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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Tax-exempt controlled corporation receives late section 168 election relief
A corporation wholly owned by a tax-exempt organization was the general partner of a partnership formed to operate low-income housing. The partnership agreement required the corporation to elect…
Foreign entity receives 120-day extension for corporate classification election
A foreign eligible entity failed to timely file Form 8832 to be treated as an association taxable as a corporation from its requested effective date. It represented that it acted reasonably and in…
LLC receives late corporate-classification and S corporation election relief
A domestic limited liability company intended from formation to be classified as an association taxable as a corporation and to elect S corporation status. It inadvertently failed to timely file…
LLC receives late corporate-classification and S corporation election relief
A multi-member limited liability company intended from formation to elect corporate classification and S corporation status rather than use its default partnership classification. It inadvertently…
Donor receives 120-day extension to elect out of automatic GST allocation
A donor and spouse created four irrevocable trusts primarily for their grandchildren, and the donor later transferred the same redacted amount to each trust. The donor did not intend to allocate…
Donor receives 120-day extension to elect out of automatic GST allocation
A donor and spouse created four irrevocable trusts primarily for their grandchildren, and the donor later transferred the same redacted amount to each trust. The donor did not intend to allocate…
Foreign company receives 120-day extension for partnership classification election
A foreign eligible entity with multiple owners had a default classification as an association taxable as a corporation. It intended to elect partnership treatment but relied on a tax professional…
Foreign company receives 120-day extension for partnership classification election
A foreign eligible entity with multiple owners had a default classification as an association taxable as a corporation. It intended to elect partnership treatment but relied on a tax professional…
Tax-exempt controlled corporation receives late section 168 election relief
A corporation wholly owned by a tax-exempt organization was a limited partner in a partnership formed to operate low-income housing. The partnership agreement required the corporation to elect under…
Tax-exempt controlled corporation receives late section 168 election relief
A corporation wholly owned by a tax-exempt organization was the general partner of a partnership formed to operate low-income housing. The partnership agreement required the corporation to elect…
REIT receives 90-day extension for taxable-subsidiary election
A real estate investment trust and a subsidiary intended the subsidiary to be a taxable REIT subsidiary from its formation. An outside firm recommended filing Forms 8832 and 8875 but believed the…
S corporation receives 120-day extension for QSub election
An S corporation purchased all of the stock of another S corporation and intended to treat the acquired company as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary. It failed to timely file Form 8869 for the…
Affiliated group gets 60 days to elect consolidated filing
A domestic parent corporation and its 18 subsidiaries failed to make a valid election to file a consolidated federal income tax return by the applicable deadline. The parent requested regulatory…
Parent gets 45 days for late Section 338(g) election
A consolidated group's foreign subsidiary acquired all the stock of another foreign corporation in a transaction intended to receive section 338(g) asset-acquisition treatment, but the parent failed…
S corporation gets 60 days to attach omitted Form 3115
An S corporation commissioned a cost-segregation study and intended to change its depreciation accounting method under the automatic procedures of Revenue Procedure 2015-13. A signed copy of Form…
Foreign insurer gets time for domestic and small-company elections
A foreign property-and-casualty insurer relied on a professional adviser to make elections under sections 953(d) and 831(b), treating it as a domestic corporation and a qualifying small insurance…
Partnership gets 120 days for late Section 754 elections
A foreign-law general partnership failed to make timely section 754 elections for two taxable years after an investor acquired an interest in an upper-tier partnership that owned part of it. The…
Partnership gets 120 days for late Section 754 elections
A foreign-law general partnership failed to make timely section 754 elections for two taxable years after a purchaser acquired an interest in it. The partnership represented that it acted reasonably…
LLC gets 120 days for Section 754 election after member's death
A limited liability company taxed as a partnership failed to make a section 754 election for the year in which a member died and the member's interest passed to four other owners. Its professional…
Bankrupt loss group gets 45 days to elect out of Section 382(l)(5)
