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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Corporation receives 120 days to file a late S election
A corporation's sole shareholder intended the company to be an S corporation from a specified date, but the company failed to file Form 2553 on time. The corporation requested relief under the…
Estate may elect out of automatic GST exemption allocations to two trusts
A taxpayer created and funded separate trusts primarily for a daughter and a son, both with generation-skipping transfer potential. The taxpayer did not intend to allocate GST exemption to the…
Corporation keeps S status after a trust misses its QSST election
A grantor trust held shares in an S corporation and later became a complex trust. The trust represented that it qualified as a qualified subchapter S trust at that point, but its beneficiary did not…
Business keeps S status despite second-class-of-stock problems
A state-law limited partnership elected corporate and S corporation tax treatment, but its partnership agreement contained provisions that created a second class of stock for federal tax purposes.…
Scholarship procedures for graduating high school seniors approved
A private foundation proposed scholarships for graduating high school seniors in a specified state who plan to attend accredited colleges full time. Applicants must meet academic and enrollment…
Scholarships for fatherless students at religious schools approved
A private foundation proposed scholarships for students whose fathers are deceased and who plan to attend private religious K-12 schools in two specified states. It will consider financial need,…
Employer-related STEM scholarship procedures approved
A private foundation proposed scholarships for children of a company's full-time and part-time employees who pursue four-year undergraduate degrees in science, technology, engineering, or math. An…
Scholarships for employees and their families approved
A private foundation proposed renewable scholarships for a company's employees and their spouses, dependent children, and grandchildren. Eligible recipients may attend undergraduate or trade and…
Scholarships for inner-city students and veterans' children approved
A private foundation proposed scholarships to help inner-city children and children of veterans with financial need and a strong showing of faith attend high school or college. Applicants must live…
Sustainability scholarships and research grants approved
A private foundation proposed two programs related to environmental sustainability. The scholarship program will support undergraduate and graduate students studying environmental sciences,…
Vocational scholarships for students overcoming obstacles approved
A private foundation proposed one-time scholarships for high school seniors who overcame significant educational obstacles and plan to attend accredited vocational or technical schools. Applicants…
Litigation-related contingent set-aside approved
A private foundation was subject to a court order requiring a fiduciary to hold distributions potentially owed to one beneficiary while litigation remained pending. The order permitted ordinary…
Skilled-trade scholarships for support-program students approved
A private foundation proposed scholarships for high school seniors who participated in a school elective that helps students address issues affecting their educational outcomes. Applicants must plan…
Hunting-dog club denied section 501(c)(3) status
An organization applied for recognition as a section 501(c)(3) charity based on activities involving the training and testing of versatile hunting dogs. It offered member-only training days,…
Cemetery organization denied section 501(c)(3) status
A nonprofit corporation applied for section 501(c)(3) status for cemetery activities that included selling burial plots, collecting maintenance fees, and maintaining a cemetery. It said the services…
Member welfare and recreation group denied section 501(c)(3) status
An organization applied for section 501(c)(3) status while describing its mission as promoting member welfare, recreation, fellowship, and common interests. Its activities included a memorial run…
Corporation receives 60 days to complete its accounting-method filing
A corporation requested extra time to complete an automatic accounting-method change for certain related-party transactions. Its tax adviser timely faxed a copy of Form 3115 to the IRS, and the…
Joint filers receive 30 days to make late mixed straddle account elections
An individual and spouse requested permission to make late mixed straddle account elections for four tax years. The individual had traded exchange-traded options, offsetting positions, and section…
Mortgage certificate exchange trust retains fixed investment trust status
A taxpayer proposed exchange trusts that would hold one class of mortgage-backed certificates and issue multiple classes of exchange certificates with different rights to principal and interest.…
Partnership may make late bonus depreciation elections for film and television productions
A partnership intended to elect out of bonus depreciation for qualified film and television productions placed in service during three tax years. Its timely filed returns used the income forecast…
