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 partnership basis election allowed after partner's death
A partnership failed to make a section 754 election on the return for the year in which one of its partners died. The election would apply the partnership-property basis adjustments required by…
Descendant trust modifications preserve tax treatment
A trust created before September 25, 1985, had already been divided into separate trusts for two grandchildren. A state court approved further changes to one grandchild's trust, including retaining…
Descendant trust modifications preserve tax treatment
A trust created before September 25, 1985, had already been divided into separate trusts for two grandchildren. A state court approved further changes to one grandchild's trust, including retaining…
Late foreign disregarded entity election allowed
A foreign eligible entity intended to be classified as a disregarded entity but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832. The IRS found that the entity satisfied the standards for discretionary filing…
Late QSub election allowed
An S corporation acquired all the stock of a subsidiary and intended qualified subchapter S subsidiary treatment from the acquisition date. It inadvertently failed to file Form 8869. The IRS found…
Missed ESBT elections treated as inadvertent termination
After a shareholder died, several grantor trusts holding S corporation stock became nongrantor trusts or transferred stock to new trusts. Trustees failed to make timely electing small business trust…
Early undiscounted CLAT payments avoid foundation excise taxes
A charitable lead annuity trust had two required payments remaining for two private foundations before its remainder would pass to family trusts. Because the trust's investments had performed better…
Early undiscounted CLAT payments avoid foundation excise taxes
A charitable lead annuity trust had two required payments remaining for two private foundations before its remainder would pass to family trusts. Because the trust's investments had performed better…
Early undiscounted CLAT payments avoid foundation excise taxes
A charitable lead annuity trust had two required payments remaining for two private foundations before its remainder would pass to family trusts. Because the trust's investments had performed better…
Early undiscounted CLAT payments avoid foundation excise taxes
A charitable lead annuity trust had two required payments remaining for two private foundations before its remainder would pass to family trusts. Because the trust's investments had performed better…
Early undiscounted CLAT payments avoid foundation excise taxes
A charitable lead annuity trust had two required payments remaining for two private foundations before its remainder would pass to family trusts. Because the trust's investments had performed better…
Retroactive QEF election allowed for undisclosed foreign company
A domestic partnership indirectly owned a minority interest in a foreign corporation through a foreign partnership. The foreign partnership's management did not tell the taxpayer that it had formed…
Late average-income housing election allowed
An owner placed a low-income housing project in service but failed to make the correct irrevocable minimum set-aside election on Form 8609. Contemporaneous documents showed that the owner intended…
Late election out of bonus depreciation allowed
A partnership claimed additional first-year depreciation on land improvements, building improvements, machinery, and equipment placed in service during a taxable year. Its accounting firm did not…
General education scholarships approved
A private foundation proposed at least a specified number of annual scholarships for deserving students to pursue general education, vocational training, or professional study. High school seniors,…
Four-year college scholarships approved
A private foundation proposed renewable four-year scholarships for graduating students at a specified high school, with possible expansion to schools in nearby counties. Applicants had to be…
Employer-related scholarships approved
A private foundation proposed scholarships for an employer's workers and their dependent children to attend vocational schools, community colleges, or universities. An independent committee with no…
Local business group denied 501(c)(3) status for serving members' private interests
A local business group applied for recognition as a tax-exempt educational organization under Section 501(c)(3). It offered networking events, professional-development programs, online listings,…
Cattle-breed association denied 501(c)(3) status because member sales served private interests
An association of cattle owners and breeders applied for recognition under Section 501(c)(3). It held an annual show, meeting, banquet, and member sale, advertised members' cattle, and helped buyers…
Winery association denied 501(c)(3) status because promotion served member businesses
A regional winery association applied for recognition as an educational organization under Section 501(c)(3). It promoted member wineries through signs, brochures, maps, a website that directed…
Adult social club denied 501(c)(3) status because recreation was a substantial purpose
An adult social club applied for recognition under Section 501(c)(3), then asked to change its application to Section 501(c)(7). Its activities included dinners, plays, movies, picnics, winery…
