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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Foreign entity received 120 days for a late disregarded-entity election
A foreign single-owner entity intended to be disregarded for U.S. federal tax purposes from its formation date. It was owned by a domestic disregarded entity, which in turn was owned by an S…
Estate received 120 days to file a late portability election
An estate represented that it was below the section 6018 filing threshold and was not otherwise required to file an estate tax return. It nevertheless needed Form 706 to elect portability of the…
Consolidated group received 60 days for a late section 382 closing-of-the-books election
A consolidated group experienced an ownership change that limited the use of its pre-change losses under section 382. The group missed the deadline to elect to close its books on the…
Parties received 45 days to file a late section 336(e) election statement
A partnership purchased all stock of an S corporation, which later merged into a disregarded limited liability company owned by the purchaser. The parties timely signed a binding agreement to make a…
Taxpayer received 60 days for a late success-based fee safe-harbor election
A partnership paid a contingent financial-adviser fee in connection with an acquisition that ended its partnership status. Its final return followed the Revenue Procedure 2011-29 safe harbor by…
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. It still needed to file Form 706 to elect portability of…
Estate received 120 days for late GST exemption allocations to three trusts
A decedent created an irrevocable trust that immediately divided into three equal trusts for the decedent's children, with the instrument stating that each trust was intended to be exempt from…
Extension granted to attach Form 3115 to amended return
A taxpayer timely mailed the duplicate copy of Form 3115 and reported all adjustments from its intended automatic accounting-method change, but its tax manager inadvertently failed to attach the…
Foreign entity received extension to elect disregarded status
A foreign entity intended to be classified as a disregarded entity but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS found that the entity satisfied the requirements for discretionary…
Extension granted for section 336(e) election after S corporation stock sale
A purchaser acquired all stock of an S corporation from its shareholders, and the parties intended to treat the qualified stock disposition as an asset sale under section 336(e). They did not timely…
Late QSub and corporate classification elections received 120-day extensions
An S corporation acquired all the stock of another S corporation and intended to elect qualified subchapter S subsidiary status for the acquired company. It later converted both entities to limited…
Foreign entity received 120 days for late disregarded-entity election
A foreign eligible entity intended to be treated as a disregarded entity from a specified date but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS found that the requirements for…
Corporation received 60 days to file late IC-DISC election
A domestic corporation was formed to operate as an interest charge domestic international sales corporation and entered a commission arrangement with a related company. Its law firm organized the…
Partnership received 60 days to elect success-fee safe harbor
A partnership paid financial advisers success-based fees in connection with its acquisition. Its return preparer applied the Revenue Procedure 2011-29 safe harbor, which treats 70 percent of…
Parties received late relief for section 336(e) stock-sale election
A consolidated group sold all the stock of a subsidiary and intended to elect under section 336(e) to treat the stock sale as an asset disposition. The purchase agreement called for the election,…
Consolidated group received 60 days to elect success-fee safe harbor
A consolidated corporate group paid a success-based financial advisory fee in a taxable stock acquisition. Its timely return deducted 70 percent and capitalized 30 percent in accordance with the…
Estate received late alternate valuation election relief
An estate’s personal representative timely filed Form 706 after relying on a law firm, but the firm did not advise making the section 2032 alternate valuation election. During preparation of the…
Foreign entity received 120 days for late disregarded-entity election
A foreign eligible entity intended to be classified as a disregarded entity from its formation date but inadvertently failed to timely file Form 8832. The IRS found the discretionary extension…
Late Forms 3115 received accounting-method filing relief
A consolidated group intended to make two automatic accounting-method changes for ten subsidiaries but missed the required filing deadlines after the parent inadvertently failed to submit Form 7004.…
Taxpayer received 60 days to elect out of bonus depreciation
A consolidated group did not claim additional first-year depreciation for several classes of qualified property, but its internal tax department inadvertently omitted the required election statement…
