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 1104060: IRS waives the 60-day IRA rollover deadline after custodian error
The IRS considered a 75-year-old taxpayer who transferred money from an IRA to an investment fund after financial institutions failed to establish the receiving account as an IRA. The taxpayer had…
PLR 1104059: IRS waives the 60-day IRA rollover deadline after financial institution error
The IRS considered a 55-year-old taxpayer who transferred money from an IRA to an investment fund after financial institutions failed to establish the receiving account as an IRA. The taxpayer had…
PLR 1104058: IRS waives the 60-day IRA rollover deadline after custodian error
The IRS considered an 82-year-old taxpayer who transferred money from an IRA to an investment fund after financial institutions failed to establish the receiving account as an IRA. The taxpayer had…
PLR 1104057: IRS waives the 60-day IRA rollover deadline after an investment instruction error
The IRS considered a taxpayer who instructed a financial institution to move money from one IRA investment to another IRA account. The institution instead distributed the money into a non-IRA…
PLR 1104056: IRS waives the 60-day IRA rollover deadline after custodian error
The IRS considered a 73-year-old taxpayer who transferred money from an IRA to an investment fund after financial institutions failed to establish the receiving account as an IRA. The taxpayer had…
PLR 1104055: IRS waives the 60-day IRA rollover deadline after custodian error
The IRS considered a 48-year-old taxpayer who transferred money from an IRA to an investment fund after financial institutions failed to establish the receiving account as an IRA. The taxpayer had…
PLR 1104054: IRS waives the 60-day IRA rollover deadline after custodian error
The IRS considered a 41-year-old taxpayer who transferred money from an IRA to an investment fund after financial institutions failed to establish the receiving account as an IRA. The taxpayer had…
PLR 1104053: IRS waives the 60-day IRA rollover deadline after custodian error
The IRS considered a 38-year-old taxpayer who transferred money from an IRA to an investment fund after financial institutions failed to establish the receiving account as an IRA. The taxpayer had…
IRS approves a five-year extension for amortizing a pension plan's unfunded liabilities
The IRS approved a pension plan's request for a five-year automatic extension to amortize unfunded liabilities existing as of January 1, 2010. The extension applies to the eligible amortization…
PLR 1104051: IRS waives the 60-day deadline for an IRA rollover
The IRS granted a married taxpayer a waiver of the 60-day deadline for rolling a distribution from an IRA into another IRA. The taxpayer had told a financial institution that the money was for…
PLR 1104050: IRS approves a private foundation's scholarship procedures
The IRS approved a private foundation's procedures for awarding scholarships to individuals pursuing higher education in medicine or engineering. The proposed grants were limited to students meeting…
PLR 1104049: IRS approves employer-related scholarship procedures
The IRS approved a private foundation's procedures for scholarships sponsored for children and other relatives of the foundation's employees. A publicly supported scholarship organization would…
PLR 1104048: IRS approves a revised scholarship program
The IRS approved revised procedures for a private foundation's scholarship program for academically qualified high school graduates who need financial assistance. The foundation amended its trust…
PLR 1104047: IRS approves scholarships for students from an impoverished region
The IRS approved a private foundation's scholarship program for deserving secondary and post-secondary students from an impoverished region. The program considers academic performance, attendance,…
IRS revokes exemption of a veterans organization operating public gaming activities
The IRS revoked a veterans organization's exemption under IRC § 501(c)(19). The organization operated gaming activities with the general public, received most of its income from those activities,…
IRS revokes exemption of a fraternal beneficiary society
The IRS revoked a fraternal beneficiary society's exemption under IRC § 501(c)(8). The organization did not follow its bylaws, held no regular general membership meetings, admitted members without…
IRS training may not use unreleased real case examples
Chief Counsel advised that IRS training should not use real case examples or legal opinions from real cases unless the taxpayer consented or the material had already been released publicly. Removing…
Interest accrues from the initial penalty notice date
Chief Counsel advised that interest on an IRC § 6707A penalty should accrue from the initial notice and demand date, rather than from the date a later recalculated penalty is issued. The advice…
CCA 1104042: REIT election requires corporate rules for an assessment extension
Chief Counsel advised that a statutory trust that elected REIT treatment remained classified as an association taxable as a corporation for purposes of signing a consent to extend the assessment…
CCA 1104041: Failure to file Form 5471 extends the assessment period
Chief Counsel explained how the HIRE Act amendment to IRC § 6501(c)(8) applies when required information is not reported under IRC § 6038. A failure to file Form 5471 for a tax year extends the…
CCA 1104040: New construction may qualify for the long-time resident credit
