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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CCA 200947055: Willfulness in criminal tax cases
This Chief Counsel advice discusses willfulness, or the voluntary and intentional violation of a known legal duty, in criminal tax cases. It explains that the prosecution must prove willfulness…
CCA 200947054: Anti-abuse regulation does not apply to a disregarded entity
This Chief Counsel advice considers whether the Subchapter K anti-abuse rule in Treas. Reg. § 1.701-2 applies to a redacted entity. The writer states that the entity is not a partnership because it…
CCA 200947053: Requirements for façade-easement contributions
This Chief Counsel advice reviews the requirements for claiming a charitable contribution deduction for a façade easement. It discusses certified historic structures, qualified organizations,…
CCA 200947052: Parties addressed in a TEFRA proceeding
This Chief Counsel advice addresses whom agents should treat as the person being addressed in a TEFRA proceeding. It explains that, technically, the partners are the parties to the proceeding, which…
CCA 200947051: Limits on disclosure in a spouse's tax case
This Chief Counsel advice answers two proposed questions about disclosures in a spouse's tax case. It answers both questions affirmatively and states that disclosures should be limited to…
CCA 200947050: Power of attorney for a tax matters partner
This Chief Counsel advice addresses the authority of a power of attorney appointed by a tax matters partner. It states that the power of attorney represents only the tax matters partner and perhaps…
CCA 200947049: LLC manager's signature on a partnership return
This Chief Counsel advice considers whether an owner of an LLC's general partner may sign the partnership's Form 1065. It states that if the owner is also a manager of the LLC, the signature may be…
CCA 200947048: Forms 5471 and 5472 are insufficient for an AAR
This Chief Counsel advice addresses whether Forms 5471 and 5472 alone satisfy the requirements for an administrative adjustment request. It says they do not include all statements required by Form…
CCA 200947047: TEFRA partnership AAR filing recommendation
This Chief Counsel advice recommends that the tax matters partner of a TEFRA partnership file Form 8082 as an administrative adjustment request. The amended Forms 5471 and 5472 should be attached.…
CCA 200947046: Effect of a tax matters partner agreement on direct partners
This Chief Counsel advice addresses a tax matters partner agreement in a partnership with more than 100 direct partners. It states that the agreement binds direct partners who hold less than a…
CCA 200947045: AAR filing need not refile the entire Form 1065
This Chief Counsel advice addresses an amended partnership filing with Form 8082. It states that the filer needs to submit only the changes to Form 1065 together with Form 8082, rather than an…
CCA 200947044: Partnership treatment of a contribution outside TEFRA
This Chief Counsel advice states that Roberts v. Commissioner governs a question concerning a partnership contribution. It says that, absent a TEFRA proceeding to redetermine the partnership's…
CCA 200947043: Accrual of interest on an estimated-tax penalty
This Chief Counsel advice addresses when interest on an estimated-tax penalty accrues. It states that interest begins on the date of notice and demand if the taxpayer does not pay within 21 days of…
CCA 200947042: Deduction and credit treatment for foreign income taxes
This Chief Counsel advice explains the treatment of creditable foreign income taxes when a taxpayer claims a foreign tax credit. It states that those taxes are not deductible under § 164 if the…
CCA 200947041: Unrelated-business-income exception for short-term security loans
This Chief Counsel advice states that, as a general matter, an exemption from unrelated business income applies to short-term security loans under § 512(a)(5). The writer notes limited personal…
CCA 200947040: Partnership-level treatment of penalties and defenses
This Chief Counsel advice states that penalties and related defenses are affected items because they are not partnership items. It explains that penalties related to partnership items are…
CCA 200947039: Postponement period does not change a return's due date
This Chief Counsel advice states that a disaster-related postponement period does not change the actual due date of a tax return. For an early-filed return, § 6513(a) looks to the filing date…
CCA 200947038: Limits on claiming additional losses after an amendment period expires
This Chief Counsel advice addresses whether a taxpayer may amend a return to claim additional losses after the time to amend has expired. It states that § 6511(d)(2) permits amendment of redacted…
PLR 200947037: Foreign entity granted time to elect partnership classification
The IRS granted a foreign entity with two owners an additional 60 days to file Form 8832 and elect to be treated as a partnership for federal tax purposes. The entity had failed to file the election…
CCA 200947036: Principal-residence test for a property seizure
This Chief Counsel advice addresses whether a revenue officer must obtain judicial approval before seizing a residence owned by an incarcerated taxpayer. It concludes that the property is not the…
CCA 200947035: Deductibility of compensation paid while disability insurance proceeds are received