Partnership received 120 days to make a late section 754 election
A limited liability company treated as a partnership missed a section 754 election after an owner died because its advisor did not explain that the election was available. The IRS found that the…
Estate received 120 days for a reverse QTIP election and trust severance
An estate made a QTIP election for a marital trust, but its accountant failed to attach Schedule R, advise the executor to divide the trust into GST-exempt and nonexempt shares, or make a reverse…
Taxpayer received 120 days to opt out of automatic GST allocations
A taxpayer created two irrevocable annuity trusts before the automatic generation-skipping transfer tax allocation rules were enacted. The trusts' estate tax inclusion periods ended after those…
Taxpayer received 120 days to opt out of automatic GST allocations
A taxpayer created two irrevocable annuity trusts before the automatic generation-skipping transfer tax allocation rules were enacted. The trusts' estate tax inclusion periods ended after those…
Foreign entity received 120 days for a late disregarded-entity election
A wholly owned foreign eligible entity intended to be classified as disregarded for federal tax purposes but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS found that the…
LLC received 120 days to correct a mistaken corporate election
A domestic single-member limited liability company intended to be disregarded for federal tax purposes and filed returns consistently with that treatment. It mistakenly submitted Form 8832 electing…
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 and sell its parent's products to foreign buyers on a commission basis. Its accounting…
Entity received 120 days for a late corporate classification election
An eligible entity intended to be classified as an association taxable as a corporation but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. It represented that its federal returns were consistent…
Foreign entity received 120 days for a late disregarded-entity election
A foreign single-owner eligible entity intended to be disregarded for federal tax purposes from its formation date but failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS concluded that the…
Tax-exempt controlled entity received 45 days for a late election
A private foundation wholly owned a taxable corporation that managed a partnership rehabilitating a historic building. Because the foundation owned more than half of the corporation, the corporation…
Taxpayer received 60 days for a late success-fee safe harbor
A taxpayer paid two advisers success-based fees in connection with the sale of all its ownership interests. Its return preparer deducted 70 percent of the fees under the Revenue Procedure 2011-29…
Taxpayer received 60 days to file a duplicate Form 3115
A consolidated group timely filed its return with the original Form 3115 for an automatic accounting-method change involving prepaid liabilities under the 12-month rule. Its accounting firm failed…
Acquirer received 60 days for a late success-fee safe harbor
A taxpayer paid investment bankers contingent fees for helping it acquire an ownership interest in another business. Its timely return deducted 70 percent of the fees and capitalized 30 percent…
Two foreign entities received 120 days to make late disregarded-entity elections
A domestic limited partnership formed two foreign limited liability companies in a tiered ownership structure. The two foreign entities intended to be disregarded for federal tax purposes from their…
Parties received more time to complete a section 336(e) election
Purchasers acquired more than 80 percent of an S corporation's stock in a transaction represented to be a qualified stock disposition. The parties intended to elect under section 336(e) to treat the…
Six investment-fund series received late corporate classification relief
Six series of business trusts intended from formation to be treated as corporations and regulated investment companies. Each had filed Form 1120-RIC and operated consistently with that intended…
Partnership received late section 754 election relief after partner deaths
A limited partnership failed to make a timely section 754 election for three years in which deaths affected partnership interests. It represented that it acted reasonably and in good faith and that…
Extension granted for accounting-method change forms
A consolidated group failed to timely submit originals and signed duplicate copies of three Forms 3115 after its return preparer failed to file a requested Form 7004 extension. The forms covered…
Partnership received extension for section 754 election
A limited liability company taxed as a partnership failed to make a timely section 754 election for the year in which ownership interests were transferred. The company represented that it acted…
Spouses received time to recharacterize excess Roth IRA contributions
A married couple contributed to Roth IRAs during years when their modified adjusted gross income exceeded the eligibility limit. They discovered the problem after the ordinary deadlines for…
Late section 336(e) election received filing relief
