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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PLR 200945016: Subsequent nuclear decommissioning fund transfer approved
The IRS approved a taxpayer's schedule of deduction amounts for a subsequent special transfer to a qualified nuclear decommissioning reserve fund and a revised schedule of ruling amounts. The…
PLR 200945015: Subsequent nuclear decommissioning fund transfer approved
The IRS approved a taxpayer's request for a schedule of deduction amounts for a subsequent special transfer to a qualified nuclear decommissioning reserve fund. It also approved a revised schedule…
PLR 200945014: Subsequent nuclear decommissioning fund transfer approved
The IRS approved a taxpayer's request for a schedule of deduction amounts for a subsequent special transfer to a qualified nuclear decommissioning reserve fund. It also approved a revised schedule…
PLR 200945013: Subsequent nuclear decommissioning fund transfer approved
The IRS approved a taxpayer's request for a schedule of deduction amounts for a subsequent special transfer to a qualified nuclear decommissioning reserve fund. It also approved a revised schedule…
PLR 200945012: S corporation election and subsidiary election relief approved
The IRS ruled that a corporation's S corporation election could be treated as effective after the corporation had two classes of stock, because the problem was inadvertent and the corporation took…
PLR 200945011: Inherited IRA division approved, separate-account treatment denied
The IRS approved a request to divide an inherited individual retirement account into two sub-IRAs for beneficiaries under a deceased spouse's will. The division would not be treated as a transfer…
PLR 200945010: Officers not covered employees after merger
The IRS ruled that the taxpayer's officers were not covered employees for a short taxable year ending after a merger. The taxpayer requested the ruling under § 162(m), which limits deductions for…
PLR 200945009: Principal financial officers not covered employees
The IRS ruled that two principal financial officers of a publicly held corporation were not covered employees for a specified tax year. The corporation requested the ruling under § 162(m), which…
PLR 200945008: Inadvertent S corporation election and QSub relief approved
The IRS granted relief for a potentially invalid S corporation election caused by the taxpayer having two classes of stock. The taxpayer had also elected to treat several subsidiaries as qualified…
PLR 200945007: Extension granted for success-based fee documentation
The IRS granted a taxpayer an extension of time to complete documentation for success-based fees paid in connection with a taxable stock acquisition. The documentation could support excluding part…
PLR 200945006: ADITC flow-through after asset sale violates normalization rules
The IRS ruled that a utility would violate the former investment tax credit normalization rules by directly or indirectly passing through its unamortized accumulated deferred investment tax credit…
PLR 200945005: Deferred-compensation check reportable when actually received
The IRS ruled that an individual was not in constructive receipt of a deferred-compensation disbursement check during Year 1. The check had arrived at a successor employer's office on December 31,…
PLR 200945004: Stock exchange and upstream merger receive nonrecognition treatment
The IRS ruled on the federal tax consequences of an exchange of a holding company's stock and a subsequent upstream merger. The stock acquisition qualified as a qualified stock purchase, and the IRS…
PLR 200945003: Extension granted for GST exemption allocation
The IRS granted a spouse a 60-day extension to allocate available generation-skipping transfer tax exemption to a transfer to an irrevocable trust. The extension was requested after a tax…
PLR 200945002: Extension granted for corporate classification election
The IRS granted an eligible entity a 60-day extension to file Form 8832 and elect to be classified as an association taxable as a corporation. The entity had intended to make the election by the…
PLR 200945001: Extension granted for partnership classification election
The IRS granted a foreign eligible entity a 60-day extension to file Form 8832 and elect to be treated as a partnership for U.S. income tax purposes. The entity had inadvertently failed to file the…
PLR 200944061: 60-day rollover requirement waived
The IRS waived the 60-day rollover requirement for an individual's distribution from an IRA. The taxpayer explained that medical conditions affecting the taxpayer and the taxpayer's husband, for…
PLR 200944060: 60-day rollover requirement waived
The IRS waived the 60-day rollover requirement for an individual's distribution from an IRA. The taxpayer stated that the distribution was not deposited into an IRA as instructed and that the amount…
PLR 200944059: Surviving spouse cannot roll over an IRA distribution controlled by a trust
The ruling concerns a surviving spouse who was the trustee and beneficiary of a trust named as beneficiary of her deceased husband's IRA. She sought to withdraw the entire IRA balance from the trust…
PLR 200944058: IRS waives the 60-day rollover deadline after a financial institution error
The ruling concerns a taxpayer who received funds from an IRA to purchase stock through a financial institution. Because of a misunderstanding with an employee, the stock was sent to the taxpayer…
