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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Underlying factual and legal determinations can be partnership items
Chief Counsel Advice answered a TEFRA question about whether an item could qualify as a partnership item. It stated that the item qualifies as long as it meets the definition in Treas. Reg. §…
Affected items can arise from partnership items as reported or changed
Chief Counsel Advice explained that affected items can be affected by partnership items either as reported or as changed at the partnership level. The advice stated that the partnership items do not…
Activity character is determined at the partnership level
Chief Counsel Advice addressed how a partnership proceeding and an affected-item proceeding divide responsibility. It stated that whether an activity is a trade or business, rental activity, or…
Section 332 nonrecognition does not create tax-exempt income for an S corporation shareholder
Chief Counsel Advice considered whether gain realized but not recognized in a section 332 liquidation is tax-exempt income under Treas. Reg. § 1.1366-1(a)(2)(viii) for an S corporation shareholder.…
Changing the book method for deferred advance payments requires consent
Chief Counsel Advice addressed a taxpayer that had elected under Rev. Proc. 2004-34 to defer advance payments using its applicable financial statements. The taxpayer later changed its book method…
Division and merger of trusts will not trigger income, gift, or GST tax
The IRS considered a plan to divide three irrevocable trusts into separate trusts for three children and their families, merge certain resulting trusts, and preserve the existing beneficial…
S corporation election may be treated as timely after reasonable cause is shown
The IRS considered a corporation's request for relief after it failed to timely file an S corporation election. The corporation represented that its shareholders intended the election to be…
Late S corporation election may be treated as timely
The IRS considered a company's request for relief after its Form 2553, Election by a Small Business Corporation, was not timely filed. The company represented that its shareholders intended an S…
S corporation status continues after an inadvertent termination caused by a trust shareholder
The IRS considered a corporation whose S election terminated when stock held by a grantor trust was transferred to another trust and the trustee did not timely make an electing small business trust…
Partnership granted more time to make a section 754 election
The IRS considered a limited partnership's request for additional time to make a section 754 election after the death of a partner. The partnership represented that it relied on its tax advisor, had…
Worthless stock deduction and gross-receipts rules for an insolvent subsidiary
The IRS considered a consolidated group transaction involving an insolvent subsidiary, a contribution of a note, a sale followed by a section 338(h)(10) election, deemed section 332 liquidations,…
Pro rata trust division and merger will not trigger sale, gift, or GST tax
The IRS considered a request involving the proposed division of three existing trusts into separate trusts for each child and the later merger of some of those trusts. The taxpayer represented that…
Trust granted more time to elect a charitable deduction for a prior-year contribution
The IRS considered a trust's request for extra time to make a § 642(c) election for charitable distributions treated as paid in an earlier tax year. The trust's accountant had inadvertently filed…
Mental disability supports waiver of the 60-day IRA rollover requirement
The IRS considered a court-appointed guardian's request for a waiver of the 60-day rollover requirement after a taxpayer received a distribution from an IRA. The guardian represented that the…
IRS approves a five-year pension funding extension
The IRS approved a plan's request for a five-year automatic extension to amortize unfunded liabilities as of January 1, 2009. The extension applies to the amortization charge bases identified in the…
IRS waives the 60-day IRA rollover requirement after financial-advisor misconduct
The IRS considered a married couple's request for a waiver of the 60-day rollover requirement after their financial advisor misused or redirected distributions from six IRAs. The taxpayers…
Scholarship procedures approved for a private foundation
The IRS granted advance approval for a private foundation's modified scholarship program. The program will award scholarships to academically qualified high school graduates who demonstrate…
Family-controlled historical organization denied tax exemption
The IRS issued a final adverse determination denying exemption to an organization formed to preserve family history, restore family-owned property, and operate related educational and public…
U.K. treaty does not exempt a foreign foundation from the section 4948 excise tax
The Office of Chief Counsel analyzed whether the U.S.-U.K. income tax treaty exempts a U.K. private foundation from the four percent excise tax on U.S.-source dividend income under IRC § 4948(a).…
LIFO recapture rule does not apply to a new S corporation formed from a sole proprietorship
The IRS considered whether the LIFO recapture rule applies when a sole proprietorship transfers its assets to a newly formed corporation in a section 351 transaction, the corporation elects the LIFO…
