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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IRS determination 200809039: Down payment program loses charitable exemption
An organization gave home buyers funds for down payments, then received payments from participating sellers that matched the assistance plus a fee. The IRS found that the program did not screen…
IRS determination 200809038: School administrators' organization loses charitable exemption
An organization representing public school principals and administrators negotiated salaries, provided member benefits and legal assistance, lobbied, and supported candidates through a political…
IRS determination 200809037: Debt settlement program loses charitable exemption
A credit counseling organization originally said it would educate consumers about debt and credit. Its examination report found that its principal activities had become paid debt negotiation and…
IRS determination 200809036: Inactive housing assistance group loses charitable exemption
An organization told the IRS it had stopped providing down payment assistance and considered dissolving. The IRS asked for records about its activities, tax returns, and possible dissolution, but…
IRS determination 200809035: Neighborhood association faces loss of social welfare exemption
A voluntary neighborhood association offered social events, newsletters, and a paid security patrol for participating homeowners. The IRS found that these services primarily benefited members and…
IRS determination 200809034: Insurer loses exemption after investment activity predominates
An organization received exemption as a small nonlife insurance company under section 501(c)(15) after describing a reinsurance business. During the examination year, it issued a small number of…
IRS determination 200809033: Charity loses exemption after officers divert gaming proceeds
An organization was recognized as a charity formed to buy computers for children and schools in need. Its officers ran weekly charitable gaming but diverted proceeds to their own use, including…
IRS determination 200809032: Charity loses exemption after funding director's business
A charity had offered language classes and other services to people adjusting after immigration. As those programs wound down, its executive director formed a food business that she alone owned. The…
PLR 200809031: Propane seller cannot claim alternative fuel credit for forklift sales
A propane seller asked whether it could claim alternative fuel credits or payments for propane sold to businesses that use forklifts. It delivered the fuel either in portable cylinders attached to…
PLR 200809030: Corporation receives relief for late S election
A corporation intended to elect S corporation status when it was formed, but it did not file Form 2553 on time. It asked the IRS to treat the election as timely under section 1362(b)(5). The IRS…
CCA 200809029: Farm corporation must account for suspense balance when measuring NOL use
A family farming corporation had a suspense account from its switch to accrual accounting and carried net operating losses into later years. It treated the losses as eliminating taxable income and…
PLR 200809028: Foreign entity gets more time to elect partnership status
A foreign limited liability company intended to be classified as a partnership for US federal tax purposes after an ownership change. It relied on a tax professional to make the election, but Form…
PLR 200809027: Proposed unitrust conversion can preserve trust's GST exemption
Trustees proposed to convert an irrevocable trust to a total return trust under state law, replacing distributions based on net income with a 3 percent unitrust amount. The trust was irrevocable…
PLR 200809026: Proposed unitrust conversion can preserve trust's GST exemption
Trustees proposed to convert an irrevocable trust to a total return trust under state law, replacing distributions based on net income with a 3 percent unitrust amount. The trust was irrevocable…
PLR 200809025: Proposed unitrust conversion can preserve trust's GST exemption
Trustees proposed to convert an irrevocable trust to a total return trust under state law, replacing distributions based on net income with a 3 percent unitrust amount. The trust was irrevocable…
PLR 200809024: Proposed unitrust conversion can preserve trust's GST exemption
Trustees proposed to convert an irrevocable trust to a total return trust under state law, replacing distributions based on net income with a 3 percent unitrust amount. The trust was irrevocable…
PLR 200809023: Proposed unitrust conversion can preserve trust's GST exemption
Trustees proposed to convert an irrevocable trust to a total return trust under state law, replacing distributions based on net income with a 3 percent unitrust amount. The trust was irrevocable…
PLR 200809022: LLC gets time to elect disregarded entity treatment
A limited liability company had elected corporate tax classification when it was formed. Its sole owner later intended to change the company to a disregarded entity, but Form 8832 was not filed on…
PLR 200809021: LLC gets late corporate classification and S election relief
A single owner LLC intended to be taxed as an S corporation from its formation date, but it did not timely file either its entity classification election or its S corporation election. The IRS found…
PLR 200809020: Foreign entity gets more time to elect partnership status
