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 201030029: 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 201030028: 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 201030027: 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 201030026: 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 201030025: 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 201030024: 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 201030023: 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 201030022: 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 201030021: 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 201030020: 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 201030019: 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 201030018: 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 201030017: 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 201030016: 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 201030015: 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 201030014: 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 201030013: 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 201030012: 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 201030011: 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 201030010: 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 201030009: 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 201030008: 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 201030007: 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 201030006: 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 201030005: 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 201030004: 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 201030003: 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 201030002: 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 201030001: 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 201029041: 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 201029040: 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 201029039: 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 201029038: 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 201029037: 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 201029036: 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 201029035: 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 201029034: 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 201029033: 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 201029032: 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 201029031: 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 201029030: 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 201029029: 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 201029028: 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 201029027: 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 201029026: 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 201029025: 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 201029024: 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 201029023: 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 201029022: 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 201029021: 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…
PLR 201029020: IRS waives the 60-day rollover requirement after a fund-registration error
An individual asked the IRS to waive the 60-day deadline for rolling an IRA distribution into an IRA investment. A fund was not registered as a qualified IRA investment with the original…
PLR 201029019: IRS waives the 60-day rollover requirement because of a medical condition
An individual asked the IRS to waive the 60-day deadline for rolling a distribution from a traditional IRA into another IRA. He liquidated a certificate of deposit, placed the funds in a non-IRA…
PLR 201029018: IRS rules that income and resale limits do not defeat cooperative housing status
A cooperative housing corporation developing a mixed-income project asked whether government-imposed income limits, purchase-price limits, and resale restrictions would prevent its residents from…
PLR 201029017: IRS grants late-election relief for S corporation status
A corporation intended to elect S corporation status for federal tax purposes but did not timely file the election. The IRS concluded that the corporation had established reasonable cause for the…
PLR 201029016: IRS consents to a retroactive qualified electing fund election
A corporation asked for consent to make a retroactive qualified electing fund, or QEF, election for its investment in a foreign corporation treated as a passive foreign investment company. The…
PLR 201029015: Rental income from managed residential properties is not passive investment income
A corporation planning to elect S corporation status asked whether rental income from residential properties owned by its subsidiary would be passive investment income. The corporation and its…
PLR 201029014: IRS explains when a trust may materially participate in a subsidiary's activities
A complex trust asked whether it could materially participate in the activities of a subsidiary held through a partnership and another company. The IRS concluded that a trust may materially…
PLR 201029013: IRS grants late-filed accounting-period change relief
A taxpayer asked the IRS to treat a late-filed Form 1128 as timely so it could change its federal tax year. The taxpayer said it intended to file on time but missed the deadline because of an error…
PLR 201029012: IRS grants extra time to elect treatment of investment income
Individual taxpayers asked for more time to elect to treat qualified dividends and certain net capital gain as investment income for purposes of deducting investment interest. Their tax preparer…
PLR 201029011: Testamentary power exercise does not trigger estate inclusion or remove grandfathered GST exemption
The IRS considered whether a decedent's exercise of a testamentary power of appointment would cause trust assets to be included in the decedent's gross estate or cause the appointed property to lose…
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.