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 200840025: Trustee's lending power makes grantor the owner of family trusts
A grantor created four separate trusts for the grantor's children and transferred corporate stock to them. A nonadverse trustee could lend trust principal or income to the grantor without adequate…
PLR 200840024: Trust modifications preserve zero GST inclusion ratio
A grantor created and fully GST-exempted an irrevocable trust for a granddaughter and her descendants. The trustee moved the trust to another state and sought court approval to remove a 1 percent…
PLR 200840023: Minors' disclaimers can redirect trust shares to surviving spouse
A decedent's will created equal trust shares for ten grandchildren and left the residuary estate to the surviving spouse. Court-appointed conservators proposed formula disclaimers on behalf of seven…
PLR 200840022: Corporation receives 60 days to make late S election
A corporation intended to elect S corporation status from its incorporation date but failed to file Form 2553 on time. Section 1362(b)(5) allows the IRS to treat a late election as timely when…
PLR 200840021: Late S corporation election receives reasonable-cause relief
A corporation intended to be an S corporation from the date it was incorporated but did not timely file Form 2553. The IRS may treat a late S election as timely under Section 1362(b)(5) when the…
PLR 200840020: Corporate group receives extension to elect consolidated filing
A parent limited liability company taxed as a corporation directly owned all stock of three includible subsidiaries but did not timely elect to file a consolidated federal income tax return. The…
PLR 200840019: Fund's late RIC and PFIC elections are treated as timely
A regulated investment company prepared returns containing foreign-tax pass-through, spillover-dividend, and PFIC mark-to-market elections for one year, but its mailroom delivered the package after…
PLR 200840018: Sale of farm conservation easement triggers special-use recapture
A taxpayer inherited farmland that the decedent's estate had valued under Section 2032A based on its farm use rather than its highest and best use. The taxpayer continued farming after later selling…
PLR 200840017: Inadvertent filing failure qualifies for late S election relief
A corporation's shareholders intended S corporation treatment from the company's incorporation date, but Form 2553 was not timely filed because of inadvertence. Section 1362(b)(5) permits the IRS to…
PLR 200840016: Two S corporation spin-offs qualify for nonrecognition treatment
An S corporation proposed separating two qualified subchapter S subsidiaries by distributing their voting-trust certificates and stock to its sole shareholder. One subsidiary would first move a…
PLR 200840015: Merger-related stock payments receive defined parachute-payment treatment
A privately held corporation planned to remove a book-value restriction from employee stock as part of a merger and to cash out or roll over stock and stock rights. The IRS ruled that removing the…
PLR 200840014: Corporations receive extra time for real-property-interest filings
A foreign subsidiary held stock in its domestic parent after an acquisition, and the parent later redeemed that stock for notes in an exchange under Section 302(a). Although the companies claimed…
PLR 200840013: Air-freight company may claim kerosene excise-tax payments
An air-freight company planned to buy kerosene directly for domestic airlines that supplied aircraft, crews, maintenance, and insurance to transport its customers' property. The company would retain…
PLR 200840012: Corporation receives relief for a late S election
A corporation intended to be treated as an S corporation from a specified date but did not file its election on time. The IRS found that the corporation had reasonable cause for the missed deadline…
PLR 200840011: Trust ownership caused an inadvertent S election termination
A revocable trust owned stock in an S corporation and became irrevocable when one of its two settlors died. Two years after the death, the trust ceased to be an eligible S corporation shareholder,…
PLR 200840010: Partnership receives more time to elect corporate tax status
A state-law corporation converted to a state-law limited partnership but intended to continue being taxed as a corporation from the conversion date. It failed to file the required…
PLR 200840009: Corporation receives late-election and inadvertent-termination relief
A business filed an S corporation election before it qualified, then later incorporated under state law. It subsequently issued shares to two S corporations rather than to their individual owners,…
TAM 200840008: Tax-driven trust division does not create a charitable deduction
A will placed the residuary estate in a trust that paid portions of its income to two individuals for life and allowed the balance to go to charity. Because this split-interest arrangement did not…
PLR 200840007: Foreign entity receives more time to elect disregarded status
A foreign entity was formed with one owner, and its owners had limited liability under local law. It intended to be treated as a disregarded entity for U.S. federal tax purposes from its formation…
PLR 200840006: Three-stage corporate separation receives nonrecognition treatment
A publicly traded parent proposed separating one business through three related subsidiary stock distributions. The plan included contributions of business assets and subsidiary stock, exchanges of…
