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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S corporation status restored after consent, stock-class, and distribution defects
The IRS ruled that an LLC’s S corporation election was ineffective because a required spousal consent was missing and provisions in its operating agreement created a second class of stock. The IRS…
Taxpayer granted consent to use an elective method for stock-based compensation costs
The IRS granted a taxpayer and other controlled participants prospective consent to use an elective method for measuring and timing stock-based compensation costs in two cost sharing arrangements.…
Church auxiliary does not have to file Form 990
An organization asked the IRS to determine whether it was exempt from filing Form 990. The IRS determined that the organization qualified as an integrated auxiliary of a church exempt from taxation…
Exempt status revoked after organization failed to provide records
The IRS issued a final determination that an organization did not qualify for federal income tax exemption under IRC Section 501(c)(3). The organization did not provide records about its receipts,…
Utility may finance extraordinary costs with tax-exempt bonds
A public utility asked whether extraordinary costs caused by an interruption in its coal supply could be financed with tax-exempt bonds without applying the proceeds-spent-last method for working…
S election restored after missed QSST election
An S corporation requested relief after stock was transferred to a trust whose beneficiary did not timely make a Qualified Subchapter S Trust election. The IRS concluded that the corporation's S…
Parent group gets more time to elect consolidated filing
A parent company and subsidiary asked for more time to make a consolidated return election for a prior tax year. The IRS found that the parent reasonably relied on a qualified tax professional,…
Late Opportunity Zone deferral election treated as timely
An individual invested gain from the sale of an interest in a qualified opportunity fund but did not timely file Form 8949 to elect to defer the gain. The taxpayer was unaware that Form 8949 was…
Estate gets more time to make portability election
An estate that was not otherwise required to file an estate tax return asked for more time to make a portability election for the surviving spouse. The IRS concluded that the estate met the…
Bankruptcy emergence qualifies for section 382 relief
A new parent requested rulings about the treatment of an ownership change that occurred when an old parent emerged from a title 11 case. The IRS ruled that the consolidated group would be treated as…
Estate gets more time for QTIP elections
An estate asked for more time to make QTIP elections for two marital trusts and a reverse QTIP election for one of them. The estate's accountant had timely filed Form 706 but mistakenly left the…
Foreign entities get more time for classification elections
Two foreign entities asked for more time to file Forms 8832 to elect partnership and disregarded-entity classifications for federal tax purposes. The IRS concluded that the entities met the…
Estate gets more time to opt out of automatic GST allocations
An estate asked for more time to elect out of the automatic allocation of generation-skipping transfer tax exemption for transfers to several grantor retained annuity trusts. The taxpayer's legal,…
Four LLCs get more time to elect corporate treatment
Four professional limited liability companies asked for more time to file Forms 8832 electing to be treated as associations taxable as corporations. The IRS concluded that the entities satisfied the…
IRS approves a private foundation's grant procedures for emerging craft artists
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve its procedures for grants supporting emerging craft artists. Eligible applicants must be adults in the first seven years of professional practice,…
IRS approves scholarships for female high school athletes
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve a scholarship program for graduating female high school athletes in specified Texas school districts. Applicants must be in good standing, appear on an…
IRS approves an employer-related scholarship program for employees' dependents
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve scholarships for children and legal dependents of employees of affiliated companies. Applicants must be graduating high school seniors or current…
IRS waives the 60-day IRA rollover deadline for a fraud victim
An IRA owner withdrew funds after fraudsters impersonated financial-institution employees, a police officer, and a prosecutor. They falsely told her that she was under investigation and had to pay…
IRS revokes a charity's exemption after it failed to provide audit records
The IRS revoked an organization's § 501(c)(3) status after it did not provide records requested during an audit. The IRS repeatedly mailed examination and delinquency notices and made numerous…
REIT receives more time to elect taxable subsidiary status
A real estate investment trust acquired a hotel property through subsidiaries and planned to operate the hotel briefly before redevelopment. Its advisers initially recommended a structure that…
