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 200940025: Old Forms 872 remain valid when signed by the Service
This Chief Counsel Advice addresses the transition from old Forms 872 and 872-A to new versions. It states that an old form remains valid if signed by the Service, while asking a taxpayer to sign a…
CCA 200940024: A limited partner cannot be the tax matters partner
This Chief Counsel Advice concludes that a limited partner and its indirect partner manager were not eligible to be designated as the tax matters partner under section 6231(a)(7). It says the…
CCA 200940023: Patriot's Day can extend a filing deadline in limited situations
This Chief Counsel Advice addresses when the Patriot's Day holiday affects the time for filing a return. It states that the holiday applies only if the Service directed the taxpayer to submit the…
CCA 200940022: Accuracy-related penalties may apply to underpayments in loss carryback years
This Chief Counsel Advice explains how an accuracy-related penalty can apply when a loss is carried back or carried over to other tax years. The advice says the relevant question is whether an…
CCA 200940021: Duty of consistency does not bar a legal challenge to plan qualification
This Chief Counsel Advice considers whether the Service can use the duty of consistency in a dispute over a profit-sharing plan's qualification. The taxpayer and plan had reported rollover…
CCA 200940020: A statutory notice should list years with asserted deficiencies
This Chief Counsel Advice addresses which tax years should appear in a statutory notice when the Service asserts deficiencies after a loss carryback. It advises that the notice should list the years…
CCA 200940019: A second statutory notice may depend on the first notice and the open limitation period
This Chief Counsel Advice addresses erroneous refunds and the possibility of issuing another statutory notice of deficiency in a TEFRA matter. It asks what event caused the refund and states that,…
CCA 200940018: Utility relocation reimbursements are taxable income, not capital contributions
This Chief Counsel Advice considers whether reimbursements paid to a regulated public utility for relocating facilities are nonshareholder contributions to capital under IRC § 118. The payments came…
PLR 200940017: LLC granted more time to elect corporate tax classification
The IRS granted a limited liability company an extension of time to file Form 8832, Entity Classification Election. The company had inadvertently failed to make the election to be treated as a…
PLR 200940016: IRS corrects a prior ruling on a trust election
This private letter ruling corrects an obvious error in an earlier ruling issued to a company. The correction states that a trust will be treated as a qualified subchapter S trust from a redacted…
PLR 200940015: S corporation election approved after a reasonable-cause showing
The IRS ruled that a corporation had reasonable cause for failing to timely file Form 2553, the election to be treated as an S corporation. The corporation was formed in a redacted state and…
PLR 200940014: Consolidated group gets more time for a reverse-acquisition election
The IRS granted a parent corporation an extension of time to file an election under Treas. Reg. § 1.1502-75(d)(3)(iii). The election determines whether the parent should be treated as owning a…
PLR 200940013: S corporation status preserved after an inadvertent ineligible-shareholder transfer
The IRS ruled that a corporation’s S corporation election terminated when it inadvertently agreed to transfer stock to an IRA that was an ineligible shareholder. The corporation promptly transferred…
PLR 200940012: Consolidated-return election allowed after reasonable-cause showing
The IRS granted a consolidated group an extension of time to file an election under Treas. Reg. § 1.1502-75(a)(1). The election permits the taxpayer group to file a consolidated federal income tax…
PLR 200940011: Foreign eligible entity gets more time to elect disregarded status
The IRS granted a foreign eligible 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 inadvertently failed to file…
PLR 200940010: IC-DISC election extension granted after missed filing deadline
A domestic corporation asked for more time to file Form 4876-A and elect IC-DISC status for its first taxable year. Its accounting firm intended to prepare the form, but a miscommunication meant…
PLR 200940009: Foreign corporation gets 30-day extension to file Form 8848
A foreign corporation that owned a controlling interest in a domestic partnership asked for more time to file Form 8848, the consent form for extending the time to assess branch profits tax. The…
PLR 200940008: IC-DISC election extension granted after filing confusion
A domestic corporation asked for more time to file Form 4876-A and elect IC-DISC status for its first taxable year. A service firm prepared and mailed the election materials, but the taxpayer later…
PLR 200940007: LLC gets more time to elect corporate tax treatment
A wholly owned limited liability company asked for more time to file Form 8832 and elect to be treated as an association taxable as a corporation. The company had intended the election to take…
PLR 200940006: Wrongful-death damages and physical-injury proceeds qualify for exclusion
An individual asked whether amounts received for a relative’s wrongful death, including compensation under a legislative settlement, would be excluded from gross income. The individual also sold…