PLR 200840005: Partnership receives more time for a Section 754 election
A limited partnership timely filed its return for a year in which it acquired all of one partner's interest, but it inadvertently omitted an election to adjust the basis of partnership property…
PLR 200840004: Related S corporation and QSub elections receive inadvertence relief
Several related entities made S corporation, qualified subchapter S subsidiary, and qualified subchapter S trust elections before one entity converted under state law. Questions arose about whether…
PLR 200840003: Ineligible trust ownership does not end S corporation status
An ineligible trust acquired stock in an S corporation, which terminated the corporation's S election. After discovering the problem, the corporation transferred the trust's shares to its two…
PLR 200840002: Entity receives more time to elect corporate tax status
A domestic eligible entity intended to be treated as an association taxable as a corporation from its formation date but inadvertently failed to file its entity-classification election on time. The…
CCA 200840001: State successor-liability law can support federal tax collection
Chief Counsel advised that the IRS may collect a corporation's or LLC's federal tax debt from a successor when relevant state law makes that successor liable. Common grounds include an express…
Other determination 200839040: Homeowner contest serves private interests, ending exemption
A Section 501(c)(3) organization had conducted no activities, held no assets, and received no support since its formation. It planned a homeowner contest in which participant payments could fund a…
PLR 200839039: Taxpayer may undo an ineligible Roth IRA conversion
A tax adviser recommended that one spouse convert a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA without realizing that the couple's modified adjusted gross income exceeded the then-applicable $100,000 limit. The…
PLR 200839038: Employee emergency fund does not threaten health charities' exemption
A nonprofit health care system established a fund to help current and former employees and their families facing emergencies, accidents, losses, or disasters. An employee committee would use…
PLR 200839037: University may fund safety upgrades to campus Greek houses
A private university adopted mandatory safety, health, security, and infrastructure standards for all campus housing after fires and inspections revealed serious deficiencies in fraternity and…
PLR 200839036: Employee emergency fund preserves health charities' exemption
A nonprofit health care system established a fund to help current and former employees and their families facing emergencies, accidents, losses, or disasters. An employee committee would use…
PLR 200839035: Need-based employee emergency fund protects exempt status
A nonprofit health care system established a fund to help current and former employees and their families facing emergencies, accidents, losses, or disasters. An employee committee would use…
PLR 200839034: Employee hardship grants remain a charitable health activity
A nonprofit health care system established a fund to help current and former employees and their families facing emergencies, accidents, losses, or disasters. An employee committee would use…
TAM 200839033: IRS withdraws earlier mortgage-securities capital-asset advice
An earlier technical advice memorandum concluded that a taxpayer's dollar-rolled mortgage-backed securities were not acquired in the ordinary course of business for services rendered under Section…
PLR 200839032: Public-safety disability benefits receive mixed income exclusions
A public retirement system asked how Section 104(a)(1) applies to disability benefits for police officers and firefighters. The IRS ruled that a minimum lifetime benefit for duty-related disability…
PLR 200839031: Spouses may opt out of automatic GST exemption allocations late
A husband and wife made cash gifts to three irrevocable trusts for their descendants and elected to split the gifts. They expected the trusts to end during their children's lifetimes and did not…
PLR 200839030: Spouse's retirement-benefit disclaimers avoid a taxable gift
A decedent named the surviving spouse as beneficiary of an IRA and retirement plan but named no successor beneficiaries, so the accounts would pass to the estate if the spouse had died first. Within…
PLR 200839029: Amended gift tax returns may elect qualified payment treatment
A shareholder exchanged voting common stock in a family corporation for noncumulative preferred stock while the shareholder's children held other interests in the company. The shareholder retained…
PLR 200839028: Taxpayer may make a late GST exemption allocation to a trust
A taxpayer transferred entire limited-partnership interests in two companies to a long-term trust for the taxpayer's children and later descendants. The taxpayer and spouse intended to split the…
PLR 200839027: Trust changes preserve a zero GST inclusion ratio
A grantor funded an irrevocable trust for a granddaughter and her descendants and allocated enough generation-skipping transfer tax exemption to give the trust a zero inclusion ratio. The trustee…
PLR 200839026: Niece's trust retains its zero GST inclusion ratio after changes
A grantor funded an irrevocable trust for a niece and her descendants and allocated enough generation-skipping transfer tax exemption to give the trust a zero inclusion ratio. The trustee and…
