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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Late section 754 election allowed after apartment interest sale
A partnership owned an apartment complex and a vacant development lot that it subdivided into separate parcels and tied to separate classes of partnership interests. One partner sold all of its…
IRS grants a multiemployer pension plan a 5-year extension to amortize its unfunded liabilities
A multiemployer pension plan (the kind jointly sponsored for workers who move among several employers, usually under a union contract) asked the IRS for an automatic extension of the time it has to…
IRS grants a multiemployer pension plan a 5-year extension to amortize its unfunded liabilities
A multiemployer pension plan (the kind jointly sponsored for workers who move among several employers, usually under a union contract) asked the IRS for an automatic extension of the time it has to…
Court-ordered payments to a regulator and related customer-debt forgiveness are nondeductible under § 162(f)
A taxpayer paid money to a government agency under a court order for violating that agency's laws, and the taxpayer's wholly owned S corporation forgave debt owed by the taxpayer's customers, also…
"Dealer in commodities" for the section 965 transition tax means the ordinary dictionary sense, a buyer-reseller who does not convert the commodity
A field attorney in Large Business & International asked Chief Counsel to pin down what "dealer in commodities" means for the section 965 transition tax. The 2017 transition tax taxed U.S.…
IRS grants an extension of time to file a late section 336(e) election for an S corporation stock sale
A buyer acquired all the stock of an S corporation from its seller. The parties wanted to treat that stock sale as if it were a sale of the S corporation's underlying assets, which they could do by…
IRS grants a 120-day extension to make a late estate-tax portability election
When someone dies, their estate can elect "portability" to pass the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion (called the DSUE amount) to the surviving spouse, so the survivor can…
IRS grants a 120-day extension to make a late section 754 election for a partnership
A limited liability company taxed as a partnership wanted to make a section 754 election. That election lets a partnership adjust the tax basis of its own assets when a partner's interest changes…
IRS lets an LLC change its tax classification again inside the 60-month limit after a majority ownership change
An LLC changed its federal tax classification over time. It began as a two-owner partnership, then became a "disregarded entity" (ignored as separate from its owner) when one owner bought out the…
IRS grants a 120-day extension to make a late allocation of GST exemption after the accountant omitted it
A married couple created and funded a trust for their children and more remote descendants, a trust that could later trigger generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax when assets pass to grandchildren…
IRS grants a 60-day extension to file a late Form 8996 self-certifying a Qualified Opportunity Fund
An LLC taxed as a partnership was formed to invest in qualified opportunity zone property and to operate as a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF), a vehicle that lets investors defer and reduce tax on…
IRS grants a 60-day extension to file a late Form 8996 self-certifying a Qualified Opportunity Fund
An LLC taxed as a partnership was formed to acquire qualified opportunity zone property and to be treated as a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF), a vehicle that lets investors defer tax on capital…
IRS grants a 120-day extension to make a late estate-tax portability election
When someone dies, their estate can elect "portability" to pass the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion (called the DSUE amount) to the surviving spouse, so the survivor can…
IRS grants a 120-day extension to make a late allocation of GST exemption after the accountant omitted it
A married couple created and funded a trust for their children and more remote descendants, a trust that could later trigger generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax when assets pass to grandchildren…
IRS grants a 60-day extension to file a late Form 8996 self-certifying a Qualified Opportunity Fund
An LLC taxed as a partnership was formed to invest in qualified opportunity zone property and to be treated as a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF), a vehicle that lets investors defer tax on capital…
IRS grants relief to make a late corporate-classification election and a late S corporation election for an LLC
An LLC formed under state law intended to be taxed as an S corporation starting on a specific date. For an LLC to be an S corporation, it must do two things: first elect to be treated as a…
A parent partnership computes its section 7519 required payment using only the subsidiary income allocated to it
A partnership uses a fiscal year rather than the calendar year it would otherwise be required to use, under a section 444 election. That election lets a partnership keep a non-calendar tax year (and…
IRS treats a late Form 8996 as timely, allowing a Qualified Opportunity Fund self-certification after the accountant missed the extension
An LLC taxed as a partnership was formed to invest in Qualified Opportunity Zones and operate as a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF), a vehicle that lets investors defer tax on capital gains…
Residents' group denied 501(c)(3) for benefiting a facility's staff
