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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Partnership received 120 days to make a section 754 election
A limited liability company treated as a partnership intended to make a section 754 election for the year in which an investor purchased an interest, but it did not file the election on time. The…
Missed portability election received a 120-day extension
A surviving spouse's tax advisor did not tell her that the deceased spouse's estate needed to file Form 706 to elect portability of the unused exclusion amount. The estate represented that its value…
Taxpayers could undo automatic GST exemption allocations to two trusts
A married couple created two irrevocable trusts primarily for their children and did not intend to allocate generation-skipping transfer tax exemption to their gifts. Their accountant failed to…
Late GST opt-out elections were allowed for two family trusts
A husband and wife made gifts to two irrevocable trusts that were designed primarily for their children and had generation-skipping transfer potential. They did not want GST exemption allocated to…
Partnership received late section 754 election relief after a partner's death
A partnership had a partner consisting of a single-member limited liability company disregarded from its owner. The owner died, and the partnership relied on an advisor who failed to make a section…
Late return preserved election out of bonus depreciation
An electric utility partnership consistently elected not to claim additional first-year depreciation and intended to do the same for the year at issue. Its financial statements, draft partner…
Taxpayer could elect out of automatic GST allocations for five trusts
A taxpayer made two taxable transfers to one trust by exercising a limited power over property also subject to a general testamentary power. The taxpayer also funded four irrevocable annuity trusts…
Late GST opt-out elections were granted for five trusts
A taxpayer made a taxable transfer to one trust by exercising a limited power over property that was also subject to a general testamentary power. The taxpayer also funded four irrevocable trusts…
Spouse received relief to opt out of an automatic GST allocation
A spouse held both a general testamentary power and a limited power over property in a trust created by the spouse's parent. The spouse exercised the limited power to transfer property to a new…
Two appointed trust transfers received late GST opt-out relief
A spouse held a general testamentary power and a limited power over a trust created by the spouse's parent. The spouse used the limited power in two years to transfer property to a trust for a…
Parties received relief to complete a late section 336(e) election
Two individuals sold at least 80 percent of an S corporation's stock to a partnership in a transaction represented to be a qualified stock disposition. The parties intended to make a section 336(e)…
Affiliated group received 60 days to file its consolidated return election
A domestic parent and two subsidiaries formed an affiliated group but did not timely elect to file a consolidated federal income tax return for the year at issue. The parent relied on a qualified…
LLC received 120 days for late corporate classification election
After a sequence of acquisitions, name changes, a merger, conversion into a single-member LLC, ownership transfers, and an upstream liquidation, the taxpayer intended to be classified as an…
Estate received 120 days for late 65-day distribution election
An estate made a distribution during the first 65 days of a fiscal year and intended under section 663(b) to treat it as paid or credited on the last day of the preceding fiscal year. The election…
QDOT received 120 days to report surviving spouse's citizenship
A noncitizen surviving spouse established a qualified domestic trust and later became a United States citizen after continuously residing in the country. No principal distributions were made before…
Affordable-housing LLC received extensions for two related elections
A single-member LLC wholly owned by a section 501(c)(3) organization served as general partner of a low-income housing partnership. Its partnership agreement required it both to elect out of…
Parties received 45 days to complete late section 336(e) election
An individual purchased all shares of an S corporation, and the parties intended to elect under section 336(e) to treat the qualified stock disposition as an asset disposition. The election failed…
Spouses receive 120 days to opt out of automatic GST allocation
A husband created an irrevocable trust with three separate trusts for the couple's children and transferred cash to them. The spouses elected to split the gifts on timely Forms 709, but their…
Spouses receive 120 days to opt out of automatic GST allocation
A husband created an irrevocable trust with three separate trusts for the couple's children and transferred cash to them. The spouses elected to split the gifts on timely Forms 709, but their…
Estate receives 120 days for missed GST allocations
A decedent's will made direct cash skips to grandchildren and divided the residue into two trusts for the decedent's sons, both with generation-skipping transfer potential. The estate's attorney…