PLR 200839025: Grandniece's trust keeps its zero GST inclusion ratio
A grantor funded an irrevocable trust for a grandniece and her descendants and allocated enough generation-skipping transfer tax exemption to give the trust a zero inclusion ratio. The trustee and…
PLR 200839024: Three-step business separation qualifies as Type D reorganizations
A publicly traded parent proposed separating one business through three contributions followed by subsidiary stock distributions. The plan also exchanged new controlled-company securities and debt…
PLR 200839023: Corporation receives relief for a late S election
A corporation's shareholders wanted S corporation treatment effective from the incorporation date, but the election was not filed on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late filing and…
PLR 200839022: Grantor may complete omitted GST exemption allocations
A grantor created two irrevocable trust instruments that produced six trusts for three children and their descendants. The grantor intended to split the gifts with a spouse and allocate…
PLR 200839021: Grantor receives time to allocate GST exemption to four trusts
A grantor created two irrevocable trust instruments that produced six trusts for three children and their descendants. The grantor intended to split the gifts with a spouse and allocate…
PLR 200839020: Late GST allocations permitted for severed family trusts
A grantor created two irrevocable trust instruments that produced six trusts for three children and their descendants. The grantor intended to split the gifts with a spouse and allocate…
PLR 200839019: Estate receives more time to make a QTIP election
A revocable trust became irrevocable at the grantor's death and required quarterly income payments to the surviving spouse for life, with the remainder passing to two children. The trustee reported…
PLR 200839018: Corporation gets 60 days to file its late S election
Four shareholders intended their corporation to be treated as an S corporation from a specified date, but Form 2553 was not filed on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed deadline and…
PLR 200839017: S corporation's conversion to an LLC qualifies as an F reorganization
An S corporation proposed converting under state law into a limited liability company that would elect corporate tax classification effective on the conversion date. The IRS ruled that the…
PLR 200839016: Sole-owner corporation receives late S election relief
A corporation's sole shareholder intended S corporation treatment from the incorporation date, but Form 2553 was not filed on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed deadline and granted…
PLR 200839015: Correcting amounts paid does not revoke Section 83(b) elections
A service provider received interests in three limited partnerships and timely made separate Section 83(b) elections. Following the partnerships' instructions, the taxpayer listed only an…
PLR 200839014: Beneficiary may revoke a trust's QSST election
The beneficiary of a trust represented to be a qualified subchapter S trust asked the IRS to consent to revoking its QSST election from a specified date. A QSST election generally may be revoked…
PLR 200839013: Revised nuclear decommissioning fund schedule is approved
A taxpayer owning a tenant-in-common interest in a nuclear power plant requested revised annual ruling amounts for its decommissioning reserve fund. Two public utility commissions had revised the…
PLR 200839012: Active property-management rents are not passive S corporation income
An S corporation with accumulated earnings and profits owned, leased, and managed commercial and industrial properties. Its employees negotiated leases, billed and collected rent, handled taxes and…
PLR 200839011: Two-shareholder corporation receives late S election relief
Two shareholders intended their corporation to be treated as an S corporation from its incorporation date, but Form 2553 was not filed on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed deadline…
PLR 200839010: Corporation may file its intended S election late
Two shareholders intended their corporation to be treated as an S corporation from its incorporation date, but Form 2553 was not filed on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed deadline…
PLR 200839009: Municipal retiree health trust income is excluded under Section 115
A city utility commission created a trust to fund insured post-employment health and welfare benefits for retired employees and their families. The trust was funded by the commission and investment…
PLR 200839008: Missed QSST income distribution does not end S status
A trust that held shares in an S corporation had elected qualified subchapter S trust treatment. The trustee failed to distribute all trust income for one year, violating a QSST requirement and…
PLR 200839007: Corporation receives 60 days to complete its S election
A shareholder intended S corporation treatment from the corporation's incorporation date, but the election was not filed on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed deadline and granted…
PLR 200839006: Public-school retiree life insurance trust owes no income return
A public school district created and solely funded a trust to subsidize life insurance premiums for eligible retirees and their dependents. The district controlled trustee appointments, investments,…
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.