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 200839005: School retiree health trust income is excluded and needs no return
A public school district created and solely funded a trust to subsidize insured health benefits for eligible retirees, spouses, dependents, and domestic partners. The district controlled trustee…
PLR 200839004: Sole shareholder's corporation gets late S election relief
A sole shareholder intended the 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 200839003: LLC may file late corporate classification and S elections
A state-law limited liability company intended to be treated as an S corporation from a specified date but did not timely file either its corporate classification election or its S election. The IRS…
PLR 200839002: Missed ESBT and QSST elections do not end S corporation status
After an S corporation shareholder died, shares passed through a testamentary trust and later into two additional trusts. The trustees did not timely elect ESBT treatment for the first and third…
CCA 200839001: Reinstated federal lien does not regain priority over state lien
A federal tax lien arose before New York filed a state tax warrant, but the federal notice later self-released and extinguished the federal lien. The IRS subsequently revoked the release and…
PLR 200838028: Bankrupt employer may credit service after business-unit transfers
A company in Chapter 11 planned to freeze accruals under its defined benefit plan, while collective bargaining agreements promised specified pension treatment to hourly employees transferred with…
CCA 200838027: Employer's designated trust-fund interest payment credits responsible persons
A corporation paid the principal of its unpaid trust-fund employment taxes and then voluntarily designated another payment to interest on that trust-fund liability, while non-trust-fund taxes…
PLR 200838026: Young beneficiary's trust-remainder disclaimers are not taxable gifts
A beneficiary under age 18 held contingent remainder interests in two irrevocable trusts created before 1977 and had received discretionary trust distributions. The beneficiary proposed disclaiming…
PLR 200838025: Nuclear plant decommissioning contribution schedule is approved
A taxpayer owning an interest in a nuclear power plant requested a revised schedule of annual ruling amounts for the plant's decommissioning reserve fund under one public utility commission's…
PLR 200838024: Donors may make late GST allocations to five children's trusts
Two donors created five trusts, one for each child and that child's descendants, and transferred cash and marketable securities to each trust. Their accountant timely filed gift tax returns but…
PLR 200838023: Estate may sever marital trust and make a late reverse QTIP election
An estate timely elected QTIP treatment for a marital trust but did not divide the trust into GST-exempt and nonexempt shares, make a reverse QTIP election, or allocate the decedent's…
PLR 200838022: Void GST allocation shifts automatically to trusts with GST potential
An estate allocated all of a decedent's generation-skipping transfer tax exemption to a lifetime trust holding S corporation stock. That trust would either distribute fully to the decedent's…
PLR 200838021: Wife may make a late GST exemption allocation to a trust
A husband transferred entire limited-partnership interests in two companies to a long-term trust for the couple's children and later descendants. The spouses intended to split the gift and allocate…
PLR 200838020: Foreign entity may elect disregarded status late
A foreign eligible entity intended to be treated as disregarded for U.S. federal tax purposes from a specified date but did not timely file its entity-classification election. The IRS concluded that…
PLR 200838019: Partnership may make a late Section 754 election after a partner's death
A partner died, transferring an interest in a partnership, but the partnership inadvertently failed to make a timely Section 754 election for that year. Such an election permits an adjustment to the…
PLR 200838018: Insurer receives waiver for reasonable life-policy compliance errors
A life insurer administered universal life policies under the guideline-premium and cash-value-corridor test in Section 7702. Reductions in death benefits produced negative annual guideline…
PLR 200838017: Nuclear fund receives special-transfer and contribution schedules
A utility owning and operating part of a nuclear plant requested both a deduction schedule for a special transfer and a revised schedule of annual ruling amounts for its decommissioning fund. The…
PLR 200838016: Trust eligibility and consent errors do not defeat S election
An S corporation election was ineffective because several trust shareholders lacked required ESBT or QSST elections and several shareholder consents were signed by a nominee partnership rather than…
PLR 200838015: Foreign entity may elect partnership classification late
A foreign eligible entity with more than one owner intended to be treated as a partnership for U.S. federal tax purposes from a specified date but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. The…
PLR 200838014: Late partnership classification election is permitted
A foreign eligible entity with more than one owner intended to be treated as a partnership for U.S. federal tax purposes from a specified date but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. The…
PLR 200838013: Federally assisted housing project receives 10-year rule waiver