Late taxable REIT subsidiary election is treated as timely
A real estate investment trust indirectly owned a subsidiary used in a senior living project. The parties planned to elect taxable REIT subsidiary status when construction ended and the project…
REIT gets more time for a taxable subsidiary election missed after a scheduling conflict
A real estate investment trust acquired a senior living facility through a newly formed subsidiary and intended to elect taxable REIT subsidiary status as of the acquisition date. The accounting…
IRS permits an entity classification change within the 60-month limit
A foreign entity had changed its federal tax classification to an association taxable as a corporation and later came under entirely new ownership. It wanted to change again to a disregarded entity…
Two foreign entities receive 120 days to make late disregarded-entity elections
Two foreign eligible entities intended to elect disregarded-entity status from their respective formation dates but did not timely file Form 8832. They requested discretionary relief under the…
Foreign entity receives 120 days to make a late disregarded-entity election
A foreign eligible entity intended to be treated as disregarded from its owner for federal tax purposes from its formation date but failed to file Form 8832 on time. It sought discretionary…
Foreign entity receives 120 days to make a late partnership election
A foreign eligible entity intended to elect partnership classification for federal tax purposes but failed to file Form 8832 on time. It requested discretionary extension relief under the…
REIT gets 90 days to correct a missed taxable subsidiary election after an acquisition
A real estate investment trust indirectly acquired a subsidiary that had already been a taxable REIT subsidiary of the seller's REIT. The buyer intended the subsidiary to remain a taxable REIT…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate that was not otherwise required to file Form 706 failed to make a timely portability election for the decedent's unused estate and gift tax exclusion. Portability allows a surviving spouse…
Foreign company receives 120 days to make a late disregarded-entity election
A company formed under the laws of a foreign territory intended to elect treatment as an entity disregarded from its owner but failed to file Form 8832 on time. It sought discretionary relief under…
Taxpayer receives 120 days to elect GST-trust treatment for an irrevocable trust
A taxpayer created an irrevocable trust for children and later descendants and intended the transfer to be exempt from generation-skipping transfer tax. The taxpayer's accountant prepared the…
S corporation termination from a missed ESBT election is treated as inadvertent
A trust became a shareholder of an S corporation, but its trustees failed to make a timely electing small business trust election. That made the trust an ineligible shareholder and automatically…
Grantor receives 120 days to elect GST-trust treatment after a return-preparation error
A grantor created an irrevocable trust primarily for a spouse, with descendants as later beneficiaries, and intended the transfer to be exempt from generation-skipping transfer tax. An attorney's…
Foreign company receives 120 days for a late disregarded-entity election
A foreign eligible company intended to elect treatment as an entity disregarded from its owner but did not timely file Form 8832. It requested discretionary relief under the regulatory-election…
Division of a grandfathered family trust preserves GST status and causes no gift or income tax
A family trust derived from an irrevocable trust created before September 25, 1985, proposed to divide into four family-line trusts, one for each grandchild and that grandchild's descendants. A…
Corporate group receives 75 days to make a late consolidated-return election
A corporation was the common parent of an affiliated group but did not timely make the election to file a consolidated federal income-tax return for the group. The parent requested an extension…
Partnership receives 120 days to make a late section 754 election
A limited partnership failed to make a timely IRC § 754 election for the year in which a buyer purchased an interest from existing partners. The partnership represented that the omission was…
IRS approves a revised nuclear decommissioning fund contribution schedule
A utility group requested a revised schedule of deductible contributions to a qualified nuclear decommissioning reserve fund after the operating license for a generating unit was extended.…
Utility receives more time to request revised nuclear decommissioning fund amounts
A utility was required to request a revised schedule of deductible nuclear decommissioning fund contributions after the operating license for a generating unit was extended. It could not complete…
IRS approves another revised nuclear decommissioning fund schedule
A utility group requested a revised schedule of deductible contributions to a qualified nuclear decommissioning reserve fund after the operating license for a generating unit was extended. An…
Utility receives an extension for another decommissioning schedule request
