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 200804003: Foreign subsidiary gets time for disregarded entity election
A foreign company owned a foreign subsidiary that said it was eligible to elect disregarded entity treatment. The subsidiary inadvertently missed the deadline to file Form 8832 with its intended…
PLR 200804002: Foreign subsidiary gets time for disregarded entity election
A foreign company owned a foreign subsidiary that said it was eligible to elect disregarded entity treatment. The subsidiary inadvertently missed the deadline to file Form 8832 with its intended…
PLR 200804001: Foreign subsidiary gets time for disregarded entity election
A foreign company owned a foreign subsidiary that said it was eligible to elect disregarded entity treatment. The subsidiary inadvertently missed the deadline to file Form 8832 with its intended…
Determination 200803029: Inactive charity loses its tax exemption
An organization was formed to support another charity but did not carry out charitable activities for its first four years. Its main asset was stock that the IRS examination concluded had no value,…
Determination 200803028: Art organization loses exemption after missed returns
An organization held art exhibits and festivals and also hosted a Sunday flea market. Its examination report acknowledged the art activities but said the organization had failed to file required…
Determination 200803027: Foundation loses exemption after failing to answer audit requests
The IRS tried to audit a private foundation and requested information and access to its records. The organization did not respond to the requests, and a certified letter was returned unclaimed. The…
Determination 200803026: Debt referral business loses charitable tax exemption
A tax exempt organization said it would provide consumer education and credit counseling, but its primary activity became advertising debt programs and referring clients to three outside providers.…
Determination 200803025: Organization loses exemption after commingling its activities with its president's business
An organization had been recognized as a charity for vocational training and neighborhood improvement. During a joint examination, the IRS could not tell which activities belonged to the…
Determination 200803024: Credit counseling organization loses exemption after failing to keep records
A credit counseling organization had been recognized as exempt for offering financial education and debt counseling. After it stopped operating and transferred its debt management accounts to…
Determination 200803023: Senior services group loses exemption over its purposes, activities, and missing returns
An organization said it provided meals, transportation, day care, and other services to older residents. The IRS found that an alternate version of its organizing document, which the organization…
Determination 200803022: Captive insurer loses exemption because investments dominated its business
A captive reinsurance company had been recognized as exempt under § 501(c)(15). In the years examined, its premiums stayed below the statutory $350,000 ceiling, but the IRS found that investments,…
PLR 200803021: Discounted capital credits preserve electric cooperative exemption
An electric cooperative wanted to pay current and former members their allocated capital credits sooner than its usual roughly 20-year cycle, using a discount to reflect present value. It also…
PLR 200803020: Endowment share contracts do not create unrelated business income for institution
An educational institution served as trustee and sole charitable beneficiary of several charitable remainder trusts. It proposed giving the trusts contractual shares tied to the value and payout of…
PLR 200803019: Endowment share payouts do not create unrelated business income for trust
A charitable remainder trust would receive contractual shares tied to an educational institution's endowment. The institution was both the trust's trustee and its remainder beneficiary. The trust…
TAM 200803018: Per-mile payments to airline for frequent flier awards are taxable
A company paid an airline per frequent flier mile so customers could turn product rewards into air travel. The IRS advised that the per-mile payments were amounts paid for the right to provide…
TAM 200803017: Cost-plus contractor accrues reimbursement when contract amounts become due
An accrual basis contractor performed technical services for the federal government under cost-plus contracts. Examiners argued that the contractor had to recognize reimbursement income as soon as…
CCA 200803016: IRS must accept estate's LLC interest if special lien requirements are met
An estate offered its interest in a closely held LLC as collateral for estate tax deferred under § 6166. Chief Counsel advised that the IRS must accept the interest under the § 6324A special lien if…
PLR 200803015: Corporation receives relief for late S election
A corporation intended to elect S corporation treatment from its incorporation date but did not file the election on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late filing and granted relief under…
PLR 200803014: Bank affiliate may serve as qualified intermediary for clients of related firms
A financial services group wanted one of its banks to act as a qualified intermediary in deferred like-kind exchanges for clients who also used affiliated firms. A qualified intermediary can be…
PLR 200803013: Foreign entity gets more time to elect disregarded status
A foreign entity intended to be treated as disregarded for federal tax purposes but inadvertently missed the deadline to file Form 8832. It requested extra time under the election relief rules in…
