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 1022015: Levy notices for retirement income should use Form 668-W
Chief Counsel Advice addresses a notice of levy served on a pension-plan administrator for a delinquent taxpayer’s retirement income. It distinguishes a levy on income the taxpayer is entitled to…
PLR 1022014: Nuclear decommissioning fund preserved through a corporate restructuring and spin-off
The IRS ruled that a qualified nuclear decommissioning fund would remain qualified after a series of corporate restructuring steps, a contribution of a subsidiary, and a spin-off. The ruling covered…
PLR 1022013: Nuclear decommissioning fund preserved through a corporate restructuring and spin-off
The IRS ruled that a qualified nuclear decommissioning fund would remain qualified after a corporate restructuring, a contribution of a subsidiary to another affiliated corporation, and a spin-off.…
PLR 1022012: Tire tax credit may be claimed separately from heavy-trailer tax liability
The IRS ruled that a manufacturer selling taxable truck trailers and semitrailers must compute and report the 12 percent retail tax under IRC § 4051 on the article’s sale price. If the manufacturer…
PLR 1022011: Wrongful-death settlement payment is excludable under IRC § 104(a)(2)
The IRS ruled that a taxpayer’s payment from a government-established compensation program for the wrongful death of the taxpayer’s child was excludable from gross income under IRC § 104(a)(2). The…
PLR 1022010: Wrongful-death compensation payment is excludable under IRC § 104(a)(2)
The IRS ruled that a survivor’s payment from a government-established compensation program for the wrongful death of the survivor’s child was excludable from gross income under IRC § 104(a)(2). The…
PLR 1022009: Wrongful-death compensation payment is excludable under IRC § 104(a)(2)
The IRS ruled that a survivor’s payment from a government-established compensation program for the wrongful death of the survivor’s child was excludable from gross income under IRC § 104(a)(2). The…
PLR 1022008: Investment tax credit not disallowed after a utility corrected a rate-base error
The IRS ruled that a regulated utility’s investment tax credit would not be disallowed or recaptured after the utility mistakenly reduced both its cost-of-service and rate-base fields in a formula…
PLR 1022007: Investment tax credit not disallowed after a utility corrected a rate-base error
The IRS ruled that a regulated utility’s investment tax credit would not be disallowed or recaptured after the utility mistakenly reduced both its cost-of-service and rate-base fields in a formula…
PLR 1022006: Cooperative grain payments qualify as per-unit retain allocations for the § 199 deduction
The IRS ruled that a farmers’ cooperative’s cash payments to eligible patrons for grain marketed through the cooperative qualified as per-unit retain allocations paid in money under subchapter T.…
PLR 1022004: IRS disregards an unnecessary QTIP election for a residuary trust
The IRS ruled that an estate's election to treat the assets of a residuary trust as qualified terminable interest property could be treated as null and void because the election was not needed to…
PLR 1022003: Taxpayers receive more time to allocate GST tax exemptions to trust transfers
The IRS granted spouses an additional 60 days to allocate their generation-skipping transfer tax exemptions to gifts made to four trusts for their children and descendants. The taxpayers had split…
PLR 1022002: Estate receives more time to elect a family-owned business deduction
The IRS granted an estate an additional 60 days to make an election under former § 2057 for a deduction for qualified family-owned business interests. The decedent had operated residential apartment…
PLR 1022001: Charitable residuary trust qualifies for an estate tax deduction
The IRS ruled that a charitable residuary trust created under a decedent's will would qualify for the estate tax charitable deduction under § 2055. The will directed the trustees to build and…
CCA 1021050: California domestic partners must generally split community income
The Office of Chief Counsel advised that, for tax years beginning after December 31, 2006, California registered domestic partners generally must each report one-half of their community income on…
CCA 1021049: IRS may consider a California domestic partner's assets in an offer in compromise
The Office of Chief Counsel advised that the IRS may consider the assets and income of a taxpayer's registered domestic partner in California when determining the taxpayer's reasonable collection…
PLR 1021048: California domestic partners must split community income and withholding credits
The IRS ruled that a California registered domestic partner must report one-half of the combined community income earned by the partners, including compensation for personal services and income from…
IRS revokes an insurance association's § 501(c)(15) tax exemption
The IRS revoked an organization's federal income tax exemption under § 501(c)(15), effective on a redacted date, because the organization did not meet the required premium-receipts percentage. The…
IRS revokes an organization's § 501(c)(3) tax exemption
The IRS revoked an organization's federal income tax exemption under § 501(c)(3), effective on a redacted date, because the organization did not provide information demonstrating that it was…
PLR 1021045: Foundation's stock distribution is permitted and qualifies under sections 4942 and 4943
The IRS ruled for a private foundation that planned to receive voting, non-voting, and preferred stock from a trust. The foundation intended to distribute 80 percent of the voting stock to five…
PLR 1021044: IRS approved a foundation's grant program for artists
