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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IRS grants time to recharacterize a failed Roth IRA conversion
The IRS granted an individual up to 60 days to recharacterize a failed conversion from a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA. The taxpayer relied on a CPA’s advice that modified adjusted gross income…
IRS waives the 60-day IRA rollover requirement
The IRS waived the 60-day rollover requirement for an individual who withdrew money from an IRA to select a new retirement investment. A bank employee incorrectly told the individual that the…
IRS declines a 60-day rollover waiver after a beneficiary's death
The estate representative of an annuity beneficiary asked the IRS to waive the 60-day rollover deadline after the beneficiary died. The beneficiary had received a distribution from a section 403(b)…
IRS approves a five-year pension funding extension
The IRS approved a plan's request for a five-year automatic extension to amortize unfunded liabilities as of January 1, 2010. The extension applies to eligible amortization charge bases established…
IRS approves a five-year pension funding extension
The IRS approved a plan's request for a five-year automatic extension to amortize unfunded liabilities as of January 1, 2010. The extension applies to eligible amortization charge bases established…
IRS approves a five-year pension funding extension
The IRS approved a plan's request for a five-year automatic extension to amortize unfunded liabilities as of January 1, 2010. The extension applies to eligible amortization charge bases established…
IRS approves a five-year pension funding extension
The IRS approved a plan's request for a five-year automatic extension to amortize unfunded liabilities as of January 1, 2010. The extension applies to eligible amortization charge bases identified…
IRS waives the 60-day IRA rollover requirement for an ill taxpayer
The IRS waived the 60-day rollover requirement for an elderly taxpayer who received an IRA distribution intending to move it to another IRA. A serious medical condition, hospitalization, inability…
IRS approves a five-year pension funding extension
The IRS approved a plan's request for a five-year automatic extension to amortize unfunded liabilities as of January 1, 2010. The extension applies to eligible amortization charge bases established…
IRS waives the 60-day IRA rollover requirement after a duplicate distribution
The IRS waived the 60-day rollover requirement for an individual who received a duplicate IRA distribution because a financial institution did not follow his instructions. The first distribution was…
IRS denies 501(c)(3) status to a virtual collaboration and education organization
The IRS issued a final adverse determination denying federal tax exemption under section 501(c)(3) to an organization that operated in a virtual collaborative environment. The organization offered…
IRS approves a private foundation's scholarship grant procedures
The IRS approved a private foundation's procedures for awarding one-time scholarships to qualifying high school seniors. Applicants must live in the redacted county or attend a school there, enroll…
IRS approves employer-related scholarship programs
The IRS approved two employer-related scholarship options sponsored by a private foundation for children and other relatives of employees. The programs use an independent selection committee,…
IRS approves a fellowship program for investigative journalists
The IRS approved a private foundation's fellowship program for experienced international journalists. Fellows would receive training in investigative journalism, along with a stipend, travel…
IRS explains when an invoice must be paid after a summons
Chief Counsel Advice addresses when the Service must pay an invoice related to a summons. The advice states that payment is not required until the party complies with the summons by providing the…
IRS explains disclosure of responsible-person information for trust fund penalties
Chief Counsel Advice addresses disclosure when more than one person may be liable for a trust fund recovery penalty. It states that if the Service determines that one person is liable under IRC…
IRS explains a limited partner's participation rights
Chief Counsel Advice addresses participation in an administrative proceeding involving partnership items and a partnership's withholding tax liability. It states that a limited partner has the right…
IRS explains who may agree to a partnership withholding liability
Chief Counsel Advice addresses a 60-day letter and Form 870-P concerning partnership withholding tax. It states that the letter should determine the partnership's withholding liability and the…
IRS addresses an accuracy-related penalty tied to a loss carryback or carryover
Chief Counsel Advice addresses when an accuracy-related penalty may apply to an underpayment connected with a loss, deduction, or credit carried to another year. It states that the loss must…
IRS addresses 60-day objection letters for partnership AARs
