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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CCA 201107024: Collection summonses for transferee liabilities can be exempt from notice
Chief Counsel advised that a summons issued in aid of collecting an assessment can fall within the notice exception in IRC § 7609(c)(2)(D). The advice addresses a possible fraudulent transfer from…
CCA 201107023: Collection failure is not a TEFRA settlement agreement
Chief Counsel advised that failing to collect from a partner does not create the type of settlement agreement that gives other partners a right to seek a consistent agreement under IRC § 6224(c). A…
CCA 201107022: IRS declines to accept real property in an unspecified collection matter
Chief Counsel advice gives a negative answer to a redacted collection question involving the acceptance of real property. The response identifies issues that would arise if the IRS accepted the…
CCA 201107021: Partnership-level proceedings require notice under § 6223(a)(1)
Chief Counsel advice contrasts the general one-inspection rule in IRC § 7605(b) with the partnership-level notice requirement in IRC § 6223(a)(1). Section 7605(b) generally permits only one…
CCA 201107020: Surviving spouse cannot extend a deceased spouse's assessment period without authority
Chief Counsel addressed how a surviving spouse should complete Form 872 after spouses filed a joint return and the husband later died. The IRS advice says both spouses' names should appear on the…
CCA 201107019: IRS should promptly return erroneous direct-debit collections
Chief Counsel advised on the IRS's obligations when it makes an erroneous debit under a direct debit installment agreement. Electronic payment rules generally require the taxpayer's account to be…
CCA 201107018: Bankruptcy referral guidance updated for current practice
Chief Counsel advice explains that an IRS notice updated the authority to refer certain bankruptcy matters to the Department of Justice. The notice removed two exceptions and added several matters…
CCA 201107017: TEFRA status depends on the partnership return and reasonable IRS reliance
Chief Counsel advice addresses whether the TEFRA partnership procedures apply when a partnership return lists a disregarded entity as a partner and an amended return is later filed. The advice says…
CCA 201107016: A liquidating trustee is not automatically the Tax Matters Partner
Chief Counsel advice concludes that a liquidating trustee for a partnership is not the Tax Matters Partner under IRC § 6231(a)(7) merely because the trustee controls partnership assets. The Tax…
CCA 201107015: Non-TEFRA partnership audit agreements do not bind partners individually
Chief Counsel advice explains the effect of an audit of a non-TEFRA partnership. The IRS may work with a person designated by the partnership and reach an agreement about how items should be treated…
CCA 201107014: Pre-assessment donations were not subject to the federal tax lien
Chief Counsel advice analyzes whether the IRS could levy donated funds to collect a tax liability. A federal tax lien under IRC § 6321 arises after assessment, so property disposed of before…
CCA 201107013: Protective claim did not extend the refund period for separate NOL losses
Chief Counsel advice concludes that the period under IRC § 6511 for filing a refund claim based on specified net operating losses had expired. The advice also says that a protective claim relating…
PLR 201107012: Commodity-linked note and CFC income qualified for the RIC income test
The IRS considered a regulated investment company that planned to invest in commodity-linked notes and wholly owned foreign subsidiaries. The taxpayer asked whether income from the notes and subpart…
CCA 201107011: Casino reports pre-negotiated marker discounts at net price
Chief Counsel advice addresses a casino's income and deduction treatment for discounted credit markers used by customers who gamble and lose. A discount agreed before play is the actual net sales…
CCA 201107010: Casino recognizes pre-negotiated marker discounts at net price
Chief Counsel advice addresses how a casino should report income when customers gamble with credit markers and receive a pre-negotiated discount if they lose. The IRS concluded that the discounted…
PLR 201107009: PFIC overlap rule applies to a partnership's controlled foreign corporation
The IRS ruled for a partnership that wholly owns a foreign corporation through a disregarded entity. The foreign corporation was expected to be both a passive foreign investment company and a…
PLR 201107008: PFIC overlap rule applies to a partnership's controlled foreign corporation
The IRS ruled for a partnership that wholly owns a foreign corporation through a disregarded entity. The foreign corporation was expected to be both a passive foreign investment company and a…
PLR 201107007: PFIC overlap rule applies to a partnership's controlled foreign corporation
The IRS ruled for a partnership that wholly owns a foreign corporation through a disregarded entity. The foreign corporation was expected to be both a passive foreign investment company and a…
PLR 201107006: PFIC overlap rule applies to a partnership's controlled foreign corporation
The IRS ruled for a partnership that wholly owns a foreign corporation through a disregarded entity. The foreign corporation was expected to be both a passive foreign investment company and a…
PLR 201107005: PFIC overlap rule applies to a partnership's controlled foreign corporation
The IRS ruled for a partnership that wholly owns a foreign corporation through a disregarded entity. The foreign corporation was expected to be both a passive foreign investment company and a…