This Chief Counsel advice revises an earlier conclusion about compensation paid to an injured employee. It states that the employer is not precluded from deducting compensation under § 162 merely…
PLR 200947034: Corporation granted relief for late S corporation election
The IRS ruled that a corporation had reasonable cause for failing to timely elect S corporation status effective on a redacted date. The corporation must file a completed Form 2553 with the…
PLR 200947033: Consent to change a § 263A inventory-cost allocation method
The IRS consented to a subsidiary's change in the method it used to allocate and account for inventory costs under § 263A after a transaction subject to § 381. The subsidiary may treat the…
PLR 200947032: CFC subpart F income treated as RIC qualifying income
The IRS ruled that subpart F income from wholly owned foreign subsidiaries of regulated investment companies would be treated as income derived from the RICs' business of investing in the…
PLR 200947031: Extension to allocate GST exemption and automatic allocation ruling
The IRS granted a 60-day extension for a taxpayer to allocate available generation-skipping transfer tax exemption to transfers made to three trusts in four earlier years. The taxpayer’s accountant…
PLR 200947030: Company granted relief for late S corporation election
The IRS ruled that a company had reasonable cause for failing to make a timely S corporation election effective on a redacted date. The company must file a completed Form 2553 with the appropriate…
PLR 200947029: Company granted relief for late S corporation election
The IRS ruled that a company had reasonable cause for failing to make a timely S corporation election effective on a redacted date. The company must file a completed Form 2553 with the appropriate…
PLR 200947028: Retroactive QEF election for a foreign investment company
The IRS consented to a retroactive qualified electing fund election for two United States taxpayers' investment in a foreign corporation that was a passive foreign investment company. The taxpayers…
PLR 200947027: Reflective roof surface qualifies as solar energy property
The IRS ruled that a highly reflective roof surface installed with a cylindrical photovoltaic solar-generation system constitutes energy property under § 48. The system generates electricity from…
PLR 200947026: CFC subpart F income treated as RIC qualifying income
The IRS ruled that subpart F income attributable to a regulated investment company's investment in the stock of its wholly owned controlled foreign corporation would constitute qualifying income…
PLR 200947025: Extension granted to file an entity classification election
The IRS granted a foreign single-owner entity an extension of time to file Form 8832 and elect to be treated as a disregarded entity for federal tax purposes. The entity had been eligible to make…
PLR 200947024: Reduced gain exclusion allowed for a service member's former residence
The IRS ruled that a married couple could claim a reduced maximum exclusion under § 121 for gain from selling their former principal residence. One spouse served in the uniformed services, and the…
PLR 200947023: Extensions granted for late entity classification and S corporation elections
The IRS granted a limited liability company additional time to elect association status for federal tax purposes and to make a late S corporation election. The company had intended both elections to…
PLR 200947022: Extension granted to elect partnership classification
The IRS granted a limited liability company 60 additional days to file Form 8832 and elect to be treated as a partnership for federal tax purposes. The company had intended the partnership…
PLR 200947021: Retiree health-benefit trust income and payments excluded from gross income
The IRS ruled that income earned by a municipality's trust for post-retirement health benefits was excludable from gross income under § 115(1). The trust was established to pay medical expenses and…
PLR 200947020: Extension granted to elect corporate classification
The IRS granted an eligible entity an additional 60 days to file Form 8832 and elect to be treated as an association taxable as a corporation for federal tax purposes. The entity had intended the…
PLR 200947019: Subsidiary treated as joining its parent's consolidated return
The IRS determined that a subsidiary joined its parent's short first consolidated federal income tax return even though Form 1122 was not attached. The return included the subsidiary's income and…
PLR 200947018: Extension granted to elect disregarded-entity treatment
The IRS granted a foreign company an additional 60 days to file Form 8832 and elect to be treated as a disregarded entity for federal tax purposes. The company was wholly owned by another…
PLR 200947017: Late election for married taxpayers to combine rental real estate activities
The IRS granted married taxpayers an additional 60 days to elect to treat all their interests in rental real estate as a single rental real estate activity. They were in a qualifying real property…
PLR 200947016: Extension granted to elect disregarded-entity treatment
The IRS granted a foreign company an additional 60 days to file Form 8832 and elect to be treated as a disregarded entity for federal tax purposes. The company was wholly owned by another entity and…
PLR 200947015: Extension granted to elect partnership classification