Modified lifetime trust retains its generation-skipping tax exemption
An irrevocable trust created before September 25, 1985, had previously been divided into separate trusts for a grantor's grandchildren. A state court conditionally approved modifying one…
Modified lifetime trust retains its generation-skipping tax exemption
An irrevocable trust created before September 25, 1985, had previously been divided into separate trusts for a grantor's grandchildren. A state court conditionally approved modifying one…
Court-approved settlement trust qualifies as a qualified settlement fund
A court approved a statutory trust to help resolve product-related claims against manufacturers and distributors. The trust receives a stated share of settlement payments through a separate…
Court-approved settlement trust qualifies as a qualified settlement fund
A court approved a statutory trust to help resolve product-related claims against manufacturers and distributors. The trust receives a stated share of settlement payments through a separate…
Court-approved settlement trust qualifies as a qualified settlement fund
A court approved a statutory trust to help resolve product-related claims against manufacturers and distributors. The trust receives a stated share of settlement payments through a separate…
Settlement trust qualifies once all qualified fund requirements are met
A court approved a statutory trust to help resolve product-related claims against manufacturers and distributors. The trust receives a stated share of settlement payments through a separate…
Settlement trust qualifies once all qualified fund requirements are met
A court approved a statutory trust to help resolve product-related claims against manufacturers and distributors. The trust receives a stated share of settlement payments through a separate…
Longevity contract qualifies as an annuity while the linked brokerage account remains separate
A taxpayer proposed buying a life insurance company's longevity contract linked to a separately owned taxable investment account. The contract would support lifetime withdrawals and begin guarantee…
Estate receives 120 days to make a reverse QTIP election
A decedent's revocable trust funded a federal marital trust for the surviving spouse, and the estate elected qualified terminable interest property treatment on a late-filed Form 706. The estate's…
Consolidated group receives 75 days to waive former-group loss carrybacks
A consolidated group's parent acquired corporations that had belonged to another consolidated group. The parent intended to elect to relinquish the portion of the carryback period covering the…
Late Form 8996 treated as timely for opportunity fund self-certification
A limited liability company taxed as a partnership was formed to invest in qualified opportunity zone property and operate as a qualified opportunity fund. Its managing member asked an accounting…
Domestic business separation qualifies as a tax-free reorganization and distributions
A foreign-parented corporate group proposed separating a domestic subsidiary that conducted one business from domestic affiliates conducting another business. Before the separation, an intermediate…
Public-school workers' compensation trust may exclude its income
A trust pools workers' compensation liabilities for public school districts and similar public entities in one state. Each member must be a political subdivision, an integral part of one, or an…
School district property insurance pool may exclude its income
Public school districts formed an entity to self-insure their property and share casualty risks at a lower cost than commercial coverage. The entity maintains the risk-sharing pool, buys commercial…
Partnership receives 120 days to make a late section 754 election
A limited partnership failed to make a section 754 election for a year in which two partners died because its tax advisers did not adequately advise it about the election. The IRS found that the…
Clerical error excused for opportunity fund self-certification
A limited liability company taxed as a partnership was formed to qualify as a qualified opportunity fund and invest indirectly in qualified opportunity zone property. The controller intended for a…
Court-approved settlement trust qualifies as a qualified settlement fund
A court approved a statutory trust to help resolve product-related claims against manufacturers and distributors. The trust receives a stated share of settlement payments through a separate…
Court-approved settlement trust qualifies as a qualified settlement fund
A court approved a statutory trust to help resolve product-related claims against manufacturers and distributors. The trust receives a stated share of settlement payments through a separate…
S corporation receives 120 days to file a late QSub election
An S corporation acquired all the stock of another domestic corporation and intended the acquired company to be a qualified subchapter S subsidiary from the acquisition date. It inadvertently failed…
New captive life insurer may join the consolidated life subgroup
A parent of a life-nonlife consolidated group formed a captive life insurance subsidiary under an existing life insurance company. Another life subsidiary distributed funds to the owner, which…
REIT receives 60 days to file a duplicate Form 3115
