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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Advance approval of scholarship procedures for gifted, underprivileged students
A private foundation asked the IRS to pre-approve the way it will award college and graduate-school scholarships. Because a private foundation that makes grants to individuals for study normally…
Advance approval of a foundation's tuition scholarship procedures for students abroad
A private foundation asked the IRS to pre-approve how it will select and pay scholarships. A private foundation that gives individuals money for study normally owes an excise tax under Section 4945…
Advance approval of a private foundation's rural-focused scholarship procedures
A private foundation asked the IRS to pre-approve the way it will pick and pay scholarship recipients. This approval matters because a private foundation that makes grants to individuals for study…
Recreational adult golf league denied 501(c)(3) status
A women's nine-hole golf league applied to be recognized as a tax-exempt charity under Section 501(c)(3) using the streamlined Form 1023-EZ. The group plays golf weekly at a local course in warmer…
501(c)(3) exemption revoked for failure to keep and produce records
The IRS revoked a public charity's tax-exempt status. During an audit of the group's Form 990, the IRS repeatedly asked for the organization's books, bank statements, contracts, meeting minutes, and…
Late § 336(e) election allowed so an S corporation stock sale can be treated as an asset sale
When buyers acquire at least 80% of an S corporation's stock, the seller and buyer can jointly elect under Section 336(e) to treat the sale as if the company had sold its assets, which often gives…
LLC gets 60 more days to self-certify as a Qualified Opportunity Fund after its accountant wrongly said no return was due
An LLC (taxed as a partnership) was set up to invest in a qualified opportunity zone and to operate as a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF), a structure that lets investors defer and reduce…
Estate received more time to elect portability of unused exclusion
An estate that was not otherwise required to file an estate tax return missed the deadline to elect portability of the decedent's unused estate and gift tax exclusion for the surviving spouse. The…
Parties received more time to make a Section 336(e) election
A buyer acquired more than 80 percent of an S corporation's stock, and the parties intended to treat the stock sale as an asset sale under Section 336(e). They did not timely sign the required…
Estate received more time for QTIP and reverse QTIP elections
An estate timely filed Form 706, but its accountant did not advise the executor to make QTIP and reverse QTIP elections for a marital trust or include Schedule R. The trust required income…
Estate received more time to elect portability of unused exclusion
An estate that was not otherwise required to file an estate tax return did not timely make a portability election for the decedent's unused exclusion amount. The IRS concluded that the estate met…
Estate received more time to elect portability of unused exclusion
An estate that was not otherwise required to file an estate tax return missed the deadline to elect portability of the decedent's unused exclusion amount. The IRS concluded that the estate satisfied…
Partnership received more time to self-certify as an opportunity fund
A partnership formed to invest in qualified opportunity zone property intended to operate as a qualified opportunity fund. Its accounting firm did not know of that intent and omitted Form 8996 from…
Partnership received more time to self-certify as an opportunity fund
A partnership formed to invest in a qualified opportunity zone business intended to operate as a qualified opportunity fund. Its accounting firm filed an extension and the members' individual forms…
Loan-on-loan financing qualified as a REIT real estate asset
A REIT subsidiary made a loan to a lender that had originated a construction loan secured by real-property mortgages. The REIT subsidiary received a perfected collateral assignment of the…
Foreign entity received more time to elect partnership status
A foreign eligible entity intended to be classified as a partnership for federal tax purposes but did not timely file Form 8832. It represented that the failure did not result from tax avoidance or…
Foreign entity received more time to elect partnership status
A foreign eligible entity intended to be classified as a partnership for federal tax purposes but failed to timely file Form 8832. It represented that the failure was not motivated by tax avoidance…
Foreign entity received more time to elect disregarded status
A foreign eligible entity intended to be treated as disregarded from its owner for federal tax purposes but failed to timely file Form 8832. It represented that the failure did not result from tax…
Foreign entity received more time to elect disregarded status
A foreign eligible entity intended to be disregarded from its owner for federal tax purposes but failed to timely file Form 8832. The IRS concluded that the entity met the standards for regulatory…
Corporation denied late tax-year change after missing 90-day limit