The IRS granted a foreign eligible entity an additional 60 days to file Form 8832 and elect to be treated as a partnership for federal tax purposes. The entity was eligible to make the election but…
PLR 200947014: Late S corporation election treated as timely
The IRS ruled that a corporation's late S corporation election would be treated as timely if the corporation filed a completed Form 2553 within 60 days of the ruling. The corporation had intended S…
PLR 200947013: Extension granted for a late § 338(g) election
The IRS granted a parent corporation 45 additional days to file a § 338(g) election for its purchase of stock in two controlled foreign corporations. The election had been missed after the parent…
PLR 200947012: Nuclear decommissioning deduction and ruling schedules approved
The IRS approved a taxpayer's proposed schedule of ruling amounts for contributions to a nuclear decommissioning reserve fund and approved a related schedule of deduction amounts for a special…
PLR 200947011: S corporation status restored after an ineligible shareholder
The IRS granted relief after a corporation's S corporation election terminated when shares were transferred to a trust that had not made a required electing small business trust election. The…
PLR 200947010: Extension granted to elect partnership classification
The IRS granted Limited 2 an additional 60 days to file Form 8832 and elect to be treated as a partnership for federal tax purposes, effective on the requested date. Limited 1 and Limited 2 were…
PLR 200947009: Extension granted to elect partnership classification
The IRS granted Limited 1 an additional 60 days to file Form 8832 and elect to be treated as a partnership for federal tax purposes, effective on the requested date. Limited 1 and Limited 2 were…
PLR 200947008: Extension granted for a late QSub election
The IRS granted an S corporation an additional 60 days to elect to treat its wholly owned domestic subsidiary as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary. The parent had purchased all of the subsidiary's…
PLR 200947007: Extension granted for a foreign partnership election
The IRS granted a foreign entity an additional 60 days to file Form 8832 and elect to be treated as a partnership for federal tax purposes. The entity was eligible for the election but missed the…
PLR 200947006: Life insurance proceeds excluded from the taxpayer's gross estate
The IRS ruled that proceeds from two life insurance policies would not be included in a taxpayer's gross estate under §§ 2042(2) and 2035(a), assuming the proposed transactions were completed as…
PLR 200947005: Three-building mixed-use project treated as one building for tax purposes
The IRS ruled that three buildings in a mixed-use development could be treated as a single building for determining whether the project was residential rental property or nonresidential real…
PLR 200947004: Three-building mixed-use project treated as one building for tax purposes
The IRS ruled that three buildings in a mixed-use development could be treated as a single building for determining whether the project was residential rental property or nonresidential real…
PLR 200947003: Late GST exemption allocations approved
The IRS granted a husband an additional 60 days to allocate his generation-skipping transfer tax exemption to transfers made to three trusts in earlier years. The husband had relied on an accountant…
PLR 200947002: Extension granted for late QSub elections
The IRS granted an S corporation an additional 60 days to file Form 8869 and elect to treat three wholly owned domestic subsidiaries as qualified subchapter S subsidiaries. The parent intended QSub…
PLR 200947001: S corporation status continued after inadvertent termination
The IRS ruled that a corporation's S election had terminated after it had accumulated earnings and profits and excessive passive investment income for three consecutive years. The termination was…
IRS determination 200946064: Exemption application denied for a telecommunications network
The IRS denied an organization's application for recognition as exempt under § 501(c)(3) after it did not protest a proposed adverse determination. The organization planned to operate a high-speed…
PLR 200946063: 60-day IRA rollover requirement waived after bank error
The IRS waived the 60-day IRA rollover requirement for two distributions after finding that the taxpayers' failure to complete timely rollovers was caused by a bank's error. The bank representative…
PLR 200946062: 60-day IRA rollover requirement waived after financial institution error
The IRS waived the 60-day IRA rollover requirement for a distribution after a financial institution mistakenly distributed the amount and failed to follow the taxpayer's instructions. The taxpayer…
PLR 200946061: 60-day IRA rollover requirement waived after financial institution error
The IRS waived the 60-day IRA rollover requirement for a distribution after finding that a financial institution mistakenly deposited the amount into a non-IRA account instead of following the…
PLR 200946060: Set-aside approved as a qualifying distribution
The IRS ruled that a private foundation's set-aside for a microfinance project met the requirements of § 4942(g)(2)(B)(i) and constituted a qualifying distribution. The project would establish two…
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.