Chief Counsel advised that a taxpayer who completed construction and occupied a new home on land where a previous home stood could qualify for the $6,500 first-time homebuyer credit as a long-time…
CCA 1104039: Advance bonus payments require a bona fide loan analysis
Chief Counsel identified the central issue in an arrangement involving advances made in anticipation of future employee bonuses: whether the advances were bona fide loans. The advice said the…
CCA 1104038: An expired assessment period cannot be extended by agreement
Chief Counsel advised that the IRS may not assess a tax liability after the assessment statute of limitations for that liability has expired. The IRS and a taxpayer cannot agree to extend a…
CCA 1104037: A storage dwelling was not the taxpayer's principal residence
Chief Counsel advised that a taxpayer whose home was destroyed by fire could qualify as a first-time homebuyer after constructing and occupying a new home on the same property. While building, the…
CCA 1104036: Related cash transactions require Form 8300 reporting
Chief Counsel advised that an insurance company would have to file Form 8300 for both transaction examples presented. Transactions involving more than $10,000 in cash are reportable when they occur…
CCA 1104035: A summons need not include the payer's Social Security number
Chief Counsel advised that the Code does not require a summons to include a payer's Social Security number. The advice recommended using other identifying information, such as the payer's address,…
CCA 1104034: Informal voting control can make a foreign corporation a CFC
Chief Counsel advised that nominal or title ownership of foreign corporation stock does not control whether a person is a U.S. shareholder of a controlled foreign corporation. An informal…
PLR 1104033: Senior-living properties qualify as health care facilities for REIT rents
The IRS ruled that four taxpayers' senior-living communities were health care facilities for purposes of the REIT related-party rent exception. The properties had independent-living and…
CCA 1104032: Service incentives are taxable, not student-loan exclusions
Chief Counsel advised that payments to health care professionals under two state programs were taxable compensation for services, not excludable student-loan repayments. Participants did not need…
CCA 1104031: Settling a variable forward with borrowed shares triggers gain
Chief Counsel advised that settling prepaid variable forward contracts with borrowed shares did not keep the forward contracts open for tax purposes. The forward contracts were closed when the…
PLR 1104030: The IRS allowed an inadvertent QSub election to continue
The IRS ruled that a corporation's ineffective election to treat a subsidiary as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary was inadvertent. The election failed because of procedural defects, and the…
PLR 1104029: Agencies received more time to make private-activity-bond carryforward elections
The IRS granted two state agencies an extension of time to file Form 8328 and carry forward unused private activity bond volume cap. The filing was late because the state was coordinating a new…
PLR 1104028: A pro rata spin-off qualified as a Type D reorganization
The IRS ruled on a proposed separation of two businesses owned by one corporation. The parent would transfer Business B and its assets to a controlled subsidiary, then distribute the subsidiary's…
PLR 1104027: The IRS granted more time to file Form 3115 with an amended return
The IRS granted a partnership-taxed limited liability corporation 60 days to file an original Form 3115 with an amended federal partnership return. The taxpayer had inadvertently failed to file Form…
PLR 1104026: IRS grants a foreign entity more time to elect partnership status
A foreign entity asked for more time to file Form 8832 and elect to be treated as a partnership for federal tax purposes. The entity said it intended to make the election effective when it was…
PLR 1104025: IRS grants more time to make a section 754 election
A partnership asked for more time to make a section 754 election after an inadvertent omission. A related entity had made a distribution in liquidation of a member's interest, and the resulting…
PLR 1104024: IRS approves correction of an over-allocation of low-income housing credits
A state housing agency asked to correct an administrative error that caused supplemental low-income housing tax credits to exceed the state's housing credit ceiling. The IRS concluded that the error…
PLR 1104023: Senior living properties qualify as health care facilities for REIT rent rules
A corporation that elected to be treated as a REIT planned to hold senior living communities through a joint venture and lease them to another joint venture. The properties included independent…
PLR 1104022: IRS grants more time to allocate generation-skipping transfer tax exemption
A donor asked for more time to allocate available generation-skipping transfer tax exemption to five irrevocable trusts created for the donor's children and their descendants. The donor had filed a…
PLR 1104021: IRS permits a late S corporation election
A corporation asked the IRS to recognize it as an S corporation effective on an earlier date after it failed to file Form 2553 because of inadvertence. The IRS concluded that the corporation…
PLR 1104020: Port authority does not qualify for tax-exempt bond treatment