A domestic corporation instructed its accounting firm to change its tax year, but internal miscommunications caused the firm to miss the filings needed for a timely Form 1128. The error was…
S corporation received more time for two QSub elections
An S corporation wholly owned two subsidiaries and intended to elect qualified subchapter S subsidiary status for both. Because of inadvertence, it did not timely file Form 8869 for either…
Corporate business separation qualified as a tax-free spin-off
A publicly traded corporation proposed separating one business into a newly formed controlled corporation while retaining its other businesses. The plan included asset contributions, external…
Opportunity fund received 21 more days to file Form 8996
This supplemental ruling modified an earlier private letter ruling concerning a qualified opportunity fund election. Because of events outside the taxpayer's control, the IRS granted 21 additional…
Shareholder received consent for a retroactive QEF election
A United States shareholder owned less than 10 percent of a foreign corporation that later became a passive foreign investment company. The shareholder's qualified tax adviser did not timely…
Shareholder received consent for a retroactive QEF election
A United States shareholder owned less than 10 percent of a foreign corporation that became a passive foreign investment company. The shareholder's qualified tax adviser did not identify the PFIC…
Taxpayer denied waiver for retirement-plan rollover deadline
A taxpayer asked the IRS to waive the 60-day deadline for rolling a qualified-plan distribution into a traditional IRA. She said the financial institution instead deposited the amount into a Roth…
Insurance subsidiary remained in consolidated group during receivership
A parent corporation wholly owned an insurance subsidiary that entered a court-ordered receivership and liquidation. The receiver obtained management authority and title to the subsidiary's…
Investment company allowed to revoke PFIC mark-to-market election
A regulated investment company made a mark-to-market election for stock in a passive foreign investment company because it did not know the foreign company would provide annual PFIC information…
Estate received more time to elect portability of unused exclusion
An estate that was not otherwise required to file an estate tax return did not timely elect portability of the decedent's unused exclusion amount. The IRS concluded that the estate met the…
REIT received more time to elect out of bonus depreciation
A real estate investment trust intended not to claim additional first-year depreciation for several classes of qualified property. Its return reflected no depreciation for that property, but the…
Limited partnership received more time to elect partnership status
A domestic limited partnership had previously elected corporate classification and later intended to change back to partnership status. It did not timely file Form 8832, although it and its owners…
Foreign entity received more time to elect disregarded status
A foreign entity with one shareholder intended to be disregarded from its owner for federal tax purposes but inadvertently failed to timely file Form 8832. The IRS concluded that the regulatory…
Trust allowed charitable deduction for income set aside for foundation
A revocable trust became part of the decedent's estate under a Section 645 election, and a private foundation was its sole remaining beneficiary. The trust wholly owned an S corporation that planned…
Opportunity fund received 21 more days to file Form 8996
This supplemental ruling modified an earlier private letter ruling concerning a qualified opportunity fund election. Because of events outside the taxpayer's control, the IRS granted 21 additional…
Organization denied social club exemption
A nonprofit organization applied for exemption as a social club under Section 501(c)(7). Its principal activities included public bingo, food service, fundraising events, and renting its hall to…
AI competition organization denied charitable exemption
An organization formed to run open artificial-intelligence programming competitions applied for exemption under Section 501(c)(3). For-profit technology companies hosted and supported the…
Dog training club denied charitable exemption
A volunteer dog club applied for exemption under Section 501(c)(3). It conducted public hunt tests and trials, offered training and seminars, held club meetings, and stated that its activities…
Software user group denied business league exemption
An organization sought business league exemption for a user group limited to businesses in one industry that licensed a particular software product. Its activities promoted that product through…
Foreign micro-captive payments may face FDAP tax adjustment
Chief Counsel addressed abusive micro-captive arrangements involving a foreign entity that had elected domestic treatment under Section 953(d). If the arrangement was not insurance, the captive was…
Seven foreign entities received more time to elect partnership status
Seven foreign eligible entities intended to be classified as partnerships for federal tax purposes but did not file Form 8832 for their intended effective dates. Each entity asked for an extension…
