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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Subsidiary received QSub relief after the parent corrected incomplete ownership
An S corporation elected to treat a subsidiary as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary, but the election was ineffective because the parent did not own all of the subsidiary's stock. After…
Shooting range denied section 501(c)(3) status for recreational activity
An organization already exempt under section 501(c)(4) operated a shooting range open to members, the public, families, and law enforcement personnel. It offered firearms education and safety…
Private family cemetery denied section 501(c)(3) status
An unincorporated association applied for section 501(c)(3) status to maintain a privately operated family cemetery for cremated remains. Its bylaws limited plots and scattering rights to designated…
Community festival denied section 501(c)(3) status
An organization held a free annual community festival with live music, games, inflatables, crafts, and food vendors. It collected booth fees and sponsorships, used the proceeds to pay festival…
Student-aid group serving a for-profit school denied exemption
An organization formed by an employee of a for-profit school proposed paying books, supplies, class fees, and other education-related expenses for the school's students. Assistance was available to…
Classic-car club denied section 501(c)(3) status
An organization brought classic-car enthusiasts together for car shows, cruises, and social gatherings. It also planned a toy drive, shows at retirement homes, and drive-by cruises for sick and…
Corporation received 60 days to make a section 59(e) election
A corporation serving the energy industry failed to timely elect under section 59(e) to amortize qualified expenditures for a fiscal year. The election can apply to research and experimental…
Estate received 120 days to make a portability election
An estate represented that it was not otherwise required to file Form 706 but had failed to timely file the return needed to transfer the decedent's unused estate and gift tax exclusion to the…
Corporate separation qualified as a tax-free reorganization and spin-off
A foreign public company's U.S. corporate group proposed separating one business from another. The distributing corporation would form a new controlled corporation, contribute subsidiaries and…
Parties received more time to make a section 336(e) election
Purchasers acquired more than 80 percent of an S corporation's stock, and the parties intended to treat the stock sale as an asset sale under section 336(e). They did not timely enter the required…
U.S. and global business separations received tax-free treatment
A foreign public company proposed separating one category of businesses from another through preliminary internal restructurings, a U.S. contribution and spin-off, and a global spin-off. The steps…
Late opportunity-fund self-certification was treated as timely
A partnership was formed to invest in qualified opportunity-zone property, but its accounting firm misunderstood when the entity and initial contributions had been created. Because of that…
Estate received more time to allocate the wife's GST exemption
A husband transferred property to an irrevocable trust for the couple's children, and the spouses elected to treat the gift as made one-half by each of them. Their tax preparer knew they intended to…
Husband received more time to allocate GST exemption to trust transfers
A husband transferred property to an irrevocable trust for the couple's children, and the spouses elected to treat the first-year gift as made one-half by each of them. Their tax preparer knew they…
Late opportunity-fund self-certification was treated as timely
A partnership formed to invest in qualified opportunity-zone property hired an accounting firm to prepare and file the returns and elections needed for qualified-opportunity-fund treatment. The firm…
Late S corporation election was treated as timely
A corporation intended to be treated as an S corporation from a specified date but did not timely file Form 2553. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late election and granted relief under…
Partnership received 60 days to self-certify as an opportunity fund
A partnership was formed to invest in qualified opportunity-zone property, but a miscommunication between a member's family office and the manager left its return preparer unaware that the entity…
Music scholarship procedures approved
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve a scholarship program for high school seniors who demonstrate talent as vocal or instrumental performers in a specified type of music. Applicants must…
Exemption revoked after prolonged inactivity
The IRS revoked the section 501(c)(3) status of a supporting organization that had been inactive for approximately 12 years. The organization reported no bank account, general ledger, income,…
Independent strike fund denied labor-organization exemption
An organization sought exemption under section 501(c)(5) so it could operate a national strike fund for workers who lacked access to other strike funds. It planned to raise donations digitally and…
