day rollover requirement for an IRA distribution. The taxpayer, who was 78, represented that diminished mental capacity and moderate dementia prevented him from…
PLR 1143030: IRS waives the 60-day deadline for an IRA rollover
The taxpayer received an IRA distribution and, after receiving erroneous instructions from a financial company, placed portions of it into two accounts that were not eligible retirement accounts.…
PLR 1143029: IRS waives the 60-day deadline after a fraudulent IRA custodian caused a missed rollover
The taxpayer withdrew money from an IRA to establish a self-directed IRA with a financial institution. The institution's president falsely represented that it could act as an IRA custodian, and the…
PLR 1143028: IRS waives the rollover deadline after a Roth IRA transfer error
The taxpayer directed a wire transfer from a Roth IRA to buy a note that was intended to remain an asset of the Roth IRA. Because of an error by the IRA's transfer agent, the transfer was treated as…
PLR 1143027: IRS waives the rollover deadline after an advisor used a non-IRA account
The taxpayer moved retirement assets from one IRA to pursue an investment through another self-directed IRA. The financial advisor mistakenly deposited the assets into a non-IRA account to buy…
PLR 1143026: IRS approves scholarship and teacher-program grant procedures
The IRS approved a private foundation’s procedures for a high school student scholarship contest, a teacher research program, and a teacher professional-development program. The programs used stated…
PLR 1143025: IRS approves a private foundation’s college scholarship procedures
The IRS approved a private foundation’s procedures for awarding one-time college scholarships to high school seniors. Eligibility depended on enrollment and other stated criteria, and the selection…
PLR 1143024: IRS approves journalism fellowship and scholarship procedures
The IRS approved a private foundation’s procedures for fellowships to professional journalists and scholarships to journalism students. The program was intended to support articles and feature…
Written determination 1143023: IRS denies exemption because housing activities served commercial and private interests
The IRS denied an organization’s application for recognition under § 501(c)(3). The organization proposed foreclosure counseling, financial counseling, affordable housing, down-payment assistance,…
PLR 1143022: IRS approves a private foundation's endowment grant and related award program
The IRS ruled that a private foundation's endowment grant to another private foundation would support exempt charitable, educational, and scientific purposes and would not jeopardize the grantor's…
PLR 1143021: IRS approves discounted redemption of electric cooperative capital credits
The IRS ruled that an electric cooperative could adopt a voluntary program to redeem current, former, and deceased members' patronage capital credits at their present value before the cooperative's…
Written determination 1143020: IRS denies exemption because member activities created substantial private benefit
The IRS issued a final adverse determination denying a membership organization exemption under § 501(c)(3). The organization conducted frequent social and professional networking events, mentored…
CCA 1143019: Chief Counsel advice identifies the liable importer for archery products
The Office of Chief Counsel analyzed who bears the § 4161 excise tax for seven import and sale arrangements involving archery products. In direct-to-consumer and several foreign supply-chain…
CCA 1143018: Chief Counsel revises advice on charitable deductions, REMIC income, and NOLs
The Office of Chief Counsel reconsidered how excess inclusion income from a REMIC residual interest affects a corporation's charitable-contribution limitation and net operating loss. It concluded…
PLR 1143017: IRS grants more time to elect out of the bankruptcy ownership-change rules
The IRS granted a corporate taxpayer 45 days to file a regulatory election under § 1.382-9(i) not to apply the special § 382(l)(5) rules after an ownership change in a title 11 case. The election…
PLR 1143016: IRS consents to revoke foreign-tax safe harbor elections
The IRS consented to a corporation's revocation of safe harbor elections used to determine the foreign tax credit treatment of qualifying levies in eight countries. The consent applied to the…
PLR 1143015: IRS grants more time to file a consolidated return election
The IRS granted an affiliated group 45 days to make a late election to file a consolidated federal income tax return with Parent as the common parent. The group had not filed a valid election by the…
PLR 1143014: IRS approves tax treatment for an intercompany receivable transfer and two subsidiary liquidations
A foreign parent owned a foreign subsidiary that owned a domestic subsidiary group. The taxpayer planned to transfer an intercompany receivable to a lower-tier subsidiary for additional stock, then…
PLR 1143013: IRS grants extra time to file an election related to a subsidiary stock loss
A consolidated group sold the stock of a wholly owned subsidiary and was required to file a regulatory statement to elect recognition of the resulting loss. The statement was not timely filed. The…
PLR 1143012: IRS permits a parent to use purchased stock basis to reduce an excess loss account
A parent corporation owned more than 80 percent of a subsidiary’s vote and value through two classes of stock. Employee compensation deductions had produced an excess loss account in the parent’s…
PLR 1143011: IRS approves REIT treatment for billboard structures and related rents
A real estate investment trust asked whether permanent steel billboard structures were real estate assets and whether related rental income would qualify as rents from real property. The IRS ruled…
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.