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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IRS grants extra time to file a late Section 338(g) election under 9100 relief
The parent of a consolidated corporate group asked the IRS for more time to file a Section 338(g) election. That election lets a stock purchase be treated, for tax purposes, as if the buyer had…
IRS grants extra time to file a late LIFO inventory election after an S-corp conversion
A business that inventories goods using the last-in, first-out (LIFO) method asked the IRS for more time to file the form that elects LIFO. The taxpayer had used LIFO since it operated as a…
IRS grants extra time to file a late check-the-box election to be a disregarded entity
A business entity with a single owner wanted to be treated as a "disregarded entity" for federal tax purposes, meaning it is ignored as separate from its owner and its activity is reported on the…
IRS grants an estate extra time to make a late portability election
When a married person dies without using up their full federal estate-tax exclusion, the unused portion (the deceased spousal unused exclusion, or DSUE, amount) can be passed to the surviving spouse…
IRS grants extra time to file a late accounting-method-change application (Form 3115)
A corporate group that files a consolidated return wanted to change its method of accounting for certain prepaid insurance premium costs. Changing an accounting method usually needs IRS consent, but…
Estate gets extra time to split a QTIP trust and make a reverse QTIP election
A decedent's estate timely made a QTIP election for a trust benefiting the surviving spouse. The estate's law firm did not advise that the trust should be severed into GST-exempt and GST-nonexempt…
Estate gets a late QTIP election and zero GST inclusion ratios for two trusts
A decedent had created trusts that, at death, provided for a marital-deduction trust, a credit shelter trust, and a trust for the decedent's mother. The estate's accountant failed to make the…
Estate gets a late QTIP election and zero GST inclusion ratios for two trusts
A decedent had created trusts that, at death, provided for a marital-deduction trust, a credit shelter trust, and a trust for the decedent's mother. The estate's accountant failed to make the…
Couple gets extra time to allocate GST exemption to two trusts
A grantor transferred property to two trusts for family beneficiaries, and the grantor and spouse elected to split the gifts on their gift tax returns. Their accountant prepared the returns but…
Couple gets extra time to allocate GST exemption to two trusts
A grantor transferred property to two trusts for family beneficiaries, and the grantor and spouse elected to split the gifts on their gift tax returns. Their accountant prepared the returns but…
Subsidiary receives late QSub and S corporation election relief
An S corporation acquired all of a subsidiary's stock but failed to timely file the intended qualified subchapter S subsidiary (QSub) election. A trust later acquired the subsidiary, and the…
Subsidiary receives relief for mistaken QSub and S corporation election dates
An S corporation acquired all of a subsidiary's stock but failed to timely file the intended qualified subchapter S subsidiary (QSub) election, and the filed form stated the wrong effective date.…
Married taxpayers may recharacterize excess Roth IRA contributions
A married couple made Roth IRA contributions for three years even though their modified adjusted gross income exceeded the eligibility limit. They learned of the problem while researching…
Partnership receives 120 days to make a late section 754 election
A partnership intended to make a section 754 election after ownership interests were transferred but failed to attach a properly executed election to its return. The partnership and all affected…
Late section 336(e) election relief granted after buyer and S corporation missed the deadline
A partnership bought all the stock of an S corporation in a deal that qualified as a "qualified stock disposition." The parties wanted to make a section 336(e) election, which lets a stock sale be…
Late REIT election accepted after a signed return was misplaced during an office move
A limited liability company operated as a real estate investment trust (REIT) and intended to lock in that tax status by filing a Form 1120-REIT for its first year, which is how the section 856(c)…
Extension granted to file a late LIFO election (Form 970) after a partnership liquidation
A taxpayer owned an interest in a partnership that used the last-in, first-out (LIFO) method to value its inventory. When the partnership liquidated, its LIFO inventory was distributed to the…
Foreign entity gets extra time to elect partnership treatment after advisors missed the filing
Two domestic partnerships formed a foreign business entity and always intended for it to be taxed as a partnership in the United States. To lock that in, the entity needed to file a "check-the-box"…
Foreign entity gets extra time to elect partnership treatment after advisors missed the filing
Two domestic partnerships formed a foreign business entity and always intended for it to be taxed as a partnership in the United States. To lock that in, the entity needed to file a "check-the-box"…
Foreign entity gets extra time to elect partnership treatment after advisors missed the filing
Three domestic partnerships formed a foreign business entity and always intended for it to be taxed as a partnership in the United States. To lock that in, the entity needed to file a…
Foreign entity gets extra time to elect partnership treatment after advisors missed the filing
Three domestic partnerships formed a foreign business entity and always intended for it to be taxed as a partnership in the United States. To lock that in, the entity needed to file a…