Retroactive qualified electing fund election approved
A U.S. taxpayer indirectly owned shares of a foreign corporation through a foreign grantor trust but did not make a timely qualified electing fund election. Two accounting firms with international…
Earlier GST exemption relief letter corrected
The IRS corrected and modified an earlier private letter ruling concerning generation-skipping transfer tax exemption. The earlier ruling incorrectly said the executor proposed to sever a marital…
Late average-income housing elections allowed
The owner of a multi-building housing project intended to choose the average-income minimum set-aside for the low-income housing credit. Contemporaneous documents showed that intent, but the owner…
More time granted to file duplicate accounting-method form
A parent corporation's accounting firm prepared a Form 3115 for two subsidiaries to change their accounting methods under section 263A. The firm timely filed the consolidated return with the…
Estate received more time to elect portability
An estate was not otherwise required to file an estate tax return because of the value of the decedent's gross estate and taxable gifts. It nevertheless needed to file Form 706 to elect portability,…
Multi-step corporate separation received nonrecognition rulings
A publicly traded parent planned a multi-step transaction to separate one business from another through domestic and foreign subsidiary restructurings. A subsidiary would contribute the separated…
Late GILTI high-tax exclusion election allowed
A domestic parent and its consolidated group intended to make a retroactive GILTI high-tax exclusion election for their controlled foreign corporation group. The tax department and its accounting…
Late election to treat stock sale as asset sale allowed
A purchaser acquired all the shares of an S corporation, which later converted into a limited liability company disregarded for federal tax purposes. The parties intended to elect under section…
Late accounting-method change request denied
A taxpayer's accounting firm prepared a Form 3115 to change the accounting method of a disregarded subsidiary under section 263A. Shortly before the return deadline, the manager handling the return…
Late opportunity fund self-certification allowed
A partnership was formed to qualify as a qualified opportunity fund and hold interests in a qualified opportunity zone business. Its accounting firm knew of that intention and extended the…
Late tax-exempt controlled entity election allowed
A corporation wholly owned by a nonprofit held an indirect interest in a partnership that developed low-income housing. The partnership agreement showed that the corporation always intended to elect…
Late partnership classification election allowed
A foreign private company represented that it was an eligible entity that could elect partnership classification for U.S. federal tax purposes. It inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time for…
Incomplete accounting-method application could be corrected
A consolidated group acquired several engineering and architectural services companies that had used the cash method as qualified personal service corporations. Its accounting firm advised changing…
Partnership received more time to change its tax year
A partnership used a calendar tax year because its tax firm mistakenly believed the majority-interest partner also used a calendar year. After learning that the majority partner used a different…
Condemned utility assets' deferred tax reserves had to be removed
A city condemned the regulated utility assets of two subsidiaries, and the taxpayer deferred gain under section 1033 by investing the proceeds in replacement utility property. After the…
Large museum grant recognized as unusual
A publicly supported museum expected a very large grant and potential gift from an unrelated private operating foundation. The funds would build a new museum wing, improve the existing museum,…
STEM scholarships for high school athletes approved
A private foundation proposed scholarships for high school athletes in its operating area who planned to pursue postsecondary education in a science, technology, engineering, or mathematics field.…
Scientific conference presentation grants approved
A private foundation proposed travel grants for graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty members presenting research in a specified field at scientific conferences. Awards had separate…
Four-year fellowship procedures approved
A private foundation proposed a four-year fellowship for local high school graduates and GED recipients who attend a four-year university and want work experience in a city's business community. The…
Campus construction and equipment set-aside approved
A tax-exempt private foundation asked the IRS to approve a set-aside under section 4942(g)(2). The foundation planned to reserve a redacted amount for construction projects and equipment purchases…
Family genealogy group denied section 501(c)(3) status