The IRS approved a private foundation's grant-making program for artists. The program provides selected artists with studio space, room and board, and a stipend for materials and living expenses so…
PLR 1021043: IRS approved a five-year extension for amortizing a plan's unfunded liabilities
The IRS approved a request for a five-year automatic extension to amortize a pension plan's unfunded liabilities as of January 1, 2009. The extension applies to eligible amortization charge bases…
PLR 1021042: IRS explained pension payment exclusions and prior-year amendments
The IRS addressed how a taxpayer and surviving beneficiary should calculate the nontaxable portion of pension payments from a qualified plan. Because the payments were a joint and survivor annuity,…
PLR 1021041: IRS waived the 60-day rollover deadline after erroneous financial advice
The IRS waived the 60-day deadline for a taxpayer who withdrew funds from an IRA and, following a financial specialist's advice, placed them in a non-IRA annuity and other accounts. The taxpayer…
PLR 1021040: IRS waived the 60-day IRA rollover deadline after incorrect advice
The IRS waived the 60-day rollover deadline for a taxpayer who was incorrectly told by a financial advisor that the taxpayer had 90 days to deposit an IRA distribution into a new IRA account. The…
PLR 1021039: IRS waived the 60-day IRA rollover deadline after a bank error
The IRS waived the 60-day rollover deadline for a taxpayer who intended to roll over an IRA distribution into a new IRA but whose bank placed the funds in a non-IRA account. The bank acknowledged…
PLR 1021038: IRS denied stretch IRA treatment after a trust was modified after the IRA owner's death
The IRS considered an IRA payable to a bypass trust after the IRA owner's death. The trust's beneficiaries included the owner's children, descendants, and potential charitable beneficiaries, and a…
PLR 1021037: IRS waived the 60-day rollover deadline after missing plan notice
The IRS waived the 60-day rollover deadline for a 75-year-old taxpayer who received a distribution from a qualified retirement plan. The plan administrator did not provide the written explanation…
Determination 1021036: IRS revoked an organization’s tax exemption for a seller-funded down payment assistance program
The IRS revoked an organization’s exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3), effective January 1, 2003. The organization provided down payment assistance to homebuyers, funded largely by home sellers and…
Determination 1021035: IRS revoked a reinsurance company’s exemption under IRC § 501(c)(15)
The IRS revoked a reinsurance company’s exemption under IRC § 501(c)(15), effective January 1, 20XX. The organization had stopped participating in reinsurance agreements and had no premiums or other…
Determination 1021034: IRS revoked a casualty insurer’s exemption under IRC § 501(c)(15)
The IRS revoked a casualty insurer’s exemption under IRC § 501(c)(15), effective January 1, 20XX. The organization had provided casualty insurance to nursing homes, but the policies were not renewed…
Determination 1021033: IRS revoked an organization’s tax exemption for private-benefit transactions
The IRS revoked an organization’s exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3), effective May 21, 20XX. The organization was not operated primarily for religious, charitable, educational, or other exempt…
Determination 1021032: IRS revoked an inactive organization’s tax exemption for failure to substantiate its activities
The IRS revoked an organization’s exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3), effective January 1, 20XX. The organization had stopped filing Forms 990, became inactive, and did not provide information about…
Determination 1021031: IRS revoked an organization’s tax exemption for failure to provide examination information
The IRS revoked an organization’s exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3), effective January 1, 20XX. The organization did not provide information requested for an examination of its Form 990. The IRS…
Determination 1021030: IRS revoked an inactive organization’s tax exemption for a nonexempt commercial purpose
The IRS revoked an organization’s exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3), effective January 1, 20XX. The organization did not operate primarily for exempt purposes and its activities furthered a…
Determination 1021029: IRS revoked a private foundation's exemption after it engaged only in stock trading
The IRS revoked a private foundation's exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3), effective July 1, 20XX. The foundation did not make charitable grants or conduct other charitable activities, and the records…
PLR 1021028: IRS approved a private foundation's scholarship grant procedures
The IRS approved a private foundation's procedures for awarding scholarships to individuals. The proposed program would generally provide up to five scholarships each year to underprivileged…
Counsel says a political subdivision can be a qualified organization under section 170(c)(1)
This Chief Counsel Advice addresses whether an organization that is a political subdivision of a state can be a qualified organization for purposes of IRC § 170(c)(1). The advice states that such an…
Counsel describes an estate-based route to seek a refund for a decedent
This Chief Counsel Advice considers how a decedent's brother could seek a refund of an amount that was improperly assessed. The advice states that the brother could open an estate for the decedent…
Counsel says a continuous levy could reach workers' compensation payments
This Chief Counsel Advice addresses whether a continuous levy could attach to workers' compensation payments. It states that IRC § 6331(h) authorizes a continuous levy on specified payments,…
