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.
No determinations match these filters
Try fewer or different words, check the spelling, or clear the filters to browse everything.
PLR 201105043: Industry-wide communications registry program approved as substantially related to a trade association’s exempt purpose
The IRS approved a trade association’s program for assigning and registering a shared communications identifier that could be used across multiple carrier networks. The association would maintain a…
IRS determination 201105042: Exempt status revoked after organization failed to provide records
The IRS revoked a private foundation's tax-exempt status under IRC § 501(c)(3). The organization did not respond to repeated requests for an examination of its financial and operational records, and…
CCA 201105041: Presentation materials explain third-party authorizations and bypassing representatives
Chief Counsel advice supplied presentation materials about third-party authorizations used in dealings with the IRS. The materials distinguish tax information authorizations from powers of attorney,…
CCA 201105040: Faxed consent to extend assessment period may be accepted when time is critical
Chief Counsel advice addressed a taxpayer's inability to provide an original Form SS-10, the consent form used to extend the assessment period. Although the advice generally discouraged accepting…
CCA 201105039: Totalization agreement requires employer to pay U.S. FICA taxes
Chief Counsel advice considered an employer's obligation under a totalization agreement when the employer had paid foreign social security taxes instead of U.S. FICA taxes. The advice concluded that…
CCA 201105038: Alternative fuel credit requires registration before amended returns
Chief Counsel advice addressed the steps required to claim an alternative fuel credit. The advice stated that the taxpayer first had to register as an alternative fueler, using the applicable…
CCA 201105037: Restitution for Title 26 tax violations may be assessed as tax
Chief Counsel advice summarized legislation concerning restitution in criminal tax cases. It stated that the Act amended IRC § 6201 to let the IRS assess and collect court-ordered restitution for…
CCA 201105036: Consent timing depends on whether a preparer is soliciting additional services
Chief Counsel advice addressed when a tax return preparer must obtain a taxpayer's consent under IRC § 7216. The advice stated that consent did not have to be signed before the taxpayer signed the…
CCA 201105035: Free use of IRA property by related S corporation may be prohibited transaction
Chief Counsel advice considered whether an IRA's property could be used without rent by an S corporation wholly owned by a redacted person related to the IRA's holder. The advice explained that §…
CCA 201105034: Employment tax deposits cannot be designated between trust fund and non-trust fund taxes
Chief Counsel advice addressed whether taxpayers could designate federal tax deposits between trust fund and non-trust fund employment taxes. The advice stated that taxpayers have no such right…
CCA 201105033: TEFRA proceeding required to determine whether a listed partner is a partner in fact
Chief Counsel advice considered whether a TEFRA partnership proceeding was required when one remaining listed partner might not be a partner in fact. The advice concluded that a TEFRA proceeding was…
CCA 201105032: Fraudulent fuel tax credit claims are not mathematical errors
Chief Counsel advice considered whether intentional overstatements or fraudulent claims for fuel tax credits could be assessed using the mathematical or clerical error procedures in IRC § 6213. The…
PLR 201105031: Certain post-change bad-debt deductions are not recognized built-in losses
The IRS considered a proposed merger involving a bank holding company and a wholly owned bank subsidiary that had net operating losses and a net unrealized built-in loss. After the merger, the…
PLR 201105030: Proposed exchange offer receives favorable stock and debt tax treatment
A publicly traded company proposed to repurchase notes and settle related stock purchase contracts before a scheduled remarketing. The company planned to pay some holders with company stock and cash…
PLR 201105029: Taxpayer receives more time to make a tax-exempt controlled entity election
The IRS considered a for-profit corporation owned by a tax-exempt organization that had missed the deadline for an election under § 168(h)(6)(F)(ii). The corporation said the missed deadline…
PLR 201105028: Late S corporation election may be treated as timely after reasonable-cause showing
The IRS considered a corporation that intended to elect S corporation status but did not timely file Form 2553. The corporation requested relief under § 1362(b)(5) and represented that it had…
PLR 201105027: Wellness rider does not disqualify qualified long-term care insurance
The IRS considered a life insurance company’s proposed wellness rider for qualified long-term care insurance contracts. The rider would provide health and long-term-care information and could offer…
PLR 201105026: Wellness rider does not disqualify qualified long-term care insurance
The IRS considered a life insurance company’s proposed wellness rider for qualified long-term care insurance contracts. The rider would provide health and long-term-care information and could offer…
PLR 201105025: Inadvertent S corporation termination is treated as continuing
The IRS considered an S corporation whose election was inadvertently terminated when an ineligible shareholder acquired stock. The corporation later redeemed that shareholder’s stock and represented…
PLR 201105024: Proposed spin-off qualifies as a tax-free reorganization
A publicly held corporation proposed to transfer several assets and cash to a newly formed controlled corporation in exchange for its stock, then distribute that stock pro rata to the parent’s…
PLR 201105023: IRS permits revocation of an election not to claim bonus depreciation
A C corporation asked to revoke its election not to claim 50-percent additional first-year depreciation for eligible property placed in service during a prior taxable year. The taxpayer said its…
CCA 201105022: Bankruptcy plan may raise an IRC section 7874 issue
Chief Counsel advised an IRS bankruptcy coordinator about a proposed bankruptcy plan involving newly formed foreign corporations. The plan claimed that the corporations would not be treated as…
PLR 201105021: IRS grants late S corporation election relief
A corporation asked for relief because the Service had no record of receiving its Form 2553, the election to be treated as an S corporation. The corporation's shareholder intended the S election to…
PLR 201105020: IRS grants more time to make an insurance-company tax election
An affiliated group's captive insurance company asked for more time to elect the alternative tax under IRC § 831(b). The group said its accounting firm incorrectly compared total earned premiums…
PLR 201105019: Proposed merger qualifies as a tax-free reorganization
A holding company proposed to merge into a subsidiary of another corporation, with the target shareholders receiving voting stock of the acquiring corporation. The IRS ruled that, if the merger…
