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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Form 900 waiver and offer-in-compromise tolling of the collection period
This Chief Counsel Advice addresses the collection statute expiration date for tax liabilities where a taxpayer signed a Form 900 waiver and later submitted an offer in compromise. It concludes that…
Partnership reporting binds the Service absent an FPAA
This Chief Counsel Advice states that the Service cannot issue affected-item statutory notices of deficiency for the redacted tax items. It is bound by the partnership's reporting of the loan unless…
Third-party property owner has appeal rights after lien discharge denial
This Chief Counsel Advice addresses a foreclosure purchaser's request for a certificate discharging a federal tax lien. It concludes that a property owner who is not the taxpayer may apply for a…
Qualitative employee appraisals are not ROTERs
This Chief Counsel Advice considers whether statements in case narratives were ROTERs, records of tax enforcement results. It concludes that statements appearing to be qualitative appraisals of an…
Disaster postponement does not extend an extended return due date
This Chief Counsel Advice addresses overlapping disaster relief and a return whose due date was already extended. It confirms that the disaster postponement period does not extend the due date for…
PLR 201004024: Late REIT dividend election treated as timely
A real estate investment trust (REIT) filed its return after an extended deadline because its tax manager could not mail the return at the post office the REIT expected to be open. The return…
PLR 201004023: Late-filed S corporation election treated as timely
A corporation timely filed Form 2553 to elect S corporation status, but the IRS did not receive the form. The IRS concluded that the corporation had reasonable cause for the failure and ruled that…
Estate denied charitable deduction for settlement proceeds
An estate paid proceeds from a will-contest settlement to a charitable trust and claimed a charitable deduction under IRC § 2055. The IRS concluded that the charitable trust did not have an…
PLR 201004021: Six-month cure period available for a new markets tax credit investment
A community development investment entity asked whether it could use the six-month cure period for failing to invest substantially all of a qualified equity investment in qualified low-income…
PLR 201004020: Late Form 1128 treated as timely filed
An S corporation requested permission to change its taxable year but did not timely file Form 1128 because it was unaware that the form was required with the short-year return. The IRS concluded…
PLR 201004019: Extension granted for corporate classification election
A domestic limited liability company intended to elect association status taxable as a corporation but inadvertently failed to timely file Form 8832. The IRS concluded that the taxpayer satisfied…
PLR 201004018: Extension granted for corporate classification election
A domestic limited liability company intended to elect association status taxable as a corporation but inadvertently failed to timely file Form 8832. The IRS concluded that the taxpayer satisfied…
PLR 201004017: Extension granted for disregarded-entity election
A foreign entity intended to be classified as a disregarded entity for federal tax purposes but did not timely file Form 8832. The IRS concluded that the taxpayer satisfied the requirements for…
PLR 201004016: Extension granted for disregarded-entity election
A foreign entity intended to be classified as a disregarded entity for federal tax purposes but did not timely file Form 8832. The IRS concluded that the taxpayer satisfied the requirements for…
PLR 201004015: Extension granted for disregarded-entity election
A foreign entity intended to be classified as a disregarded entity for federal tax purposes but did not timely file Form 8832. The IRS concluded that the taxpayer satisfied the requirements for…
PLR 201004014: Extension granted for disregarded-entity election
A foreign entity intended to be classified as a disregarded entity for federal tax purposes but did not timely file Form 8832. The IRS concluded that the taxpayer satisfied the requirements for…
PLR 201004013: Extension granted for disregarded-entity election
A foreign entity intended to be classified as a disregarded entity for federal tax purposes but did not timely file Form 8832. The IRS concluded that the taxpayer satisfied the requirements for…
PLR 201004012: Extension granted for disregarded-entity election
A foreign entity intended to be classified as a disregarded entity for federal tax purposes but did not timely file Form 8832. The IRS concluded that the taxpayer satisfied the requirements for…
PLR 201004011: Extension granted for disregarded-entity election
A foreign entity intended to be classified as a disregarded entity for federal tax purposes but did not timely file Form 8832. The IRS concluded that the taxpayer satisfied the requirements for…
PLR 201004010: Extension granted for disregarded-entity election
A foreign entity intended to be classified as a disregarded entity for federal tax purposes but did not timely file Form 8832. The IRS concluded that the taxpayer satisfied the requirements for…
PLR 201004009: Extension granted for disregarded-entity election
