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 201013035: IRS may examine whether inventory costs require capitalization
Chief Counsel advice considered whether Notice 2007-29 prevents the IRS from examining costs that a taxpayer removed from inventory under the simplified production method. It concluded that the…
PLR 201013034: IRS approves a REIT’s mixed cash-and-stock dividend options
The IRS ruled that a real estate investment trust’s proposed special dividend could offer stockholders a choice of cash, stock, or a combination of both without violating the relevant conditions of…
PLR 201013033: IRS approves IRA transfers to a trust and charitable beneficiaries
The IRS ruled that an estate’s transfer of an inherited IRA to a trust, followed by transfers from the trust to designated charitable beneficiaries, would not be a transfer under IRC § 691(a)(2).…
PLR 201013032: IRS approves distributions from grandfathered trusts to child trusts
The IRS ruled that proposed distributions from two trusts created before September 25, 1985, to four child trusts would not be subject to generation-skipping transfer tax. The ruling relied on the…
PLR 201013031: IRS grants late S corporation election relief
The IRS ruled that a corporation could be treated as an S corporation from its intended effective date even though its S election was not timely filed. The ruling found reasonable cause for the…
PLR 201013030: IRS approves division and merger of grandfathered trusts
The IRS ruled that trustees could divide three existing trusts into separate trusts for each child and the child's issue, and merge some of the resulting trusts, without treating the restructuring…
PLR 201013029: IRS grants more time for a consolidated return election
The IRS granted a corporate parent and its subsidiaries an extension of time to elect to file a consolidated federal income tax return. The group missed the election deadline after relying on a…
PLR 201013028: IRS treats subsidiaries as joining a consolidated return
The IRS ruled that three subsidiaries could be treated as having joined their parent corporation's first consolidated federal income tax return even though Forms 1122 were not filed. The parent had…
PLR 201013027: IRS approves distributions from grandfathered trusts to child trusts
The IRS ruled that a bank acting as trustee could distribute assets from two trusts created before September 25, 1985, to four separate trusts for the grantor's beneficiary's children. The proposed…
PLR 201013026: IRS approves tax treatment of a municipal retiree health trust
The IRS ruled on the federal tax treatment of a city trust that funded post-employment medical insurance premiums for eligible retired employees. The trust's income would be excluded from gross…
PLR 201013025: IRS grants more time for a section 754 election
The IRS granted a partnership-taxed limited liability company 60 more days to make a late election under IRC § 754. The election was inadvertently omitted from the company's timely filed partnership…
PLR 201013024: IRS approves stock redemption to help pay estate taxes
The IRS ruled that stock redeemed for a beneficiary could be treated as a distribution in full payment in exchange for the stock under IRC § 303, to the extent the statutory requirements and dollar…
PLR 201013023: IRS grants more time for a foreign entity classification election
The IRS granted a foreign eligible entity 60 days to file Form 8832 and elect partnership classification for United States income tax purposes. The entity had inadvertently missed the deadline for…
PLR 201013022: IRS grants more time for a foreign entity classification election
The IRS granted a foreign eligible entity 60 days to file Form 8832 and elect partnership classification for United States income tax purposes. The entity had inadvertently missed the deadline for…
PLR 201013021: IRS grants late S corporation election relief
The IRS ruled that a corporation could make a late S corporation election effective from its intended date. The corporation's shareholder intended the election, but Form 2553 was not timely filed.…
PLR 201013020: IRS grants late S corporation election relief
The IRS ruled that a corporation could be treated as an S corporation from its intended effective date even though its election was not timely filed. The IRS found that the corporation had…
PLR 201013019: IRS grants late disregarded-entity election relief
The IRS granted a foreign eligible entity 60 days to make a late election to be treated as a disregarded entity for federal tax purposes. The entity had intended that classification from its…
PLR 201013018: IRS approves settlement and division of grandfathered trusts
The IRS ruled that a court-approved settlement dividing two grandfathered trusts and allocating a state tax saving would not cause the trusts to lose their exemption from generation-skipping…
PLR 201013017: IRS approves settlement and division of grandfathered trusts
The IRS ruled that a court-approved settlement dividing two grandfathered trusts and allocating a state tax saving would not cause the trusts to lose their exemption from generation-skipping…
PLR 201013016: IRS grants late rental real estate grouping election relief
The IRS granted married taxpayers 60 days to make a late election to treat all of their rental real estate interests as one rental real estate activity for passive activity rules. The taxpayers had…
PLR 201013015: IRS grants late election not to claim bonus depreciation
