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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Determination 201001025: Organization qualifies as an exempt operating foundation
The IRS determined that a previously recognized private operating foundation met the requirements to be an exempt operating foundation under IRC § 4940(d)(2). The organization preserved ecologically…
Determination 201001024: IRS denies exemption to an organization funding a foreign school
The IRS denied an organization's application for recognition as a tax-exempt organization under IRC § 501(c)(3). The organization funded stipends for students at a foreign school, but the IRS found…
Determination 201001023: IRS denies exemption to an organization paying members' death benefits
The IRS denied an organization's application for recognition as a tax-exempt organization under IRC § 501(c)(3). The organization paid funeral and burial benefits to members of a religious community…
PLR 201001022: IRS approves a private foundation's contingent set-aside while a court order restricts distributions
A former hospital, now a private foundation, asked to set aside its required annual distribution because a state court order barred it from distributing assets while potential malpractice…
PLR 201001021: IRS approves a private foundation's scholarship grant procedures
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve procedures for a scholarship program benefiting students in a specified state. The program considered academic performance, financial need, community…
PLR 201001020: IRS approves an employer-related scholarship grant program
A private foundation requested advance approval for an additional scholarship program for children of employees of a related employer. The proposed program used academic eligibility criteria, an…
CCA 201001019: Chief Counsel advises against checking representatives' tax compliance without a case need
Chief Counsel considered whether a collection employee could access the IRS's taxpayer information system to check whether a taxpayer's authorized representatives were current on their own tax…
TAM 201001018: Offshore support vessels classified in asset class 13.0
The IRS considered how to classify offshore support vessels used by a contractor to transport supplies, equipment, and personnel for customers engaged in offshore oil and gas operations. The IRS…
PLR 201001017: IRS approves a hold-constant method for measuring ownership shifts under section 382
A publicly traded corporation asked how to measure ownership shifts under IRC § 382 after issuing and exchanging several classes of preferred stock, common stock, securities, and warrants. The IRS…
PLR 201001016: IRS approves tax treatment for a guaranteed-benefit investment certificate
An individual planned to buy a certificate linked to an investment account that guaranteed monthly lifetime payments if the account value fell to zero within specified conditions. The IRS ruled that…
PLR 201001015: IRS approves tax treatment for a regulated investment company reorganization
The IRS considered a proposed merger in which one regulated investment company fund would transfer all of its assets and liabilities to another fund in exchange for shares, distribute those shares…
PLR 201001014: IRS grants more time for an estate's alternate valuation election
An estate's executor filed an estate tax return but did not make the alternate valuation election under IRC § 2032. After obtaining appraisals, the executor filed a supplemental return making the…
PLR 201001013: IRS excludes qualifying housing and training benefits from income and withholding
A county and its housing authority asked whether housing and job-training benefits provided to qualifying low- and moderate-income county employees could be excluded from gross income. The IRS…
PLR 201001012: IRS restores an S corporation election after an inadvertent QSST election failure
A company asked the IRS for relief after its S corporation election terminated because a testamentary trust holding its stock did not timely make a qualified subchapter S trust election. The IRS…
PLR 201001011: IRS restores an S corporation election after an inadvertent QSST election failure
A company asked the IRS for relief after its S corporation election terminated because a testamentary trust holding its stock did not timely make a qualified subchapter S trust election. The IRS…
PLR 201001010: IRS restores an S corporation election after an inadvertent QSST election failure
A company asked the IRS for relief after its S corporation election terminated because a testamentary trust holding its stock did not timely make a qualified subchapter S trust election. The IRS…
PLR 201001009: IRS approves tax treatment for a foreign-parent split-off
A publicly traded parent asked how federal tax rules would apply when a controlled foreign corporation distributed all of the stock of a subsidiary to its shareholder in exchange for part of the…
PLR 201001008: IRS approves a multi-party corporate split-off and related reorganizations
A closely held corporation proposed transferring business assets to three newly formed subsidiaries and distributing each subsidiary's stock to separate shareholder groups in exchange for their…
PLR 201001007: IRS finds proposed trust disclaimers are not taxable gifts
A taxpayer planned to disclaim contingent interests in two irrevocable trusts created before 1977. The proposed disclaimers would be executed within nine months after the taxpayer reached the age of…
PLR 201001006: IRS grants more time to elect QSub status for a wholly owned subsidiary