An organization sought recognition as a tax-exempt educational organization under section 501(c)(3). It researched and shared the genealogy of one individual and that person's descendants,…
Private lake association denied section 501(c)(3) status
A lake association sought recognition as a charitable organization under section 501(c)(3). Its organizing document said it existed to promote fellowship among cottage owners and residents, regulate…
Late taxable REIT subsidiary election received a 90-day extension
A taxpayer planning to elect real estate investment trust status and its wholly owned subsidiary intended to elect jointly for the subsidiary to be treated as a taxable REIT subsidiary. Their fund's…
Consolidated group received 75 days to make a late CNOL carryback waiver
The common parent of a consolidated group failed to make a valid election to give up the entire carryback period for a consolidated net operating loss. The group represented that it had not carried…
Qualified opportunity fund received 60 days to file late self-certification
A partnership intended to operate as a qualified opportunity fund beginning in its first tax year. Its accounting firm mistakenly believed the partnership had no filing obligation for that year…
Multi-step product-line separation qualified for tax-free distribution treatment
A foreign corporate group planned to separate an established product line from an earlier-stage product line that needed substantial capital. The plan moved the development assets and cash into a…
IC-DISC received 90 days to file its late election
A newly formed domestic corporation intended to elect interest charge domestic international sales corporation status for its first tax year. Its tax consultant prepared Form 4876-A and delivered it…
Late-filed qualified opportunity fund self-certification treated as timely
A partnership was formed to qualify as a qualified opportunity fund and invest indirectly in qualified opportunity zone property. Its managing member hired a law firm to form the entity but…
Late trust elections did not end S corporation status
An S corporation's shareholder died, and shares passed under the will to three trusts. Two trusts made qualified subchapter S trust elections even though they did not meet the QSST requirements,…
Late ESBT election did not end S corporation status
Shares of an S corporation passed under a shareholder's will to a trust for one income beneficiary, who elected qualified subchapter S trust treatment. When the beneficiary died, the trust stopped…
S corporation received relief for a trust's late ESBT election
An S corporation shareholder left stock to a trust for a sole income beneficiary, who elected qualified subchapter S trust treatment. When that beneficiary died, the trust ceased to be a QSST but…
Target company received 60 days to make a late success-fee safe-harbor election
A privately held corporation was acquired through a taxable stock purchase and paid a financial adviser's contingent fee after the merger closed. Revenue Procedure 2011-29 offers a safe harbor that…
Opportunity fund received 60 days after its Form 8996 was filed with the wrong entity
A partnership was formed to operate as a qualified opportunity fund and received capital from multiple investors in its first year. Its accounting firm prepared returns for the partnership and…
Late qualified opportunity fund self-certification treated as timely
A partnership was organized to operate as a qualified opportunity fund and invest in qualified opportunity zone property. It relied on an accountant to prepare and file its first Form 1065 and Form…
Omitted subsidiary treated as joining consolidated return
A parent corporation acquired two wholly owned subsidiaries and filed an initial consolidated return that included only one of them. Because of a mistake about the legal requirement to include every…
Subsidiary deemed to join consolidated returns despite missing forms
A holding company and its wholly owned subsidiary intended to report their federal income taxes on a consolidated basis. Their accounting firm prepared standalone returns for the holding company…
Teacher-renewal fellowship grant procedures approved
A private foundation proposed a fellowship program to address a school district's teacher shortage by supporting educators' renewal projects. Eligible applicants had to be experienced public-school…
Tax-exempt status revoked for failing the operational test
The IRS revoked an organization's recognition as tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3). The final determination states that the organization failed the operational test because it could not show that…
Family reunion and genealogy organization denied exemption
An organization sought recognition as a charitable organization under section 501(c)(3) for activities centered on a twice-yearly family reunion. It presented one family's history, updated the…
Partnership received 60 days to opt out of bonus depreciation for 15-year property
A partnership wanted to preserve eligibility for a federal tax credit by declining additional first-year depreciation on all qualified property placed in service during a tax year. Its return…
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.