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 relief for late partnership election
A foreign eligible entity intended to elect partnership classification but inadvertently failed to timely file Form 8832. After a member died and the estate was administered, the entity became…
Indexed structured-settlement annuity qualified under Section 130
A structured-settlement assignment company proposed buying an indexed annuity from a related life insurer to fund periodic payments for a physically injured claimant. The contract guarantees a…
Indexed structured-settlement annuity met Section 130 requirements
A structured-settlement assignment company proposed buying an indexed annuity from a related life insurer to fund periodic payments for a physically injured claimant. The contract guarantees a…
Artist scholarship and educational grant procedures were approved
A private foundation proposed scholarship and educational grant programs for working artists. Scholarships would support undergraduate or graduate study, use objective and nondiscriminatory…
Trading firm received 30 days for late mixed-straddle election
A proprietary trading firm moved a strategy involving offsetting Section 1256 and non-Section 1256 positions from a partnership to its disregarded broker-dealer entity. Although predecessor entities…
Industry standards certification income was not unrelated business income
A Section 501(c)(6) industry association developed safety and environmental management standards and also certified facilities to comparable standards created by an unrelated international standards…
Corporation received 120 days to file late S election
A corporation's four shareholders intended S corporation treatment from a specified effective date, but the corporation inadvertently failed to timely file Form 2553. Based solely on the submitted…
REIT's independent-living communities received different health-facility classifications
A REIT owned independent retirement living communities that provided meals, transportation, social activities, emergency pendants, utilities, housekeeping, and wellness programming. At the managed…
Employer-related scholarship procedures were approved
A private foundation proposed scholarships for local residents attending vocational, undergraduate, or graduate programs, with preferences for current or retired employees of a food distributor and…
Renewable county scholarship procedures were approved
A private foundation proposed need- and achievement-based scholarships for students from specified counties attending four-year colleges or technical schools. Awards would be paid directly to the…
Trust lost exemption after failing to provide examination records
A trust recognized as a Section 501(c)(3) non-functionally integrated supporting organization was selected for examination. The IRS repeatedly requested records through an appointment letter,…
Private-road homeowners association was denied exemption
A mutual-benefit road association owned and maintained a private roadway serving the residential lots of its members. The road was the members' sole ingress and egress to a public road, was marked…
Homeowners association was denied charitable exemption
A homeowners association applied for Section 501(c)(3) status on Form 1023-EZ while identifying itself as an unincorporated association. State records instead showed that it was a corporation whose…
NIL collective was denied charitable exemption
A nonprofit proposed to pay student athletes from one university for personal appearances and social media posts promoting nearby charities. It argued that the arrangement would expand the…
Trust was reclassified as a private foundation
A charitable trust had been classified as a Type III functionally integrated supporting organization under Section 509(a)(3). After regulatory changes, it reported that it did not provide required…
Local business association was denied charitable exemption
A member-supported association sought Section 501(c)(3) status while promoting small businesses in a rural community. Its activities included vendor events, parades, business awards and publicity,…
REIT received 90 days to make a late taxable-subsidiary election
A real estate investment trust intended for a service-provider subsidiary to be treated as a taxable REIT subsidiary effective when the subsidiary began operations. Outside counsel formed the entity…
Estate received 120 days to elect portability
An estate was not otherwise required to file Form 706 but needed an estate tax return to transfer the decedent's unused exclusion amount to the surviving spouse. The estate did not timely file the…
Parties received relief for a late Section 336(e) election
A purchaser acquired all stock of an S corporation, and the parties intended to elect under Section 336(e) to treat the stock sale as an asset sale. They relied on a qualified tax professional who…
Corporation received relief for an inadvertent S election termination
Two trusts acquired stock in an S corporation but their trustee failed to make timely electing small business trust elections. Because the trusts were then ineligible shareholders, the corporation's…
Scholarship and educational grant procedures were approved
A private foundation proposed scholarships for higher education and educational grants to help individuals improve career skills in nursing, medicine, health services, aviation, and related fields.…
Aviation scholarship procedures were approved
A private foundation proposed four scholarship and grant programs for aviation, aeronautics, aircraft mechanics, engineering, and other STEM education. The programs would support undergraduate and…
Sports festival was denied charitable exemption
An organization sought Section 501(c)(3) status for an annual festival featuring trail and mountain-bike races, children's events, clinics, and other activities. It said the festival promoted…
Private social club was denied charitable exemption
An organization sought recognition as a tax-exempt charity under Section 501(c)(3). Its articles described it as a private social club, and its activities included weddings, showers, reunions,…
Estate received 120 days to elect portability
An estate that was not otherwise required to file an estate tax return missed the deadline to elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion. The election was needed…
Estate received 120 days to elect portability
An estate that was not otherwise required to file an estate tax return missed the deadline to elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion. The election was needed…
Public agency captive insurer's income was excluded
A public agency whose participants were public charter schools formed a captive insurance company to provide the agency with reinsurance. The captive's income came from premiums paid by the agency…
LLC could change early to disregarded entity status
A limited liability company had elected to be taxed as a corporation and wanted to change to disregarded entity status less than 60 months later. A new owner had acquired more than 50 percent of the…
LLC received relief for late corporate classification election
A single-owner limited liability company intended to be taxed as a corporation from its formation date but did not timely file Form 8832. Without the election, the company was disregarded as…
Missed ESBT elections caused an inadvertent S corporation termination
Shares of an S corporation were held through two trusts after an individual shareholder died. The trusts met the requirements for electing small business trusts, but their trustees did not timely…