PLR 200944057: IRS waives the rollover deadline for unused IRA funds after medical hardships
The ruling concerns a taxpayer who received an IRA distribution intending to roll the funds into another IRA. The taxpayer deposited the funds into a nonqualified account, used part for personal…
PLR 200944056: IRS waives the rollover deadline after mental illness and hospitalization
The ruling concerns a taxpayer who received an IRA distribution under a qualified domestic relations order and intended to roll it into an IRA in her own name. She initially selected a direct…
PLR 200944055: Board member compensation does not jeopardize a business league’s exemption
The ruling concerns a business league exempt under section 501(c)(6) that contracts with one of its board members for educational and hotline services. The organization uses a conflict-of-interest…
PLR 200944054: Scholarship grant program approved under § 4945(g)(1)
The ruling concerns a private foundation that proposed a scholarship program for academically qualified students in their first or second year at a university. Applicants must attend the university,…
Determination 200944053: IRS denies exemption to a healthcare data organization serving member interests
The IRS issued a final adverse determination to an organization that planned to collect and analyze healthcare data for large employer and health-plan members. The organization intended to publish…
PLR 200944052: Five-year amortization extension approved for an underfunded pension plan
The Service approved a request for a five-year automatic extension to amortize a pension plan’s unfunded liabilities. The extension applies to the plan year beginning May 1, 2008 and to the…
CCA 200944051: Whether an inactive subsidiary can be disregarded as a corporation
This Chief Counsel advice considers whether an insolvent subsidiary that ended its operations and sold all of its assets could be disregarded as a corporation and treated as having liquidated. It…
CCA 200944050: Investments in an undercapitalized project do not qualify for the New Markets Credit
This Chief Counsel Advice considers whether a community development entity's equity investment and loan to a qualified active low-income community business were qualified low-income community…
CCA 200944049: Payments under new agreements were contingent on a change in control
This Chief Counsel Advice analyzes payments made to executives under redacted agreements after a change in ownership or control. The Advice concludes that the payments would not have been made…
CCA 200944048: IRS may accept assigned life-insurance benefits during an installment agreement
This Chief Counsel Advice considers whether the Service may accept an assignment of life-insurance death benefits from taxpayers who have an installment agreement covering their outstanding income…
CCA 200944047: Sharing a completed tax opinion may destroy privilege
This Chief Counsel Advice discusses whether a taxpayer's tax advice remained privileged after opinions were shared with law firms and accountants. The Advice states that the tax advice privilege is…
CCA 200944046: Tax Court cases on substantial compliance for charitable contributions
This Chief Counsel Advice provides a list of Tax Court cases involving IRC § 170 charitable-contribution substantiation and the substantial-compliance doctrine. The list identifies cases where the…
CCA 200944045: Substitute options may qualify for rollover treatment under section 409A
This Chief Counsel Advice considers whether outstanding executive options may be replaced with substitute options without disparate treatment under the deferred-compensation rules of IRC § 409A. The…
CCA 200944044: Stock-option exercise generally creates the wage event
This Chief Counsel Advice addresses when employment taxes apply to nonstatutory stock options. It states that the wage event generally occurs when the options are exercised, and that employment…
CCA 200944043: Facade easement cases need training under the post-PPA rules
This Chief Counsel Advice reports on a memorandum concerning a motion for summary judgment in a docketed case involving a facade easement donated in the second half of 2006. The Advice states that…
CCA 200944042: Fundraising expenses may count toward the section 4955 excise tax
This Chief Counsel Advice considers whether fundraising materials should be included when evaluating a potential political campaign intervention violation by an exempt organization. The Advice…
CCA 200944041: Bankruptcy does not discharge every individual tax debt
This Chief Counsel Advice includes an article explaining that bankruptcy does not eliminate every individual taxpayer's tax debt. It identifies three categories that generally remain…
CCA 200944040: CAP teams should avoid tax guidance on incomplete transactions
This Chief Counsel Advice addresses when Compliance Assurance Process teams may discuss tax information about prospective or incomplete transactions with taxpayers or their representatives. It…
CCA 200944039: A disregarded LLC's tax lien should name its sole owner
This Chief Counsel Advice considers a Notice of Federal Tax Lien filed against a single-member limited liability company that had not elected association classification. The Advice treats the…
CCA 200944038: A Form 1040X may qualify as an AAR in limited circumstances
This Chief Counsel Advice considers whether a taxpayer's Form 1040X may be treated as an amended administrative adjustment request for partnership items. It states that this treatment could arguably…