The IRS granted several partnerships 60 days to make late elections not to deduct additional first-year depreciation under IRC § 168(k). The taxpayers had filed their federal returns without the…
PLR 201013014: IRS grants late corporation classification election relief
The IRS granted a limited liability company 60 days to make a late election to be classified as an association taxable as a corporation for federal tax purposes. The company had two owners and had…
PLR 201013013: IRS grants late disregarded-entity election relief
The IRS granted a foreign limited company 60 days to make a late election to be treated as a disregarded entity for federal tax purposes. The company had intended that classification to apply after…
PLR 201013012: IRS grants late disregarded-entity election relief
The IRS granted a foreign limited company 60 days to make a late election to be treated as a disregarded entity for federal tax purposes. The company had intended that classification to apply after…
PLR 201013011: IRS grants late disregarded-entity election relief
The IRS granted a foreign limited company 60 days to make a late election to be treated as a disregarded entity for federal tax purposes. The company had intended that classification to apply after…
PLR 201013010: IRS grants late disregarded-entity election relief
The IRS granted a foreign limited company 60 days to make a late election to be treated as a disregarded entity for federal tax purposes. The company had intended that classification to apply after…
PLR 201013009: IRS grants late partnership classification election relief
The IRS granted a foreign business trust 60 days to make a late election to be treated as a partnership for federal tax purposes. The trust had intended that classification to apply after a new…
PLR 201013008: IRS grants late disregarded-entity election relief
The IRS granted a foreign limited company 60 days to make a late election to be treated as a disregarded entity for federal tax purposes. The company had intended that classification to apply after…
PLR 201013007: IRS grants late disregarded-entity election relief
The IRS granted a foreign limited company 60 days to make a late election to be treated as a disregarded entity for federal tax purposes. The company had intended that classification to apply after…
PLR 201013006: IRS grants late disregarded-entity election relief
The IRS granted a foreign limited company 60 days to make a late election to be treated as a disregarded entity for federal tax purposes. The company had intended that classification to apply after…
PLR 201013005: IRS grants late disregarded-entity election relief
The IRS granted a foreign limited company 60 days to make a late election to be treated as a disregarded entity for federal tax purposes. The company had intended that classification to apply after…
PLR 201013004: IRS grants more time for a disregarded-entity election
The IRS granted a foreign limited company an additional 60 days to file Form 8832 and elect to be treated as a disregarded entity for federal tax purposes. The company intended to make the election…
PLR 201013003: IRS grants more time for a partnership election
The IRS granted a foreign limited company an additional 60 days to file Form 8832 and elect partnership treatment for federal tax purposes. The company intended to make the election when another…
PLR 201013002: Children’s appointment of trust assets will not change the GST transferor
The IRS ruled that children would not become the transferors of assets for generation-skipping transfer tax purposes when they exercised a trust power of appointment in favor of another trust for…
CCA 201013001: Insurance reserves are included in the section 1.882-5 interest allocation
Chief Counsel advised that a foreign life insurance company must use the section 1.882-5 method to allocate interest expense to its U.S. branch for the taxable years at issue. The company’s…
CCA 201012061: Notice 2008-90 does not limit other inventory-contribution issues
Chief Counsel advised that Notice 2008-90 applies only in limited situations involving charitable contributions of inventory. The notice lets a taxpayer that otherwise qualifies for the enhanced…
CCA 201012060: Health FSA reimbursements are not limited by contributions to date
Chief Counsel advised that the uniform coverage rules require a health flexible spending arrangement to make an employee’s full annual election available throughout the coverage period.…
CCA 201012059: Disaster postponement can extend a return due date to October 15
Chief Counsel advised that, under the revised regulations, an extension filed during a disaster postponement period relates back to the original due date. In the example, a disaster declared from…
CCA 201012058: A superseding partnership return generally does not require Form 8082
Chief Counsel advised that a superseding partnership return filed before the original return due date does not require Form 8082. Adding a form to a previously filed return also generally does not…
CCA 201012057: Chief Counsel maintains that a husband’s interest in a residence is subject to collection
Chief Counsel advised that, despite three Courts of Appeals decisions since Creamer Industries in which the government did not prevail, the Service still considers Creamer Industries correctly…
CCA 201012056: A testimony-only summons should omit the document-production language
Chief Counsel advised that a summons seeking testimony only should use the standard form after removing the language requiring the witness to bring books, records, papers, and other data. The…