A consolidated loss group underwent an ownership change while under a court's jurisdiction in a title 11 case. The parent intended to elect out of the special section 382(l)(5) bankruptcy rule but…
Foreign LLC gets 120 days for retroactive disregarded status
A foreign limited liability company intended to elect disregarded-entity classification effective from its formation date but did not timely file Form 8832. Its ownership later changed from two U.S.…
Partnership gets 120 days for election after partner's death
A limited partnership failed to make a section 754 election after a deceased partner's interest passed to an estate. The partnership had relied on its tax adviser and did not know it was eligible to…
Reverse-acquisition group gets 45 days for consolidated election
A foreign corporation contributed a subsidiary chain to another subsidiary in a transaction represented to qualify as a reverse acquisition, creating a new affiliated group with the recipient as…
Late success-based fee election statement allowed
A corporation used Revenue Procedure 2011-29's safe harbor to deduct 70 percent and capitalize 30 percent of success-based fees from a covered transaction. Its tax professional intended to attach…
Late corporate classification election allowed
An eligible business entity intended to be treated as a corporation for federal tax purposes from the date it was formed, but it inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. The entity…
Partnership allowed late section 754 election
A foreign limited partnership made liquidating distributions to three partners but did not attach a section 754 election to its timely filed return because its tax preparers failed to explain the…
Estate receives extra time for portability election
An estate that was not otherwise required to file Form 706 missed the deadline to elect portability of the decedent's unused estate and gift tax exclusion to the surviving spouse. Because the return…
Trust allowed to revise dividend investment-income election
A trust elected to treat a specified amount of qualified dividend income as investment income when calculating its investment interest deduction. It based the election on a Schedule K-1, but the…
Omitted success-based fee election statement accepted late
A corporate taxpayer incurred success-based fees in an acquisition and reported them using Revenue Procedure 2011-29's 70-percent deduction and 30-percent capitalization safe harbor. Its accounting…
Acquisition fee safe-harbor election allowed late
A consolidated corporate group paid a success-based financial advisory fee when acquiring another company. Its tax adviser prepared a transaction-cost analysis concluding that the fee qualified for…
Late QSub election allowed
An S corporation acquired all the stock of a subsidiary and intended to elect qualified subchapter S subsidiary treatment from the acquisition date. It inadvertently failed to file Form 8869,…
Foreign entity allowed late partnership classification election
A foreign eligible entity intended to be classified as a partnership for federal tax purposes but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. It represented that it acted reasonably and in good…
Late duplicate Forms 3115 accepted
A consolidated corporate group implemented three accounting method changes involving depreciation, advance payments, and the remodel-refresh safe harbor. Its accounting firm attached the original…
Late Form 3115 attachment allowed for repair-cost method change
A corporation intended to make an automatic accounting-method change so that qualifying repair and maintenance costs would be deducted rather than capitalized. It timely sent the duplicate Form 3115…
Partnership receives 120 days for late Section 754 election
A limited liability company taxed as a partnership did not include a section 754 election with its timely return for the year one of its two owners died. Its professional return preparer had not…
Trust may revise qualified-dividend investment-income election
A trust elected to treat a stated amount of qualified dividends as investment income for its investment-interest deduction based on a Schedule K-1. After the issuer supplied an amended Schedule K-1…
Amended K-1 permits revised dividend election
A trust elected to treat a stated amount of qualified dividends as investment income for its investment-interest deduction based on a Schedule K-1. After the issuer supplied an amended Schedule K-1…
Trust receives relief to reduce dividend election
A trust elected to treat a stated amount of qualified dividends as investment income for its investment-interest deduction based on a Schedule K-1. After the issuer supplied an amended Schedule K-1…
Individual may reduce dividend investment-income election
An individual filing as head of household elected to treat a stated amount of qualified dividends as investment income for the investment-interest deduction based on Schedules K-1 from two entities.…
Joint filers may reduce dividend investment-income election
A married couple filing jointly elected to treat a stated amount of qualified dividends as investment income for the investment-interest deduction based on a Schedule K-1. After the issuer supplied…
Biopharmaceutical company receives 60 days to make a success-based fee safe-harbor election
