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 200846038: Excess-business-holdings disposal period waits for trust distribution
A private foundation was a remainder beneficiary of an irrevocable grantor trust that would hold stock in an operating business. The trust also benefited the founder's descendants during its term,…
PLR 200846037: Actuarial CRUT termination payouts avoided self-dealing
A charitable remainder unitrust paid income interests to two individuals and named a supporting organization as its charitable remainder beneficiary. The parties proposed to terminate the trust…
Determination 200846036: Unfunded supporting-organization prototype is denied exemption
An organization sought § 501(c)(3) status and classification as a Type I supporting organization for a community foundation. Its governing documents gave the supported charity majority control, but…
Determination 200846035: Failure to provide records led to exemption revocation
An exempt organization did not respond to repeated IRS letters and telephone calls seeking records for an examination of employment tax returns. It also failed to file required information returns…
Determination 200846034: Homeowners association loses social-club exemption
A homeowners association operated a public golf course, a restaurant with limited public access, member-only beaches, hiking trails and tennis courts, and a water system for members. The IRS found…
Determination 200846033: Fraternity-house title holder loses social-club exemption
An alumni corporation owned and maintained a college fraternity house, collected rent from resident fraternity members, and used the receipts for mortgage, utility, tax, and maintenance expenses.…
Determination 200846032: Missing returns and records led to exemption revocation
An exempt organization had reportedly dissolved, but state information suggested that it may have been reactivated. It did not file required Forms 990-PF, answer repeated IRS correspondence, or make…
Determination 200846031: Private benefit and poor records led to exemption revocation
A tax-exempt organization operated two residential facilities for adults with developmental disabilities. The IRS examination found that its founder used organizational accounts for personal…
Determination 200846030: Unfiled foundation returns led to exemption revocation
A private foundation did not file required Forms 990-PF for the tax periods under examination. It also did not respond to repeated IRS correspondence or provide information about its receipts,…
Determination 200846029: Seller-funded homebuyer program did not qualify as charitable
A nonprofit operated a down payment assistance program that gave buyers funds at closing and collected the same amount plus a fee from participating home sellers. The program had no income limits,…
PLR 200846028: A will reference did not create designated IRA beneficiaries
An IRA owner’s beneficiary form said only “as stated in wills,” while his will transferred the residuary estate to a trust with eight beneficiaries. After his death, a state court ordered that the…
Determination 200846027: Inactivity and missing records led to exemption revocation
An organization recognized under § 501(c)(3) had represented that it would provide consumer protection, debt reduction, and related counseling services. Its president later said an injunction…
Determination 200846026: Closing the organization ended its tax exemption
A health care organization had closed after substantial losses and stopped providing services. Its only remaining activity was paying creditors, and it planned to dissolve after settling its debts.…
Determination 200846025: Seller-funded homebuyer program displaced exempt research
An organization originally promoted research intended to enhance and prolong life. It later made a seller-funded down payment assistance program nearly its only activity for one year, apart from one…
PLR 200846024: Incorrect rollover advice justified a 60-day waiver
An employee stock ownership plan distributed cash and a promissory note to a former employee. The taxpayer rolled over the cash but did not place the note in an IRA, even though the plan had offered…
Determination 200846023: Debt-plan sales and family benefits ended exemption
A nonprofit said it would provide credit counseling, financial education, and debt management services. The IRS found that its actual operation centered on selling scripted debt management plans…
CCA 200846022: Accuracy penalty does not automatically bar interest-free correction
IRS examiners asked whether imposing the negligence or disregard penalty under § 6662(b)(1) automatically prevents an employer from making an interest-free employment tax adjustment under § 6205.…
TAM 200846021: Self-insured health costs were deductible when services were provided
An accrual-method employer paid some claims under its self-insured medical and dental plans more than two and a half months after the year in which employees received the services. The IRS advised…
PLR 200846020: Formula approved for nuclear decommissioning fund contributions
An electric utility requested a revised schedule of deductible contributions to a fund for decommissioning a nuclear generating unit. It proposed a formula using the decommissioning cost, qualifying…
PLR 200846019: Loan participation returns qualified as RIC income
A newly formed business development company planned to lend to small and midsized companies through instruments paying interest plus a participation return tied to fixed percentages of an issuer’s…