A limited partnership planned to acquire and rehabilitate a federally assisted rental project using bond proceeds and claim low-income housing acquisition and rehabilitation credits. A prior…
PLR 200838012: One-day-late accounting-method form copy is treated as timely
A taxpayer timely filed its return and original Form 3115 to obtain automatic consent to change its bad-debt accounting method. It failed to send the required duplicate Form 3115 to the IRS national…
PLR 200838011: Cooperative may include patron advances in Section 199 computation
An agricultural cooperative and its processing subsidiary marketed member products through annual pools and paid patrons regular advances, followed by a final patronage dividend after year-end…
PLR 200838010: Corporation may perfect its late S election within 60 days
A corporation's shareholders intended S corporation treatment from the incorporation date, but the election was not filed on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed deadline and granted…
PLR 200838009: Late S election receives reasonable-cause relief
A corporation's shareholders intended S corporation treatment from the incorporation date, but the election was not filed on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed deadline and granted…
PLR 200838008: Electric cooperative's pool-exit proceeds are patronage income
A Section 501(c)(12) electric cooperative operated a hydroelectric project that it had sold into a public power pool and repurchased the project's electricity at a uniform pooled rate. The…
PLR 200838007: Companies may file late real-property-interest statements and notices
A foreign public corporation transferred a domestic subsidiary's stock to another domestic subsidiary for stock and notes, accompanied by a cash distribution. The companies claimed that neither…
PLR 200838006: LLC partnership receives late Section 754 election relief
A limited liability company treated as a partnership gained a new member through a transfer of interests from prior members. The partnership intended to make a Section 754 election for the transfer…
PLR 200838005: Grantor may allocate GST exemption to four trusts late
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 200838004: Three missed ESBT elections do not terminate S status
Three trusts became shareholders of an S corporation but did not timely elect treatment as electing small business trusts, making them ineligible shareholders and terminating the corporation's S…
PLR 200838003: Domestic partnership may make QEF elections for subsidiary PFICs
Two foreign PFIC corporations were held through foreign and domestic partnership tiers, and the domestic partnership directly or indirectly owned additional subsidiary PFICs. The IRS treated the…
PLR 200838002: Sole-shareholder corporation receives late S election relief
A sole shareholder intended the corporation to be treated as an S corporation from its incorporation date, but the election was not filed on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed…
PLR 200838001: Late S election is effective from incorporation
A sole shareholder intended the 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…
Determination 200837053: Organization lost exemption after failing to file returns and provide records
The IRS revoked an organization’s § 501(c)(3) tax exemption after it stopped filing its required annual information returns and did not supply information requested during an examination. The…
Determination 200837052: Inactive organization agreed to loss of its charitable exemption
The IRS revoked a § 501(c)(3) organization’s exemption after the organization ceased operating and its officer confirmed that it would not resume its exempt activities. The examination report says…
Determination 200837051: IRS revoked exemption after unanswered requests for returns and records
The IRS revoked an organization’s § 501(c)(3) exemption after it did not provide records or respond to repeated requests concerning Forms 990 for two tax periods. Sections 6001 and 6033 require…
Determination 200837050: Foreclosure rescue program served commercial and investor interests
A nonprofit proposed buying homes through short sales, renting them back to families facing foreclosure, and later reselling them to those families above cost. The IRS found that clients would be…
Determination 200837049: Organization lost exemption after foreclosure, bankruptcy, and missed filings
The IRS revoked a § 501(c)(3) organization’s exemption after it failed to file a required annual return or provide records requested for an examination. The organization’s creditors had foreclosed…
Determination 200837048: Private foundation lost exemption after failing to file Form 990-PF
The IRS revoked a private foundation’s § 501(c)(3) exemption after it failed to file a delinquent Form 990-PF or respond to repeated requests for information. Exempt organizations must file required…
Determination 200837047: Credit counseling operation served commercial and private interests
The IRS revoked a credit counseling organization’s § 501(c)(3) exemption because its debt management business served substantial commercial and private interests. The organization charged setup and…
PLR 200837046: Son could disclaim half an inherited IRA for his brother’s trust
A mother’s IRA beneficiary form still named one son after her divorce, although her will directed IRA assets into separate trust shares for both sons. The named son disclaimed half of the IRA and…
