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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County captive reinsurer's income excluded under section 115
A nonprofit captive insurance company was wholly owned by an authority whose members were counties. The authority operated a self-insurance pool for the counties, and the captive provided…
Six late corporate tax elections granted relief
A corporate group intended to make six elections involving bankruptcy loss limits, subsidiary stock basis, tangible-property capitalization, alternative depreciation, and bonus depreciation. Its…
S election restored after two missed ESBT elections
An S corporation transferred ownership interests to two trusts, but their trustees did not timely elect to treat the trusts as electing small business trusts. Those failures caused the corporation's…
S election restored after inherited shares entered two trusts
Two trusts acquired shares in an S corporation under a will, but their trustees did not timely elect to treat them as electing small business trusts. The missed elections caused the corporation's S…
IRS finds a self-declared 501(c)(4) "social welfare" group is really a political organization
This final IRS letter tells a group that had been treating itself as a tax-exempt social welfare organization (a self-declared 501(c)(4)) that it does not qualify, because its primary activity is…
Charity lost exemption after ceasing operations without formally dissolving
A section 501(c)(3) organization stopped its exempt activities and closed its bank account, but it did not complete the required steps to terminate formally. It did not file a final return, provide…
Community training organization denied farmers cooperative exemption
A nonprofit sought exemption under section 521 as a farmers cooperative. It planned educational training for youth, homeless individuals, and young entrepreneurs, including some instruction about…
Wargaming club denied charitable exemption
A club applied for section 501(c)(3) status to grow a wargaming community through in-person games and tournaments. It charged participation and membership fees, offered members free entry and guest…
Fraternal subordinate lost exemption after failing to provide records
A subordinate organization covered by a group ruling had been classified as a fraternal beneficiary society under section 501(c)(8). During an examination, it gave only sporadic and incomplete…
IRS exam teams may share return information when tax administration requires it
Chief Counsel advised when information from one IRS examination could be shared with other examination teams and with taxpayers or their representatives. Section 6103(h)(1) permits internal sharing…
Partnership received 60 days to make a late qualified opportunity fund election
A partnership was formed to invest in a qualified opportunity zone business and serve as a qualified opportunity fund. Its accounting firm mistakenly believed the entity was a corporation, so it did…
Litigation-related extension did not end liquidating trust status
A liquidating trust was created under a Chapter 11 reorganization plan to convert assets to cash, resolve claims, and distribute proceeds to beneficiaries. Unresolved litigation had already required…
Employee could revoke a section 83(b) election within the original deadline
An employee received an option to buy employer stock that was subject to a risk of forfeiture and filed a section 83(b) election covering all of the shares. Less than 30 days after the grant, the…
Parties received extra time to file a section 336(e) election statement
Shareholders sold all of an S corporation's stock to a purchaser through a disregarded entity, and the parties intended to elect under section 336(e) to treat the qualified stock disposition as an…
Partnership received 60 days to make its first qualified opportunity fund election
A partnership was formed to serve as a qualified opportunity fund and received investor contributions during its first year, but it had no income or loss activity. Its accounting firm mistakenly…
Late-filed qualified opportunity fund election was treated as timely
A limited partnership was formed to invest in qualified opportunity zone property and serve as a qualified opportunity fund. Its general partner asked its accountant to extend the partnership's…
Shorter utility asset life complied with tax normalization rules
A regulated natural-gas utility had excess deferred income tax after the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act reduced the corporate tax rate. Because its accounting records lacked the vintage data needed for the…
Forest carbon offsets produced qualifying income for a REIT
A company intending to elect REIT status owned commercial forestland and participated in a verified carbon-sequestration project. It agreed to long-term limits on timber harvesting and other land…
Amended qualified opportunity fund election was treated as timely
A partnership was formed to invest in qualified opportunity zone property and intended to be a qualified opportunity fund from its first month. Its accountant agreed to prepare the required filings…
Charity lost exemption after ignoring record requests and making an unexplained payment
A section 501(c)(3) organization did not respond to repeated IRS requests for records needed to verify its continued exemption. Its return preparer told the examiner that the organization had never…