IRS retroactively revoked late section 754 election relief
The IRS had previously given a taxpayer 120 days to make a late section 754 election. That relief was based on a representation that no affected return was under examination, before Appeals, or…
Corporation receives 60 days for success-fee safe harbor election
A corporation paid success-based adviser fees in connection with the sale of all its stock. Its accounting firm's analysis team received an acquisition-cost list that omitted the fees, while an…
Corporation receives 60 days to attach success-fee election
A corporation paid success-based fees in a stock reorganization and reported 70 percent as deductible and 30 percent as capitalized under the Revenue Procedure 2011-29 safe harbor. The corporation…
Invalid EIN excused late taxable REIT subsidiary election
A REIT acquired a subsidiary and intended to elect both corporate classification for the subsidiary and taxable REIT subsidiary status. The forms were timely mailed using an EIN that the sellers had…
Foreign entity received late disregarded-entity election relief
A foreign eligible entity with one owner intended to elect treatment as an entity disregarded from that owner but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS concluded that the entity…
Partnership received late section 754 election relief
A partnership timely filed its return for a year in which partnership interests had been transferred but inadvertently omitted a section 754 election. The IRS granted 120 days to file the election…
Estate received late section 1022 carryover-basis election relief
The executor of an estate for a decedent who died in 2010 missed the January 2012 deadline to file Form 8939 and elect the section 1022 carryover-basis regime in place of the reinstated estate tax.…
Late ESBT elections caused an inadvertent S termination
An S corporation shareholder held stock through a revocable grantor trust. At the shareholder's death, the stock passed to two successor trusts that qualified as electing small business trusts, but…
Late section 338(g) election granted after adviser error
A corporate purchaser acquired all the stock of a foreign target and intended to make a section 338(g) election so the stock purchase would be treated as an asset acquisition. A qualified tax…
Partnership received 120 days to make late section 754 election
A limited partnership failed to make a timely section 754 election for a year in which partnership interests were treated as transferred. The partnership represented that it acted reasonably and in…
Late historic-status application treated as timely for rehabilitation credit
A taxpayer renovated property in a registered historic district but failed to submit Part 1 of the Historic Preservation Certification Application before placing the property in service. The…
Partnership received 120 days for section 754 election after partner's death
A limited liability company classified as a partnership timely filed its return for the year in which a partner died but inadvertently omitted a valid section 754 election. The partnership…
Foreign partnership received 120 days for section 754 election
A foreign limited partnership failed to make a timely section 754 election for a year in which partnership interests were transferred. It represented that it acted reasonably and in good faith, was…
Partnership received 120 days to file omitted section 754 election
A state-law partnership timely filed its federal return but inadvertently omitted a valid section 754 election to adjust the basis of partnership property. It represented that it acted reasonably…
Late section 338(g) election granted for foreign target acquisition
A domestic corporation acquired all the shares of a foreign target for cash and intended to make a section 338(g) election so the stock purchase would be treated as an asset acquisition. The…
Late Form 1128 treated as timely after accountant error
A taxpayer relied on an accountant to file Form 1128 to change its tax year from June 30 to December 31, but the form was not filed by the deadline for the required short-period return. After…
S corporation gets 120 days to file late QSub election
An S corporation intended to elect qualified subchapter S subsidiary status for a wholly owned domestic subsidiary as of the subsidiary's incorporation date. It failed to file Form 8869 on time…
Successor gets 45 days to file late section 336(e) election statement
A partnership acquired all shares of an S corporation whose shareholders had agreed with the corporation to treat the stock sale as an asset sale under section 336(e). The purchaser then converted…
REIT gets 90 days to make two late TRS elections
A real estate investment trust indirectly owned two foreign corporations that held legal title to self-storage properties and obtained financing. The REIT's outside tax advisers overlooked the need…
Spouses get 120 days to allocate GST exemption to two trusts
A married couple created separate irrevocable trusts for each of their two children and the children's descendants before the end of 2000. They elected gift splitting on their Forms 709, but their…