A residents' group at a senior living facility applied to be recognized as a tax-exempt charity under Section 501(c)(3) using the streamlined Form 1023-EZ. Its two main activities were paying…
Members' association denied 501(c)(3) for member home-downpayment loans and tutoring
An unincorporated members' association applied to be recognized as a tax-exempt charity under Section 501(c)(3) using the streamlined Form 1023-EZ. Its two activities were pooling money to give…
120-day extension to make a section 754 partnership basis election
A state LLC taxed as a partnership asked the IRS for more time to make an election under Section 754. When some of its owners transferred part of their partnership interests as part of a multi-step…
60-day extension to file Form 1128 to change a foreign insurer's tax year
A foreign insurance company that had elected under Section 953(d) to be taxed as a U.S. domestic corporation wanted to change its annual accounting period (its tax year end). Changing a tax year…
120-day extension for a foreign entity to elect disregarded (check-the-box) status
A foreign entity with a single owner wanted to be treated as a "disregarded entity" (ignored as separate from its owner) for U.S. federal tax purposes. It could do that by filing a "check-the-box"…
Inadvertent invalid S corporation election fixed by late ESBT elections
A corporation elected to be taxed as an S corporation, but two trusts that owned some of its shares never filed the required "electing small business trust" (ESBT) elections on time. Without those…
S corporation election restored after a grantor trust missed its ESBT election
A corporation was taxed as an S corporation, and one of its shareholders was a grantor trust treated as owned by an individual, which is a permitted S corporation shareholder. When that individual…
S corporation election restored after a grantor trust missed its ESBT election
A corporation was taxed as an S corporation, and one of its shareholders was a grantor trust treated as owned by an individual, which is a permitted S corporation shareholder. When that individual…
S corporation election restored after a grantor trust missed its ESBT election
A corporation was taxed as an S corporation, and one of its shareholders was a grantor trust treated as owned by an individual, which is a permitted S corporation shareholder. When that individual…
S corporation election restored after a grantor trust missed its ESBT election
A corporation was taxed as an S corporation, and one of its shareholders was a grantor trust treated as owned by an individual, which is a permitted S corporation shareholder. When that individual…
S corporation election restored after a grantor trust missed its ESBT election
A corporation was taxed as an S corporation, and one of its shareholders was a grantor trust treated as owned by an individual, which is a permitted S corporation shareholder. When that individual…
S corporation election restored after a trust missed its QSST election
A corporation was taxed as an S corporation, and its shares were held by a revocable living trust treated as owned by a married couple, which is a permitted S corporation shareholder. When one…
S corporation election restored after successive missed QSST and ESBT elections
A corporation's S election was held through a revocable living trust treated as owned by a married couple, which is a permitted S corporation shareholder. When one spouse died, the trust split, and…
S corporation election restored after successive missed QSST and ESBT elections
A corporation's S election was held through a revocable living trust treated as owned by a married couple, which is a permitted S corporation shareholder. When one spouse died, the trust split, and…
S corporation election restored after successive missed QSST and ESBT elections
A corporation's S election was held through a revocable living trust treated as owned by a married couple, which is a permitted S corporation shareholder. When one spouse died, the trust split, and…
Regulator-required spin-off qualifies as a tax-free section 355/368(a)(1)(D) reorganization
A domestic corporation (Distributing) ran two active businesses. Federal and state regulators required it to separate one of them (Business B) from the other (Business A). To comply, Distributing…
Consent to make a retroactive QEF election for a PFIC investment
A married couple who file a joint U.S. return owned a small stake (under 10 percent) in a foreign corporation. That company later became a "passive foreign investment company" (PFIC), a status that…
Parade club denied 501(c)(7) social club status over nonmember bingo income
A membership organization that stages an annual parade and related member social events applied to be recognized as a tax-exempt social club under Section 501(c)(7). Its main source of money was…
501(c)(3) supporting organization's exemption revoked for inactivity
A charity that had been recognized as a tax-exempt "supporting organization" (a Section 509(a)(3) group that exists to support a specific public charity) had its exemption revoked. To keep 501(c)(3)…
Business-promotion group denied charitable status
An organization applied for section 501(c)(3) status to unite local businesses, industries, and civic organizations, promote trade, and conduct community events. Its activities included membership…
Opportunity fund received relief for omitted Form 8996
A partnership's operating agreement stated that it was intended to be a qualified opportunity fund and invest only in qualified opportunity zone property. Its members believed the first-year…
Late corporate classification and S corporation elections allowed