Social club lost exemption after gas rights income exceeded the nonmember limit
A social and recreation club entered an agreement to sell its gas and mineral rights. The resulting investment income and royalties consistently exceeded 35 percent of the club's total income, the…
Opportunity fund received more time to file its omitted self-certification
A partnership-taxed limited liability company was formed to operate as a qualified opportunity fund. Its accountant prepared both the company's partnership return and Form 8996 for…
Late opportunity-fund self-certification was treated as timely after intervening health issues
A limited liability company was formed to invest in qualified opportunity zone property and operate as a qualified opportunity fund. A trust owned a redacted percentage of the company and was…
Annuity-funded advisory fees were not treated as distributions to the owner
A life insurance company proposed annuity contracts designed for owners who receive ongoing advice about allocating the contracts' cash value among available investment or crediting options. An…
Three elections were treated as timely after an adviser failed to file the extension
A foreign corporation hired a tax adviser to file an extension and prepare its federal return. The adviser sent the corporation a copy of Form 7004 and indicated that it had been filed, but an…
Foreign entity received 120 days to make a late disregarded-entity election
A foreign eligible entity intended to be treated as disregarded from its owner for federal tax purposes but did not timely file Form 8832. It requested discretionary relief under the regulatory…
Foreign entity received an extension for a late disregarded-entity election
A foreign eligible entity wanted to be treated as disregarded from its owner for federal tax purposes but failed to file Form 8832 on time. It asked the IRS for discretionary relief under the rules…
Forest carbon-offset issuance produced qualifying REIT income
A company planning to elect real estate investment trust status owned commercial forestland and proposed a project that would generate carbon offsets through improved forest management. The project…
LLC received 120 days to make a late disregarded-entity election
A limited liability company had previously elected to be taxed as a corporation. It later intended to change its classification and become disregarded from its owner for federal tax purposes, but it…
LLC received an extension to change to disregarded-entity status
A limited liability company had elected corporate tax treatment and later intended to become disregarded from its owner. It inadvertently missed the deadline to file the required Form 8832 for the…
Late disregarded-entity election received a 120-day extension
A limited liability company had elected to be taxed as a corporation and later intended to change to disregarded-entity treatment. It inadvertently did not file Form 8832 by the deadline for the…
LLC was allowed to file a late disregarded-entity election
A limited liability company had chosen corporate tax status and later intended to elect disregarded-entity treatment. It inadvertently missed the Form 8832 filing deadline for the desired effective…
Corporate-classified LLC received more time to elect disregarded status
A limited liability company had elected to be classified as a corporation for federal tax purposes. It later intended to become disregarded from its owner but inadvertently failed to make the Form…
LLC received 120 days to elect disregarded-entity treatment
A limited liability company had elected to be treated as a corporation and later planned to change to disregarded-entity status. The company inadvertently did not file the classification election by…
Missed QSST election did not end the corporation's S status
An S corporation's shares were held by a grantor trust that later stopped qualifying as an eligible S corporation shareholder. The shares were transferred to another trust that could qualify as a…
Corporation received 120 days to file its late S election
A corporation's sole shareholder intended the company to be an S corporation from its formation date, but the company inadvertently failed to file Form 2553 on time. The IRS concluded that the…
Opportunity fund's late Form 8996 was treated as timely after adviser oversight
A partnership-taxed limited liability company was formed to operate as a qualified opportunity fund. Its accounting firm was responsible for filing an extension, the partnership return, and Form…
Taxpayer received 60 days to file an omitted success-fee safe-harbor election
A corporate group paid contingent fees for services related to a merger acquisition. Its tax return applied the Revenue Procedure 2011-29 safe harbor by deducting 70 percent of the success-based…
Employer-related scholarship procedures received advance approval
A private foundation proposed a renewable scholarship program for children of an employer's owner-operators, employees, and contractors. An independent committee would evaluate academic involvement,…
Insurance subsidiary was allowed to join its parent's consolidated return
An affiliated corporate group timely filed a consolidated return but left out its wholly owned property and casualty insurance subsidiary. The return preparer mistakenly believed that insurance…