Extra time granted to allocate GST exemption to a trust after a missed gift tax return
A married couple set up an irrevocable trust for their children and more remote descendants and funded it with company stock, on an attorney's advice that the trust would be exempt from the…
Extra time granted to allocate GST exemption to a trust after a missed gift tax return
A married couple set up an irrevocable trust for their children and more remote descendants and funded it with company stock, on an attorney's advice that the trust would be exempt from the…
IRS grants a partnership extra time to make a late § 754 basis-adjustment election after its preparer failed to advise it
When a partner dies or a partnership interest changes hands, a partnership can make a "§ 754 election" to adjust the tax basis of its property, which often lets the remaining or incoming partners…
IRS grants a corporation reasonable-cause relief for a late S corporation election
A corporation meant to be taxed as an S corporation (a pass-through, so the company itself pays no federal income tax) and filed its returns that way from the start, but it never filed the required…
IRS grants an LLC extra time to elect partnership tax classification on a late Form 8832
A limited liability company wanted to be taxed as a partnership from the day it was formed, but it never filed the entity classification election form (Form 8832) on time. Under the "check-the-box"…
IRS grants a foreign reinsurance company more time to elect to be taxed as a domestic corporation under § 953(d)
A foreign insurance company (a controlled foreign corporation whose business is reinsuring risks) wanted to be treated as a U.S. domestic corporation for tax purposes by making an election under…
IRS grants a foreign reinsurance company late-election relief for both the § 953(d) domestic-treatment and § 831(b) small-insurer elections
A small foreign insurance company that reinsures insurance contracts, owned by three individuals, wanted two tax elections: one under Code Section 953(d) to be treated as a U.S. domestic…
IRS grants a foreign entity extra time to elect disregarded-entity status on a late Form 8832
A single-owner foreign business entity wanted to be treated as a "disregarded entity" for U.S. tax purposes, meaning it is ignored as separate from its owner and its income flows straight onto the…
Late Form 8832 election allowed so a foreign entity can be taxed as a partnership
A business entity formed in a foreign country wanted to be treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes, but it missed the deadline to file Form 8832 (the Entity Classification…
Late S-corporation election excused for reasonable cause under § 1362(b)(5)
A corporation with a single shareholder intended to be taxed as an S corporation from the day it was formed and had been filing its returns that way, but it never timely filed Form 2553, the…
Late § 853 foreign-tax-credit pass-through election allowed for a mutual fund after a missed deadline
A mutual fund taxed as a regulated investment company (RIC) invests in foreign companies and pays foreign taxes, and each year it elects under Internal Revenue Code § 853 to pass those foreign tax…
Late § 853 and § 1296 elections allowed for a mutual fund after a missed return deadline
A mutual fund taxed as a regulated investment company (RIC) needed to make two elections on its return: a § 853 election to pass foreign tax credits through to shareholders, and a § 1296 election to…
Late § 853 foreign-tax-credit pass-through election allowed for a mutual fund after a missed deadline
A mutual fund taxed as a regulated investment company (RIC) invests in foreign companies and pays foreign taxes, and each year it elects under Internal Revenue Code § 853 to pass those foreign tax…
Late § 853 and § 1296 elections allowed for a mutual fund after a missed return deadline
A mutual fund taxed as a regulated investment company (RIC) needed to make two elections on its return: a § 853 election to pass foreign tax credits through to shareholders, and a § 1296 election to…
Late § 853 and § 1296 elections allowed for a mutual fund after a missed return deadline
A mutual fund taxed as a regulated investment company (RIC) needed to make two elections on its return: a § 853 election to pass foreign tax credits through to shareholders, and a § 1296 election to…
Late Section 1022 carryover-basis election allowed for a 2010 decedent's estate
For people who died in 2010, a one-year quirk in the law let an estate choose between the reinstated estate tax and a special "carryover basis" regime under Internal Revenue Code § 1022, which is…
Late "reverse QTIP" election allowed so a marital trust keeps the decedent's GST exemption
When a person leaves property to a marital ("QTIP") trust for a surviving spouse, the spouse is normally treated as the transferor of that trust for generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax purposes.…
Late relief to split a marital trust and make a "reverse QTIP" election so the estate's GST exemption sticks
When a wealthy person dies and leaves property in a marital trust for a surviving spouse, the estate can make a "reverse QTIP" election so that, for generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax purposes,…
Late relief lets a REIT make missed "taxable REIT subsidiary" elections for two subsidiaries
A real estate investment trust (REIT) and a corporation it owns can jointly elect, on Form 8875, to treat that corporation as a "taxable REIT subsidiary" (TRS) under Internal Revenue Code § 856(l),…
Late relief lets a REIT treat acquired subsidiaries as "taxable REIT subsidiaries"
A real estate investment trust (REIT) and a corporation it owns can jointly elect, on Form 8875, to treat that corporation as a "taxable REIT subsidiary" (TRS) under Internal Revenue Code § 856(l),…