LLC received more time to elect corporate tax status
A limited liability company intended to be classified as an association taxable as a corporation but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS found that the regulatory requirements…
Foreign entity received more time to elect partnership status
A foreign eligible entity intended to be treated as a partnership for federal tax purposes but failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS concluded that the entity met the standards for regulatory…
LLC received inadvertent invalid S election relief
An LLC elected corporate status and then S corporation status, but provisions in its operating agreement inadvertently created a second class of stock. The company also made disproportionate…
Partnership received more time to self-certify as an Opportunity Fund
A partnership was formed to operate as a Qualified Opportunity Fund but missed the deadline to file its first Form 1065 and accompanying Form 8996. Its managers knew that Form 8996 was required but…
Annuity-paid advisory fees were not distributions to owners
A life insurance company planned to offer variable, fixed-indexed, and hybrid deferred annuity contracts designed for owners who receive ongoing investment advice about the contracts. Owners could…
Partnership received more time to self-certify as an Opportunity Fund
A partnership formed to operate as a Qualified Opportunity Fund relied on an accounting firm to file its initial partnership return and Form 8996. The firm obtained an extension but failed to…
Investor received consent for a retroactive QEF election
A United States taxpayer owned less than 10 percent of a foreign company that later became a passive foreign investment company. The taxpayer's qualified adviser did not identify the company's PFIC…
Investor received consent for a retroactive QEF election
A United States taxpayer owned less than 10 percent of a foreign company that later became a passive foreign investment company. The taxpayer's qualified adviser did not identify the company's PFIC…
Dog training organization lost its charitable exemption
An organization that had previously been exempt as a social club was later reinstated as a Section 501(c)(3) public charity. It conducted training classes, agility practice matches, membership…
Member bereavement fund was denied charitable exemption
An organization applied for Section 501(c)(3) status to organize contributions and provide financial, emotional, spiritual, and social support when members or their families experienced a death. Its…
IRS revoked a charity's exemption for personal expenses and inadequate records
The IRS revoked a charity's Section 501(c)(3) exemption after examining its finances and recordkeeping. The organization described itself as providing food, material aid, basic services, Bible…
Internal and public spin-offs qualified for nonrecognition
A public corporate group proposed separating two businesses through financing transactions, an initial public offering of a controlled corporation, an internal spin-off to the public parent, and an…
Estate received more time to elect portability
An estate was not otherwise required to file an estate tax return but failed to file Form 706 on time to transfer the decedent's unused exclusion amount to the surviving spouse. The IRS concluded…
Corporation received relief for a missed QSST election
An S corporation shareholder's grantor trust transferred stock after the grantor died to another trust that represented it met the requirements for a qualified subchapter S trust. The new trust's…
REIT received 90 days to make a late taxable REIT subsidiary election
A real estate investment trust and its subsidiary asked for extra time to file a joint election treating the subsidiary as a taxable REIT subsidiary effective from the REIT's intended start date.…
Corporate separation received tax-free spin-off rulings
A publicly traded parent company proposed separating three controlled businesses from its remaining business. It would first place the controlled businesses in a new corporation, then distribute all…
Opportunity fund received 60 days to make late self-certification election
A partnership formed to invest in qualified opportunity zone property failed to timely file both its partnership return and Form 8996, which was required to self-certify as a qualified opportunity…
Foreign entity received 120 days to make a late disregarded-entity election
A foreign eligible entity failed to timely file Form 8832 to be treated as disregarded from its single owner for federal tax purposes. The IRS found that the entity satisfied the standards for…
Private foundation scholarship procedures received advance approval
A private foundation sought advance approval for a scholarship program serving financially needy students pursuing higher education. The program emphasizes fields such as science, technology,…
Student support scholarship procedures received advance approval
A private foundation sought advance approval for a scholarship program that gives additional financial support to students pursuing post-secondary education. Eligible applicants generally come…
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.