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 1031001: IRS found a liquidating insurer eligible for section 831(b) treatment
The IRS ruled that a property and casualty insurer in liquidation qualified as an insurance company eligible to elect the tax treatment under IRC § 831(b) for 2009. The insurer had been placed into…
PLR 1030038: IRS ruled a divorce transfer did not modify IRA payments
The IRS ruled on a taxpayer's transfer of part of an IRA to a former spouse under a divorce agreement. It concluded that the transfer was nontaxable under IRC § 408(d)(6). It also concluded that…
Determination 1030037: IRS approved a five-year extension for pension-plan amortization
The IRS approved a five-year automatic extension for a pension plan to amortize specified unfunded liabilities. The extension applied to eligible amortization charge bases established as of April 1,…
Determination 1030036: IRS approved a five-year extension for pension-plan amortization
The IRS approved a five-year automatic extension for a pension plan to amortize specified unfunded liabilities. The extension applied to eligible amortization charge bases established as of April 1,…
Determination 1030035: IRS denied exemption for a chiropractic organization
The IRS issued a final adverse determination that a chiropractic organization did not qualify for exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3). The organization was closely connected to a founder's for-profit…
CCA 1030034: QSubs disqualified a partnership from the small-partnership exception
Chief Counsel advice agreed that a qualified subchapter S subsidiary, treated as a disregarded entity, was a pass-through partner. That status disqualified the partnership from the small-partnership…
CCA 1030033: TEFRA entity closing agreements required specified signatures
Chief Counsel advice addressed who must sign a closing agreement involving a TEFRA entity. If the entity is paying and being assessed the tax, a manager authorized under state law must sign for the…
CCA 1030032: Direct referral delegation applied only to bankruptcy cases
Chief Counsel advice stated that the direct referral delegation order, DO 25-9, applied only to bankruptcy cases. The question concerned the scope of the order in connection with an FDIC issue. The…
CCA 1030031: Levy may reach a vested right to future 401(k) payments
Chief Counsel Advice addresses whether a levy can reach a taxpayer's future payments from a 401(k) plan. The advice explains that a levy generally reaches obligations existing when the levy is…
CCA 1030030: Salman Ranch decision required refunds for eligible nonpetitioning partners
Chief Counsel Advice explains how the Federal Circuit's Salman Ranch decision affected nonpetitioning partners in the partnership proceeding. The decision held that an overstatement of basis did not…
CCA 1030029: Amended gift tax return could disclose a trust gift
Chief Counsel Advice addresses a gift to a trust that was reported on Form 709 but may not have included enough information to start the gift tax assessment period. Because the taxpayer had already…
CCA 1030028: Redacted IRA ownership facts did not clearly show a prohibited transaction
Chief Counsel Advice evaluates whether redacted ownership and leasing arrangements involving Roth IRAs created a prohibited transaction. Based on the stated facts, the advice says it would be…
CCA 1030027: Collection generally avoided levies on nonretired accounts
Chief Counsel Advice discusses whether the Service would levy a taxpayer's retirement account when the taxpayer was not yet retired or close to retirement. The advice states that the general policy…
CCA 1030026: An IRA levy could be considered when it was the taxpayer's only asset
Chief Counsel Advice discusses whether Collection could levy an IRA when it was the taxpayer's only asset and the taxpayer refused to liquidate it voluntarily. The advice states that the revenue…
TAM 1030025: Packaging materials had to be capitalized as handling costs
The Technical Advice Memorandum addressed an S corporation's treatment of packaging materials used in manufacturing, storing, and shipping its products. The IRS concluded that the cardboard, foam,…
CCA 1030024: CFC inclusions were not passive investment income for S corporation tests
Chief Counsel Advice addressed how a domestic S corporation should classify income and dividends involving its controlled foreign corporations and related domestic subsidiaries for the passive…
PLR 1030023: Extension granted for late Form 3115 filing
The IRS granted a real estate investment trust an extension of time to file Form 3115, which requested a change in its accounting method for depreciable assets. The taxpayer had timely filed a…
PLR 1030022: Late S corporation election relief granted
The IRS granted a corporation relief for its late election to be treated as an S corporation. The corporation intended to become an S corporation on a specified date, but it did not timely file Form…
PLR 1030021: Inadvertent S corporation election failure excused
The IRS granted relief to a corporation whose S corporation election was not signed by every shareholder. The omitted signature belonged to an estate administrator, because the shareholders believed…
PLR 1030020: Bank could serve as both qualified intermediary and trustee
The IRS ruled that a national banking association could serve as both a qualified intermediary and the trustee of a qualified trust in the same deferred like-kind exchange under section 1031. The…
PLR 1030019: Late S corporation election relief granted with consistency conditions
The IRS granted a corporation relief for its late election to be treated as an S corporation. The corporation intended the election to be effective on a specified date but did not file it on time.…