PLR 201107004: PFIC overlap rule applies to a partnership's controlled foreign corporation
The IRS ruled for a partnership that wholly owns a foreign corporation. The foreign corporation was expected to be both a passive foreign investment company and a controlled foreign corporation.…
PLR 201107003: Corporate reorganizations and liquidations receive requested tax treatment
The IRS ruled on a multi-step restructuring involving foreign and domestic corporations, a partnership, a liquidation, a reorganization, stock exchanges, redemptions, and a later merger. The ruling…
PLR 201107002: Utility's investment tax credit is not disallowed after an amortization error
The IRS ruled for a regulated public utility that had extended the useful lives of certain assets but had not also extended the amortization period for accumulated deferred investment tax credit.…
PLR 201107001: Late S corporation election receives reasonable-cause relief
The IRS ruled that a corporation could be recognized as an S corporation from its requested effective date even though it did not timely file Form 2553. The corporation established reasonable cause…
PLR 201106026: IRS waives an IRA rollover deadline after a financial institution error
The IRS considered a taxpayer's request to waive the 60-day deadline for rolling an IRA distribution into another IRA. The taxpayer said a financial institution's error caused the funds to be placed…
PLR 201106025: IRS waives an IRA rollover deadline after the taxpayer did not learn of the distribution
The IRS considered a taxpayer's request to waive the 60-day deadline for rolling over an IRA distribution. The taxpayer said she did not know that her IRA custodian had closed the account and…
PLR 201106024: IRS waives an IRA rollover deadline after the custodian used the wrong account form
The IRS considered a taxpayer's request to waive the 60-day deadline for rolling an IRA distribution into another IRA. The taxpayer instructed a financial institution to establish a rollover IRA,…
PLR 201106023: 60-day rollover deadline waived after caregiving and medical hardship
The IRS waived the 60-day rollover deadline for a taxpayer who intended to roll over part of an IRA distribution. During the rollover period, the taxpayer was caring for her husband after surgery…
PLR 201106022: Five-year extension granted 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 as of October 1, 2009. The approval applied to the eligible amortization charge bases…
PLR 201106021: Five-year extension granted 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 as of January 1, 2010. The approval applied to the eligible amortization charge bases…
IRS approved two private foundation scholarship programs
The IRS reviewed two proposed scholarship programs operated by a private operating foundation. One program would provide multi-year scholarships to graduating high school students, and the other…
PLR 201106019: IRS revises unrelated business income rulings for a seminary’s housing activities
The IRS reconsidered a 2006 ruling about whether a seminary’s housing revenue was unrelated business taxable income. It revoked or modified parts of the earlier ruling because the original facts did…
IRS approved a private foundation grant program for student travel and study
The IRS reviewed a private foundation’s proposed grant program for recipients of an existing scholarship program. The proposed grants would support travel, study, or summer internships that improve…
IRS determination 201106017: exemption revoked for failure to provide records and required returns
The IRS revoked an organization's exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3), effective January 1 of the redacted year. The organization did not provide documents showing that it operated exclusively for…
IRS determination 201106016: exemption revoked after organization failed to provide records
The IRS determined that an organization did not qualify for exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3), effective January 1 of the redacted year. The organization failed to provide books, records, and other…
CCA 201106015: Municipal attorneys remain employees of their law firm
Chief Counsel advice addressed a law firm that assigned one of its attorneys to provide legal services to small municipalities. The firm invoiced and was paid by the municipality, while the attorney…
CCA 201106014: A foreign entity that cannot be a TMP cannot extend the partnership statute
Chief Counsel advice addressed whether a tax matters partner could sign Form 872-P or authorize an attorney-in-fact to sign it. The advice concluded that a tax matters partner may do so under IRC §…
CCA 201106013: Joint estimated-tax credits may be allocated by agreement between spouses
Chief Counsel advice addressed how an overpayment from a joint return, later credited to estimated tax, should be allocated after the spouses filed separate returns. The advice stated that…
CCA 201106012: Briefing materials are not Chief Counsel advice merely because they concern a legal issue
Chief Counsel advice addressed whether briefing materials prepared for a briefing session were themselves Chief Counsel advice. The advice concluded that the materials were not CCA when provided to…
CCA 201106011: A trustee may generally sign for a state-law trust
Chief Counsel advice addressed whether a trustee could sign a document for a state-law trust. The advice stated that the trustee would typically be authorized under state law to sign documents on…
CCA 201106010: Club payments to taxi drivers for delivering patrons are generally separate-service income
