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.
No determinations match these filters
Try fewer or different words, check the spelling, or clear the filters to browse everything.
National Guard museum foundation loses exemption after rental business becomes primary
A foundation was recognized as exempt to operate a National Guard museum, hall of fame, and library, provide scholarships, and help fund another museum. The IRS found that the foundation's main…
Veterans charity loses exemption after records vanish and insider spending goes unexplained
A short-lived charity said it would assist hospitalized and homeless veterans. During examination, its representative reported that the organization's computer records were lost to a virus and its…
Private foundation loses exemption after failing to complete dissolution records
A private foundation had no activity after donating its only property to a synagogue and wanted to terminate. It supplied the IRS with a recorded grant deed showing the transfer, and the IRS…
Housing applicant denied exemption after years without charitable operations
An organization reapplied for section 501(c)(3) status after its earlier exemption was revoked for failing to file Form 990 for three consecutive years. It proposed housing for low-income, elderly,…
Art park asset transfers qualify as an unusual grant
A publicly supported charity operated an art park and museum and historically received most of its support from public sources. Related foundations proposed a reorganization that would transfer…
Artist cooperative denied exemption for serving members' private interests
An artist cooperative sought recognition as a tax-exempt charitable and educational organization under section 501(c)(3). It operated a gallery that mainly displayed and sold members' artwork,…
Exemption denied for founder inurement and private benefit
An educational-program business formerly operated as a sole proprietorship was converted into a nonprofit corporation so it could seek grants and donations. The founders continued conducting the…
Faculty-only retiree medical plan denied VEBA exemption
A welfare plan sponsored by an educational organization sought exemption as a voluntary employees' beneficiary association under section 501(c)(9). The employer funded individual accounts for…
Restaurant alcohol-sales club denied social-club exemption
A nonprofit private club was formed because state law required a club permit for a restaurant to sell beer and wine. Anyone visiting the restaurant could obtain free membership, and the club had no…
Counseling organization loses exemption after shifting from charitable work
An organization originally received section 501(c)(3) status to help unemployed people through training, counseling, and prayer. By the examined years, that activity had ended or become minimal,…
Member promotion does not qualify as a business league
A local wedding-industry association limited membership by vendor category, vetted selected businesses, advertised only members, featured weddings involving multiple members, and held a bridal expo…
Foundation asset transfer receives broad excise-tax rulings
After a corporate reorganization, one private non-operating foundation transferred cash, stock, two assigned grant commitments, and an endowment grant to a newly created, commonly controlled private…
Predesignated scholarship beneficiary causes exemption revocation
A private foundation received advance approval for procedures designed to award scholarships to students from a local area. Before the foundation was formed, however, its creator had identified four…
Inactive pet-support charity loses exemption after changing purpose
A charity was recognized as exempt to help people with AIDS or HIV keep their pets by providing pet food and arranging pet-related care. The IRS found that it had conducted no consistent exempt…
Related-company software venture denied exemption for commerciality
An organization sought section 501(c)(3) status to provide grant-writing software, cloud subscriptions, consulting, workshops, and other business assistance to nonprofits and small businesses. It…
Bankrupt inactive organization loses exemption
An exempt organization had declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy, liquidated all of its assets, and remained inactive for several years. It also forfeited its nonprofit corporate status with its state and…
Scholarship charity for related for-profit art school denied exemption
A volunteer organization sought section 501(c)(3) status to fund scholarships, equipment, facilities, and art programs for students at a related private for-profit academy. The academy was started…
Bankrupt organization loses exemption after withholding records
An exempt organization had declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy and remained inactive for an extended period. It completed the tax filings required in bankruptcy but did not give a position on whether it…
Façade-easement organization loses exemption for serving private tax interests
An organization formed to preserve historic properties accepted façade easements arranged by a for-profit tax consulting firm. The IRS found that the organization performed little due diligence,…