Seven corporations received inadvertent S election relief for missed ESBT and QSST elections
Seven related corporations requested relief after several trusts failed to make timely electing small business trust (ESBT) and qualified subchapter S trust (QSST) elections. The missed elections…
Foreign entity received 120 days to file a late partnership classification election
A foreign eligible entity intended to be classified as a partnership for federal tax purposes but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS found that the entity satisfied the…
Foreign entity received 120 days to file a late partnership classification election
A foreign eligible entity intended to be classified as a partnership for federal tax purposes but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS found that the entity satisfied the…
Foreign entity received 120 days to file a late partnership classification election
A foreign eligible entity intended to be classified as a partnership for federal tax purposes but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS found that the entity satisfied the…
Foreign entity received 120 days to file a late partnership classification election
A foreign eligible entity intended to be classified as a partnership for federal tax purposes but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS found that the entity satisfied the…
Foreign entity received 120 days to file a late disregarded-entity classification election
A foreign eligible entity intended to be treated as a foreign disregarded entity for federal tax purposes but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS found that the entity satisfied…
Foreign entity received 120 days to file a late disregarded-entity classification election
A foreign eligible entity intended to be treated as a foreign disregarded entity for federal tax purposes but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS found that the entity satisfied…
Annuity-paid advisory fees were not treated as taxable amounts received by owners
A life insurance company proposed fixed and indexed non-qualified deferred annuity contracts whose owners could authorize the insurer to pay investment advisory fees directly from a contract's cash…
Corporation received inadvertent S termination relief for a missed QSST election
An S corporation's sole shareholder transferred its shares to a grantor trust and later died. The trust remained an eligible S corporation shareholder for two years after the death, but no qualified…
Housing partnership received 120 days to defer a building's credit period on Form 8609
A partnership placed a low-income housing building in service in one year and intended to begin the building's ten-year credit period in the following year. Its contemporaneous records reflected…
IRS approved an initial nuclear decommissioning fund contribution schedule
A utility with a qualifying ownership interest in a nuclear power plant requested an initial schedule of deductible contributions to its nuclear decommissioning fund under Section 468A. The proposed…
Foundation's scholarship and neuroscience grant procedures received advance approval
A private foundation requested advance approval for two programs that make grants to individuals. One program provides scholarships for K-12, college, or graduate students' tuition and related…
Fraud victim received a waiver of the IRA 60-day rollover deadline
An IRA owner withdrew funds after callers impersonating government and law-enforcement officials convinced her that she was an identity-theft victim and needed to move the money to a supposed safety…
Health-services organization lost exemption for private benefit and commercial activity
A health-services organization recognized under Section 501(c)(3) was examined after it shifted from its stated charitable, educational, and scientific purposes to providing paid services. The IRS…
Event organization lost exemption after failing the educational and recordkeeping tests
An organization recognized under Section 501(c)(3) primarily ran two annual public events, including one focused on commercial participants, and funded itself with admission revenue. It also…
How the § 52 controlled-group rules apply to tax-exempt organizations claiming the Employee Retention Credit
The Employee Retention Credit (ERC), a COVID-era payroll tax credit, treats related organizations as a single employer using the "controlled group" aggregation rules in § 52. This Chief Counsel…
More time granted to make the § 362(e)(2)(C) basis election for a built-in-loss property transfer
A taxpayer transferred property to a corporation in a tax-free § 351 exchange, but the property's tax basis was higher than its value (a built-in loss). To stop the same loss from being duplicated,…
Consolidated group gets more time to make four tax elections it missed by filing its returns late
A corporate group that files a single consolidated tax return intended to make four elections on its returns for two years: to amortize research expenses over 10 years under § 59(e), to opt out of…
Foreign entity gets more time to elect "disregarded entity" tax treatment
A foreign company wanted to be treated as a "disregarded entity" for U.S. tax purposes, meaning it is ignored as separate from its single owner and its income flows directly to that owner. Under the…
S corporation election saved after four trusts missed their QSST elections
An S corporation's shares passed, after the original shareholder died, from a grantor trust into four new trusts. Each of those trusts could have qualified to hold S corporation stock as a Qualified…
