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 200943004: CFC-PFIC overlap rule applied to indirect partnership ownership
The IRS ruled that a foreign corporation would not be treated as a passive foreign investment company, or PFIC, with respect to a domestic partnership and certain domestic unitholders during the…
PLR 200943003: Estate's wrongful-death recovery generally excludable, but interest taxable
The IRS ruled that an estate's recovery under a legislative settlement for the wrongful death of the decedent is excludable from gross income under IRC § 104(a)(2), except for interest. The IRS also…
PLR 200943002: Estate's wrongful-death recovery generally excludable, but interest taxable
The IRS ruled that an estate's recovery under a legislative settlement for the wrongful death of the decedent is excludable from gross income under IRC § 104(a)(2), except for interest. The IRS also…
PLR 200943001: Late historic certification application treated as timely for rehabilitation credit
The IRS granted a taxpayer relief for failing to file a historic preservation certification application before placing renovated phases of a listed historic building in service. The taxpayer had…
IRS determination 200942068: Exemption denied for a healthcare data organization
The IRS issued a final adverse determination that a healthcare data organization did not qualify for exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3). The organization was formed and funded by large employers and…
IRS determination 200942067: Five-year extension granted for pension-plan amortization
The IRS approved a plan's request for a five-year automatic extension to amortize specified unfunded liabilities. The extension applies to the amortization charge bases identified in the plan's…
IRS determination 200942066: Five-year extension granted for pension-plan amortization
The IRS approved a plan's request for a five-year automatic extension to amortize specified unfunded liabilities. The extension applies to the amortization charge bases identified in the plan's…
IRS determination 200942065: Five-year extension granted for pension-plan amortization
The IRS approved a plan's request for a five-year automatic extension to amortize specified unfunded liabilities. The extension applies to the amortization charge bases identified in the plan's…
IRS determination 200942064: Five-year extension granted for pension-plan amortization
The IRS approved a plan's request for a five-year automatic extension to amortize specified unfunded liabilities. The extension applies to the amortization charge bases identified in the plan's…
IRS determination 200942063: Five-year extension granted for pension-plan amortization
The IRS approved a plan's request for a five-year automatic extension to amortize specified unfunded liabilities. The extension applies to the amortization charge bases identified in the plan's…
IRS determination 200942062: Five-year extension granted for pension-plan amortization
The IRS approved a plan's request for a five-year automatic extension to amortize specified unfunded liabilities. The extension applies to the amortization charge bases identified in the plan's…
IRS determination 200942061: Five-year extension granted for pension-plan amortization
The IRS approved a plan's request for a five-year automatic extension to amortize specified unfunded liabilities. The extension applies to the amortization charge bases identified in the plan's…
IRS determination 200942060: Five-year extension granted for pension-plan amortization
The IRS approved a plan's request for a five-year automatic extension to amortize specified unfunded liabilities. The extension applies to the amortization charge bases identified in the plan's…
IRS determination 200942059: Five-year extension granted for pension-plan amortization
The IRS approved a plan's request for a five-year automatic extension to amortize specified unfunded liabilities. The extension applies to the amortization charge bases identified in the plan's…
IRS determination 200942058: Five-year extension granted for pension-plan amortization
The IRS approved a plan's request for a five-year automatic extension to amortize specified unfunded liabilities. The extension applies to the amortization charge bases identified in the plan's…
IRS determination 200942057: Five-year extension granted for pension-plan amortization
The IRS approved a plan's request for a five-year automatic extension to amortize specified unfunded liabilities. The extension applies to the amortization charge bases identified in the plan's…
IRS determination 200942056: Five-year extension granted for pension-plan amortization
The IRS approved a plan's request for a five-year automatic extension to amortize specified unfunded liabilities. The extension applies to the amortization charge bases identified in the plan's…
IRS determination 200942055: Five-year extension granted for pension-plan amortization
The IRS approved a plan's request for a five-year automatic extension to amortize specified unfunded liabilities. The extension applies to the amortization charge bases identified in the plan's…
PLR 200942054: Bank error supports waiver of 60-day IRA rollover deadline
An individual requested a waiver of the 60-day IRA rollover requirement after a bank employee mistakenly moved funds from an IRA into a non-IRA certificate of deposit. The IRS found that the bank…
IRS determination 200942053: Five-year extension granted for pension-plan amortization
The IRS approved a plan's request for a five-year automatic extension to amortize specified unfunded liabilities. The extension applies to the amortization charge bases identified in the plan's…
