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 200905017: Corporation's late tax-year change application was treated as timely
A corporation filed Form 1128 after the deadline to change its federal tax year from a June 30 year-end to a December 31 year-end. It requested discretionary relief soon after missing the deadline.…
PLR 200905016: Charitable beneficiary did not bar employer's deferred-compensation deduction
An employer's nonqualified deferred-compensation plan let employees name beneficiaries to receive unpaid compensation after death. One employee named a spouse first and a section 501(c)(3)…
PLR 200905015: Bequests to a foreign city and its museum qualified for estate tax deductions
A U.S. citizen's will left money in trust to a foreign city for charitable purposes and paintings to that city's public museum. The city performed both charitable and noncharitable public functions,…
PLR 200905014: Trust errors did not end real estate company's S status, and rents were not passive income
A real estate company intended to elect S corporation status while a trust was one of its shareholders. The wrong person consented to the S election and made the trust's qualified subchapter S trust…
PLR 200905013: Corporation received 60 days to make its late S election
A corporation's shareholders intended the company to elect S corporation status from a specified date, but the election was not timely filed. The IRS found that the company established reasonable…
PLR 200905012: Serviced real estate rents were not passive investment income for S corporation purposes
An S corporation owned rental properties and provided extensive services to their tenants. It identified tenants, negotiated and monitored leases, supervised construction and permits, maintained…
PLR 200905011: Actively managed property rents were not passive investment income
An S corporation owned rental property and provided extensive services to its tenants. It approved and negotiated leases, monitored compliance, supervised construction and permits, maintained common…
PLR 200905010: Foreign single-owner entity received late disregarded-status relief
A foreign eligible entity with limited liability was held by a single owner through two wholly owned disregarded entities. It intended to be disregarded for federal tax purposes from its formation…
PLR 200905009: Foreign entity received more time to elect disregarded status
A foreign eligible entity with limited liability was held by a single owner through two wholly owned disregarded entities. It intended to be treated as disregarded for federal tax purposes from its…
PLR 200905008: Foreign single-owner entity received late classification relief
A foreign eligible entity with limited liability was held by one owner through two wholly owned disregarded entities. It intended to be disregarded for federal tax purposes from its formation date…
PLR 200905007: Foreign entity received late disregarded-status election relief
A foreign eligible entity with limited liability was held by one owner through another entity and that entity's wholly owned disregarded subsidiary. It intended to be disregarded for federal tax…
PLR 200905006: Foreign entity received extra time for its disregarded-status election
A foreign eligible entity with limited liability was held by one owner through two wholly owned disregarded entities. It intended to be disregarded for federal tax purposes from its formation date…
PLR 200905005: Foreign entity received a 60-day disregarded-status election extension
A foreign eligible entity with limited liability was held by one owner through two wholly owned disregarded entities. It intended disregarded status for federal tax purposes from its formation date…
PLR 200905004: Foreign entity obtained late disregarded-status relief
A foreign eligible entity with limited liability was held by one owner through another entity and that entity's wholly owned disregarded subsidiary. It intended to be disregarded for federal tax…
PLR 200905003: Donor received more time to allocate GST exemption to an irrevocable trust
A spouse created an irrevocable trust for a son and the son's descendants, and the couple made several transfers to it over three years. They elected gift splitting, but the accountant preparing…
PLR 200905002: Donor received late GST exemption allocation relief for trust transfers
A donor created an irrevocable trust for a son and the son's descendants, and the donor and spouse made transfers to it in two years. They elected gift splitting, but the accountant preparing their…
PLR 200905001: New holding company reorganization and internal spin-off received specified tax treatment
A publicly traded foreign corporation proposed placing a new U.S. holding company above itself through a transitory merger and then moving a controlled U.S. corporation under the new parent. The IRS…
PLR 200904037: Endowment participation did not create unrelated business taxable income
A tax-exempt college served as trustee and sole charitable remainder beneficiary of a charitable remainder unitrust. The college proposed giving the trust contractual shares in its diversified…
PLR 200904036: City excess benefit plan qualified and its trust income was tax-exempt
A city retirement system created a separate, mandatory plan to pay governmental employees the pension benefits barred from its qualified plan by section 415 limits. The arrangement was funded by an…
PLR 200904035: Companion city excess benefit plan qualified under section 415(m)
A city retirement system created a separate, mandatory plan to pay governmental employees the pension benefits barred from its qualified plan by section 415 limits. The arrangement was funded by an…