An S corporation asked for more time to elect to treat its wholly owned subsidiary as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary, or QSub. The parent intended to make the election but inadvertently failed…
PLR 201001005: IRS treats certain note-repurchase cancellation income as RIC qualifying income
A regulated investment company asked whether cancellation-of-indebtedness income from repurchasing its notes at a discount would count as qualifying income under IRC § 851(b)(2). The fund used the…
PLR 201001004: IRS grants more time to allocate GST exemption to two trusts
A taxpayer asked for more time to allocate generation-skipping transfer tax exemption to two trusts after the taxpayer and spouse's gift tax returns failed to make the intended allocations. The IRS…
PLR 201001003: IRS grants an estate more time to allocate GST exemption to two trusts
The executor of a taxpayer's estate asked for more time to allocate the taxpayer's generation-skipping transfer tax exemption to two trusts after the taxpayer's gift tax returns failed to make the…
PLR 201001002: IRS approves a multi-step foreign restructuring
A public company proposed restructuring several foreign subsidiaries through new entities, entity-classification elections, asset transfers, stock exchanges, and debt and preferred-equity issuances.…
PLR 201001001: IRS accepts a late application to change a taxpayer's accounting period
A taxpayer sought to change its federal tax year and filed Form 1128 after the deadline. The IRS found that the taxpayer had acted reasonably and in good faith, and that granting relief would not…
PLR 200953033: IRS waives the 60-day IRA rollover requirement
A married couple asked the IRS to waive the 60-day rollover requirement for distributions from three individual retirement accounts. One spouse's failure to complete the rollovers was attributed to…
PLR 200953032: IRS waives the 60-day rollover requirement after a financial institution error
A taxpayer received an eligible rollover distribution from a retirement plan and directed the funds into an IRA. A financial institution mistakenly opened a non-IRA account instead, and the taxpayer…
IRS written determination 200953031: IRS approves a five-year pension funding extension
An employee benefit plan requested a five-year extension to amortize unfunded liabilities. The IRS approved the extension under IRC § 431(d)(1), based on the plan's application and actuarial…
PLR 200953030: IRS waives the 60-day IRA rollover requirement
An individual asked the IRS to waive the 60-day deadline for rolling a distribution from an IRA into another IRA. The taxpayer intended to make the rollover, but an employee of the receiving company…
PLR 200953029: VEBA may pay survivorship benefits to nondependent domestic partners
An organization described as a voluntary employees' beneficiary association asked whether it could amend its plan to pay monthly survivorship benefits to a participant's non-spousal domestic partner…
CCA 200953028: Successor corporation generally cannot recover voluntary tax payment
Chief Counsel advice considered whether a Maryland corporation that paid another corporation's tax liability could recover that payment as a refund or bring a refund suit. The advice noted that an…
CCA 200953027: Advice on disclosing return information to the Justice Department
Chief Counsel advice addressed whether return information could be disclosed to the Department of Justice and to Service personnel. It concluded that IRC § 6103(h)(1) permits disclosure to Service…
CCA 200953026: PTI distribution generally reduces stock-sale loss
Chief Counsel advice analyzed the dividend recapture rule in Treas. Reg. § 1.865-2(d)(2) and its treatment of built-in losses in stock. It explained how Subpart F inclusions, previously taxed income…
CCA 200953025: Denials of discharge requests can be appealed through CAP
Chief Counsel advice addressed whether the denial of a request to discharge property carried Collection Appeals Program appeal rights when the IRS had offered alternatives. It explained that the…
CCA 200953024: Shipyard grants may qualify as nonshareholder capital contributions
Chief Counsel advice considered whether grants from a small shipyard grant program could be excluded from gross income under IRC § 118. It explained that the result depends on the facts of the…
CCA 200953023: Treat cooperative associations as C corporations for small-partnership exception
Chief Counsel advice addressed how cooperative associations should be treated for purposes of the small partnership exception. Based on advice from an undisclosed source, Counsel recommended…
CCA 200953022: Authority to extend the assessment period after partnership conversion
Chief Counsel advice considered the period for assessing tax after Forms 870-PT were completed and the partnership was converted. It explained that IRC § 6229(f) provides a one-year assessment…
CCA 200953021: Advice on the section 6656 employment-tax deposit penalty
Chief Counsel advice discussed the penalty under IRC § 6656 for failing to timely deposit tax. It stated that the penalty is generally 10 percent of the underpayment, absent reasonable cause. The…
CCA 200953020: Six-year period proposed for fraud-related payroll remittance claims
Chief Counsel advice considered the limitations period for administrative requests to return funds paid by payroll reporting agents that were defrauded by purported new clients. Because the…
CCA 200953019: Grandfather clause may preserve reliance on a pre-enactment opinion