A foreign entity intended to be classified as a disregarded entity for federal tax purposes but did not timely file Form 8832. The IRS concluded that the taxpayer satisfied the requirements for…
PLR 201004008: Six-month cure period available for a new markets tax credit investment
A community development entity asked whether it could use the six-month cure period for failing to invest substantially all of a qualified equity investment in qualified low-income community…
PLR 201004007: Late entity-classification and S corporation elections approved
A limited liability company intended to elect association status taxable as a corporation and S corporation status, but it did not timely file Forms 8832 and 2553. The IRS granted 60 days to file…
PLR 201004006: Proposed trust disclaimers will not be taxable gifts
A taxpayer planned to disclaim contingent rights to receive trust property from two irrevocable trusts after reaching the age of majority. The IRS concluded that the proposed disclaimers would not…
PLR 201004005: State grants treated as taxable income and reportable payments
A state program provided grants to people who purchased homes. The IRS concluded that the grants were cash subsidies rather than purchase-price reductions because the entity making the grants was…
PLR 201004004: Motor vehicle service contracts treated differently for insurance tax purposes
An automobile-contract business asked whether its motor vehicle service contracts and extended service contracts were insurance contracts for federal tax purposes, and whether it qualified as an…
PLR 201004003: Taxpayers granted more time to elect qualified dividends as investment income
Individual taxpayers asked for more time to elect to treat qualified dividend income as investment income for purposes of deducting investment interest. They had filed their return without making…
PLR 201004002: LLC granted relief for late entity classification and S corporation elections
An LLC asked for more time to elect to be treated as an association taxable as a corporation and to make an S corporation election. The LLC had intended to make both elections effective on a…
PLR 201004001: Proposed split-off and related combination receive tax rulings
A holding company requested rulings on the federal tax consequences of separating one business into a controlled corporation and then combining that corporation with another company. The proposed…
PLR 201003033: Waiver granted for a late IRA rollover caused by an extra payment
An individual received an extra monthly distribution from a traditional IRA because of an error by a financial institution during an account transfer. The extra payment caused the individual to miss…
PLR 201003032: 60-day IRA rollover waiver denied after funds were placed in a non-IRA account
An individual received a distribution from an IRA and intended to roll it into another IRA. The individual went to a bank with the IRA check and proceeds from a separate, non-IRA certificate of…
PLR 201003031: Partial late IRA rollover waiver after cognitive impairment
An elderly individual withdrew funds from two IRAs and intended to move them into retirement accounts, but instead placed them in certificates of deposit that were not IRAs. The individual later…
PLR 201003030: 60-day IRA rollover waiver denied after the taxpayer forgot the account was an IRA
An individual surrendered an IRA annuity and deposited the proceeds into non-IRA accounts after forgetting that the annuity was an IRA. The individual later learned the account’s status from a Form…
PLR 201003029: IRS approves a five-year pension-plan amortization extension for a 2009 plan year
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…
PLR 201003028: IRS approves a five-year pension-plan amortization extension for an October 2008 plan year
The IRS approved a plan's request for a five-year automatic extension to amortize unfunded liabilities as of October 1, 2008. The extension applies to the amortization charge bases identified in the…
PLR 201003027: IRS approves a five-year pension-plan amortization extension for an October 2008 plan year
The IRS approved a plan's request for a five-year automatic extension to amortize unfunded liabilities as of October 1, 2008. The extension applies to the amortization charge bases identified in the…
PLR 201003026: IRS approves a five-year pension-plan amortization extension for an October 2008 plan year
The IRS approved a plan's request for a five-year automatic extension to amortize unfunded liabilities as of October 1, 2008. The extension applies to the amortization charge bases identified in the…
PLR 201003025: IRS approves a private foundation's grant-making program under IRC § 4945(g)(3)
The IRS approved a private foundation's proposed program to award grants to scientists, artists, writers, filmmakers, researchers, and other visionaries. The grants will support specific projects…
PLR 201003024: IRS approves a university endowment contract without unrelated business taxable income
The IRS ruled that a university's proposed contractual arrangement with its charitable remainder trusts would not generate unrelated business taxable income for the university. The letter did not…
PLR 201003023: IRS approves a charitable remainder trust's endowment share arrangement
The IRS ruled that a charitable remainder trust could participate in an educational organization's endowment through contractual shares without generating unrelated business taxable income to the…