Foreign LLC gets 120 days to elect partnership status
A foreign limited liability company became owned by two U.S. persons and intended to be classified as a partnership for federal tax purposes from that ownership date. It did not timely file Form…
Foreign entity gets 120 days to elect disregarded status
A single owner formed a foreign eligible entity and intended it to be disregarded for federal tax purposes from a specified date. The entity failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS concluded that…
Foreign entity gets 120 days to elect disregarded status
A single owner formed a foreign eligible entity and intended it to be disregarded for federal tax purposes from a specified date. The entity failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS concluded that…
Partnership gets 120 days to make late section 754 election
A partnership timely filed its return for the year in which a partner died but inadvertently omitted a section 754 election. The IRS concluded that the requirements for discretionary filing relief…
Estate gets 120 days to make late portability election
A decedent's estate was below the filing threshold for a mandatory federal estate tax return but did not timely file Form 706 to elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount.…
Foreign entity gets 120 days to elect disregarded status
A foreign eligible entity intended to be treated as disregarded for federal tax purposes but did not timely file Form 8832. It represented that it acted reasonably and in good faith and that relief…
Foreign entity gets 120 days to elect disregarded status
A foreign eligible entity intended to be treated as disregarded for federal tax purposes but did not timely file Form 8832. It represented that it acted reasonably and in good faith and that relief…
Foreign entity gets 120 days to elect disregarded status
A foreign eligible entity intended to be treated as disregarded for federal tax purposes but did not timely file Form 8832. It represented that it acted reasonably and in good faith and that relief…
Foreign entity gets 120 days to elect partnership status
A foreign eligible entity intended to be classified as a partnership for U.S. federal tax purposes but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS concluded that the requirements for…
Foreign entity gets 120 days to elect partnership status
A foreign eligible entity intended to be classified as a partnership for U.S. federal tax purposes but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS concluded that the requirements for…
Foreign entity gets 120 days to elect partnership status
A foreign eligible entity intended to be classified as a partnership for U.S. federal tax purposes but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS concluded that the requirements for…
Foreign entity gets 120 days to elect partnership status
A foreign eligible entity intended to be classified as a partnership for U.S. federal tax purposes but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS concluded that the requirements for…
Estate gets 120 days to make late QTIP election
A decedent's will funded a marital trust that paid all net income to the surviving spouse at least quarterly and permitted principal distributions for the spouse's health, maintenance, or support.…
Estate gets 120 days to make late portability election
A decedent's estate was below the filing threshold for a mandatory federal estate tax return but did not timely file Form 706 to elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount.…
Corporation receives 60 days to file a late IC-DISC election
A domestic corporation intended to elect interest charge domestic international sales corporation status from its formation. Its accounting firm prepared Form 4876-A, gave filing instructions, and…
Taxpayer receives 45 days to file a late accounting-period change
A development entity missed the deadline to use the automatic procedure for changing its annual accounting period under Revenue Procedure 2006-46. Its accountant learned of the business need for the…
Liquidating trust receives 45 days for disputed-ownership-fund election
A bankruptcy liquidating trust held all of its assets in reserve while higher-priority disputed claims were being resolved. Its accountants filed the first-year return as a complex trust because…
Acquired company receives 60 days for success-fee safe-harbor election
A holding company paid two success-based advisory fees in connection with its acquisition. Its return preparer used figures from another adviser's financial-statement analysis, overlooked the…
Foreign entity receives 120 days for late disregarded-entity election
A foreign entity wholly owned through another foreign entity by a U.S. citizen intended to be treated as disregarded for federal tax purposes but did not timely file Form 8832. The entity…
Foreign entity receives retroactive disregarded status after late Form 8832
A foreign entity owned through another foreign entity by a U.S. citizen missed the deadline to file Form 8832 for disregarded-entity treatment. It represented that it was an eligible entity and had…
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.