A public corporation asked whether it qualified as a political subdivision for purposes of the tax exemption for interest on state or local bonds, or whether its debt was issued on behalf of a city.…
PLR 1104019: IRS treats a potentially terminated S election as continuing
An S corporation asked the IRS to address a possible termination of its S election after it made disproportionate allocations and distributions while two classes of common stock were outstanding.…
PLR 1104018: IRS grants late entity classification and S corporation election relief
A limited liability company asked for relief after it failed to timely file Form 8832 to elect association classification and Form 2553 to elect S corporation status. The IRS granted 120 days to…
PLR 1104017: IRS grants relief for a late S corporation election
A limited liability company asked the IRS to recognize a late S corporation election effective from its requested date. The company intended to file Form 2553 but did not file it on time because of…
PLR 1104016: IRS grants late entity classification and S corporation election relief
A limited liability company asked for relief after it failed to timely file Form 8832 to elect association classification and Form 2553 to elect S corporation status. The IRS granted 120 days to…
PLR 1104015: IRS grants late entity classification and S corporation election relief
A limited liability company asked for relief after it failed to timely file Form 8832 to elect association classification and Form 2553 to elect S corporation status. The IRS granted 120 days to…
PLR 1104014: IRS grants late entity classification and S corporation election relief
A limited liability company asked for relief after it failed to timely file Form 8832 to elect association classification and Form 2553 to elect S corporation status. The IRS granted 120 days to…
PLR 1104013: Commodity-linked notes and foreign subsidiary income qualify for RIC income testing
A regulated investment company asked whether income from four commodity-linked notes and income from a wholly owned foreign subsidiary would count as qualifying income under IRC § 851(b)(2). The IRS…
PLR 1104012: IRS grants more time to opt out of automatic GST exemption allocation
A donor asked for more time to elect out of the automatic allocation of generation-skipping transfer tax exemption to transfers made to an irrevocable trust. The donor relied on law and accounting…
PLR 1104011: IRS grants more time to elect association classification
A business entity asked for more time to file Form 8832 and elect to be classified as an association taxable as a corporation for federal tax purposes. The entity intended the election to be…
PLR 1104010: IRS grants a foreign entity more time to elect partnership classification
A foreign entity asked for more time to file Form 8832 and elect to be treated as a partnership for federal tax purposes. The entity failed to file the form by the requested effective date. The IRS…
PLR 1104009: IRS treats a potentially terminated S election as continuing
An S corporation asked for relief because certain agreements and arrangements may have terminated its S corporation election. The corporation represented that any termination was inadvertent, was…
PLR 1104008: IRS treats a potentially terminated S election as continuing
A corporation asked for relief after issuing stock warrants that may have created a second class of stock and terminated its S corporation election. The corporation was later purchased, which also…
PLR 1104007: IRS grants more time to elect disregarded entity status
A foreign eligible entity asked for more time to file Form 8832 and elect to be treated as a disregarded entity for federal tax purposes. The entity was eligible to make the election effective on…
PLR 1104006: IRS grants more time to elect disregarded entity status
A foreign eligible entity asked for more time to file Form 8832 and elect to be treated as a disregarded entity for federal tax purposes. The entity was eligible to make the election effective on…
PLR 1104005: IRS approves tax treatment for a REIT restructuring and special dividend
A corporate group planning an initial public offering and a REIT election asked about the federal tax treatment of a proposed restructuring. The IRS ruled that a special dividend paid in cash,…
PLR 1104004: IRS determines the first retail sale and tax base for discounted LNG trucks and tractors
A truck manufacturer asked how the federal excise tax on trucks and tractors applies when a government-funded incentive reduces the cost of installing liquefied natural gas engines. The IRS ruled…
PLR 1104003: IRS approves a trust conversion and new trusts without loss of GST tax exemption
The trustee of a pre-September 25, 1985 trust asked whether converting the trust's income interest to a unitrust interest and creating two descendant trusts would preserve the trust's exemption from…
PLR 1104002: IRS grants more time to elect partnership classification for a foreign entity
A foreign business entity asked for more time to file an election to be treated as a partnership for federal tax purposes. The entity had failed to timely file Form 8832, even though it intended the…
PLR 1104001: IRS approves a settlement dividing a family trust without added transfer tax
A family asked how a proposed court-approved settlement of long-running disputes over two trusts would affect income, gift, estate, and generation-skipping transfer taxes. The settlement divided one…
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.