PLR 201003022: Social club keeps its exemption, but liquidating property gain is taxable
The IRS considered a social club's plan to dissolve, sell its property, and distribute the remaining cash to members. The IRS concluded that the sale would not cause the club to lose its tax-exempt…
PLR 201003021: IRS approves a private foundation's land-trust education grant program
The IRS approved a private foundation's program to provide grants to individuals for land-trust education and training. The program is intended to help land-trust practitioners improve their…
Partner-level review may determine the source of reported dividends
Chief Counsel advice addressed whether the IRS could issue a partner-level notice of deficiency disallowing a corporate partner's dividend received deduction when the partnership return and the…
IRS treated a transaction as a reverse acquisition for SRLY purposes
Chief Counsel advice addressed interest deductions and a taxpayer's foreign arguments in connection with a corporate reorganization. The advice states that the IRS viewed the transaction as a…
Excess depreciation tied to built-in losses cannot reduce section 1374 gain
Chief Counsel advice addressed whether excess depreciation deductions attributable to built-in-loss assets could reduce net recognized built-in gain for purposes of section 1374 after a corporation…
Appeals may disregard CDP requests built entirely on frivolous arguments
Chief Counsel advice addressed whether Appeals may treat a collection due process (CDP) hearing request as if it were never submitted when the request includes a frivolous argument about a Form…
Foreclosure receiver's sale appears to qualify as a judicial sale
Chief Counsel advice addressed whether a sale by a receiver appointed in an Indiana foreclosure proceeding would qualify as a judicial sale for purposes of 28 U.S.C. § 2410 and IRC § 7425(a). The…
PLR 201003015: IRS approved division of a grandfathered trust into five separate trusts
The taxpayers proposed dividing a trust created before September 25, 1985, into five equal trusts serving separate family lines. The IRS ruled that the division would preserve the trust's exemption…
PLR 201003014: Section 368(a)(1)(F) reorganization approved for a foreign target
The IRS approved a proposed restructuring in which a foreign target corporation would transfer its assets and liabilities, other than specified contingent liabilities, to a newly formed entity and…
Canadian mutual funds in an RRSP were not U.S.-situs estate assets
Chief Counsel advice addressed whether a Canadian resident's registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) should be included in the decedent's U.S. gross estate. The advice states that the RRSP balance…
Two reorganizations combine Oldco and Target under Newco
An exempt parent proposed to combine two businesses by forming Newco, moving Oldco into Newco in a section 368(a)(1)(F) reorganization, and then moving Target into Newco in a section 368(a)(1)(D)…
IRS grants a 60-day extension for an entity classification election
An entity formed outside the United States intended to elect association status, which is generally treated as corporation status for federal tax purposes, effective on its formation date. Its Form…
University and faculty practice plan may use common paymaster rules
The IRS considered a public university and a tax-exempt faculty practice plan whose health professionals were employed by both organizations. The practice plan's single-member LLC employed the…
Foreign group may separate Business A through distributions and a joint venture
A foreign parent proposed to separate Business A from its other businesses and contribute it to a joint venture with Company A. The proposed steps included redomiciling and converting a subsidiary,…
IRS grants more time to elect out of section 382(l)(5)
A loss corporation underwent an ownership change while it was in a title 11 case and later underwent a second ownership change. It intended to elect out of the special section 382(l)(5) rules, but…
Retiree health contributions qualify for the section 106 exclusion
A trust established by two unions funded post-retirement medical benefits under a mandatory plan. The plan reimbursed eligible retirees, spouses, dependents, and domestic partners for qualifying…
IRS permits revocation of an inadvertent investment-income election
The executor of a deceased taxpayer's estate asked to revoke an election that treated qualified dividends and net capital gain as investment income for purposes of the investment-interest deduction.…
Government payments qualify as a nonshareholder capital contribution
The IRS considered payments from a government program to a wholly owned corporate subsidiary for construction of a plant. The payments were made under an agreement, and the government's repayment…
IRS treats a late S corporation election as timely
A corporation intended to elect S corporation status for the tax year beginning on its incorporation date, but it did not timely file Form 2553. The IRS concluded that the corporation had reasonable…
IRS grants more time to elect out of automatic GST allocation
Two spouses created an irrevocable trust for their children and later made additional transfers to it. Their attorney did not explain that the generation-skipping transfer tax exemption would be…
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.