PLR 200803012: Parent restructuring and business spin-off qualify for reorganization treatment
A corporate group proposed to replace its parent company, move one business into a new subsidiary, and distribute the stock of a separate company holding that business to shareholders. The IRS ruled…
PLR 200803011: Late S corporation election treated as timely if filed within 60 days
A corporation's shareholders intended S corporation status from a redacted effective date, but the election was not filed on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the delay under § 1362(b)(5). It…
PLR 200803010: Foreign entity receives 60 days to file classification election
A foreign entity wanted to elect treatment as an entity disregarded from its owner but did not file its classification election on time. It sought an extension under the regulatory election relief…
PLR 200803009: Foreign subsidiary gets late disregarded entity election relief
A foreign entity wholly owned by another entity was classified by default as a corporation for federal tax purposes. It had intended to elect disregarded entity status from its formation date but…
PLR 200803008: Ministers at church affiliated university may exclude qualifying housing allowances
A university asked whether ministers serving as faculty or administrators could exclude properly designated housing allowances under § 107. The IRS found that the university was an integral agency…
PLR 200803007: Foreign entity gets time to elect corporate tax classification
A foreign entity intended to elect treatment as an association taxable as a corporation from its formation date, but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. It requested relief under Treas.…
PLR 200803006: Foreign entity granted late Form 8832 filing extension
A foreign entity intended to elect disregarded entity treatment from a redacted date but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. It sought an extension under the regulatory election relief…
PLR 200803005: Bankrupt foreign corporation's U.S. domestication qualifies as F reorganization
A foreign corporation in bankruptcy planned to transfer its remaining assets and obligations to a new U.S. corporation before dissolving. The IRS ruled that the domestication would qualify as an F…
PLR 200803004: Investment portfolios keep separate tax classifications after series LLC conversion
An investment trust whose portfolios support insurers' variable contracts planned to reorganize as a series LLC. The IRS ruled that a portfolio with one owner would be disregarded unless it elected…
PLR 200803003: Related retail bank may serve as qualified intermediary in like-kind exchanges
A financial services group proposed using one of its retail banks as a qualified intermediary for clients' deferred like-kind exchanges. Other group members supplied investment advice, brokerage,…
PLR 200803002: Annuity assigned to charitable residuary beneficiaries is taxed when paid
A trust was the beneficiary of a deferred annuity owned by a person who died before annuity payments began. The trustees assigned the annuity to charities in satisfaction of their residuary…
PLR 200803001: S corporation status restored after inadvertent transfers to ineligible owners
An S corporation lost its election when its shares were transferred to an ineligible shareholder, and later transfers brought in more ineligible owners. The shares were eventually reacquired by…
Determination 200802038: Organization loses exemption after failing to provide records and returns
An organization recognized under § 501(c)(3) did not file Forms 990 or provide books, records, and activity information requested during an examination. The examination report describes repeated…
Determination 200802037: Exemption revoked after organization failed to provide records
An organization did not supply records requested for an examination of its annual returns. IRS letters to its last known address and to officers went unanswered, unclaimed, or were returned, and the…
Determination 200802036: Exemption denied for commercial services with limited job training
An organization sought charitable exemption while selling gift baskets, arranging pilgrimage tours, and offering office and translation services. It planned to employ people facing barriers to work,…
PLR 200802035: Late IRA rollover allowed after adviser sent funds to a non-IRA account
A taxpayer intended to move funds from an IRA annuity into another IRA, but her financial adviser marked the transfer paperwork for a non-IRA account. The proceeds, after tax withholding, landed in…
Determination 200802034: Exemption revoked after organization failed to provide records
An exempt organization failed to provide records and returns requested during an IRS examination. A board member said the organization had little activity and would supply information about its…
PLR 200802033: Settlement can end charitable remainder trust without foundation excise taxes
An estate and charitable remainder annuity trust faced extensive litigation over ownership of estate assets and unpaid annuity claims. The interested parties proposed a settlement that would…
PLR 200802032: Trust settlement is not self-dealing for annuity beneficiary
A beneficiary of a charitable remainder annuity trust joined a proposed settlement of litigation over estate assets and her annuity rights. The settlement would end the trust early and distribute…
CCA 200802031: Appeals official could not bind the IRS on recurring deductions in future years
