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 200823007: Foreign fund entity gets time to elect disregarded status
A fund's organizers intended several foreign entities in its structure to be disregarded for federal tax purposes, but the entities did not file timely classification elections. One of those…
PLR 200823006: Foreign fund entity gets time to elect disregarded status
A fund's organizers intended several foreign entities in its structure to be disregarded for federal tax purposes, but the entities did not file timely classification elections. One of those…
PLR 200823005: Offshore vessel charter income has a U.S. source
A U.S. diving services company chartered foreign-owned vessels to support oil and gas infrastructure work on the outer continental shelf. It asked whether it could avoid requesting Form W-8ECI from…
PLR 200823004: Two stage business spin-off includes a D reorganization
A corporate group planned to separate two businesses by moving a partnership business into a new corporation. One subsidiary would transfer its 99% partnership interest for stock and cash, then…
PLR 200823003: Trust settlement preserves grandfathered GST tax status
A trust created before September 25, 1985 was exempt from the generation skipping transfer tax under the grandfather rule. When its last income beneficiary died, descendants disagreed over how the…
PLR 200823002: Entity gets extension for corporate classification election
A wholly owned entity intended to be treated as a corporation for federal tax purposes from a specified date but did not file Form 8832 on time. The IRS found that it met the requirements for…
CCA 200823001: Later loss of deferred benefits does not refund FICA tax
Retirees paid FICA tax when the value of their benefits under nonqualified deferred compensation plans became reasonably ascertainable. Their employers later entered bankruptcy and ended the plans…
IRS determination 200822044: Housing nonprofit denied tax exemption
A nonprofit sought § 501(c)(3) exemption to acquire and manage housing for people with developmental disabilities. The IRS concluded that it met the organizational test but failed the operational…
IRS determination 200822043: Charity loses exemption after failing to provide records
The IRS asked an exempt organization for its financial books and records for an examination, but the organization did not respond. Without the records, the IRS said it could not verify that the…
PLR 200822042: Pension funding waiver denied despite employer hardship
A multiemployer construction pension plan requested a waiver of its minimum funding standard. Most of its former contributing contractors had left the union's jurisdiction, leaving three small…
PLR 200822041: Scholarship trust gets excess business holdings tax exemption
A charitable trust funded scholarships with dividends from stock donated by a family. As the family planned further donations, the trust's holdings would exceed the normal limit for a nonintegrated…
IRS determination 200822040: Mutual insurer loses small insurer exemption
A mutual property insurer had been recognized as exempt under § 501(c)(15). After a change in the law, the IRS examined its returns and found that gross receipts exceeded the applicable ceiling in…
IRS determination 200822039: School nonprofit loses exemption after incomplete records
The IRS examined a nonprofit school and sought records about its activities and transactions with related companies. The records it received showed a loan from a company connected to officers, debt…
IRS determination 200822038: Charity loses exemption after missing returns and records
The IRS repeatedly contacted an exempt organization about missing Form 990 returns for three redacted tax years and requested records for an examination. The organization did not respond or supply…
IRS determination 200822037: Foundation loses exemption after failing to document its activities
A private operating foundation reported spending on religious research, legal services, publicity, and payments to individuals. During an examination, it supplied financial records but did not…
IRS determination 200822036: Organization loses exemption after failing to file and supply records
An organization recognized as exempt under § 501(c)(3) did not file a requested Form 990-PF or provide information about its receipts, spending, and activities. Its president left a message saying…
IRS determination 200822035: Nonprofit loses exemption after missing return and unanswered requests
A nonprofit corporation did not file a requested Form 990-PF. An IRS examiner sent several requests for information needed to examine the organization, but received no response. The IRS concluded…
IRS determination 200822034: Bingo credits for gymnasts cause loss of charity exemption
A tax exempt gymnastics support group ran weekly bingo games and credited a child’s account at a private gym each time that child’s parent worked a session. The accounts paid training and…
IRS determination 200822033: Repeated unanswered record requests lead to loss of exemption
An organization operating under a group exemption did not supply records for an IRS examination despite repeated letters, phone calls, and a final warning. Its president once said that she had sent…
IRS determination 200822032: Late returns and unpaid payroll taxes accompany exemption revocation
An exempt organization’s state nonprofit corporate status had been revoked. It repeatedly filed Form 990 and employment tax returns late and had not paid required employment taxes. The IRS examiner…