Related foundations may transfer assets, but not qualifying-distribution carryovers
A private foundation transferred cash, publicly traded stock, and two grant commitments to a related private foundation after their corporate sponsor reorganized. The IRS ruled that the transfer…
VEBA asset transfer preserves the transferor's tax exemption
A voluntary employees' beneficiary association held assets for retiree life insurance and proposed transferring assets to another VEBA to fund retiree medical benefits under the same welfare plan.…
Retiree welfare trust remains collectively bargained and its set-aside income is exempt
A section 501(c)(9) voluntary employees' beneficiary association held assets for health benefits promised to union retirees under a collectively bargained plan. After the employer shut down…
Large first-time bank grant qualifies as an unusual grant
A publicly supported organization proposed receiving a large cash grant from a bank over five years to develop technology-based services for underserved consumers. The grant was much larger than any…
Aid limited to two designated families did not serve a charitable class
An organization was formed to collect funds for families whose loved ones could not provide adequate support. In practice, it made monetary distributions directly or indirectly for the benefit of…
Unsubstantiated overseas payments cost a domestic charity its exemption
A domestic public charity sent substantially all of its funds to or for the benefit of a foreign organization that operated schools. It also paid purported teacher salaries directly, reimbursed the…
Organization formed to support one child is denied exemption
An organization was created specifically to pay for the health care, education, therapies, and assistive devices of one named child with autism. The child's parents were its only directors and…
Nursing-facility snack bar did not promote community welfare
A volunteer organization operated a rent-free snack bar and a weekly beauty salon at a nursing and rehabilitation facility. The facility had become owned by a for-profit corporation, and the…
Umpire association denied charitable and social-club exemption
A local association assigned umpires to softball leagues and tournaments, trained registered umpires, and coordinated the local umpire program. Its certified members paid dues and received…
Entrepreneur support organization revoked for commercial lead referrals and insider benefits
A tax-exempt organization said it would support entrepreneurs through an online community, outreach, education, and grants. The examination found that its major activity was charging prospective…
Partnership cannot deduct payments tied to a predecessor cooperative’s allocation notices
An exempt farmers’ cooperative had issued qualified written notices of allocation to patrons, then converted into a limited liability company taxed as a partnership. The successor partnership later…
Farmers’ market denied exemption because it primarily benefited its vendors
A membership-based farmers’ market applied for recognition as a tax-exempt organization under section 501(c)(3). Its members paid annual dues and daily vendor fees to sell products directly to…
Business league exemption revoked for inadequate records
An organization recognized under section 501(c)(6) described itself as a membership group offering educational meetings and seminars for chief executives and entrepreneurs. During examination, it…
Inactive educational organization faced revocation
A section 501(c)(3) organization had operated a community program intended to prevent juvenile crime and promote citizenship. Its board later dissolved the organization and donated the remaining…
Disaster-business marketplace denied charitable exemption
A nonprofit applied for section 501(c)(3) status to operate an online marketplace connecting consumers with registered small businesses after disasters. Most revenue would come from annual…
Farmers' market denied section 501(c)(5) status
A nonprofit farmers' market applied for exemption as an agricultural organization under IRC § 501(c)(5). It rented stalls, promoted the market, and covered site and operating expenses with vendor…
Online fundraising service denied charitable exemption
An organization sought charitable exemption for an online service that collected donations and forwarded them, less processing and marketing fees, to charities selected by donors. The service was…
Open-source software developer denied social-welfare exemption
An organization sought social-welfare exemption under IRC § 501(c)(4) for developing and distributing open-source software that encrypted digital communications. It aimed to help human-rights…
Estate bequest qualifies as an unusual grant
A community foundation expected a large bequest consisting of securities, cash, and properties that would be sold to establish a designated fund. The fund's earnings would support named public…
Booster club fundraising creates member inurement
A parent-led gymnastics booster club raised money by having families sell products. The club tracked each family's proceeds and applied them to that family's own competition and coaching fees, while…
Down payment assistance program loses tax-exempt status