PLR 201012055: IRS waives the 60-day rollover requirement after a duplicate distribution
The IRS waived the 60-day rollover requirement for an older taxpayer who received a duplicate IRA distribution because a financial institution processed a second distribution request after…
PLR 201012052: ASO healthcare services are substantially related to an exempt purpose
The IRS ruled that an organization exempt under section 501(c)(3) could provide administrative services to large self-insured employers through a for-profit subsidiary without creating an unrelated…
CCA 201012049: IRS may rely on reported partnership items when computing a partner's basis
Chief Counsel Advice addressed whether the IRS had to issue a final partnership administrative adjustment to two partnerships before determining another partner's basis. The advice stated that the…
CCA 201012048: Section 704(d), not section 465, limits partnership losses by basis
Chief Counsel Advice distinguished the section 465 at-risk limitation from the section 704(d) basis limitation for partnerships. The advice stated that section 465 does not apply to partnerships,…
CCA 201012047: Summonses may seek partnership-item facts in a TEFRA proceeding
Chief Counsel Advice addressed whether the IRS could use a summons to obtain facts in a TEFRA partnership proceeding. The advice stated that facts subject to the summons appeared to be partnership…
CCA 201012046: Single-member LLCs became liable entities for federal employment taxes
Chief Counsel Advice discussed the federal employment tax treatment of a single-member limited liability company. It stated that, for wages paid on or after January 1, 2009, a single-member LLC that…
CCA 201012045: Sufficient documentation can support a withholding credit for two W-2s
Chief Counsel Advice addressed a wage earner who received two Forms W-2, one using a false Social Security number and one using the taxpayer's true number. The advice agreed that, if the taxpayer…
CCA 201012044: A notice generally cannot be issued for zero tax
Chief Counsel Advice addressed whether the IRS could issue a notice when the reported tax was zero. The advice stated that the IRS could not issue such a notice, except under section 6234 for an…
CCA 201012043: A TEFRA proceeding may address barred-year amounts carried to an open year
Chief Counsel Advice addressed assessment of amounts from a partnership year whose assessment period had expired, where partners carried those amounts into an open year. The advice stated that the…
CCA 201012042: A partner for the year at issue or a current partner may be TMP
Chief Counsel Advice addressed who may serve as a partnership's tax matters partner during a technical termination year. The advice stated that either a partner for the year at issue or a current…
CCA 201012041: The IRS may assert increased income while the taxpayer raises disputed losses
Chief Counsel Advice addressed the treatment of disputed income and loss items. The advice agreed that the IRS could assert increased income and leave it to the taxpayer to raise the taxpayer's…
CCA 201012040: Employment and self-employment tax treatment depends on the facts
Chief Counsel Advice considered the tax treatment of a for-profit entity and related employment and self-employment tax issues. The advice stated that there was no reason the entity would not be…
CCA 201012039: Duplicate TEFRA and non-TEFRA proceedings may be required after a partner redeems an interest
Chief Counsel Advice addressed whether an adjustment to an item that flowed from a partnership required a TEFRA proceeding after a partner redeemed an interest. The advice stated that duplicate…
CCA 201012038: A subsidiary may need to authorize a person signing its return
Chief Counsel Advice considered who could sign a subsidiary's corporate return. The advice stated that the analysis appeared correct but recommended contacting the Corporate branch for definitive…
CCA 201012037: Notice to a pass-through partner can constitute notice to an indirect partner
Chief Counsel Advice addressed notice timing for an indirect partner. The advice stated that if the IRS issued a final partnership administrative adjustment directly to an indirect partner less than…
CCA 201012036: Third-party tax-lien claims must follow the discharge and court-remedy procedures
Chief Counsel Advice reviewed a refund claim involving money withheld from a home sale to pay a federal tax lien recorded against someone else. The advice explained that a third party may use the…
CCA 201012035: Taxpayer met the stated requirements for late section 338(h)(10) election relief
Chief Counsel Advice reviewed whether a taxpayer had complied with Rev. Proc. 2003-33 and Treas. Reg. § 301.9100-3 to obtain an automatic extension of time to make a section 338(h)(10) election. The…
CCA 201012034: Late and inaccurate fuel reports may incur both section 6725 penalties
Chief Counsel Advice considered whether a person who filed a late Form 720-TO or Form 720-CS that was incomplete or contained incorrect information could be liable for both penalties in section…
CCA 201012033: Refund checks generally must name the taxpayers who overpaid
Chief Counsel Advice addressed who should be named on refund checks and whether a refund could be paid directly to a taxpayer's counsel. The advice concluded that a refund check may not be made…
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.