PLR 200837045: Social club could exchange property without losing its exemption
A tax-exempt social club planned to end a long-term lease early, transfer some club-owned land to a developer, and receive replacement land, construction work, cash, and indemnities for a new golf…
Determination 200837044: Insurer lost exemption after premium receipts fell to zero
A reinsurance company in voluntary run-off stopped accepting premiums while it paid remaining claims and managed investments. In each examined year, premiums were zero percent of its gross receipts.…
Determination 200837043: Volunteer fire organization lost exemption for inactivity
An organization received § 501(c)(3) status to provide volunteer fire service, fire-safety education, and other activities that would lessen government burdens. The IRS examination found that it had…
Determination 200837042: Residential association did not qualify as a social club
A membership organization owned a gated cottage development where members built and transferred improvements on leased lots. It maintained residential roads and supplied water and trash services to…
Determination 200837041: Investment-focused captive did not qualify as an insurance company
A foreign captive elected domestic tax treatment and had received recognition under § 501(c)(15) based on representations that it reinsured unrelated risks. In the examined year, it instead issued a…
Determination 200837040: Inactive environmental nonprofit lost its exemption
A nonprofit was formed to conduct scientific research and educate the public about the environment. It remained inactive for several years, performed no operations or financial activity, and never…
Determination 200837039: Animal sanctuary lost exemption after cruelty offenses and noncompliance
An animal sanctuary was formed to shelter hooved animals, poultry, and domestic birds. It never filed a Form 990, did not answer repeated IRS requests for records, and provided no information…
Determination 200837038: Christian school lost exemption after failing to file returns
A nonprofit operated a nondenominational Christian school for students from kindergarten through twelfth grade. Despite repeated IRS correspondence, it failed to file Form 990 for five tax periods…
Determination 200837037: Organization lost exemption after refusing examination records
A recognized charity filed Forms 990 for two examined years but did not answer repeated certified letters seeking support for its revenue, expenses, and activities. Without access to its records or…
Determination 200837036: Fee-funded credit counselor lost charity status
A credit-counseling organization originally received exemption based on plans to educate consumers and offer a free debt-repayment program. In the examined year, all revenue came from creditor…
Other 200837035: IRS revoked a restaurant association's business-league exemption
The IRS revoked a restaurant association's tax-exempt status under section 501(c)(6), effective on a redacted date. The association promoted a members-only brand, advertised its member restaurants,…
Other 200837034: IRS revoked exemption after an organization failed to file records
The IRS revoked an organization's section 501(c)(3) exemption after it failed to file a requested Form 990-PF and did not respond to IRS correspondence. The examination report explained that exempt…
Other 200837033: IRS revoked a charity's exemption for private benefit and unsupported activities
The IRS revoked a charity's section 501(c)(3) exemption after its operations shifted from prison ministry to a vehicle donation program. The examination found no substantiated charitable activity…
PLR 200837032: Internal partnership transfers did not trigger housing-credit recapture
A corporate group asked whether moving a low-income housing partnership interest between affiliates would recapture previously claimed credits under section 42(j). One bank subsidiary would sell the…
PLR 200837031: IRS approved a revised nuclear decommissioning funding schedule
A utility requested mandatory review of a revised schedule for deductible contributions to its nuclear decommissioning reserve fund. The schedule used a public utility commission's approved…
PLR 200837030: IRS approved annual nuclear decommissioning fund contributions
A utility sought mandatory review of the annual amounts it could deduct for contributions to a nuclear decommissioning fund. Its proposal relied on a public utility commission's assumptions about…
PLR 200837029: LLC received 60 days to make a late corporate classification election
A limited liability company inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 to elect corporate tax classification as of a redacted date. It asked for an extension under the regulatory-election relief rules.…
PLR 200837028: Waste-fueled power plant received conditional credit and depreciation rulings
A planned power plant would generate electricity by gasifying and burning sorted municipal solid waste and open-loop biomass. The IRS ruled that, if the plant met section 45's placed-in-service…
PLR 200837027: Corporate separation qualified for tax-free reorganization treatment
A public company proposed separating a controlled corporation through a recapitalization, two internal spin-offs, a shareholder stock exchange, and exchanges of controlled-company stock for the…
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.