Chief Counsel Advice addresses deficiency TMP-filed administrative adjustment requests involving more than 100 partners and no proceeding. It states that the Service should issue 60-day objection…
IRS analyzes reporting of corporate stock redemptions
Chief Counsel Advice analyzes whether a corporation must report its own stock redemptions on Form 1099-B. The advice says the corporation is subject to broker reporting under IRC section 6045 only…
CCA 1114024: The section 6707A penalty is based on the penalized person's return
Chief Counsel Advice addressed how to calculate the penalty under IRC § 6707A when the person being penalized is a transferee. The advice agreed with the field that the calculation is based on the…
CCA 1114023: A return showing no tax decrease may call for the minimum penalty
Chief Counsel Advice considered the amount of a penalty under IRC § 6707A when a return shows no decrease in tax. The advice stated that, in that situation, it did not see how the penalty could be…
CCA 1114022: A husband may act as his wife's power of attorney, subject to Circular 230 duties
Chief Counsel Advice considered whether a husband could act as his wife's power of attorney during an examination. The advice stated that a husband can serve as his wife's power of attorney, but he…
CCA 1114021: Advice weighs whether a promissory note represented genuine debt
Chief Counsel Advice considered a foreign currency loss claimed by a taxpayer after a promissory note was exchanged for two notes denominated in another currency. The advice stated that whether the…
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,…
PLR 1114019: IRS consents to regulated investment companies revoking excise tax elections
The IRS consented to seven regulated investment companies revoking elections under IRC § 4982(e)(4)(A) that used their tax year instead of the one-year period ending October 31 to calculate required…
PLR 1114018: IRS grants an extension to make an insurance company election
The IRS granted a property and casualty insurance company 60 days from the ruling date to make an election to be taxed under IRC § 831(b)(2)(A). The company had intended to make the election but did…
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 1114015: IRS treats risk retention group payments as deductible insurance premiums
The IRS ruled that payments by a medical practice to a proposed risk retention group for medical malpractice and extended reporting coverage would qualify as insurance premiums deductible as…
PLR 1114014: IRS grants 75 days to file consolidated-return loss elections
The IRS granted a consolidated group 75 days to file elections related to a worthless stock loss for a subsidiary. The parent had claimed the loss on an amended return but had not timely filed the…
PLR 1114013: IRS grants 75 days to file consolidated-return loss elections
The IRS granted a consolidated group 75 days to file elections related to a worthless stock loss for a subsidiary. The parent had claimed the loss on an amended return but had not timely filed the…
PLR 1114012: IRS grants 120 days to make a late entity-classification election
The IRS granted an entity 120 days to file Form 8832 and elect to be treated as a disregarded entity for federal tax purposes, effective on the requested earlier date. The entity had failed to file…
PLR 1114011: IRS grants 120 days to make a late section 754 election
The IRS granted a limited liability company 120 days to make a late election under IRC § 754 for the tax year in which a member died. The company had inadvertently missed the deadline for the…
PLR 1114010: IRS recognizes a public authority as a political subdivision and not a related party
The IRS ruled that a public authority formed by governmental entities qualified as a political subdivision for purposes of the tax rules on interest from state or local bonds. The authority was…
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 1114008: IRS grants 120 days to make low-income housing elections
The IRS granted a taxpayer 120 days to make elections for a low-income housing project under IRC §§ 42(g)(1) and 142(d)(4)(B). The taxpayer had intended to make the elections and had filed its…
PLR 1114007: IRS grants 30 days to file a duplicate Form 3115
The IRS granted a taxpayer 30 days to file a signed duplicate Form 3115 after the taxpayer's preparer failed to submit it on time. The form related to a change in inventory valuation from cost to…
PLR 1114006: IRS approves a limited dividend waiver without income to waiving shareholders
The IRS ruled that certain shareholders could waive part of their regular cash dividends without recognizing gross income from the waived amount. The waiver was intended to let a publicly traded…
PLR 1114005: IRS recognizes a fraud-investment partnership as a qualified investor
The IRS ruled that a partnership harmed by a criminal investment fraud qualified for the safe-harbor treatment in Rev. Proc. 2009-20. The partnership was treated as a qualified investor for purposes…
PLR 1114004: IRS applies section 382 restructuring-plan rules to a proposed ownership change