A real estate investment trust sought an automatic accounting-method change for depreciation of certain disposed property. It timely filed its return with the original Form 3115 attached and…
Partnership receives 120 days for a late section 754 election after distributions
A limited liability company taxed as a partnership made liquidating distributions to partners during and after a tax year but inadvertently failed to make a section 754 election with that year's…
Cemetery operator denied section 501(c)(3) status
A nonprofit cemetery operator applied for recognition under section 501(c)(3). Its activities consisted of selling burial plots, digging graves, maintaining cemetery property, offering burial and…
Charity loses 501(c)(3) status after its funds benefited insiders
The IRS revoked a public charity's 501(c)(3) status after an examination found that its money and accounts benefited people with private interests in the organization. The charity and a related…
Charity loses exemption after bank records show personal spending
The IRS revoked a charity's 501(c)(3) status after it repeatedly failed to provide records or explain its activities during an examination. Financial records obtained through summonses showed that…
Digital-asset rewards are taxable before a bankrupt platform freezes the account
A cash-method taxpayer received staking and other digital-asset rewards in an account before the platform froze customer accounts and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. When credited, the rewards…
Statutory change revoked earlier vehicle excise tax advice for later years
A taxpayer argued that a 2004 technical advice memorandum exempting certain vehicle sales from section 4051 excise tax continued to bind the IRS for sales in 2017 through 2019. Chief Counsel advised…
Partnership audit can adjust self-employment income but not impose SECA tax itself
Chief Counsel advised that self-employment tax is not itself a partnership-related item under the centralized partnership audit rules. Net earnings from self-employment reported on Form 1065 and a…
Partner examination may determine a contributed note's partnership treatment
Chief Counsel advised that a partner's outside basis is not a partnership-related item when it is neither reported on Form 1065 nor maintained in the partnership's books and records. The…
Extended three-and-a-half-year lookback permits the overpayment refund
Chief Counsel considered whether a taxpayer's overpayment refund was barred by the Tax Court lookback rules. Section 6512 generally limits a refund to tax paid within the period that would apply…
Loan reallocation enters the imputed underpayment but deemed distribution does not
A partnership reported a $5 million loan equally between two partners, although one partner had supplied the money, and Exam proposed reallocating the entire liability to that partner. Chief Counsel…
Insurer's longevity contract qualifies as an annuity while the linked account remains separate
A life insurance company proposed a longevity contract linked to an individual's separately owned taxable investment account. The contract would support lifetime withdrawals and begin guarantee…
Foreign partnership receives 120 days to make a late section 754 election
A foreign company classified as a partnership for federal tax purposes intended to make a section 754 election but failed to attach it to the return for the requested year. The IRS found that the…
S corporation status preserved after two trusts missed QSST elections
Two grantor trusts held stock in an S corporation when their grantor died. The trusts remained eligible S corporation shareholders for two years after the death, but continued holding the stock…
Foundation's adversity scholarship procedures receive advance approval
A private foundation requested advance approval for scholarships benefiting high school students who overcame adversity and showed resilience and a desire to pursue college or graduate education.…
Rural cemetery denied section 501(c)(3) status
A nonprofit operating a small rural cemetery applied for section 501(c)(3) recognition. Its governing document was incomplete because it lacked signatures from at least two authorized individuals,…
Private foundation loses exemption for inactivity and insider-controlled assets
The IRS revoked a private foundation's 501(c)(3) status after finding that its purpose and operations had shifted away from the charitable program described in its exemption application. The…
Individually owned LLC denied section 501(c)(3) status
A single-member limited liability company applied for section 501(c)(3) recognition while proposing a food bank and a free senior center for low-income people. Its articles stated no exempt purpose,…
Dog performance club denied section 501(c)(3) status
A membership-based dog performance club applied for section 501(c)(3) recognition as an educational organization. It conducted sanctioned agility, obedience, tracking, scent work, and other trials,…
Rural tourism organization denied section 501(c)(3) status
An organization sought section 501(c)(3) status for programs intended to empower rural communities through tourism, business training, grants, education, and cultural preservation. Its current…
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.