Chief Counsel advice addressed payments made by adult entertainment clubs and other establishments to taxi drivers who brought passengers to them. The payments were income to the drivers, but under…
CCA 201106009: Taxi-driver payments are income and may be tips or separate-service payments
Chief Counsel advice addressed payments made by bars, restaurants, and adult entertainment clubs to taxi drivers who brought passengers to those establishments. The payments were income to the…
CCA 201106008: TCAP grants are taxable when received or when the right to receive them is fixed
Chief Counsel advice addressed Tax Credit Assistance Program (TCAP) grants awarded through state housing credit agencies to owners of eligible low-income housing projects. The IRS concluded that the…
CCA 201106007: Software-copy sales by a CFC do not themselves create a new § 956 investment
Chief Counsel advice considered a controlled foreign corporation that acquired rights to exploit U.S. copyrights under a cost sharing arrangement and then reproduced and sold software copies to U.S.…
PLR 201106006: CPI swap income qualifies for the RIC income test
The IRS considered a regulated investment company that invested in municipal securities and planned to use CPI-U NSA swaps to hedge the effect of inflation on its portfolio. The IRS ruled that the…
PLR 201106005: S corporation status preserved after an inadvertent ineligible-shareholder issue
The IRS considered a corporation that had elected S corporation status and whose wholly owned subsidiary was treated as a disregarded entity. An employee of the subsidiary became entitled under an…
PLR 201106004: Chapter 11 restructuring and spin-off receive favorable tax rulings
The IRS considered a publicly traded corporate group in Chapter 11 that proposed a series of restructurings to separate businesses, raise capital, and distribute the stock of a controlled company to…
PLR 201106003: PFIC overlap rule applies while a foreign subsidiary is a CFC
The IRS considered a domestic partnership that wholly owned a foreign corporation through a disregarded entity. The foreign corporation was expected to be both a controlled foreign corporation and a…
PLR 201106002: S corporation status preserved after late ESBT and QSST elections
The IRS considered an S corporation whose shares were transferred to two trusts. One trust intended to be an electing small business trust but did not file a timely ESBT election, and the other…
PLR 201106001: Product rights generate conditional recognized built-in gain or loss after an ownership change
The IRS considered a loss corporation that acquired worldwide rights to develop and distribute a product, later experienced an ownership change, and then transferred part of those rights back to the…
PLR 201105053: Five-year extension granted to dispose of excess business holdings
The IRS considered a private foundation that received an unusually large bequest of stock and could not dispose of its excess business holdings within the initial five-year period without accepting…
PLR 201105052: Foundation set-aside approved as a qualifying distribution
The IRS approved a private foundation's plan to set aside funds for a public charity's multi-year conservation program. The program involved technical support, capacity building, and direct…
PLR 201105051: Road-improvement set-aside approved as a qualifying distribution
The IRS approved a private foundation's set-aside for a multi-year project to improve the only road serving a camp and related charitable facilities. The project included rebuilding the road,…
PLR 201105050: Contract-unit payments for a charitable remainder trust are not unrelated business taxable income
The IRS approved an arrangement in which an exempt educational organization would allow a charitable remainder unitrust to buy contractual units tied to the organization's pooled endowment. The…
PLR 201105049: Contract-unit payments for a charitable remainder trust are not unrelated business taxable income
The IRS approved an arrangement in which an exempt educational organization would allow a charitable remainder unitrust to buy contractual units tied to the organization's pooled endowment. The…
Other 201105048: Beverage trade association denied exemption for providing particular services to members
The IRS issued a final adverse determination that a beverage-industry trade association did not qualify for exemption under IRC § 501(c)(6). The association negotiated supplier contracts, operated…
PLR 201105047: IRA rollover deadline waived after a failed rollover was discovered late
The IRS waived the 60-day deadline for a taxpayer to roll an IRA distribution into another IRA. The taxpayer believed the rollover had been completed, but the receiving financial institution…
PLR 201105046: IRA rollover deadline waived after a medical condition impaired a timely rollover
The IRS waived the 60-day deadline for a taxpayer to roll portions of an IRA distribution into a Roth IRA and a traditional IRA. The taxpayer temporarily moved the distribution into a non-IRA money…
TAM 201105045: Universal service fund payments are income but excluded from the member-income test
Technical Advice Memorandum addressed federal and state universal service fund payments received by a rural cooperative telephone company. The IRS position was that the payments were income to the…
Other 201105044: Exemption revoked after a charity failed to file required annual returns
The IRS revoked a charitable organization’s exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3). The organization failed to file annual returns and did not respond to IRS requests for information about its receipts,…
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.