A utility was required to seek a revised schedule of deductible nuclear decommissioning fund contributions after a generating unit's operating license was extended. The utility could not complete…
Foundation set-aside approved for an education building
A private foundation asked to treat funds reserved for constructing a multi-purpose education building as a qualifying distribution under IRC § 4942(g)(2). The building will consolidate and expand…
Educational prototype contest grant procedures approved
A private foundation sought advance approval under IRC § 4945(g)(3) for grants awarded through an educational prototype-design competition. Teams will build a prototype and develop a related…
College scholarship procedures approved
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve a scholarship program for undergraduate and graduate students at accredited United States colleges and universities. Recipients will be selected using…
Individual artist grant procedures approved
A private foundation requested advance approval for grants supporting individual working artists across visual, performing, literary, media, and interdisciplinary fields. Applicants must show a…
Community business and recreation group denied charity status
An organization formerly exempt as a business league sought recognition as a charity under IRC § 501(c)(3). Its governing documents continued to authorize promoting local business activity and…
Veteran business network denied social-welfare exemption
A mutual benefit corporation sought exemption under IRC § 501(c)(4) for a membership network serving veteran business owners, executives, and professionals. Its programs offered members referrals,…
Angel investor club denied business-league exemption
An accredited-investor membership club sought exemption as a business league under IRC § 501(c)(6). The club screened startup applications, hosted pitch dinners, shared investment information, and…
Religious education organization denied Section 501(d) exemption
A religious education organization sought exemption under IRC § 501(d) as a religious or apostolic organization. It trained church members for ministry and leadership, but its members did not live…
Gated homeowners association denied social-welfare exemption
A gated homeowners association sought exemption as a social-welfare organization under IRC § 501(c)(4). It owned and maintained the subdivision's streets, sidewalks, and other common areas, but…
Estate receives 120-day extension to elect portability
An estate that was not otherwise required to file an estate tax return missed the deadline to elect portability of the decedent's unused estate and gift tax exclusion to the surviving spouse. The…
Pension surplus transfer qualifies for replacement-plan treatment
An employer terminated a qualified defined benefit pension plan after transferring remaining employees within its controlled group. It proposed to transfer at least 25 percent of the pension plan's…
Estate receives 120-day extension to elect portability
An estate that was not otherwise required to file an estate tax return missed the deadline to elect portability of the decedent's unused estate and gift tax exclusion to the surviving spouse. The…
S corporation receives extra time for QSub election
An S corporation acquired all of a subsidiary and intended to treat it as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary, or QSub, as of the acquisition date. It failed to file Form 8869 on time and requested…
LLC receives extra time for corporate classification election
A limited liability company intended to elect treatment as an association taxable as a corporation but failed to file Form 8832 on time. It requested discretionary relief under Treas. Reg. §§…
Fund receives 60 days to make late QOF self-certification
A partnership formed to invest in qualified opportunity zone property intended to self-certify as a qualified opportunity fund, or QOF. Its accounting firm failed to attach Form 8996 to the…
County deferred compensation plan qualifies under Section 457(b)
A county adopted a deferred compensation plan for its employees and beneficiaries and requested confirmation that it qualified under IRC § 457(b). The plan included automatic enrollment, elective…
S corporation split-off qualifies as tax-free reorganization
A closely held S corporation proposed dividing its business between its shareholders through a corporate split-off. It would form a qualified subchapter S subsidiary, transfer selected business…
Estate may divide inherited IRAs through direct trustee transfers
A decedent died without naming beneficiaries for a traditional IRA and a Roth IRA, so the estate became the beneficiary of both accounts. The will left the accounts equally to two individual…
IRS approves a foundation's scholarship procedures
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve its procedures for a scholarship program serving graduating seniors from a particular school. Eligible students must meet a grade-point threshold,…
Church auxiliary is exempt from filing Form 990
A section 501(c)(3) organization asked to be excused from filing the annual Form 990 information return. The IRS determined that the organization qualifies as an integrated auxiliary of a church…
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.