IRS determination 200822031: Missing foundation returns and records lead to exemption revocation
An organization did not file Form 990-PF for five redacted tax years or respond to repeated IRS correspondence. The final letter also said the organization had conducted no activities since its…
IRS determination 200822030: Seller funded homebuyer grants lead to exemption revocation
A housing organization had received § 501(c)(3) recognition based on plans to help low income homebuyers and rehabilitate distressed areas. Its later down payment assistance program accepted buyers…
IRS determination 200822029: School board loses charity exemption because it can levy taxes
A public school board had previously received recognition as an educational organization under § 501(c)(3). Its examination report says state law gave it the power, with voter approval, to levy and…
PLR 200822028: Credit union error earns waiver of IRA rollover deadline
A taxpayer asked to move money from one IRA certificate of deposit into another, while taking a required minimum distribution separately. A credit union employee instead put all the money into a…
CCA 200822027: Chief Counsel calls for recapture of dual consolidated losses
A company had used a subsidiary's dual consolidated losses to reduce U.S. taxable income, then ended an election that treated the subsidiary as a domestic corporation. The subsidiary would be…
CCA 200822026: Revenue officers may prepare employment tax returns before worker classification review
A taxpayer failed to file employment tax returns after treating some workers as independent contractors, and a revenue officer prepared substitute returns that treated them as employees. An Appeals…
CCA 200822025: Merged railroad business ceases to be a covered employer
The Railroad Retirement Board told the IRS that a redacted business had ceased to be a covered employer under the railroad retirement and unemployment insurance laws. After reviewing that opinion,…
CCA 200822024: Corporate merger ends railroad employer status
The Railroad Retirement Board concluded that a redacted business stopped being a covered employer under the railroad retirement and unemployment insurance laws. IRS counsel reviewed the Board's…
PLR 200822023: Late tax year change form receives filing relief
A taxpayer intended to change its tax year end from December 31 to June 30 but missed the deadline for Form 1128. It filed the form and sought discretionary relief within 90 days after the due date.…
PLR 200822022: Bank restructuring qualifies as a Type D reorganization
A bank holding company wanted to combine two bank subsidiaries' operations and sell one subsidiary's charter. A regulator would allow the charter sale only if the target bank kept its charter and…
PLR 200822021: Corporation gets relief for a late S election
A corporation intended to be taxed as an S corporation from a redacted effective date but did not file Form 2553 on time. It asked the IRS for late election relief under § 1362(b)(5). Based on the…
PLR 200822020: Foreign entity receives more time to elect partnership tax treatment
A foreign entity said it was eligible to choose partnership treatment for U.S. tax purposes but had inadvertently missed the deadline for Form 8832. It wanted the election to take effect on its…
PLR 200822019: Public employer benefit trust qualifies for income exclusion after amendments
A trust funded post employment health and welfare benefits for employees of participating public employers. It asked whether its income was excluded from federal gross income under § 115(1) and…
PLR 200822018: Foreign entity receives time to elect disregarded status
A foreign entity said it was eligible to be treated as a disregarded entity for U.S. tax purposes but had missed the deadline to file Form 8832. It requested relief so the election could take effect…
PLR 200822017: Foreign entity receives time to elect disregarded status
A foreign entity said it was eligible to be treated as a disregarded entity for U.S. tax purposes but had missed the deadline to file Form 8832. It requested relief so the election could take effect…
PLR 200822016: Foreign entity receives time to elect disregarded status
A foreign entity said it was eligible to be treated as a disregarded entity for U.S. tax purposes but had missed the deadline to file Form 8832. It requested relief so the election could take effect…
PLR 200822015: Corporation gets relief for a late S election
A corporation intended to be taxed as an S corporation from a redacted effective date but did not file Form 2553 on time. It asked the IRS for late election relief under § 1362(b)(5). Based on the…
PLR 200822014: Ineligible LLC shareholder receives conditional S election relief
A business elected S corporation status after converting to a limited partnership treated as a corporation for tax purposes. Its general partner was an LLC, which made the S election ineffective…
PLR 200822013: SEC ownership filings may identify large shareholders for loss rules
A public company emerging from a bankruptcy reorganization had loss carryovers subject to the ownership change rules of § 382. It asked how to identify shareholders whose stakes could affect those…
PLR 200822012: Commodity linked note income qualifies for investment company income test
A mutual fund portfolio planned to buy two notes whose returns tracked a commodity index or a basket of commodity futures. It asked whether income and gains from those notes would count toward the…