PLR 1030018: S corporation status preserved after stock-class and passive-income issues
The IRS granted a corporation relief under section 1362(f) after identifying two possible problems with its S corporation status. Its stock had disparate preemptive rights that could have created a…
PLR 1030017: S corporation split-up approved as tax-free reorganizations
The IRS approved a proposed transaction in which an S corporation would divide its business between two newly formed S corporations. The existing corporation would contribute one-half of its assets…
PLR 1030016: Government retiree health trust receives section 115 exclusion
The IRS ruled on a trust established by a political subdivision to fund health benefits for retired public-school employees and their eligible spouses and dependents. The trust's income was excluded…
PLR 1030015: Judicial reformation of CRUT approved without self-dealing consequence
The IRS approved the judicial reformation of an irrevocable trust that was intended to be a charitable remainder unitrust but mistakenly included provisions for a net-income charitable remainder…
PLR 1030014: Reinsurance pool arrangement qualifies as insurance for tax purposes
The IRS ruled on a foreign-country insurance company that elected to be taxed as a domestic corporation and insured risks of a related sole proprietorship. The company ceded all of its direct…
PLR 1030013: Supplemental section 355(e) rulings preserve prior split-off treatment
The IRS issued supplemental rulings for a publicly traded holding company and related partnerships that had completed a section 355 transaction and proposed a second-stage combination. The second…
PLR 1030012: Supplemental section 355(e) rulings preserve prior split-off treatment
The IRS issued supplemental rulings for a publicly traded holding company and related partnerships that had completed a section 355 transaction and proposed a second-stage combination. The second…
PLR 1030011: Supplemental section 355(e) rulings preserve prior split-off treatment
The IRS issued supplemental rulings for a publicly traded holding company and related partnerships that had completed a section 355 transaction and proposed a second-stage combination. The second…
PLR 1030010: Supplemental section 355(e) rulings preserve prior split-off treatment
The IRS issued supplemental rulings for a publicly traded holding company and related partnerships that had completed a section 355 transaction and proposed a second-stage combination. The second…
PLR 1030009: Supplemental section 355(e) rulings preserve prior split-off treatment
The IRS issued supplemental rulings for a publicly traded holding company and related partnerships that had completed a section 355 transaction and proposed a second-stage combination. The second…
PLR 1030008: Supplemental section 355(e) rulings preserve prior split-off treatment
The IRS issued supplemental rulings for a publicly traded holding company and related partnerships that had completed a section 355 transaction and proposed a second-stage combination. The second…
PLR 1030007: Supplemental section 355(e) rulings preserve prior split-off treatment
The IRS issued supplemental rulings for a publicly traded holding company and related partnerships that had completed a section 355 transaction and proposed a second-stage combination. The second…
PLR 1030006: Late S corporation election relief granted
The IRS granted a corporation relief for failing to timely file its election to be treated as an S corporation. The corporation intended the election to be effective on a specified date and…
PLR 1030005: Internal and external section 355 distributions approved
The IRS approved a corporate separation involving an internal distribution of a controlled subsidiary and a later external distribution of the distributing corporation's stock to the parent's…
PLR 1030004: Commodities note and CFC income qualify for RIC gross-income test
The IRS ruled on several regulated investment companies that planned to invest in a commodities-linked note and in wholly owned foreign subsidiaries. It concluded that income and gain from the note…
PLR 1030003: Extension granted for a section 382 closing-of-the-books election
The IRS granted a consolidated group an extension of time to make a regulatory closing-of-the-books election under section 1.382-6(b). The election concerns how the group allocates income, losses,…
PLR 1030002: Inadvertent S election defect cured after unsigned shareholder consent
The IRS granted relief to a corporation whose S corporation election was ineffective because an estate administrator had not signed the election. The corporation and its shareholders believed that…
PLR 1030001: Late S corporation election relief granted
The IRS granted a corporation relief for failing to timely file its election to be treated as an S corporation. The corporation intended the election to be effective on a specified date and…
Written Determination 1029041: Exempt status revoked for failure to substantiate continued qualification
The IRS revoked an organization's exemption under section 501(c)(3), effective on the stated date, because the organization failed to provide requested records and did not establish that it was…
PLR 1029040: Cultural center property qualifies for foundation distribution treatment
The IRS ruled on a private non-operating foundation that acquired property and converted it into a cultural center for art exhibitions and culinary programs. It concluded that the fair market value…
PLR 1029039: Public art display does not constitute self-dealing