PLR 200904034: Financial institution error justified late IRA rollovers for a married couple
A married couple instructed one financial institution to transfer the full balances of their separate IRAs directly to new IRAs. The institution instead withheld part of each balance for federal…
PLR 200904033: Third city excess benefit plan qualified under section 415(m)
A city retirement system created a separate, mandatory plan to pay governmental employees the pension benefits barred from its qualified plan by section 415 limits. The arrangement was funded by an…
PLR 200904032: Advisor and institution errors justified a late IRA rollover
An IRA owner withdrew funds intending to roll them into another IRA and gave his adviser a check marked for an IRA rollover. The adviser supplied the wrong new-account form, and the receiving…
PLR 200904031: Identity-theft concerns did not justify late IRA rollovers
A taxpayer withdrew money from a SEP-IRA and two Roth conversion IRAs in 2004 because of concerns about identity theft. The taxpayer later asked to place all three distributions into eligible IRAs…
PLR 200904030: Bank error justified a late rollover from a qualified retirement plan
A taxpayer received a distribution from a qualified retirement plan, planned to use part for home improvements, and instructed a bank branch manager to put the rest in a rollover IRA. The bank…
PLR 200904029: Assets mistakenly placed in an IRA counted as investment in the contract
A taxpayer directed a bank to return non-IRA assets that had secured a loan to two non-IRA accounts. The bank mistakenly transferred the assets into the taxpayer's traditional IRA, and the taxpayer…
PLR 200904028: Mental impairment justified a late IRA rollover
A 64-year-old taxpayer made an online withdrawal from an IRA but had no recollection of doing so. The taxpayer and spouse had enough non-IRA assets to cover their expenses, and the taxpayer…
PLR 200904027: A bank's certificate-of-deposit error justified a late IRA rollover
A 57-year-old taxpayer instructed the custodian of an existing IRA to transfer its assets directly to a traditional IRA at another financial institution. An employee of the receiving institution…
Determination 200904026: Food-bank applicant was denied exemption for vague activities and private-benefit risks
A nonprofit applicant proposed supporting food pantries, churches, schools, and other groups, but did not explain whether it would donate or sell food and clothing or how it would acquire and…
PLR 200904025: Companion endowment-sharing arrangement avoided unrelated business tax
A tax-exempt college served as trustee and sole charitable remainder beneficiary of a charitable remainder unitrust. The college proposed giving the trust contractual shares in its diversified…
PLR 200904024: Foreign entity received extra time to elect disregarded status
A foreign entity with a single owner intended to be treated as disregarded for federal tax purposes from its formation date. It inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS concluded that…
PLR 200904023: Children's residence trust could give their mother a new term interest
A mother previously transferred her residence to a qualified personal residence trust while retaining the right to occupy it for a fixed term. When that term expired, the remainder passed to her son…
PLR 200904022: Children's residence trust could give their father a new term interest
A father previously transferred his residence to a qualified personal residence trust while retaining the right to occupy it for a fixed term. When that term expired, the remainder passed to his son…
PLR 200904021: Companion foreign entity received extra time for Form 8832
A foreign entity with a single owner intended to be treated as disregarded for federal tax purposes from its formation date. It inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS concluded that…
PLR 200904020: Trust received extra time to make the 65-day distribution election
A calendar-year trust made a distribution during the first 65 days of one year and reported it on the preceding year's return as permitted by section 663(b). The trust failed, however, to make the…
PLR 200904019: Third foreign entity received extra time for Form 8832
A foreign entity with a single owner intended to be treated as disregarded for federal tax purposes from its formation date. It inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS concluded that…
PLR 200904018: Corporation received relief for a late S election
A corporation and its shareholder intended the company to be an S corporation from a specified date, but Form 2553 was not filed on time. Both had consistently reported their income as though the S…
PLR 200904017: Foreign limited company received extra time to elect partnership status
A foreign limited company with two owners intended to be treated as a partnership for federal tax purposes from its formation date. It failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS concluded that the…
PLR 200904016: Pro rata trust division did not trigger gain or loss
An irrevocable trust paid income to a daughter for life, with the remainder divided among her children and the descendants of a deceased child. The trustee proposed dividing the trust into four…
PLR 200904015: Pro rata division of a testamentary trust did not trigger gain or loss
A testamentary trust paid income to a daughter for life, with the remainder divided among her children and the descendants of a deceased child. The trustee proposed dividing the trust into four…