CCA 200942052: Assessment of an inconsistently reported dividends-received deduction
This Chief Counsel Advice discusses how to handle a corporate partner's dividends-received deduction when the partnership return reports the dividends inconsistently. Counsel advises determining the…
CCA 200942051: Foreign subsidiary bears FICA obligation under section 3121(z)
This Chief Counsel Advice addresses FICA taxes for a foreign subsidiary that employs U.S. citizen or resident workers. Counsel states that IRC § 3121(z) treats the foreign subsidiary as an American…
CCA 200942050: Substance governs treatment of state and local tax incentives
This Chief Counsel Advice recommends revising draft analysis of state and local tax incentives under IRC § 118. It states that when a state or local tax benefit is provided in exchange for specific…
CCA 200942049: One spouse may sign a Form 870-PT settlement agreement
This Chief Counsel Advice addresses settlement agreements on Form 870-PT signed by only one spouse. It states that the current form's Instruction #2 makes it unnecessary to reject an agreement…
CCA 200942048: Handling dividends reported on partnership return lines 6a and 6b
This Chief Counsel Advice discusses a partnership return that reports dividends on line 6a and may omit them from line 6b. Counsel advises issuing an FPAA that determines the amounts qualifying for…
CCA 200942047: Partnerships must separately state dividends affecting corporate partners
This Chief Counsel Advice states that a partnership must separately state dividend items that may affect partners differently. The advice focuses on dividends relevant to a corporate partner's…
CCA 200942046: Discretion to link indirect partners in an FPAA
This Chief Counsel Advice states that Treas. Reg. § 301.6223(c)-1(f) permits the IRS to link indirect partners at its discretion. It adds that the IRS may do so occasionally for policy reasons. The…
CCA 200942045: Notice duties for direct and indirect partnership partners
This Chief Counsel Advice states that IRC § 6223(c)(1) requires notices to be sent to partners identified on the source partnership return. It says the IRS does not conduct separate tier partnership…
CCA 200942044: Derivative portfolio treatment in the dividends-received deduction calculation
This Chief Counsel Advice addresses a derivative portfolio and a collar used to represent 20 or more independent stocks for purposes of a dividends-received deduction calculation. Counsel states…
CCA 200942043: Recourse and nonrecourse short-sale treatment
This Chief Counsel Advice responds to questions about short sales and FIRPTA withholding. It states that Counsel’s office does not handle withholding questions but can address amount realized. In a…
CCA 200942042: Draft statute job aid withheld under FOIA exemptions
This Chief Counsel Advice addresses a FOIA request for a draft statute job aid concerning an unreleased request. It states that the draft had not been reviewed by counsel and was exempt from…
PLR 200942041: Wrongful-death recovery generally excludable, with limits
The IRS ruled that a taxpayer's recovery for the wrongful death of a family member, as adjusted under a joint prosecution agreement, is excludable from gross income under IRC § 104(a)(2), except for…
CCA 200942040: Amendment payments treated as stock purchase price reduction
This Chief Counsel Advice considers whether payments made to modify a stock purchase agreement can be treated as payment for the lapse or acquisition of an option on the corporation's stock under…
CCA 200942039: Examination information in an exempt organization no-change advisory
This Chief Counsel Advice considers whether an advisory accompanying a tax-exempt organization’s “no change” letter may discuss possible excess benefit transactions with a disqualified person.…
CCA 200942038: Stock-option payments after subsidiary bankruptcy
This Chief Counsel Advice addresses nonqualified stock-option payments made by a parent to employees of a former subsidiary after the subsidiary’s stock became worthless in bankruptcy. Counsel…
PLR 200942037: University may treat hospital activities as its own for tax-exempt bond rules
The IRS ruled that a nonprofit university created by a state controls a nonprofit hospital corporation for purposes of the tax-exempt-bond rules. The university could appoint two-thirds of the…
PLR 200942036: Sixty-day extension granted for late GST allocation election
The IRS granted an extension of time for a donor’s spouse to amend gift-tax returns and elect out of the automatic generation-skipping transfer tax allocation rules for two prior years. The election…
PLR 200942035: Sixty-day extension granted for late GST allocation election
The IRS granted a 60-day extension for a donor to amend gift-tax returns and elect out of the automatic generation-skipping transfer tax allocation rules for two prior years. The donor’s tax…
PLR 200942034: Local deductions included in CFC branch tax-rate calculations
The IRS ruled on how to calculate actual and hypothetical effective tax rates for manufacturing and sales branches of a controlled foreign corporation under Treas. Reg. § 1.954-3. For the actual…
PLR 200942033: Inadvertent S-corporation termination cured by ESBT election and consent
The IRS ruled that a company’s S-corporation election was invalid because a trust shareholder failed to make a timely election to be treated as an electing small business trust and failed to consent…
PLR 200942032: Fund expense-sharing payments are not preferential dividends