Counsel says an officer may be entitled to a collection due process notice
This Chief Counsel Advice considers collection against an officer's personal assets for a partnership debt. It states that the situation is similar to one in which a partner is separately liable for…
Counsel distinguishes partnership-level and partner-level TEFRA agreements
This Chief Counsel Advice compares Forms 870-PT and 870-LT, which are TEFRA forms used to resolve tax matters involving partnerships and partners. It states that Form 870-PT resolves…
Counsel recommends a partial disallowance letter for a disputed injured spouse allocation
This Chief Counsel Advice addresses an injured spouse claim processed by the Austin Service Center. The Service Center allocated the refund under IRS procedures, but the taxpayer disagreed with the…
Fees received before a reporting deadline may count toward sections 6111 and 6707
This Chief Counsel Advice addresses how fees received for tax advice or assistance relate to the reporting obligations and penalties under IRC §§ 6111 and 6707. It concludes that fees received…
Installment-sale interest is determined at the close of the taxable year
This Chief Counsel Advice addresses the interest charge under IRC § 453A for an installment sale. It concludes that the charge arises at the close of the taxable year, even if the sale occurs on the…
PLR 1021019: IRS treated subsidiaries as joining a consolidated return despite omitted Form 1122 filings
The IRS considered an affiliated group whose initial consolidated return included only one executed Form 1122 even though multiple subsidiaries were listed on Form 851. The taxpayer represented that…
PLR 1021018: IRS said a settlement-related debt write-off did not require Forms 1099-C
The IRS considered a financial institution's agreement to close accounts and write off balances after a class action settlement. The IRS concluded that the write-off was required by state law…
PLR 1021017: IRS granted more time to make an election relinquishing a consolidated NOL carryback
The IRS granted a corporate taxpayer an extension of time to file an election relinquishing the entire carryback period for a consolidated net operating loss. The taxpayer intended to make the…
PLR 1021016: IRS said a wrongful-death settlement payment was excluded from gross income
The IRS ruled that a payment received through a government compensation process for a family member's wrongful death was excludable from the recipient's gross income under IRC § 104(a)(2). The…
PLR 1021015: IRS said a wrongful-death settlement payment was excluded from gross income
The IRS ruled that a payment received through a government compensation process for a family member's wrongful death was excludable from the recipient's gross income under IRC § 104(a)(2). The…
PLR 1021014: IRS granted more time to elect disregarded-entity status
The IRS granted a foreign single-owner entity an extension of time to file Form 8832 and elect to be treated as a disregarded entity for federal tax purposes. The entity intended the classification…
PLR 1021013: IRS granted more time to elect partnership status
The IRS granted a foreign entity an extension of time to file Form 8832 and elect to be treated as a partnership for federal tax purposes. The entity intended the classification to take effect on a…
PLR 1021012: IRS granted more time to allocate generation-skipping transfer tax exemptions
The IRS granted a married couple an extension of time to allocate their generation-skipping transfer tax exemptions to transfers made to three trusts. Their attorneys and accountant reported the…
PLR 1021011: IRS approved dividing an exempt trust into four separate family-line trusts
The IRS approved a plan to divide an older generation-skipping transfer tax-exempt trust into four separate trusts, one for each family line. The division would allocate assets on a non-pro-rata…
PLR 1021010: IRS approved dividing an exempt trust into four separate family-line trusts
The IRS approved a plan to divide an older generation-skipping transfer tax-exempt trust into four separate trusts, one for each family line. The division would allocate assets on a non-pro-rata…
PLR 1021009: IRS approved dividing an exempt trust into four separate family-line trusts
The IRS approved a plan to divide an older generation-skipping transfer tax-exempt trust into four separate trusts, one for each family line. The division would allocate assets on a non-pro-rata…
PLR 1021008: IRS approved dividing an exempt trust into four separate family-line trusts
The IRS approved a plan to divide an older generation-skipping transfer tax-exempt trust into four separate trusts, one for each family line. The division would allocate assets on a non-pro-rata…
PLR 1021007: IRS approved dividing an exempt trust into four separate family-line trusts
The IRS approved a plan to divide an older generation-skipping transfer tax-exempt trust into four separate trusts, one for each family line. The division would allocate assets on a non-pro-rata…
PLR 1021006: IRS approved dividing an exempt trust into four separate family-line trusts
The IRS approved a plan to divide an older generation-skipping transfer tax-exempt trust into four separate trusts, one for each family line. The division would allocate assets on a non-pro-rata…
PLR 1021005: IRS approved dividing an exempt trust into four separate family-line trusts
The IRS approved a plan to divide an older generation-skipping transfer tax-exempt trust into four separate trusts, one for each family line. The division would allocate assets on a non-pro-rata…
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.