PLR 201105018: IRS grants more time for a closing-of-the-books election after an ownership change
A corporation with accumulated net operating losses experienced a second ownership change and failed to make a regulatory election to close its books on the change date. The IRS granted 45…
PLR 201105017: IRS treats a possible S corporation termination as inadvertent
An S corporation paid state taxes on behalf of some nonresident shareholders but did not initially treat those payments as constructive distributions. The corporation later determined that the…
PLR 201105016: IRS approves treatment of note repurchase premiums and consent fees
A taxpayer proposed a tender offer to repurchase senior notes and a consent solicitation to amend the related note indentures as part of a business restructuring. The IRS ruled that any amount paid…
PLR 201105015: IRS treats a cooperative's grain payments as per-unit retains paid in money
A farmers' cooperative asked whether cash payments to members and other participating patrons for grain qualified as per-unit retain allocations paid in money. The IRS ruled that the payments met…
PLR 201105014: IRS grants a late election to capitalize interest
A partnership that owned unimproved and unproductive real property deducted interest expense instead of electing to capitalize it under IRC § 266. The taxpayer said its preparers failed to identify…
PLR 201105013: IRS grants a late election for corporate bonus depreciation credits
A C corporation had elected not to claim bonus depreciation and had unused alternative minimum tax and research credits from earlier years. It asked for more time to make the related IRC § 168(k)(4)…
PLR 201105012: IRS approves fund investments inside variable annuity contracts
A life insurance company proposed allowing the funds supporting certain variable annuity contracts to invest in publicly available mutual funds and in funds available only to related managed…
PLR 201105011: IRS permits an early reelection of the foreign earned income exclusion
A taxpayer who had revoked a prior IRC § 911 election asked to make the foreign earned income exclusion election again before the usual waiting period ended. The taxpayer had moved between foreign…
CCA 201105010: State tax credits do not reduce a charitable contribution deduction
Chief Counsel Advice considered cash or property contributions to state agencies and charitable organizations that generated transferable state tax credits. The advice concluded that the…
PLR 201105009: IRS treats qualifying offshore decommissioning costs as a specified liability loss
A taxpayer asked how deductible costs to dismantle an offshore drilling platform and complete related decommissioning work would be treated for the net operating loss rules. The IRS concluded that…
PLR 201105008: IRS approves a cooperative's liquidation-period patronage distribution
A farmers' cooperative stopped operating its auction business after market and regulatory changes reduced the need for its facilities. It kept the facilities while considering whether they might…
PLR 201105007: IRS approves refined-coal testing and credit treatment
A partnership planned to use a chemical technology to produce refined coal that reduced emissions from coal combustion. The IRS concluded that the treated coal could qualify as refined coal for the…
PLR 201105006: IRS approves refined-coal testing and credit treatment
A partnership planned to use a chemical technology to produce refined coal that reduced emissions from coal combustion. The IRS concluded that the treated coal could qualify as refined coal for the…
PLR 201105005: IRS approves tax treatment of a guaranteed withdrawal annuity certificate
A life insurance company planned to issue a certificate linked to selected assets in a managed account. The certificate would allow withdrawals and provide a guaranteed minimum lifetime benefit if…
PLR 201105004: IRS approves tax treatment of a guaranteed withdrawal annuity
A taxpayer planned to purchase a certificate tied to selected assets in a managed account. The certificate allowed withdrawals and promised a guaranteed minimum lifetime benefit if the selected…
PLR 201105003: IRS approves a tax-free spin-off of a business
An S corporation planned to separate one business from another by transferring the assets of the second business to a newly formed corporation and distributing the new corporation's stock pro rata…
PLR 201105002: IRS approves refined coal treatment for an emissions-reducing technology
The IRS considered a partnership that would use a chemical additive technology to produce refined coal at a facility next to a utility station. The IRS ruled that coal treated with the technology…
PLR 201105001: IRS rules that a long-term-care rider is an insurance contract
The IRS considered a life insurance company's proposed rider for fixed and variable annuity contracts that would provide long-term-care benefits when the covered person became chronically ill. The…
IRS denies tax-exempt status to a horse-preservation organization
The IRS denied section 501(c)(3) exemption to a nonprofit organization formed to preserve the genetic integrity of a particular horse breed and support related research and education. The…
IRS approves a five-year pension-plan amortization extension
The IRS approved a five-year automatic extension for a pension plan to amortize specified unfunded liabilities as of January 1, 2010. The extension applies to eligible amortization charge bases and…
IRS modifies a pension-plan amortization extension after a funded-ratio shortfall
The IRS approved a modification to an existing ten-year extension for amortizing a pension plan’s unfunded liabilities for the plan year beginning April 1, 2005. The modification followed a…
IRS approves a five-year pension-plan amortization extension for a 2009 plan year
The IRS approved a five-year automatic extension for a pension plan to amortize specified unfunded liabilities as of October 1, 2009. The extension applies to the eligible amortization charge bases…
IRS approves a five-year pension-plan amortization extension
The IRS approved a five-year automatic extension for a pension plan to amortize specified unfunded liabilities as of October 1, 2009. The extension applies to the eligible amortization charge bases…
PLR 201104061: IRS approves non-IRA payment of investment-advisory wrap fees
The IRS considered a securities broker-dealer and investment adviser that offered wrap-fee investment-advisory accounts to traditional IRA and Roth IRA holders. The fees covered recurring advisory,…
PLR 201104060: 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 201104059: 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 201104058: 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 201104057: 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 201104056: 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 201104055: 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 201104054: 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 201104053: 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 201104051: 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 201104050: 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…
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.