The IRS ruled that payments by lower-tier regulated investment companies of part of upper-tier funds’ operating expenses under special servicing agreements are not preferential dividends under IRC §…
PLR 200942031: Supplemental facts do not adversely affect a planned corporate spin-off
Corporations asked the IRS to supplement an earlier private letter ruling about a proposed spin-off and related reorganization. They changed the transaction so that a planned cash distribution would…
PLR 200942030: REIT's cash-or-stock spillback dividend is treated as a property distribution
A real estate investment trust asked how a planned spillback dividend would be treated when shareholders could elect cash or stock. The cash portion would be limited to approximately 20 percent of…
PLR 200942029: RIC merger qualifies as a tax-free Type C reorganization
An acquiring regulated investment company and a target regulated investment company asked about a planned merger. The target would transfer all its assets to the acquiring fund for acquiring-fund…
PLR 200942028: S corporation election restored after an inadvertent transfer to an ineligible shareholder
An S corporation asked the IRS to address the termination of its S corporation election after stock was transferred to a limited liability company that was not an eligible S corporation shareholder.…
PLR 200942027: S corporation election restored after an inadvertent transfer to an ineligible shareholder
An S corporation asked the IRS to address the termination of its S corporation election after stock was transferred to a limited liability company that was not an eligible S corporation shareholder.…
PLR 200942026: S corporation status restored after an inadvertent termination
An entity asked the IRS for relief after ineligible shareholders became shareholders and terminated its S corporation election. The termination was discovered, corrective steps were taken so the…
PLR 200942025: Late S corporation election accepted for reasonable cause
A corporation asked the IRS to recognize its S corporation election as effective on a requested date even though Form 2553 was filed late. The shareholders had intended for the corporation to be an…
PLR 200942024: LLC granted more time to elect disregarded-entity treatment
A single-member limited liability company asked for more time to file Form 8832 and elect to be treated as a disregarded entity for federal tax purposes. The company intended that classification to…
PLR 200942023: Late S corporation election treated as timely for reasonable cause
A corporation asked the IRS to recognize its S corporation election from its incorporation date even though it did not timely file Form 2553. The corporation established reasonable cause for the…
PLR 200942022: Cooperative's cash payments to farmer-patrons qualify as per-unit retain allocations
A farmers' cooperative asked how cash payments to members and participating patrons for agricultural products should be treated under subchapter T and section 199. The cooperative did not use a…
PLR 200942021: Governmental retiree-health trust qualifies for stated tax treatment
A county asked how a trust used to fund post-employment health benefits would be treated for federal tax purposes. The trust would be limited to governmental participating employers, would use its…
PLR 200942020: Sub-trusts permitted as S corporation shareholders under grantor-trust rules
A trust asked whether four sub-trusts created for a grantor's children could be shareholders of an S corporation. The IRS concluded that the grantor would be treated as the owner of the sub-trusts…
PLR 200942019: S corporation treatment restored after missed QSST election
An S corporation asked for relief after a trust became the holder of stock when a beneficiary died, but no timely qualified subchapter S trust election was filed. The IRS concluded that the S…
PLR 200942018: Foreign entity granted more time to elect disregarded-entity treatment
A foreign company asked for an extension to file Form 8832 and elect disregarded-entity treatment for federal tax purposes, effective from its formation date. The company intended to use that…
PLR 200942017: Wrongful-death and injury-related damages receive partial exclusion
A taxpayer asked whether a payment received for assigned rights in a court damage award and a later government wrongful-death settlement would be excluded from gross income. The IRS ruled that the…
PLR 200942016: Wrongful-death and injury-related damages receive partial exclusion
A taxpayer asked whether a payment received for assigned rights in a court damage award and a later government wrongful-death settlement would be excluded from gross income. The IRS ruled that the…
PLR 200942015: Wrongful-death and injury-related damages receive partial exclusion
A taxpayer asked whether a payment received for assigned rights in a court damage award and a later government wrongful-death settlement would be excluded from gross income. The IRS ruled that the…
PLR 200942014: Wrongful-death and injury-related damages receive partial exclusion
A taxpayer asked whether a payment received for assigned rights in a court damage award and a later government wrongful-death settlement would be excluded from gross income. The IRS ruled that the…
PLR 200942013: Wrongful-death and injury-related damages receive partial exclusion
A taxpayer asked whether a payment received for assigned rights in a court damage award and a later government wrongful-death settlement would be excluded from gross income. The IRS ruled that the…
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.