S corporation keeps its status despite a nonresident-alien shareholder that made the election invalid
A small corporation elected to be taxed as an S corporation, but the election was never valid because one of its two shareholders was a nonresident alien. Under Code § 1361, an S corporation cannot…
Foreign entity gets more time to elect corporate ("check-the-box") tax treatment
A foreign company wanted to be treated as a corporation for U.S. tax purposes. Under the "check-the-box" rules in Treasury Regulation 301.7701-3, an eligible entity can choose its own classification…
Advance approval of a private foundation's scholarship procedures
A private foundation asked the IRS to pre-approve how it will award college scholarships. This approval matters because a private foundation's grant to an individual for study is normally a "taxable…
Advance approval of a private foundation's arts fellowship grant procedures
A private foundation asked the IRS to pre-approve how it will hand out fellowship grants to individual artists. This step matters because when a private foundation gives money to an individual for…
Business-referral networking club denied 501(c)(6) status
A networking club applied to be recognized as a tax-exempt business league under Section 501(c)(6). Its members are business professionals who meet weekly to swap referrals ("leads"), give short…
Members' mutual death-benefit fund denied 501(c)(3) status
A membership organization applied for 501(c)(3) charitable status. Its main activity is pooling premiums paid by members and giving cash to any member who recently loses a close family member (a…
501(c)(3) status revoked for private inurement after directors routed donations to personal accounts
The IRS audited a small charity and found that its directors were using the organization to enrich themselves. The organization solicited donations online under its own name and Employer…
Green-hydrogen industry alliance denied 501(c)(3) status
An organization formed to advance clean ("green") hydrogen applied for 501(c)(3) charitable status. It raises public awareness of hydrogen as a zero-emission energy source, supports green-energy…
501(c)(3) exemption revoked after the organization stopped responding to IRS record requests
The IRS audited a 501(c)(3) organization and asked, repeatedly, for the records that every exempt organization must keep and produce: books showing its receipts, expenditures, and activities. The…
Anti-censorship web-tunneling developer denied 501(c)(3) status
An organization that writes software to defeat internet censorship applied for 501(c)(3) charitable status. Its technology lets users reach websites blocked in certain countries through a secure…
Local farmers' market denied 501(c)(6) business-league status
An organization that runs a local farmers' market applied to be recognized as a tax-exempt business league under Section 501(c)(6). It rents space to local farmers and producers (its "vendors," who…
Tax-free spin-off/split-off of one business line into a new public company
A publicly traded parent company runs two business lines through a global web of domestic and foreign subsidiaries. For business reasons it wants to separate one line (Business B) from the other…
Nonprofit-owned housing entity gets late relief to elect out of tax-exempt-entity depreciation treatment
A 501(c)(3) nonprofit created a wholly owned entity (treated as a corporation for tax purposes) to act as general partner in a low-income housing partnership. Because that entity is controlled by a…
LLC gets more time to file Form 8996 self-certifying as an Opportunity Zone fund after its accountant never flagged it
An LLC taxed as a partnership was set up to be a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF), the vehicle used to defer capital gains by investing in an Opportunity Zone business. To become a QOF, it had to…
Late Form 8716 electing a non-calendar tax year for an S corporation is accepted
An S corporation wanted to use a tax year that ends on a date other than the calendar year-end it would otherwise be required to use. Section 444 lets certain pass-through entities make that choice…
Late Form 8996 self-certifying an Opportunity Zone fund is treated as timely filed
A limited partnership was set up to be a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF), the vehicle investors use to defer capital gains by putting money into distressed Opportunity Zones. To become a QOF, an…
Surplus from a terminated pension plan can move into two 401(k) plans without triggering the reversion excise tax
A publicly traded company terminated its defined benefit pension plan and, after paying every promised benefit, was left with about $14.4 million in surplus assets. Normally, when leftover pension…
Estate gets more time to make a portability election so the surviving spouse can use the unused exclusion
When someone dies, their estate can make a "portability" election so the surviving spouse can use the deceased spouse's unused estate tax exclusion (the DSUE amount). That election is made by filing…
LLC gets late relief to be treated as a corporation and as an S corporation
A single-member LLC intended to be taxed as a corporation and then elected as an S corporation, both effective the same date. To do that it needed to file the entity-classification election and the…
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.