PLR 200940005: Government deferred-compensation plan approved under section 457
The IRS approved a governmental employer’s amended section 457(b) deferred-compensation plan. The plan allows eligible employees to defer compensation, includes limited in-service distributions and…
PLR 200940004: IC-DISC election extension granted after missed filing
A domestic corporation asked for more time to file Form 4876-A and elect IC-DISC status for its first taxable year. Its controller prepared the form and obtained shareholder approval, but the filing…
PLR 200940003: Foreign entity gets more time to elect disregarded status
A foreign entity asked for more time to file Form 8832 and elect to be treated as a disregarded entity for federal tax purposes. The entity was eligible to make the election and intended it to be…
PLR 200940002: Foreign entity gets more time to elect disregarded status
A foreign entity asked for more time to file Form 8832 and elect to be treated as a disregarded entity for federal tax purposes. The entity was eligible to make the election and intended it to be…
PLR 200940001: Foreign entity gets more time to elect disregarded status
A foreign entity asked for more time to file Form 8832 and elect to be treated as a disregarded entity for federal tax purposes. The entity was eligible to make the election and intended it to be…
Determination 200939033: Cattle organization denied section 501(c)(3) exemption
The IRS denied a cattle-industry organization’s application for recognition as a section 501(c)(3) organization. The organization’s activities included rodeos, team roping, bull riding, county-fair…
PLR 200939032: Transfer of surplus welfare-fund assets to another VEBA approved
An organization exempt under section 501(c)(17) planned to phase out its supplemental unemployment benefit funds after employer contributions ended. It proposed transferring surplus assets to a…
PLR 200939031: Employer-related scholarship program approved
The IRS approved a private foundation's proposed scholarship program for dependents of an employer's employees. The program provided up to five one-year scholarships, renewable for up to three…
CCA 200939030: Proposed IRS letter to SEC could use investigative disclosure authority
An IRS attorney reviewed a draft letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The attorney concluded that the draft was consistent with procedures established between the IRS and the SEC for…
CCA 200939029: Filed petition and attached SNOD could be sent as public records
An IRS attorney was asked whether a filed petition and its attached statutory notice of deficiency could be sent to another party. The attorney advised that the petition, as filed, and the attached…
CCA 200939028: IRS could accept one spouse's signature on Form 870-LT
An IRS attorney withdrew earlier advice about several Form 870-LT agreements signed by only one spouse. The attorney explained that the form's instructions had already been changed to state that the…
CCA 200939027: Collection summonses could issue during CDP proceedings
An IRS attorney addressed whether the IRS could issue a collection summons while a taxpayer's collection due process proceeding was pending. The attorney advised that the IRS was not legally…
CCA 200939026: Outside basis generally was not a partnership item without a section 754 election
An IRS attorney analyzed whether a partner's outside basis was a partnership item for purposes of a partnership proceeding. The attorney advised that outside basis generally was not a partnership…
CCA 200939025: Successor not eligible to become tax matters partner
An IRS attorney addressed the designation of a tax matters partner after the entity that had served as TMP ceased to exist under state law. The attorney advised that, without a new designation, the…
CCA 200939024: Refund freeze was not required before a trustee's request
An IRS attorney addressed whether the Service had to freeze tax refunds for 180 days so a Chapter 7 trustee could request turnover of the refunds. The attorney advised that the Internal Revenue…
CCA 200939023: State lien priority depended on federal choateness rules
An IRS attorney analyzed the priority of a Wyoming state tax lien against a federal tax lien and addressed whether a lien-priority dispute could prevent a levy. The attorney advised that a…
CCA 200939022: Section 6662A applied to understatements, not only underpayments
An IRS attorney addressed whether the section 6662A penalty applied to a particular tax year and loss. The attorney advised that section 6662A was effective for tax years ending after October 22,…
CCA 200939021: IRS could issue a second notice of deficiency
An IRS attorney considered whether the Service could issue a second notice of deficiency. The attorney advised that the Code did not prohibit a second notice merely because the taxpayer had not…
CCA 200939020: Second notice could issue without rescinding the first
An IRS attorney advised that the Service did not need to rescind a prior SND before issuing a second one, as long as the tax had not been assessed. The advice was based on the background information…
TAM 200939019: Section 404(a)(5) limited deduction timing for retiree medical benefits
The IRS considered whether a property and casualty insurer could deduct anticipated future retiree medical benefits for claims personnel as unpaid loss adjustment expenses. The insurer argued that…