Chief Counsel advice addressed whether a taxpayer could continue relying on a pre-enactment opinion under a grandfather clause. It confirmed that the clause allowed reliance in subsequent years. The…
PLR 200953018: REIT property sales and distributions avoid specified tax classifications
A publicly traded domestic corporation taxed as a real estate investment trust asked about selling properties, distributing dividends, and repurchasing securities while addressing debt and working…
PLR 200953017: 60-day extension granted to allocate GST exemption to an exempt trust
Two donors created an exempt trust and a non-exempt trust for their children and later descendants. Their tax preparer mistakenly allocated generation-skipping transfer tax exemption to the…
PLR 200953016: Inadvertent S corporation termination disregarded under section 1362(f)
An entity asked the IRS to address the inadvertent termination of its S corporation election after a partnership became the owner of its stock. The partnership later changed its federal tax…
PLR 200953015: REIT stock distribution treated as a section 301 distribution
A publicly traded corporation that planned to elect REIT status asked how a proposed distribution of accumulated earnings and profits should be treated. The corporation planned to make the…
PLR 200953014: Transaction costs allocated among deductible and capitalized categories
A corporation asked how to treat costs from a completed acquisition, including fees for financial, legal, accounting, due-diligence, general, and financing services. The IRS concluded that the…
PLR 200953013: Trust income for pooled retiree health benefits excluded under section 115(1)
An entity formed under a state joint powers law operated a pooled fund for cities, utilities, and counties. It created a trust to help those members provide post-retirement health benefits to their…
PLR 200953012: 60-day extension to elect corporate classification
An eligible business entity that had defaulted to partnership classification asked for more time to elect classification as an association taxable as a corporation. The entity was eligible for the…
PLR 200953011: Working-interest transfer treated as a sublease
An S corporation holding working interests in domestic oil and gas properties planned to transfer operating interests to an unrelated corporation while retaining a net profits interest. The…
PLR 200953010: Proposed trust disclaimer would not be a gift-tax transfer
An individual who was a contingent remainder beneficiary of a trust planned to disclaim the right to receive a distribution when the trust terminated. The trust was created before 1977, and the…
PLR 200953009: 30-day extension to file signed duplicate Form 3115
A taxpayer had timely filed its original Form 3115 to change its accounting method but inadvertently failed to file the required signed duplicate with the IRS national office. The taxpayer…
PLR 200953008: 60-day extension to elect disregarded-entity classification
An entity organized outside the United States intended to elect treatment as an entity disregarded as separate from its owner for federal tax purposes. It failed to timely file Form 8832 because of…
PLR 200953007: 60-day extension to elect disregarded-entity classification
An entity organized outside the United States intended to elect treatment as an entity disregarded as separate from its owner for federal tax purposes. It failed to timely file Form 8832 because of…
PLR 200953006: Request for late mark-to-market election denied
An individual who traded securities asked for more time to elect the mark-to-market method of accounting under section 475(f), effective for a redacted year. The individual had not learned about the…
PLR 200953005: Mezzanine debt secured indirectly by real property
A partnership-owned real estate structure used mezzanine debt secured by ownership interests in entities that held or controlled commercial property. The taxpayer asked whether that debt was secured…
PLR 200953004: 60-day extension to allocate GST exemption to two trusts
An individual created two irrevocable trusts for a child and later descendants, but failed to allocate generation-skipping transfer tax exemption to transfers reported on timely gift tax returns.…
PLR 200953003: 60-day extension to allocate GST exemption to an exempt trust
Two donors created an exempt trust and a non-exempt trust for their children and later descendants. Their tax preparer mistakenly allocated generation-skipping transfer tax exemption to the…
PLR 200953002: 60-day GST exemption allocation extensions granted to spouses
Spouses reported gifts to an irrevocable trust on timely gift tax returns but their advisors failed to allocate the spouses' generation-skipping transfer tax exemptions to the transfers. The…
PLR 200953001: Prospective consent to change cost-sharing treatment of stock compensation
A corporation and its foreign subsidiary used a cost sharing arrangement covering employee stock options and restricted shares, but the arrangement did not timely adopt specified methods for…
Determination 200952068: Five-year extension granted for unfunded pension liabilities
The IRS approved a request for a five-year automatic extension to amortize a pension plan's unfunded liabilities as of July 1, 2008. The extension applied to eligible amortization charge bases that…
Determination 200952067: 60-day IRA rollover waiver granted after bank error
An IRA owner received a distribution and instructed a bank to deposit the check into a rollover IRA, but the bank instead placed the funds in a non-IRA certificate of deposit. The owner did not…
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.