A taxpayer bought an interest in property covered by a closing agreement that allowed its former owners deductions for certain costs. Chief Counsel said the taxpayer could ordinarily benefit as a…
CCA 200802030: Innocent spouse relief does not erase the tax assessment
The IRS had granted a spouse relief from joint tax liability and reduced her separate account balance to zero. It later found evidence that she had made false statements in her relief request and…
PLR 200802029: Trustee gets 60 days to allocate missed GST tax exemptions
A trustee failed to allocate two spouses' generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax exemptions to gifts made to a family trust. The spouses had relied on the trustee for tax return advice, and some…
PLR 200802028: Trusts can convert their S corporation elections without recognizing gain
Four trusts for a family's children held stock in an S corporation as qualified subchapter S trusts (QSSTs). Their trustees proposed transferring the assets to corresponding electing small business…
PLR 200802027: IRS restores S corporation status after passive income termination
A corporation's S election terminated after it had accumulated earnings and profits and received too much passive investment income for three consecutive years. The corporation discovered the…
PLR 200802026: Utility keeps investment tax credits despite faster flow to customers
A regulated electric utility used depreciation rates that included expected costs of retiring its assets. It also used those rates to determine how quickly to pass deferred investment tax credits…
PLR 200802025: Utility keeps investment tax credits despite faster flow to customers
A regulated electric utility used depreciation rates that included expected costs of retiring its assets. It also used those rates to determine how quickly to pass deferred investment tax credits…
PLR 200802024: Couple may give unitrust payment rights to charitable beneficiaries
A couple held rights to annual payments from two charitable remainder unitrusts. They proposed amending the trusts, releasing certain powers, and assigning their payment rights to each trust's…
PLR 200802023: Signed allocation date controls building's revitalization deadline
A real estate developer received a carryover allocation for a building in a renewal community and asked when the building had to be placed in service to claim the commercial revitalization…
PLR 200802022: Corporation receives relief for a late S election
A corporation's shareholder intended S corporation treatment from the date of incorporation, but the election was filed late. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed deadline and granted…
PLR 200802021: Late accounting year change form treated as timely
A taxpayer filed Form 1128 late to change its tax year end from January 31 to March 31. The IRS found that the taxpayer had acted reasonably and in good faith and that granting relief would not…
PLR 200802020: Corporation receives relief for a late S election
A corporation's shareholder intended S corporation treatment from the date of incorporation, but the election was filed late. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed deadline and granted…
PLR 200802019: Corporation receives relief for a late S election
A corporation's shareholder intended S corporation treatment from the date of incorporation, but the election was filed late. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed deadline and granted…
PLR 200802018: Corporation receives relief for a late S election
A corporation's shareholder intended S corporation treatment from the date of incorporation, but the election was filed late. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed deadline and granted…
PLR 200802017: Corporation receives relief for a late S election
A corporation's shareholder intended S corporation treatment from the date of incorporation, but the election was filed late. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed deadline and granted…
PLR 200802016: Subsidiary restructuring leaves earlier distribution rulings in effect
A corporation asked the IRS to supplement earlier rulings about a distribution and related transactions. It planned to liquidate some subsidiaries, and possibly others, so that the corporation would…
PLR 200802015: Two business separation receives reorganization rulings
A public company proposed separating two businesses through a merger, transfers of business assets and cash, and a distribution of one company's shares to shareholders. The IRS ruled that the merger…
PLR 200802014: Corporation receives relief for a late S election
A corporation's shareholder intended S corporation treatment from a specified date, but the election was filed late. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed deadline and granted relief under §…
PLR 200802013: Corporation receives relief for a late S election
A corporation's shareholder intended S corporation treatment from the date of incorporation, but the election was filed late. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed deadline and granted…
PLR 200802012: State law debt write-offs do not require Forms 1099-C
A financing company settled a consumer class action and agreed to write off certain deficiency balances, interest, and fees. It asked whether those write-offs required Forms 1099-C reporting…
PLR 200802011: Business split and LLC merger receive reorganization rulings
An S corporation planned to put one of its two businesses into a new company, distribute that company's interests to its shareholders, and merge into a newly formed LLC. The IRS ruled that 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.