Music and book activities served commercial and private interests
An organization sought section 501(c)(3) status for educational activities built around a book written by its sole director, free podcasts and online sessions, and fee-based custom music with…
Third-party contact reports should be provided only on request
Chief Counsel advised that the IRS should give a taxpayer reports of third parties contacted during an examination only when the taxpayer requests them. The email rejected periodic issuance of those…
Federal and territorial returns do not violate the SCRA single-jurisdiction rule
Chief Counsel considered whether requiring a servicemember to file both a federal return and a Puerto Rico return would conflict with the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. The email concluded that…
Adding grantor tax reimbursement power caused beneficiary gifts
An irrevocable grantor trust did not originally permit the trustee to reimburse the grantor for income tax attributable to the trust's income. The trustee later obtained a court-approved…
Late ESBT election did not end S corporation status
A grantor trust held stock in an S corporation and remained an eligible shareholder for two years after the grantor's death. When that period ended, the trust met the substantive requirements for an…
Estate received more time to elect QTIP treatment for two marital trusts
An estate timely filed Form 706 after both the decedent and surviving spouse had died, but the return omitted two marital trusts from Schedule M and did not make qualified terminable interest…
Parties received more time to make a section 336(e) election
An individual, acting through a disregarded trust, acquired all the stock of an S corporation from its shareholder. The parties intended to treat the stock sale as an asset sale under section…
Partnership received 120 days to make a late section 754 election
A limited liability company treated as a partnership failed to make a timely section 754 election for the year in which an owner died. The partnership represented that it acted reasonably and in…
Opportunity fund received more time to file its self-certification
A limited liability company intended to operate as a qualified opportunity fund and received capital-gain contributions during its first year. Its partnership representative believed no partnership…
Annuity-paid advisory fees were not distributions to contract owners
A life insurer proposed three types of nonqualified deferred annuity contracts designed for owners receiving ongoing advice about the contracts' investment options. Owners could authorize the…
A transaction's amount realized included the present value of a guarantee
A corporation proposed admitting another corporation as its member and giving that member control rights, while the member would provide future services and guarantee a stated level of cost savings.…
A transaction's amount realized included the present value of a guarantee
Two corporations proposed a transaction in which one would become the other's member and receive control rights, provide future services at arm's-length prices, and make a cost-savings guarantee.…
Temporary staffing business qualified under the small-business-stock rules
A shareholder sold stock in a C corporation that matched experienced executives and managers with clients needing temporary staff or permanent executives. For temporary placements, clients…
Late opportunity-fund self-certification was treated as timely
A partnership formed to invest in qualified opportunity-zone property knew it needed to file Form 8996 for its first year and hired advisers to handle the filing. An administrative oversight among…
Foreign entity received more time to elect disregarded status
A foreign entity represented that it was eligible to be disregarded as separate from its owner for federal tax purposes but failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS concluded that the requirements…
Foreign entity received 120 days to elect disregarded status
A foreign entity represented that it was eligible to be treated as disregarded from its owner but failed to file Form 8832 by the deadline. The IRS concluded that the requirements for regulatory…
Foreign entity received 120 days to elect disregarded status
A foreign entity represented that it was eligible to be treated as disregarded from its owner but failed to file Form 8832 by the deadline. The IRS concluded that the requirements for regulatory…
LLC received more time to elect disregarded status after an ownership change
A limited liability company had elected S corporation status and was therefore treated as an association taxable as a corporation. A new owner later acquired all of the company's outstanding…
LLC received more time to elect disregarded status after an ownership change
A limited liability company had elected S corporation status and was therefore treated as an association taxable as a corporation. A new owner later acquired all of the company's outstanding…
LLC could change classification after new ownership and file a late election
A limited liability company had elected S corporation status and was therefore treated as an association taxable as a corporation. Before 60 months had passed, a new owner acquired all of 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.