A foreign limited liability company intended to be classified as a partnership for US federal tax purposes after an ownership change. It relied on a tax professional to make the election, but Form…
PLR 200809019: S corporation receives more time for subsidiary election
An S corporation formed a wholly owned subsidiary and intended to elect qualified subchapter S subsidiary status from the subsidiary's formation date. It missed the deadline to file Form 8869,…
PLR 200809018: Corporation receives relief for late S election
A corporation intended to elect S corporation status when it was formed, but it did not file Form 2553 on time. It asked the IRS to treat the election as timely under section 1362(b)(5). The IRS…
PLR 200809017: Family owned business split qualifies as a reorganization
Two families each owned half of an S corporation and proposed to divide its business. The corporation would transfer half its assets and liabilities to a new corporation, then give all of the new…
PLR 200809016: Parent gets time to file statement about subsidiary stock loss
A corporate parent said its stock in a subsidiary became worthless, but it failed to include a required statement with its consolidated return to seek recognition of the loss. The parent submitted…
PLR 200809015: Foreign entity gets time for disregarded entity election
A foreign entity was eligible to elect treatment as a disregarded entity for US federal tax purposes, but Form 8832 was not filed on time. It requested a discretionary extension for the…
PLR 200809014: Foreign entity gets time for partnership election
A foreign entity was eligible to elect treatment as a partnership for US federal tax purposes, but Form 8832 was not filed on time. It requested a discretionary extension for the classification…
PLR 200809013: Foreign insurer gets time for domestic corporation election
A foreign insurer wanted to elect treatment as a domestic corporation under section 953(d) from the start of its first taxable year. Its accountant said he had filed an extension for the return, but…
PLR 200809012: Currency funds may use economic activity test for functional currency
A US investment trust planned four exchange traded funds holding short term securities denominated in euros, pounds, yen, and Australian dollars. Each fund would conduct most of its business and…
PLR 200809011: Disability benefit exclusion limited when service pension is higher
A county retirement plan asked the IRS to reconsider an earlier ruling on disability benefits for firefighters and safety officers with heart conditions. A state court had clarified that the…
PLR 200809010: Foreign entity gets time for partnership election
A foreign entity was eligible to elect treatment as a partnership for US federal tax purposes, but Form 8832 was not filed on time. It requested a discretionary extension for the classification…
PLR 200809009: Foreign entity gets time for disregarded entity election
A foreign entity was eligible to elect treatment as a disregarded entity for US federal tax purposes, but Form 8832 was not filed on time. It requested a discretionary extension for the…
PLR 200809008: Foreign entity gets time for disregarded entity election
A foreign entity was eligible to elect treatment as a disregarded entity for US federal tax purposes, but Form 8832 was not filed on time. It requested a discretionary extension for the…
PLR 200809007: Foreign entity gets time for disregarded entity election
A foreign entity was eligible to elect treatment as a disregarded entity for US federal tax purposes, but Form 8832 was not filed on time. It requested a discretionary extension for the…
PLR 200809006: Foreign entity gets time for disregarded entity election
A foreign entity was eligible to elect treatment as a disregarded entity for US federal tax purposes, but Form 8832 was not filed on time. It requested a discretionary extension for the…
PLR 200809005: Corporation receives relief for late S election
A corporation intended to elect S corporation status when it was formed, but it did not file Form 2553 on time. It asked the IRS to treat the election as timely under section 1362(b)(5). The IRS…
PLR 200809004: Corporation retains S status after inadvertent termination
An S corporation experienced an event that terminated its S election; it said the event might also have created a second class of stock. The public letter does not identify the event. The company…
PLR 200809003: Late trust election preserves corporation's S status
An S corporation transferred some of its stock to a trust. The trust was not then an eligible S corporation shareholder because its trustee had missed the election to treat it as an electing small…
PLR 200809002: LLC gets more time to elect corporate tax classification
A state limited liability company had partnership status by default but intended to elect tax treatment as a corporation. It missed the deadline to file Form 8832 for the redacted intended effective…
CCA 200809001: Physical injury settlement generally excluded from income and reporting
A payer settled a person's claim that its agents had caused physical injury when the claimant was a minor. Given the time that had passed and the difficulty of proving the extent of those injuries,…
PLR 200808043: Settlement payment between private foundations preserves exemptions
Two private foundations disputed control of assets that one had previously transferred to the other. A court-approved settlement would return part of those assets to the first foundation. The IRS…
PLR 200808042: Settlement payment between private foundations preserves exemptions