Estate received 120 days to elect portability
An estate that was not otherwise required to file an estate tax return missed the deadline to elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion. The election was needed…
Outdoor industrial storage fees qualified as REIT rents
A company planning to elect REIT status intended to operate outdoor industrial storage properties and charge tenants fixed fees for reserved storage space. The properties would offer customary…
Revised nuclear decommissioning fund schedule was approved
A utility that owned a qualifying interest in a nuclear power plant requested a mandatory revised schedule of deductible contributions to its nuclear decommissioning fund. The proposed schedule used…
Retroactive QEF election was allowed
A U.S. person owned a minority interest in a foreign corporation that became a passive foreign investment company. The taxpayer relied on a qualified tax adviser who did not identify the…
Retroactive QEF election was allowed
A U.S. person owned a minority interest in a foreign corporation that became a passive foreign investment company. The taxpayer relied on a qualified tax adviser who did not identify the…
Supporting organization was reclassified as a private foundation
A tax-exempt charitable trust had been classified as a supporting organization under Section 509(a)(3). The IRS found that the supported charity did not appoint or share the trust's governing body,…
Charity lost exemption after failing to provide records
A charitable organization under examination did not provide the organizational and financial records requested by the IRS, including records of its receipts, expenditures, and activities. Its…
Deferred gain was excluded and downstream merger met continuity test
A consolidated corporate group completed a sale, internal distributions, an F reorganization, and a downstream merger into a disregarded entity owned by a partly public subsidiary. An earlier stock…
Opportunity fund received more time to file self-certification
A limited liability company taxed as a partnership was formed to serve as a qualified opportunity fund. It expected an experienced accounting firm to file its first tax return and Form 8996, but a…
Opportunity fund received 60 days to make its election
A limited liability company taxed as a partnership was created to invest in opportunity-zone property and operate as a qualified opportunity fund. The company and its advisers expected an…
Late opportunity-fund self-certification was treated as timely
Members without tax experience formed a partnership-taxed limited liability company to operate as a qualified opportunity fund. They discussed compliance work with a tax accountant but mistakenly…
Missed opportunity-fund election was accepted as timely
Members without tax experience organized a partnership-taxed limited liability company to serve as a qualified opportunity fund. They had discussed tax compliance with an accountant but…
Missed QSST election did not end S corporation status
An S corporation shareholder's stock passed from a grantor trust to a successor trust after the grantor's death. The successor trust qualified to be a qualified subchapter S trust, but its sole…
Investor received permission for a retroactive QEF election
A U.S. taxpayer owned a minority interest in a foreign company that later became a passive foreign investment company. The taxpayer relied on a qualified adviser who did not identify the company's…
Closing agreement enabled a retroactive QEF election
A U.S. taxpayer held a minority interest in a foreign company that became a passive foreign investment company. The taxpayer's qualified adviser did not identify the PFIC status or explain the…
Adviser error qualified an investor for retroactive QEF relief
A U.S. taxpayer owned less than 10 percent of a foreign company that became a passive foreign investment company. A qualified tax adviser did not identify the PFIC status or tell the taxpayer about…
Scholarship and educational-grant procedures were approved
A private foundation proposed scholarships and educational grants for people with financial need, with an emphasis on historically marginalized communities. Scholarship recipients would attend…
Agriculture scholarships and youth camp grants were approved
A private foundation proposed scholarships for undergraduate agriculture, science, and technology studies and educational grants for young people to attend qualifying camps. Scholarship applicants…
Fraternal insurer was denied charitable exemption
A local chapter of a fraternal benefit society applied for recognition as a charity under Section 501(c)(3). It was organized as a mutual-benefit corporation to provide fraternal life insurance,…
Fund for two named people was denied charitable exemption
A nonprofit corporation was formed to raise money for the living and medical expenses of two named individuals and their families. It held clay-shooting, raffle, and other sporting fundraisers and…
Partnership received 120 days to make a late Section 754 election
A partnership failed to file a Section 754 election for the year a partner died, despite relying on tax advisers to make the election. The IRS found that the partnership satisfied the standards for…
Adviser omission led to late Section 754 election relief
A partner who held an interest through a grantor trust died, but the partnership's adviser did not explain the availability of a Section 754 election. The partnership therefore omitted the election…
Partnership received relief for an adviser-missed Section 754 election
A limited liability company taxed as a partnership missed a Section 754 election after a partner who held an interest through a grantor trust died. The partnership's adviser had not informed it that…
Late Section 754 election was allowed after partner's death
A limited partnership failed to make a Section 754 election after a partner who held an interest through a grantor trust died. Its adviser had not informed the partnership that the election was…
CPA filing error did not defeat opportunity-fund election
An S corporation intended to operate as a qualified opportunity fund and relied on its CPA to extend and file its first corporate return with Form 8996. An administrative error caused the CPA to…
Foreign entity received more time to elect disregarded status
A foreign single-owner eligible entity became relevant for U.S. tax purposes with a default classification as an association taxable as a corporation. It intended to change to disregarded-entity…
Foreign subsidiary received late disregarded-entity election relief
A domestic corporation formed and wholly owned a foreign eligible entity whose default classification was an association taxable as a corporation. No Form 8832, Form 8858, or Form 5471 had been…
Late election allowed foreign entity to be disregarded
A corporation formed and wholly owned a foreign eligible entity that defaulted to association status for U.S. tax purposes. Form 8832 and the related Forms 8858 and 5471 were not filed, although the…
Foreign entity obtained 120 days for a late Form 8832
A domestic corporate owner formed a foreign eligible entity that defaulted to association status. The taxpayers did not file Form 8832, Form 8858, or Form 5471, but reported the foreign entity's…
Corporation received 90 days to perfect its IC-DISC election
A corporation was formed to operate as an interest charge domestic international sales corporation. Its sole owner believed a prepared Form 4876-A had been properly executed and filed, but the IRS…
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.