PLR 200846018: Settlement fund remained available for school district expenses
A school district invested unrestricted litigation-settlement proceeds and adopted a resolution preserving the principal while using most earnings for district programs. It then proposed tax-exempt…
PLR 200846017: Controlled group received more time to restore subsidiary value
A parent corporation and foreign subsidiaries missed the deadline to elect under Treas. Reg. § 1.382-8(h) to restore subsidiary value after an ownership change. Their submissions showed that they…
PLR 200846016: Late accounting-period application was treated as timely
A taxpayer intended to file Form 1128 to change its year-end from September 30 to December 31 but missed the filing deadline because of an error or misunderstanding. It submitted both the form and…
PLR 200846015: Clerical error justified late tax-exempt-control election
A taxable subsidiary of a tax-exempt nonprofit leased rehabilitated historic property to a partnership. The transaction required the subsidiary to elect under § 168(h)(6)(F)(ii) not to be treated as…
PLR 200846014: Omitted tax-exempt-control election received deadline relief
A taxable subsidiary of a tax-exempt nonprofit was a general partner in a partnership operating rehabilitated historic property. Its president signed an election under § 168(h)(6)(F)(ii) not to…
PLR 200846013: Eighteen trusts received relief for late REMIC elections
Eighteen statutory trusts prepared and signed Forms 1066 for their first taxable year, but newly assigned administrators mistakenly believed the forms had already been filed. The securities…
PLR 200846012: Sale of term and remainder interests produced section 1231 gain or loss
A partnership planned to sell a 50-year interest in business real estate to one unrelated buyer and the remainder interest to another unrelated buyer. Each buyer would receive the benefits and…
PLR 200846011: Mandatory retiree-health contributions were excluded from wages
A union employee welfare trust funded retiree medical benefits through mandatory salary reductions required by collective bargaining agreements, with possible additional employer contributions.…
PLR 200846010: Reasonable cause excused a late S corporation election
A newly incorporated company intended to elect S corporation status for a specified effective date but did not timely file Form 2553. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed deadline under §…
PLR 200846009: Eligible entity received more time for corporate classification election
A domestic eligible entity intended to elect corporate classification but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. Without an election, the single-owner entity would be disregarded as…
PLR 200846008: Nuclear decommissioning fund contribution schedule was approved
A company owning an interest in a deregulated nuclear plant requested a schedule of deductible contributions to its qualified decommissioning fund. The schedule used decommissioning costs,…
PLR 200846007: Deregulated nuclear plant received an approved fund schedule
A company owning an interest in a deregulated nuclear plant requested annual ruling amounts for deductible contributions to its qualified decommissioning fund. Its calculations relied on estimated…
PLR 200846006: Late S corporation election received reasonable-cause relief
A corporation intended to be an S corporation from the date it was formed but did not timely file Form 2553. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed deadline under § 1362(b)(5). It ruled that…
PLR 200846005: Two-owner LLC received corporate election deadline relief
A domestic limited liability company with two individual owners intended to be taxed as a corporation from the date it began business but did not timely file Form 8832. Without an election, the…
PLR 200846004: Multilevel split-off received tax-free reorganization treatment
A public company planned to separate one business by moving its assets into a new controlled corporation. Stock of the new corporation would pass through four tiers of wholly owned subsidiaries to…
PLR 200846003: Retained trust remainders defeated IRA disclaimers and QTIP treatment
A decedent named her four children as IRA beneficiaries, while her will created an income trust for her spouse with the IRA ultimately passing through another trust back to the children. The…
PLR 200846002: Estate received time to sever a QTIP trust and allocate GST exemption
An estate elected QTIP treatment for two marital trusts but did not make a reverse QTIP election, so the decedent’s remaining generation-skipping transfer exemption was not allocated to them. The…
PLR 200846001: Equivalent-value substitutions preserved GRAT and grantor-trust treatment
A grantor retained a fiduciary power to substitute property of equivalent value in a two-year grantor retained annuity trust and the family trust that would follow it. The IRS ruled that the…
Determination 200845054: Single-franchisor association did not qualify as a business league
An association limited membership to franchisees of one franchisor. Its main activity was to advocate for those franchisees in dealings with the franchisor, and its secondary activity was to…
Determination 200845053: Founder control and commercial plans defeated charity status
A stock corporation sought § 501(c)(3) status to finance research and commercialization of pollution-free energy technology. Its three founder-shareholders controlled every vote, held a related…