Two private foundations disputed control of assets that one had previously transferred to the other. A court-approved settlement would return part of those assets to the first foundation. The IRS…
IRS determination 200808041: Business league exemption revoked after missing records
The IRS revoked an organization's exemption as a business league under section 501(c)(6). During an examination, the organization did not respond to requests for its Forms 990 or other information…
IRS determination 200808040: Charity exemption revoked after unanswered audit requests
The IRS revoked an organization's section 501(c)(3) exemption after it failed to respond to four examination letters and the examiner's phone messages. The agency said the organization had not shown…
IRS determination 200808038: Credit repair charity loses exemption over commercial activity and insider benefit
The IRS revoked a credit repair organization's exemption under section 501(c)(3). Its examination report says the organization primarily charged clients for credit restoration services and referred…
IRS determination 200808037: Exemption revoked after missed returns and unanswered IRS requests
The IRS revoked an organization's section 501(c)(3) exemption after it failed to file required Form 990-PF returns and did not provide records requested during an examination. The examination report…
IRS determination 200808036: Debt management plan business loses tax exemption
The IRS revoked a debt management organization's exemption under section 501(c)(3). Its examination found that enrolling clients in fee-based debt management plans was the organization's main…
IRS determination 200808035: Exemption revoked after unanswered requests for records
An organization said it participated in a program providing financial assistance to low or very low income first time homebuyers. During an examination, the IRS asked for its governing documents,…
IRS determination 200808034: Extended warranty company loses small insurer exemption
A company owned by a product manufacturer claimed the small insurance company exemption under section 501(c)(15) for its extended warranty program. The IRS could not verify how many customers bought…
IRS determination 200808033: Organization loses charity status after failing to document its activities
The IRS revoked an organization's section 501(c)(3) exemption because it did not provide adequate records to substantiate its revenue, expenses, and charitable activities. The organization had…
IRS determination 200808032: Charity status revoked after service center closes
An organization recognized under section 501(c)(3) had provided services to nonviolent offenders. Its board members reported that the center closed on a redacted September 17 date, and the…
PLR 200808031: IRS waives IRA rollover deadline after an extra bank distribution
An IRA owner was receiving regular payments when a financial institution mistakenly made an additional distribution and deposited it into his checking account. Neither the owner nor the IRA trustee…
PLR 200808030: IRS waives IRA rollover deadline after bank opens the wrong account
An IRA owner tried to roll part of a distribution into an IRA at a bank, but a bank employee placed the money in an ordinary certificate of deposit. When the owner discovered the error, the branch…
PLR 200808029: Foreign company gets more time to elect disregarded entity status
A taxpayer formed a foreign limited liability company and intended to treat it as a disregarded entity for federal tax purposes. The company missed the deadline to file Form 8832 because of…
CCA 200808028: Business treated as a railroad employer after taking over operations
The Railroad Retirement Board advised the IRS that a redacted business had become a rail carrier employer under railroad retirement and unemployment laws. IRS counsel reviewed that opinion and the…
PLR 200808027: Corporate spin off receives favorable tax rulings
A holding company planned to separate two businesses by distributing all the stock of a subsidiary to its shareholders. Before the spin off, the subsidiary would pay a cash dividend to its parent.…
PLR 200808026: Corporation receives relief for a late S election
A corporation intended to elect S corporation status when it first had shareholders and began business, but it did not file the election on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed…
PLR 200808025: Disaster utility financing corporation's income excluded under section 115
A state created a nonprofit corporation to help finance restoration of utility infrastructure damaged by natural disasters. The corporation would use bond proceeds and customer charges to fund…
PLR 200808024: Currency gains on REIT financing can count as qualifying income
A real estate investment trust planned to borrow in foreign currencies to finance investments denominated in those currencies. Exchange rate changes could produce section 988 gains when it repaid…
PLR 200808023: Partnership receives more time to make a section 754 election
A partner died, and the partner's interest in a partnership passed to another person. The partnership intended to make a section 754 election, which can adjust the basis of partnership property…
PLR 200808022: Partnership receives more time to make a section 754 election
A partner died, and the partner's interest in a partnership passed to another person. The partnership intended to make a section 754 election, which can adjust the basis of partnership property…
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.