The IRS ruled that a private foundation's display of several works from its art collection at a shopping center would not be an act of self-dealing. The shopping center was owned in part by the…
Determination 1029038: IRS revoked a social club's tax exemption after finding private benefit and excessive nonmember activity
The IRS revoked a social club's exemption under IRC § 501(c)(7), effective May 1 of the redacted year. The examination found that bar and rental managers kept portions of the club's receipts, the…
Determination 1029037: IRS revoked a civic organization’s exemption after finding it did not operate as a social welfare organization
The IRS revoked a civic organization’s exemption under IRC § 501(c)(4), effective January 1 of the redacted year. The examination report found that the organization did not establish that it…
Determination 1029036: IRS revoked a charity’s exemption after finding its credit counseling activity was not operated for an exempt purpose
The IRS revoked the organization’s exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3), finding that it had not established that it operated exclusively for educational, charitable, or other exempt purposes. The report…
Determination 1029035: IRS revoked a charity’s exemption after finding repeated private benefit to its founder
The IRS revoked the organization’s exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3), effective January 1 of the redacted year. The examination found that the founder received substantial private benefits through…
Determination 1029034: IRS revoked a charity’s exemption after it failed to substantiate its operations and file required returns
The IRS revoked the organization’s exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3), effective January 1 of the redacted year. The organization failed to produce records or otherwise establish that it operated…
Determination 1029033: IRS revoked a dormant organization’s exemption after it failed to establish ongoing exempt operations
The IRS revoked the organization’s exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3), effective January 1 of the redacted year. The organization failed to produce records establishing that it operated exclusively for…
Determination 1029032: IRS revoked a charity’s exemption after it used most of its assets to make insider loans
The IRS revoked the organization’s exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3), effective January 1 of the redacted year. The organization had loaned 84 to 91 percent of its total assets to a substantial…
Determination 1029031: IRS denied exemption to a website-funded donation organization
The IRS denied the organization’s application for exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3). The organization operated a website and search engine that generated advertising revenue, and it proposed donating…
Determination 1029030: IRS revoked a charity’s exemption after it failed to file required returns and maintain records
The IRS revoked the organization’s exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3), effective January 1 of the redacted year. The organization failed to produce documents showing that it operated exclusively for…
PLR 1029029: The IRS approved a five-year extension for a pension plan's unfunded liabilities
The IRS approved a plan's request for a five-year automatic extension to amortize unfunded liabilities as of June 1, 2009. The extension applied to eligible amortization charge bases established as…
PLR 1029028: The IRS approved a five-year extension for a pension plan's unfunded liabilities
The IRS approved a plan's request for a five-year automatic extension to amortize unfunded liabilities as of July 1, 2009. The extension applied to eligible amortization charge bases established as…
PLR 1029027: The IRS approved a five-year extension for a pension plan's unfunded liabilities
The IRS approved a plan's request for a five-year automatic extension to amortize unfunded liabilities as of July 1, 2009. The extension applied to eligible amortization charge bases identified in…
PLR 1029026: IRS approves a conditional minimum-funding waiver for a community hospital
The IRS approved a waiver of a plan's minimum funding standard for the plan year ending December 31, 2009. The waiver was conditional on timely quarterly contributions, later contributions…
PLR 1029025: IRS declines to waive the 60-day rollover requirement
An individual asked the IRS to waive the 60-day deadline for rolling a distribution from a qualified plan into an IRA. He said that he lost track of the rollover while handling several retirement…
PLR 1029024: IRS waives the 60-day rollover requirement after a financial institution error
An individual asked the IRS to waive the 60-day deadline for rolling a distribution from one IRA into another IRA. The funds were placed in a taxable, non-IRA account because a financial institution…
PLR 1029023: IRS waives two 60-day IRA rollover requirements after custodian delays
Two taxpayers asked the IRS to waive the 60-day deadline for rolling investment interests from their IRAs into successor IRAs. Their original custodian resigned and did not timely provide assignment…
PLR 1029022: IRS waives the 60-day rollover requirement after a bank error
A surviving spouse asked the IRS to waive the 60-day deadline for rolling her deceased husband's flexible annuity IRA into a rollover IRA. She endorsed and mailed the distribution check to her…
PLR 1029021: IRS declines to waive the 60-day rollover requirement after an online application error
An individual asked the IRS to waive the 60-day deadline for rolling a distribution from one IRA into a new IRA. He intended to complete a trustee-to-trustee transfer online, but the application…
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.