PLR 200822011: Large homesite qualifies as residence for trust ruling
A grantor planned to put his interest in a home and surrounding land into a qualified personal residence trust. The IRS found that the parcel qualified as a personal residence under the trust…
PLR 200822010: Income from foreign subsidiaries counts toward fund income test
Four investment funds planned to own foreign corporate subsidiaries that would invest in commodity and financial derivatives and fixed income securities. The funds asked whether income from those…
PLR 200822009: Trust distribution powers receive inadvertent S termination relief
Three trusts became shareholders of an S corporation, but their agreements allowed distributions to entities that could not be eligible current beneficiaries. That made the trusts ineligible…
PLR 200822008: Discretionary trust tax reimbursements receive limited approval
A grantor proposed to change an irrevocable trust so its trustee could reimburse income taxes the grantor paid on trust income, with approval from a committee and an adult child beneficiary who…
PLR 200822007: IRS declines to undo research credit method election
A company elected the alternative incremental research credit method for a tax year after acquiring another company. Its successor later concluded that a calculation using the regular research…
PLR 200822006: Foreign entity gets more time to elect corporate tax treatment
A foreign entity intended to elect corporate classification for U.S. tax purposes from a redacted date but inadvertently missed the Form 8832 deadline. It asked the IRS for a discretionary extension…
PLR 200822005: Foreign entity gets more time to elect corporate tax treatment
A foreign entity intended to elect corporate classification for U.S. tax purposes from a redacted date but inadvertently missed the Form 8832 deadline. It asked the IRS for a discretionary extension…
PLR 200822004: Spouses get time to allocate generation skipping tax exemptions
A husband funded a trust in two years, and the spouses elected to treat the gifts as made half by each of them. Their tax advisers failed to allocate each spouse's generation skipping transfer (GST)…
PLR 200822003: Split dollar policy premiums and proceeds receive different tax treatment
A couple funded two life insurance policies owned by an irrevocable trust for their descendants under a split dollar agreement. The IRS ruled that the couple's premium payments would not be gifts if…
PLR 200822002: Duty related disability benefits are excluded from recipients' income
A trust asked whether disability benefits for plan members injured or made ill in the course of official duties were taxable to recipients. Its locally administered pension plan used benefits set by…
PLR 200822001: Funds receive time to elect prior year dividend treatment
Twelve investment funds intended to elect under § 855(a) to treat certain dividends paid after year end as paid in the earlier tax year. Their accountant missed the deadline to prepare extension…
IRS determination 200821041: Pension funding waiver conditions modified during bankruptcy
A company in Chapter 11 asked to change the conditions of an existing minimum funding waiver for its hourly employee pension plan. The IRS approved the modification and replaced the waiver's earlier…
IRS determination 200821040: Salaried pension plan funding waiver conditions modified
A company in Chapter 11 asked the IRS to modify a previously granted minimum funding waiver for its salaried employee pension plan. The IRS approved revised conditions, including a replacement…
PLR 200821039: Deadline extended for hourly pension plan funding waiver
A company in Chapter 11 asked the IRS to modify conditions of an existing minimum funding waiver for its hourly employee pension plan. The IRS approved a requirement that the bankruptcy court…
IRS determination 200821038: Seller funded homebuyer grants did not qualify for tax exemption
A nonprofit sought recognition as a charitable organization for a program that gave homebuyers money toward down payments and closing costs. Home sellers paid the organization after each sale,…
IRS determination 200821037: Music event organizer denied charitable exemption
An organization that arranged music festivals and performance events for students sought charitable tax exemption. It took over activities formerly run by a related for-profit travel company,…
PLR 200821036: Church land qualified for debt financed property exception
A church bought two parcels of land for a future building to serve its activities. One parcel had been bought with debt financing, and the other was bought without debt financing. The church asked…
PLR 200821035: Endowment units did not create unrelated business income for trust
An educational institution served as trustee and remainder beneficiary of charitable remainder trusts. It proposed giving the trusts contract rights, called units, whose value and payouts tracked…
PLR 200821034: Endowment unit arrangement did not create unrelated business income for university
An exempt educational institution served as trustee and remainder beneficiary of several charitable remainder trusts. It proposed issuing contract rights, called units, that would give the trusts…
CCA 200821033: Merged railroad business ceased to be a covered employer
The Railroad Retirement Board told the IRS that a business had stopped being a covered employer after a corporate merger. Chief Counsel reviewed the Board's opinion and agreed that the business's…
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.