The IRS ruled that a restructuring plan involving a corporate asset transfer, government financing, and proposed public offerings qualified for special treatment under IRC § 382(n). The IRS…
PLR 1114003: IRS permits a delayed termination date without resetting an output contract's effective date
The IRS ruled that an agreement to defer the effective date of a party's termination right did not amend a preexisting wholesale electricity requirements contract for purposes of the tax-exempt bond…
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 1114001: IRS treats certain partnership sale income as qualifying income
An LLC planned to form a publicly traded partnership whose interests would be listed on a nationally recognized exchange. The partnership would conduct redacted activities through affiliated…
Determination 1113049: IRS revokes an organization's section 501(c)(3) exemption after it failed to respond
The IRS revoked an organization's tax exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3). The organization did not provide records, file required information returns, or respond to repeated IRS requests needed to…
PLR 1113048: IRS waives the 60-day IRA rollover requirement after an advisor's error
An individual intended to roll an IRA distribution into another IRA, but a financial advisor deposited the amount into a non-IRA account instead. The taxpayer did not use the amount for another…
PLR 1113047: IRS waives the 60-day rollover requirement for an erroneous IRA distribution
An IRA owner received an extra distribution because of an error by the financial institution that administered the IRA. The taxpayer kept the check uncashed, later deposited the amount into a…
PLR 1113046: IRS approves a five-year pension funding extension
The IRS approved a plan's request for a five-year automatic extension to amortize unfunded liabilities existing as of January 1, 2010. The extension applied to the eligible amortization charge bases…
PLR 1113045: IRS approves a five-year pension funding extension
The IRS approved a plan's request for a five-year automatic extension to amortize unfunded liabilities existing as of January 1, 2010. The extension applied to the eligible amortization charge bases…
PLR 1113044: IRS approves a five-year pension funding extension
The IRS approved a plan's request for a five-year automatic extension to amortize unfunded liabilities existing as of April 1, 2010. The extension was effective for the plan year beginning April 1,…
PLR 1113043: IRS approves a five-year pension funding extension
The IRS approved a plan's request for a five-year automatic extension to amortize unfunded liabilities existing as of January 1, 2010. The extension applied to the eligible amortization charge bases…
PLR 1113042: IRS approves a five-year pension funding extension
The IRS approved a plan's request for a five-year automatic extension to amortize unfunded liabilities existing as of January 1, 2010. The extension applied to the eligible amortization charge bases…
IRS revokes an organization's section 501(c)(3) exemption after repeated private-benefit transactions
The IRS revoked an organization's exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3) after finding repeated private-benefit and inurement transactions involving its president and family-run governing board. The…
PLR 1113040: IRS approves a charitable remainder trust reformation and finds no self-dealing
A married couple asked whether a state-court reformation of their charitable remainder trust would preserve the trust's status as a charitable remainder unitrust and avoid self-dealing excise taxes.…
PLR 1113039: IRS approves a private foundation's scholarship program
The IRS approved a private foundation's proposed scholarship program for students from a redacted geographic area who planned to attend qualifying educational institutions. The program used need and…
PLR 1113038: IRS approves a scholarship program for former residents of a care organization
The IRS approved a private foundation's scholarship program for academically qualified former residents of a redacted nonprofit care organization. Applicants had to meet age and residency…
PLR 1113037: IRS grants more time to dispose of excess business holdings
A private foundation received a donation representing all of the shares of a business and acknowledged that the shares created excess business holdings under IRC § 4943. The foundation described…
IRS denies exemption to a foreign-grant conduit tied to a for-profit company
The IRS denied exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3) to an organization that planned to collect U.S. donations and route grants to foreign organizations. The applicant relied on a related for-profit…
PLR 1113035: IRS approves a charity's sale of a long-held leased property
An educational charity planned to sell a long-held parcel of real property that had been acquired largely by bequest and ground-leased to an unrelated tenant. The charity intended to sell 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.