CCA 200944037: Mitigation provisions can supersede TEFRA filing requirements
This Chief Counsel Advice addresses the relationship between the mitigation provisions of IRC § 1311 and the TEFRA provisions of § 6227. It states that § 1311(a) allows an adjustment otherwise…
CCA 200944036: Owner TIN is unnecessary on the 668J estate-tax lien
This Chief Counsel Advice addresses taxpayer-identification numbers on Forms 668H and 668J used for estate-tax liens. It recommends attempting to obtain the TIN of a qualified heir for the 668H lien…
CCA 200944035: Misvaluation does not extend the limitations period under section 6501(e)(2)
This Chief Counsel Advice addresses whether an item must be entirely omitted to extend the period of limitations under IRC § 6501(e)(2). It agrees that a complete omission is required and that…
CCA 200944034: Form 56 alone does not prove a trustee's signing authority
This Chief Counsel Advice considers whether a trustee may rely on a Form 56 to sign a closing agreement for a trust. It states that a self-serving affidavit is insufficient and that Form 56 provides…
CCA 200944033: TEFRA notices to indirect partners require paper copies
This Chief Counsel Advice considers whether pass-through partners may send notices of partnership administrative proceedings electronically to indirect partners under IRC § 6223(h). It states that…
CCA 200944032: An unused credit elect is paid against the succeeding year's tax on its due date
This Chief Counsel Advice analyzes when an unused credit elect is treated as a payment against the succeeding year's income tax for purposes of deficiency interest. It explains that IRC §§…
CCA 200944031: Partnership-return items bind partners absent a TEFRA proceeding
This Chief Counsel Advice considers whether a partner is bound by a partnership item reported on the partnership return when the Service does not conduct a TEFRA proceeding for that return. It…
CCA 200944030: Conversion notice precedes a valid notice of deficiency for K-1 discrepancies
This Chief Counsel Advice addresses a taxpayer who filed a notice of inconsistent treatment concerning a Schedule K-1 discrepancy. It states that the Service may issue a valid statutory notice after…
CCA 200944029: A timely computational adjustment remains valid after an invalid notice
This Chief Counsel Advice addresses a directly assessable computational adjustment in the appropriate amount. It states that a timely assessment remains valid even if an invalid statutory notice was…
CCA 200944028: An invalid notice may leave a computational adjustment time-barred
This Chief Counsel Advice warns that a statutory notice does not suspend the period for assessing an inconsistently reported partnership item unless partner-level determinations are required. It…
CCA 200944027: Non-NRSA postdoctoral stipends are subject to FICA
This Chief Counsel Advice analyzes whether stipends paid to postdoctoral fellows by a state university are subject to Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) taxes. It distinguishes National…
PLR 200944026: Multi-step corporate separation and external spin-off approved
The IRS ruled on a proposed separation of two businesses conducted through a publicly traded parent and many domestic and foreign subsidiaries. The plan used a series of subsidiary stock transfers,…
PLR 200944025: Late S corporation election allowed for reasonable cause
The IRS determined that a company had reasonable cause for failing to timely file its S corporation election. The company had intended to file Form 2553 for a stated effective date but did not file…
PLR 200944024: Late S corporation election allowed for reasonable cause
The IRS determined that a company had reasonable cause for failing to timely file its S corporation election. The company intended to file Form 2553 for a stated effective date but did not file the…
PLR 200944023: Late S corporation election allowed for reasonable cause
The IRS determined that a company had reasonable cause for failing to timely make an S corporation election. The company and its shareholders had reported income consistently with the intended S…
PLR 200944022: Extension granted for late consolidated return election
The IRS granted a parent company and its includible subsidiaries 60 days to make a late election to file a consolidated federal income tax return. The parent had acquired the stock of several…
PLR 200944021: Inadvertent S corporation termination relief granted
The IRS determined that a corporation's S corporation election terminated inadvertently when the sole beneficiary of a trust failed to make the required qualified subchapter S trust (QSST) election.…
PLR 200944020: Inadvertent S corporation termination relief granted
The IRS determined that a corporation's S corporation election terminated when shares were transferred to a trust whose sole beneficiary did not timely make a qualified subchapter S trust (QSST)…
PLR 200944019: Late S corporation election allowed for reasonable cause
The IRS determined that a company had reasonable cause for failing to timely make an S corporation election. The company's sole shareholder intended the company to be treated as an S corporation…
PLR 200944018: Inadvertent S corporation termination relief after disproportionate distributions
The IRS considered whether a corporation's disproportionate shareholder distributions may have terminated its S corporation election by creating a second class of stock. The corporation discovered…
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.