Cross-border spin-off and downstream reorganization receive favorable tax treatment
The IRS ruled on a proposed series of transactions involving a corporate group, including a distribution of a foreign subsidiary’s stock, a contribution of that stock to another group company, a…
Late Form 1128 filing treated as timely for a tax-year change
The IRS considered a taxpayer's request to change its annual accounting period after Form 1128 was filed late. The taxpayer represented that it intended to file on time, that the late filing…
Non-pro rata controlled-stock distribution and S-corporation reorganization approved
The IRS considered a proposed non-pro rata distribution of a controlled corporation’s stock by an S corporation. Certain shareholders would receive controlled stock in exchange for some or all of…
Late S corporation election may be treated as timely
The IRS considered a corporation's request for relief after its Form 2553, Election by a Small Business Corporation, was not timely filed. The corporation represented that its sole shareholder…
S corporation status preserved after disproportionate shareholder distributions
The IRS considered whether a corporation’s disproportionate shareholder distributions terminated its S corporation election. The corporation represented that it had only one class of stock, that the…
Government retiree health-benefit trust receives favorable tax treatment
The IRS considered a political subdivision’s retiree health-benefit plan and related trust. The trust was funded by the political subdivision, used to pay health benefits and related costs, and…
LLC granted more time to file an entity-classification election
The IRS considered a limited liability company’s request for an extension of time to file Form 8832, Entity Classification Election. The company intended to elect classification as an association…
Corporate distribution and subsidiary liquidation receive nonrecognition treatment
The IRS considered a proposed corporate restructuring involving a distribution and contribution of assets followed by the complete liquidation of a subsidiary. The ruling concluded that the…
Taxpayer granted time to correct a low-income housing credit election
The IRS considered a low-income housing project’s incorrect election on Form 8609. The taxpayer intended to elect the 40/60 set-aside under IRC § 42(g)(1)(B), but the form was filed with the 20/50…
Taxpayer granted time to allocate GST exemption to prior trust transfers
The IRS considered a taxpayer's request to allocate generation-skipping transfer tax exemption to earlier transfers of partnership units to three trusts. The taxpayer's accountant reported the gifts…
Restructuring will not significantly modify existing debt
The IRS considered a corporate restructuring involving a subsidiary's conversion into a disregarded limited liability company and related distributions of stock. The taxpayer asked whether the…
Corporation granted relief for late S corporation election
The IRS considered a corporation's request to have an intended S corporation election treated as timely. The corporation was formed on a specified date, but its shareholders did not file Form 2553…
Cooperative payments qualify as per-unit retain allocations
The IRS considered a farmers’ cooperative’s cash payments to members for agricultural products. The cooperative asked whether those payments were per-unit retain allocations paid in money under IRC…
Purchaser granted time to file a section 338(g) election
The IRS considered a purchaser’s request for more time to file a section 338(g) election after acquiring a target corporation’s stock in a taxable exchange. The election was not filed by the…
Corporation granted relief for late S corporation election
The IRS considered a corporation’s request to have an intended S corporation election treated as timely. The corporation’s sole member intended the election to be effective on a specified date, but…
Organ-recovery charter flights exempt from transportation taxes
The IRS considered domestic charter flights used by a federally designated organ procurement organization. The flights transported transplant teams, organization staff, and recovered organs between…
Bankruptcy stock restrictions and valuation method approved under section 382
The IRS considered a corporate group in bankruptcy that was seeking to preserve its net operating losses and other tax attributes under IRC § 382. The taxpayer proposed a method for treating the…
Invalid S corporation election treated as inadvertent
The IRS considered a corporation’s S corporation election that was invalid because one shareholder was an ineligible trust. The trust could have qualified as an electing small business trust, but…
Invalid S corporation election treated as inadvertent
The IRS considered a corporation’s S corporation election that was invalid because one shareholder was an ineligible trust. The trust could have qualified as an electing small business trust, but…
Rural telephone cooperative may treat enterprise sale gain as patronage-sourced
The IRS considered a taxable rural telephone cooperative’s sale of its interest in an enterprise that helped provide cellular telephone service to its members. The cooperative had invested in the…
Estate granted time to allocate GST exemption to prior trust transfers
The IRS considered an estate representative’s request to allocate a decedent’s generation-skipping transfer tax exemption to two lifetime transfers made to trusts. The decedent’s tax preparer…