Late relief lets a merged company make the 70/30 safe-harbor election for its deal fees
When a company pays "success-based fees" (advisory fees owed only if a deal closes) in an acquisition, the tax rules generally require it to capitalize those fees as costs of the transaction unless…
Reformation of a trust's Crummey withdrawal error avoids general powers of appointment; 120-day extension to allocate GST exemption
A settlor set up an irrevocable trust for his descendants, wanting the trust assets to stay out of his children's estates and to use up his and his spouse's generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax…
Reformation of a trust's Crummey withdrawal error avoids general powers of appointment; 120-day extension to allocate GST exemption
A settlor set up an irrevocable trust for his descendants, wanting the trust assets to stay out of his children's estates and to use up his and his spouse's generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax…
Reformation of a trust's Crummey withdrawal error avoids general powers of appointment; 120-day extension to allocate GST exemption
A settlor set up an irrevocable trust for his descendants, wanting the trust assets to stay out of his children's estates and to use up his and his spouse's generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax…
Reformation of a trust's Crummey withdrawal error avoids general powers of appointment; 120-day extension to allocate GST exemption
A settlor set up an irrevocable trust for his descendants, wanting the trust assets to stay out of his children's estates and to use up his and his spouse's generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax…
90-day extension to make a late taxable-REIT-subsidiary (TRS) election under § 856(l)
A real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns medical-office, senior-housing, student-housing, and self-storage properties set up a wholly owned subsidiary and meant to jointly elect (on Form…
90-day extension to make a late § 831(b) small-insurance-company election
A newly formed small non-life ("property and casualty") insurance company meant to elect under section 831(b)(2) to be taxed only on its taxable investment income, a favorable election available to…
Grants 60 days to file a late IC-DISC election after advisers miscommunicated
A domestic corporation was formed to operate as an interest charge domestic international sales corporation (IC-DISC) for its parent company's export sales. The corporation relied on two accounting…
Grants 120 days for a late section 1022 election and basis allocation for a 2010 estate
The executor of an estate for a person who died in 2010 hired an attorney to prepare the estate's tax filings, but the attorney failed to file Form 8939 by the January 17, 2012 deadline. That form…
Grants 60 days to file an omitted safe-harbor election for success-based acquisition fees
A corporate group acquired a healthcare company and paid contingent fees to two financial advisers. Its tax adviser recommended the Rev. Proc. 2011-29 safe harbor, prepared the required election…
Grants late section 336(e) election relief for an S corporation stock acquisition
A disregarded purchaser acquired all the stock of an S corporation for its regarded owner, and the purchase agreement said a section 336(e) election would be made. The election was not timely…
Grants 120 days for a late section 59(e) election on research expenditures
A corporation intended to file its return and elect under section 59(e) to deduct research and experimental expenditures ratably over ten years. Its internal tax accountant mistakenly believed Form…
Grants 120 days for a late section 754 election after a partnership-interest transfer
A limited liability company taxed as a partnership timely filed its return for a year in which one member transferred part of its interest to another member, but it did not attach a section 754…
Grants 120 days to elect the investment tax credit for renewable facilities
A taxpayer intended to make the irrevocable section 48(a)(5) election to claim the investment tax credit instead of the section 45 production tax credit for renewable-energy facilities. Its internal…
LLC allowed to switch back to partnership taxation within the usual 60-month lock-out because ownership changed by more than half
An LLC can choose how it is taxed (disregarded, partnership, or corporation), but once it elects to change its classification, it generally cannot change again for 60 months. Here an LLC started as…
Partnership gets a late section 754 election after a member bought out another, subject to basis-adjustment conditions
An LLC taxed as a partnership had one member transfer her entire interest to another member. The partnership filed its return for that year on time but did not include the § 754 election that would…
Partnership gets more time to make a section 754 basis-adjustment election it filed its returns as if it had made
A § 754 election lets a partnership adjust the basis of its assets after a partner's interest changes hands, matching inside basis to what happened at the partner level. The election has to be filed…
Grantor granted more time to allocate GST exemption to two trusts after the accountant left it off the gift tax return
A grantor set up and funded two irrevocable trusts for descendants and reported the gifts on a gift tax return (Form 709), but the accounting firm that prepared the return failed to allocate any of…
Estate gets extra time to split a marital trust into QTIP and non-QTIP shares and fix its generation-skipping tax planning
When a spouse dies, property left in trust for the surviving spouse can qualify for the unlimited estate-tax marital deduction if the executor makes a "QTIP" election under § 2056(b)(7). Where only…
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.