CCA 200845052: Tip-tax credit belongs in the notice-and-demand year
An employee received cash tips in an earlier year but did not report them to the employer. The employer later received an IRS notice and demand for its share of FICA tax on those tips. Chief Counsel…
CCA 200845051: Business was treated as a Railroad Retirement Tax Act employer
The Railroad Retirement Board advised the IRS that a redacted business became an employer under the Railroad Retirement Act and Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act on a redacted effective date. The…
CCA 200845050: Railroad operations triggered employer status
The Railroad Retirement Board advised the IRS that a redacted business became an employer under the Railroad Retirement Act and Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act. After reviewing the Board’s…
CCA 200845049: Dissolution ended railroad employer status
The Railroad Retirement Board advised the IRS that a redacted business had ceased to be an employer under the Railroad Retirement Act and Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act. The business had…
CCA 200845048: Sale of remaining assets ended railroad employer status
The Railroad Retirement Board advised the IRS that a redacted business had ceased to be an employer under the Railroad Retirement Act and Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act. The business had…
CCA 200845047: Business became a railroad employer on the specified date
The Railroad Retirement Board advised the IRS that a redacted business became an employer under the Railroad Retirement Act and Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act on a redacted effective date.…
CCA 200845046: Transfer of rail line and lease ended employer status
The Railroad Retirement Board advised the IRS that a redacted business ceased to be an employer under the Railroad Retirement Act and Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act. The stated effective date…
CCA 200845045: Successor became a railroad employer when operations began
The Railroad Retirement Board advised the IRS about employer status for a successor business and its predecessor. Chief Counsel concluded that the successor became an employer under the Railroad…
PLR 200845044: Domestic and foreign subsidiary transfers qualified under section 351
A tax-exempt nonprofit planned to move a for-profit business into newly formed domestic and foreign subsidiaries and then place their stock and related property into a domestic holding company.…
PLR 200845043: Extended service contracts qualified as insurance
A consumer-products company planned to move its extended service contract business to a new subsidiary that would be the named administrator and obligor. For a fixed price, the subsidiary would…
PLR 200845042: Nuclear fund special transfer and deduction schedules were approved
A regulated utility owning and operating a nuclear plant requested approval for a special transfer to its qualified decommissioning fund, a schedule of deductions for that transfer, and revised…
PLR 200845041: Nuclear fund special transfer and revised schedules were approved
A regulated utility owning a nuclear plant requested a special transfer to its qualified decommissioning fund, a deduction schedule for the transfer, and revised annual ruling amounts. The special…
PLR 200845040: Special transfer and revised decommissioning amounts were approved
A regulated utility owning a nuclear plant requested approval for a special transfer to its qualified decommissioning fund, a related deduction schedule, and revised annual ruling amounts. The…
PLR 200845039: Consolidated group received time to waive its loss carryback
A consolidated group intended to relinquish the entire carryback period for a consolidated net operating loss but failed to file a valid election with the loss-year return. The parent relied on a…
PLR 200845038: Single-owner LLC received more time for corporate election
A domestic limited liability company with one owner intended to be taxed as a corporation from its formation date but did not timely file Form 8832. Without an election, the entity would be…
PLR 200845037: Ineligible shareholder caused an inadvertent S termination
An S corporation issued some stock to a shareholder that was not eligible to own S corporation shares, terminating its election. After discovering the problem, the company took steps within a…
PLR 200845036: Late ESBT election did not end S corporation status
An S corporation transferred shares to a trust that was represented as eligible to be an electing small business trust, but the trustee did not timely make the ESBT election. That omission…
PLR 200845035: Customer-funded pipeline extensions produced qualifying income
A publicly traded partnership transported and gathered natural gas through pipelines. Some customers built and transferred pipeline extensions, reimbursed the partnership’s construction costs, or…
PLR 200845034: Reasonable cause allowed a late S corporation election
A corporation intended to elect S corporation status from its incorporation date but did not timely file the proper election. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed deadline under §…
PLR 200845033: Late S election was accepted for the requested year
A corporation intended to elect S corporation status from a specified effective date but did not timely file the proper election. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed deadline under §…
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.