Taxpayers granted time to allocate GST exemption to trust transfers
The IRS considered taxpayers’ request for more time to allocate generation-skipping transfer tax exemption to transfers of company stock made to three trusts. Their accountant mistakenly reported…
Taxpayers granted time to allocate GST exemption to a trust
The IRS considered spouses’ request for more time to allocate their generation-skipping transfer tax exemptions to stock transfers made to a trust. Their accountant did not file the required gift…
Investment company’s late tax elections treated as timely
The IRS considered a regulated investment company’s request for relief from late elections related to a short taxable year. The company sought to make elections concerning post-October capital…
Foreign entity granted time to elect disregarded status
The IRS considered a foreign entity’s late election to be treated as disregarded for federal tax purposes. The entity intended to make the election effective on its formation date but inadvertently…
Determination 201009018: IRS revoked an organization’s section 501(c)(3) exemption for a down payment assistance program
The IRS revoked an organization’s exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3), effective January 1, 2003. The organization operated a down payment assistance program in which home sellers reimbursed the…
PLR 201009017: IRS waived the 60-day IRA rollover deadline after a taxpayer’s medical problems and home construction delays
The IRS waived the 60-day rollover requirement for a taxpayer who took a distribution from an IRA and completed the rollover three days late. The taxpayer was moving, building a new home, and…
PLR 201009016: IRS waived the 60-day rollover deadline after a plan administrator failed to process a plan loan rollover
The IRS waived the 60-day rollover requirement for a taxpayer whose plan loan balance was distributed after a new employer’s plan administrator failed to process the requested rollover. The taxpayer…
Determination 201009015: IRS denied exemption to a fee-based pre-bankruptcy credit counseling organization
The IRS denied exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3) to an organization that planned to provide pre-bankruptcy credit counseling and issue certificates for a fee. The organization was controlled by one…
PLR 201009014: IRS approved a private foundation’s scholarship grant procedures
The IRS approved a private foundation’s procedures for awarding scholarships to high school seniors in a redacted school district. The proposed scholarships could be used for tuition, textbooks, and…
A taxpayer could not make a section 336(e) election before final regulations
The Office of Chief Counsel advised that a taxpayer could not make a section 336(e) election before final regulations authorized the election. The advice addressed an affiliated group in which a…
PLR 201009012: Required IRA distributions to Canadian residents qualify for reduced treaty withholding
A U.S. company that services retirement accounts asked whether required minimum distributions from traditional IRAs paid to Canadian residents qualify as periodic pension payments under the United…
PLR 201009011: IRS grants a 60-day extension to file an entity classification election
The IRS granted a professional limited liability company an extension to file Form 8832 and elect corporate tax treatment. The company had failed to file the election by the applicable deadline and…
PLR 201009010: IRS grants a 60-day extension to file an entity classification election
The IRS granted a professional limited liability company an extension to file Form 8832 and elect corporate tax treatment. The company had failed to file the election by the applicable deadline and…
PLR 201009009: IRS grants a 60-day extension to file an entity classification election
The IRS granted a professional limited liability company an extension to file Form 8832 and elect corporate tax treatment. The company had failed to file the election by the applicable deadline and…
PLR 201009008: IRS grants a 60-day extension to file an entity classification election
The IRS granted a professional limited liability company an extension to file Form 8832 and elect corporate tax treatment. The company had inadvertently failed to file the election by the applicable…
PLR 201009007: IRS grants a 60-day extension to file an entity classification election
The IRS granted a professional limited liability company an extension to file Form 8832 and elect corporate tax treatment. The company had failed to file the election by the applicable deadline and…
PLR 201009006: IRS grants a 60-day extension to file an entity classification election
The IRS granted a professional limited liability company an extension to file Form 8832 and elect corporate tax treatment. The company had failed to file the election by the applicable deadline and…
PLR 201009005: IRS grants a 60-day extension to file an entity classification election
The IRS granted a professional limited liability company an extension to file Form 8832 and elect corporate tax treatment. The company had failed to file the election by the applicable deadline and…
PLR 201009004: IRS grants a 60-day extension to file an entity classification election
The IRS granted a professional limited liability company an extension to file Form 8832 and elect corporate tax treatment. The company had failed to file the election by the applicable deadline and…
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.