PLR 200939018: Deferred contracts qualified as annuity contracts
The IRS considered proposed deferred contracts issued by two life insurance companies. During a deferral period, the contracts would have no cash value or death benefit, and the owner's access to…
PLR 200939017: Commodity-linked note and CFC income qualified under the RIC income test
The IRS considered a regulated investment company’s proposed investments in commodity-linked notes and in a wholly owned controlled foreign corporation. The notes used commodity-index formulas, and…
PLR 200939016: Marine transportation income qualified for publicly traded partnership rules
The IRS considered a publicly traded limited partnership engaged in marine transportation, distribution, and logistics services. The partnership used vessels to transport crude oil, refined…
PLR 200939015: Inadvertent S corporation termination relief granted
An S corporation transferred all of its stock to a family trust that qualified to elect to be an electing small business trust, but the required ESBT election was not made. The IRS concluded that…
PLR 200939014: Inadvertent S corporation termination relief granted
An S corporation transferred all of its stock to a family trust that qualified to elect to be an electing small business trust, but the required ESBT election was not made. The IRS concluded that…
PLR 200939013: Extension granted to elect out of automatic GST exemption allocation
A donor made gifts to several family trusts after changes to the generation-skipping transfer tax rules caused unused GST exemption to be allocated automatically. The donor’s accountant had not…
PLR 200939012: Extension granted to elect out of automatic GST exemption allocation
A donor and spouse made gifts to several family trusts after changes to the generation-skipping transfer tax rules caused the donor’s unused GST exemption to be allocated automatically. The donor’s…
PLR 200939011: Complete stock redemption qualified for exchange treatment
A corporation planned to redeem all of the stock held by a retiring shareholder and another shareholder after the retiring shareholder gifted stock to two family members. The redemption would be…
PLR 200939010: Cash-or-stock spillback dividends treated as property distributions
A regulated investment company planned special spillback dividends that shareholders could elect to receive in cash or stock of equivalent value. If shareholders did not make a valid election, they…
PLR 200939009: Cash-or-stock spillback dividends treated as property distributions
A regulated investment company planned special spillback dividends that shareholders could elect to receive in cash or stock of equivalent value. If shareholders did not make a valid election, they…
PLR 200939008: Cash-or-stock spillback dividends treated as property distributions
A regulated investment company planned special spillback dividends that shareholders could elect to receive in cash or stock of equivalent value. If shareholders did not make a valid election, they…
PLR 200939007: Cash-or-stock spillback dividends treated as property distributions
A regulated investment company planned special spillback dividends that shareholders could elect to receive in cash or stock of equivalent value. If shareholders did not make a valid election, they…
PLR 200939006: Late S corporation election relief granted
A corporation intended to elect S corporation status, but its Form 2553 was not timely filed. The corporation and its sole shareholder reported income consistently with the intended S corporation…
PLR 200939005: Farm-use trailer qualified for retail-sale tax exemption
A manufacturer designed a specialty trailer to haul wet, sticky, and corrosive corn gluten to farms. The trailer had an integrated self-unloading conveyor floor, sloped sidewalls,…
PLR 200939004: Late S corporation election relief granted
A corporation intended to elect S corporation status, but its Form 2553 was not timely filed. The IRS concluded that the corporation had reasonable cause for the late election and was eligible for…
PLR 200939003: Installment payment relief denied for GST tax on a taxable termination
A trust holding stock in a closely held business continued for a child and then passed into further trust for the child’s minor descendant when the child died. The trustee asked whether section 6166…
PLR 200939002: Contribution and spin-off qualified as a reorganization
A publicly traded corporation planned to separate one business from another by forming a controlled corporation, contributing operating assets and cash to it, and distributing its stock pro rata to…
PLR 200939001: Extension granted for trust’s charitable-payment election
A trust claimed a charitable deduction for amounts set aside from its income for a charity, but the amounts were not distributed until the following taxable year and the required section 642(c)(1)…
PLR 200938042: Surviving spouse could roll over inherited IRA after disclaimer
An individual’s surviving spouse disclaimed interests under the decedent’s will within nine months of the decedent’s death. The disclaimer caused a trust named as the IRA beneficiary to fail, so the…
PLR 200938041: 60-day rollover waiver denied
A taxpayer withdrew funds from three IRAs and placed them in a personal checking account, believing the rollover period was 90 days rather than 60 days. The taxpayer requested a waiver of the 60-day…
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.