A consolidated group sold all stock of a subsidiary and intended to elect under section 336(e) to treat the stock sale as an asset disposition. The seller and target signed the required election…
Late original Form 3115 received a 45-day filing extension
A corporation joining a consolidated group needed to change from the cash method to an accrual method. Its CPA timely filed the duplicate Form 3115 with the IRS, but a software problem delayed both…
Late mortgage-credit-certificate election was deemed timely
A state-authorized issuer created a new mortgage credit certificate program and elected to forgo qualified mortgage bonds so it could allocate volume cap to the program. Bond counsel prepared the…
Taxpayer received more time to recharacterize excess Roth IRA contributions
A taxpayer made Roth IRA contributions over several years even though her modified adjusted gross income exceeded the eligibility limit. Her longtime certified public accountant knew both her income…
Post-merger company received 60 days to make transaction-fee election
A company paid success-based fees to eight firms in connection with a series of mergers. An accounting firm advised that the fees qualified for the Revenue Procedure 2011-29 safe harbor, and the…
Foreign subsidiary received 120 days to elect disregarded status
A U.S. limited liability company formed a wholly owned foreign subsidiary and intended it to be treated as a disregarded entity from its formation date. The subsidiary did not timely file Form 8832,…
Company received 60 days for a late merger-fee safe-harbor election
A company incurred success-based fees for a series of mergers and a separate target acquisition. The mergers qualified for the Revenue Procedure 2011-29 safe harbor, while the target acquisition did…
Corporate group received 60 days to elect consolidated filing
A newly formed parent corporation and its subsidiaries failed to timely elect to file a consolidated federal income tax return after acquiring another corporate group. The parent requested relief…
Merged company received 60 days to file transaction-fee election
A company incurred success-based fees when it merged into a subsidiary of another company. The acquiring company's tax department, chief financial officer, and outside preparer all intended to use…
Foreign entity received 120 days to elect disregarded status
A foreign eligible entity failed to timely file Form 8832 to elect disregarded-entity treatment from a specified effective date. It represented that it acted reasonably and in good faith and that…
Surviving company received 60 days to file merger-fee election
A company incurred success-based fees when another company merged into its wholly owned subsidiary. Its internal tax department, chief financial officer, and outside preparer intended to use the…
LLC received 120 days for entity classification and S elections
A domestic LLC's majority and minority owners intended it to be taxed as an S corporation from formation. The company did not timely file either Form 8832 to elect corporate classification or Form…
Investment fund received 60 days for 27 PFIC elections
An investment fund taxed as a partnership owned stock in 27 passive foreign investment companies. It had previously made section 1296 mark-to-market elections, but a transfer of more than half its…
Investment fund received 60 days for a PFIC election
An investment fund taxed as a partnership owned stock in a passive foreign investment company and had previously made a section 1296 mark-to-market election. A transfer of more than half the fund's…
Investment portfolio received 60 days for two PFIC elections
An investment portfolio within a larger fund was taxed as a partnership and held stock in two passive foreign investment companies. It had made mark-to-market elections for its first tax year, but a…
Investment portfolio received 60 days for five PFIC elections
An investment portfolio within a larger fund was taxed as a partnership and held stock in five passive foreign investment companies. It had valid mark-to-market elections and renewed them after one…
Surviving LLC received 120 days to elect corporate status
A domestic LLC survived a merger with an entity already taxed as a corporation. The LLC intended to be treated as an association taxable as a corporation from a specified date but inadvertently…
Parties received 45 days to file section 336(e) election statement
A partnership acquired all stock of an S corporation through a disregarded entity, and the S corporation later converted to a disregarded LLC. The seller and S corporation timely entered a binding…
S corporation received more time to file its section 336(e) election statement
An S corporation's sole shareholder sold at least 80 percent of its stock to two purchasers in a transaction represented to qualify as a qualified stock disposition. The parties timely entered a…
Estate received 120 days to elect portability
An estate was not otherwise required to file an estate tax return because its gross estate and adjusted taxable gifts were below the filing threshold. It nevertheless needed a timely Form 706 to…
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.