A biopharmaceutical company paid success-based advisory fees when it acquired another company. Its accounting firm deducted 70 percent of the fees and capitalized 30 percent under the safe harbor in…
Corporate group receives 60 days to attach a success-based fee safe-harbor election
A corporate group paid a success-based advisory fee in connection with a stock acquisition and merger. Its return deducted 70 percent of the fee and capitalized the remaining 30 percent under…
Captive insurer receives 90 days to make a small-insurance-company election
A captive property and casualty insurer prepared a timely return and an election under section 831(b)(2) to be taxed only on taxable investment income. The company set the return aside for review…
Corporate group receives 60 days to file safe-harbor elections for two acquisition fees
A consolidated corporate group paid success-based advisory fees in two acquisitions, one treated as an asset acquisition through a section 338(h)(10) election and one structured as an asset sale.…
Export commission corporation received extra time to elect IC-DISC status
A domestic corporation was formed to receive commissions connected with another company's software exports and intended to operate as an interest charge domestic international sales corporation, or…
Taxpayer received extra time to opt out of automatic GST exemption allocations
A taxpayer made gifts over several years to three irrevocable trusts with generation-skipping transfer potential. He did not intend to allocate GST exemption to those gifts, but his accountant…
LLC received 120 days to make a late partnership classification election
A limited liability company intended to be treated as a partnership for federal tax purposes from a specified date. It did not file Form 8832, the entity classification election, on time. The IRS…
Consolidated group received extra time for a general asset account election
A consolidated group acquired a subsidiary's real property through contribution and liquidation steps during the tax year. The group's return included a general asset account election for the…
Partnership received 120 days to make a late section 754 election
A limited liability company taxed as a partnership timely filed its return but inadvertently omitted a valid section 754 election. It represented that it acted reasonably and in good faith and that…
Parties received 45 days to file a late section 336(e) election statement
A partnership purchased all the stock of an S corporation, which later converted into a disregarded limited liability company. The parties signed a timely binding agreement to make a section 336(e)…
Estate received 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate was not otherwise required to file an estate tax return because the decedent's gross estate and adjusted taxable gifts were below the filing threshold. The estate nevertheless needed to…
Corporation received 60 days to make a late IC-DISC election
A domestic corporation was formed to operate as an interest charge domestic international sales corporation. Its shareholder hired a law firm to handle the formation, but the firm failed to file…
Estate received 120 days to file a late portability election
An estate represented that it was below the section 6018 filing threshold and therefore was not otherwise required to file an estate tax return. It still needed Form 706 to elect portability of the…
Estate received 120 days to make a late QTIP election for marital trust
A decedent's trust divided into a marital trust for the surviving spouse and a family trust for the children. The spouse was entitled to all marital-trust income, could receive principal for…
Partnership received 120 days for a late section 754 election after a partner's death
A married couple held separate interests in a limited partnership formed in a community-property state and later transferred those interests to a revocable trust. When one spouse died, that spouse's…
Erroneous QTIP election voided and late reverse QTIP relief granted
A decedent's trust divided into Trust A and Trust B, both of which provided income and possible principal for the surviving spouse. Trust B also required recurring payments from corpus to the…
Estate received 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate represented that the decedent's gross estate and adjusted taxable gifts were below the threshold requiring an estate tax return. The estate still needed a timely Form 706 to elect…
Two foreign LLCs received 120 days for late partnership elections
Two foreign limited liability companies intended to be classified as partnerships from their respective formation dates but did not timely file Forms 8832. Because all members of a foreign eligible…
Partnership received 120 days for a late section 754 election after technical termination
A buyer acquired more than half of a limited liability company's partnership interests while the former section 708 technical-termination rule was still in effect. The acquisition caused a technical…
Estate received late QTIP and reverse QTIP election relief
A decedent's revocable trust divided the marital share into generation-skipping transfer tax exempt and nonexempt trusts for the surviving spouse. The spouse was entitled to all income and could…
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.