A limited liability company intended from a specified date to be classified as a corporation and taxed as an S corporation. It failed to file either Form 2553, which could have supplied a deemed…
Late opportunity fund self-certification election allowed
A partnership was formed to invest in qualified opportunity zone property and serve as a qualified opportunity fund. Its accounting firm timely filed Form 1065 but omitted Form 8996 because the firm…
QOF election relief granted after engagement-letter omission
A partnership was created to operate as a qualified opportunity fund, and its members discussed opportunity zone gain deferrals with their long-time accounting firm. A miscommunication caused the…
County land bank income excluded and contributions deductible
A county created a corporation under state law to acquire abandoned real estate, clear title, and return nonproductive land to useful development. County and municipal officials control its board,…
IRS approves a company foundation's employer-related scholarship procedures
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve, in advance, the procedures it uses to award scholarships to the children of employees of a related company. This advance sign-off matters because IRC…
IRS approves scholarship procedures for a foreign-education grant program
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve, in advance, the procedures it uses to award scholarships to disadvantaged children attending an accredited school in a foreign country. The advance…
IRS approves grant procedures for a program funding underrepresented entrepreneurs
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve, in advance, the procedures for a grant program that funds underrepresented and early-stage entrepreneurs. Under IRC Section 4945, a private…
IRS approves scholarship and grant procedures for three women's-education programs
A private foundation focused on advancing equity for women and girls asked the IRS to approve, in advance, the procedures for three programs: one set of career-development grants and two scholarship…
IRS revokes a fraternal society's 501(c)(8) exemption for not responding or keeping records
The IRS revoked the tax-exempt status of an organization that had been recognized as a fraternal beneficiary society under IRC Section 501(c)(8) through a group ruling. During an examination, the…
IRS revokes an inactive supporting organization's 501(c)(3) status
The IRS revoked the tax-exempt status of an organization that had been recognized as a public charity under IRC Section 509(a)(3), specifically a Type III non-functionally integrated supporting…
IRS denies 501(c)(3) status to a class-reunion organization
The IRS denied tax-exempt status under IRC Section 501(c)(3) to an organization formed to plan and hold class reunions and small gatherings for the members of a graduating class. To qualify as a…
IRS revokes exemption of a charity that stopped providing dialysis and now only rents its building
The IRS revoked the 501(c)(3) exemption of an organization that had originally been recognized as a charity because it promised to provide dialysis services and medical equipment at no cost to a…
IRS revokes a radio broadcaster's 501(c)(3) for inactivity and inurement to its officers
The IRS revoked the tax-exempt status of an organization that had been recognized as a 501(c)(3) public charity to run noncommercial educational radio broadcasting. Two problems drove the…
How a partnership contribution adjustment is handled under the BBA audit rules
This is an internal Chief Counsel email answering how the IRS should handle an adjustment to a partnership contribution under the BBA centralized partnership audit regime. If the IRS adjusts…
A partnership audit notice is valid if mailed to the last known address, even if not received
This internal Chief Counsel email addresses whether the notices the IRS sends during a BBA centralized partnership audit (the Notice of Administrative Proceeding, or NAP; the Notice of Proposed…
A controlled foreign corporation cannot claim the section 245A dividends-received deduction
This Office of Chief Counsel memorandum gives general legal advice on the section 245A dividends-received deduction (DRD), which lets a U.S. corporation deduct 100% of the foreign-source portion of…
Overseas services to the U.S. government may qualify as FDDEI
Chief Counsel considered a domestic corporation that provides consulting services to Department of Defense employees located at an overseas military base. Section 250 focuses on where a service…
Affiliated group received late consolidated return election relief
A domestic parent and its subsidiary intended to elect for their affiliated group to file a consolidated federal income tax return, but they did not timely file a valid consolidated return. The…
Indexed structured settlement payments met section 130 requirements
A structured settlement assignee proposed assuming an insurer's obligation to make lifetime periodic payments to a person injured in a car accident. An affiliated life insurer would issue an annuity…
Late QSub elections allowed for three subsidiaries
An S corporation owned all the stock of three subsidiaries and intended to treat each as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary from the same effective date as its S election. Through inadvertence, it…
Late section 754 election allowed after partnership interest sales
Interests in a partnership were sold, and the partnership intended to elect under section 754 to adjust the basis of partnership property for that tax year. It inadvertently omitted the election.…
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.