A tax-exempt organization operated a down payment assistance program funded by payments from home sellers, builders, and related businesses. The IRS found that the sellers' payments generally…
Organization loses exemption after withholding examination records
A social welfare organization repeatedly failed to provide records requested during an IRS examination of its Forms 990. Over many months, representatives promised information, sought extensions,…
Legislative advocacy prevents educational organization exemption
An organization sought recognition as tax-exempt under IRC § 501(c)(3) for educating the public about using technology to make government more transparent and accountable. Its first goal was to have…
Open-source software promotion fails the operational test
An organization sought recognition under IRC § 501(c)(3) for promoting the development and distribution of a free and open-source multimedia player. The IRS found that the organization had not shown…
Open-source media tools fail the operational test
An organization sought recognition under IRC § 501(c)(3) for developing free and open-source photo, audio, and video tools. The IRS found a substantial nonexempt purpose because the tools could be…
Medical fundraising for one child serves private interests
An organization sought retroactive reinstatement of its IRC § 501(c)(3) exemption after losing its prior exemption for failing to file Form 990 for three consecutive years. Although its articles…
Family control and private benefit defeat exemption
An unincorporated association sought recognition as tax-exempt under IRC § 501(c)(3) for housing and services for people with developmental disabilities. Its bylaws described two related individuals…
Foundation loses exemption for substantial personal expenditures
The IRS revoked a private foundation's tax-exempt status under IRC § 501(c)(3) after an examination found that substantial foundation assets paid personal expenses of its officers. The examination…
Inactive social welfare organization loses exemption
The IRS proposed to revoke a social welfare organization's tax exemption under IRC § 501(c)(4). The organization had been formed to raise money, build an assembly hall for community programs,…
Taxpayer denied abatement of excess benefit tax
A limited liability company asked the IRS to abate the first-tier excise tax on an automatic excess benefit transaction under IRC § 4958. A former foundation director owned more than 35 percent of…
University may operate software business through taxable subsidiary
A tax-exempt university created a wholly owned for-profit subsidiary to develop and license software used for competency-based education. The subsidiary would have separate management, facilities,…
Credit counseling organization loses exemption
The IRS revoked a credit counseling organization's exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3). The organization enrolled clients in debt management plans and received its income from those plans, but it did…
Online retail marketplace denied exemption
The IRS denied tax-exempt status under IRC § 501(c)(3) to an organization proposing to operate an online retail marketplace. Customers would select a charity, school, or church to receive the profit…
Family education fund denied charitable status
An organization was formed to honor a deceased individual and raise money for his son's education, with future support limited to his descendants. Its articles also allowed purposes beyond those…
Candy-shop operator loses charitable exemption
The IRS revoked the exemption of an organization that said it helped poor people through cash stipends but could not document those payments. One individual controlled the organization, used a…
Insurance marketer loses business-league exemption
A trade association originally promoted technology-related businesses and offered group benefits. After an insurance-business owner took control, the association primarily marketed life-insurance…
Social club loses exemption over public event business
A social club regularly rented event rooms to nonmembers, promoted itself as a public event venue, and relied on outside functions to support its restaurant and clubhouse. The IRS calculated…
VEBA avoids UBIT on transferred retiree-benefit reserve income
A collectively bargained voluntary employees' beneficiary association planned to receive assets from a retirement funding account under a group life insurance policy and use them for retiree health…
Travel-booking charity denied exemption as commercial feeder
An organization proposed to operate a travel-booking website using a for-profit company's booking engine and donate its share of transaction fees to selected charities. Customers would buy travel…
Seller-funded down-payment program loses exemption
A housing organization operated a down-payment assistance program financed by home sellers, builders, and other real-estate businesses that benefited when assisted buyers completed purchases. In…
Community time bank denied exemption for serving members' private interests
A community organization matched members who needed help with members willing to provide services and tracked each hour of service as a transferable share. Members could earn shares by helping…
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.