PLR 200904014: Companion testamentary trust division did not trigger gain
A testamentary trust paid income to a daughter for life, with the remainder divided among her children and the descendants of a deceased child. The trustee proposed dividing the trust into four…
PLR 200904013: Acquired foreign entity received extra time to elect disregarded status
A foreign eligible entity defaulted to association status taxable as a corporation. After another entity acquired it, the parties intended the acquired entity to be disregarded for federal tax…
PLR 200904012: Wholly owned foreign entity received extra time to elect disregarded status
A foreign eligible entity wholly owned by another entity defaulted to association status taxable as a corporation. The parties intended the foreign entity to be disregarded for federal tax purposes…
PLR 200904011: Companion wholly owned entity received late election relief
A foreign eligible entity wholly owned by another entity defaulted to association status taxable as a corporation. The parties intended the foreign entity to be disregarded for federal tax purposes…
PLR 200904010: Another wholly owned entity received late election relief
A foreign eligible entity wholly owned by another entity defaulted to association status taxable as a corporation. The parties intended the foreign entity to be disregarded for federal tax purposes…
PLR 200904009: Fourth wholly owned entity received late election relief
A foreign eligible entity wholly owned by another entity defaulted to association status taxable as a corporation. The parties intended the foreign entity to be disregarded for federal tax purposes…
PLR 200904008: Fifth wholly owned entity received late election relief
A foreign eligible entity wholly owned by another entity defaulted to association status taxable as a corporation. The parties intended the foreign entity to be disregarded for federal tax purposes…
PLR 200904007: Sixth wholly owned entity received late election relief
A foreign eligible entity wholly owned by another entity defaulted to association status taxable as a corporation. The parties intended the foreign entity to be disregarded for federal tax purposes…
PLR 200904006: Controlled group received extra time to elect restoration of value
A target corporation underwent an ownership change and its value was reduced under the section 382 controlled-group rules by the value of stock in several foreign subsidiaries. The target and…
PLR 200904005: Companion controlled group received late value-restoration election relief
A target corporation underwent an ownership change and its value was reduced under the section 382 controlled-group rules by the value of stock in several foreign subsidiaries. The target and…
PLR 200904004: Third controlled group received late value-restoration election relief
A target corporation underwent an ownership change and its value was reduced under the section 382 controlled-group rules by the value of stock in several foreign subsidiaries. The target and…
PLR 200904003: Target and foreign subsidiary received late value-restoration election relief
A target corporation underwent an ownership change and its value was reduced under the section 382 controlled-group rules by the value of stock in a foreign subsidiary. The target and subsidiary…
PLR 200904002: Fourth controlled group received late value-restoration election relief
A target corporation underwent an ownership change and its value was reduced under the section 382 controlled-group rules by the value of stock in several foreign subsidiaries. The target and…
PLR 200904001: Companion inter vivos trust division avoided gain recognition
An irrevocable trust paid income to a daughter for life, with the remainder divided among her children and the descendants of a deceased child. The trustee proposed dividing the trust into four…
PLR 200903106: Insurer merger did not trigger retirement-contract distributions
Two mutual life insurance companies merged, with one company assuming the other's policies and related membership interests without changing policy terms, premiums, or voting rights. Some of the…
PLR 200903105: Taxpayer received 60 days to recharacterize an ineligible Roth conversion
A taxpayer converted funds from a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA, then learned after preparing a joint return that the couple's modified adjusted gross income exceeded the $100,000 eligibility limit…
PLR 200903104: Fraud and delayed mail justified waiving two IRA rollover deadlines
A taxpayer sent distributions from a Roth IRA and a traditional IRA to a company for rollover, but the company did not follow her instructions and later entered receivership after a fraud complaint.…
PLR 200903103: Pension funding tax waived if distress termination won approval
A skilled nursing and rehabilitation facility sought relief related to the accumulated funding deficiency in its pension plan while a distress-termination application was pending before the Pension…
PLR 200903102: Working-adult scholarship procedures received advance approval
A private foundation proposed quarterly scholarships for full-time adult students at a college who worked, had no expected family contribution, and met academic and other eligibility requirements.…
PLR 200903101: Ministry-education grant procedures received advance approval
A private foundation proposed up to 50 one-time grants for applicants pursuing Bible-school education to become ministers or missionaries. Its board would select recipients based on financial need,…
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.