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 200731028: Trust corrections preserve generation skipping tax exemption
A couple created a trust before October 22, 1986, and the husband died before 1987. A court approved corrections for drafting errors and other trust changes, conditioned on a favorable IRS ruling.…
PLR 200731027: Court approved trust changes leave tax status intact
A couple's pre-1986 trust contained inconsistent provisions for their children and grandchildren. After the husband's death, a court conditionally approved corrections to drafting errors and changes…
PLR 200731026: Late dual consolidated loss election filings allowed
A taxpayer's foreign branch generated dual consolidated losses over four years, but its tax advisers failed to tell it to attach the required elections and agreements to its returns. The IRS found…
PLR 200731025: Two stock distributions and contributions receive nonrecognition rulings
A corporate group planned to move a controlled company's stock within its chain of subsidiaries. The plan involved two distributions of that stock, one in exchange for stock of the publicly traded…
PLR 200731024: Late dual consolidated loss elections allowed for eight branches
After an acquisition and loss of tax department staff, a taxpayer failed to file election statements for dual consolidated losses from eight foreign branches in one tax year. The IRS found that the…
PLR 200731023: Retired firefighters' health trust receives tax treatment rulings
An employer established a trust to fund medical benefits for retired firefighters and their families. The IRS ruled that the trust's income was excluded under § 115 as income from an essential…
CCA 200731022: Katrina utility loss qualifies for tentative refund procedure
A taxpayer elected to deduct a Hurricane Katrina public utility property loss in 2000, five years before the disaster, and sought a tentative refund using Form 1139. Chief Counsel advised that the…
PLR 200731021: City health contributions to retiree trust are excluded from income
A tax exempt employee benefit trust paid health insurance premiums for retired city safety employees through age 65, using participants' after tax contributions. The city proposed to contribute on…
PLR 200731020: Prebankruptcy stock interest sales are not later ownership changes
A company emerging from Chapter 11 issued stock partly to trusts that would provide reduced retiree medical benefits. Before the plan became effective, one trust sold portions of its contractual…
PLR 200731019: Retained trust power leaves transfer an incomplete gift
A person proposed to fund a trust whose income and principal could be appointed among family members and other named beneficiaries, while retaining a limited testamentary power over its remainder.…
PLR 200731018: Partnership gets time to file a missed basis adjustment election
A limited partnership timely filed its return for a year in which one partner acquired an interest from another, but it inadvertently omitted a § 754 election. The IRS found that the standards for…
PLR 200731017: Foreign entity may elect disregarded status after conversion
A U.S. corporation acquired a foreign corporation that later converted to a form eligible to choose its U.S. tax classification. The converted entity wanted disregarded status from its conversion…
PLR 200731016: Late S corporation election accepted from incorporation
A corporation intended to be treated as an S corporation from the date it was formed but did not file the election on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed deadline under § 1362(b)(5).…
PLR 200731015: Foreign entity gets late disregarded classification election
A foreign eligible entity was acquired by another entity and intended to be disregarded for U.S. federal tax purposes from the acquisition date. Its default classification was a corporation, and it…
PLR 200731014: Utility group gets time to document bonus depreciation opt outs
A consolidated utility group did not claim additional first year depreciation on returns for three tax years, but inadvertently omitted the statements electing out of that deduction. The IRS found…
PLR 200731013: Multistage business spin off and merger receive tax rulings
A public company planned to separate one business, move its assets through a series of subsidiaries, distribute the new controlled company's stock to shareholders, and combine that company with a…
PLR 200731012: Nuclear decommissioning fund transfer preserves tax treatment
Two electric utilities transferred their interests in a nuclear plant and related decommissioning funds to another company. Assets of their qualified decommissioning funds moved into a new qualified…
PLR 200731011: Nuclear decommissioning fund transfer preserves tax treatment
Two electric utilities transferred their interests in a nuclear plant and related decommissioning funds to another company. Assets of their qualified decommissioning funds moved into a new qualified…
PLR 200731010: Nuclear decommissioning fund transfer preserves tax treatment
Two electric utilities transferred their interests in a nuclear plant and related decommissioning funds to another company. Assets of their qualified decommissioning funds moved into a new qualified…
PLR 200731009: Nuclear decommissioning fund transfer preserves tax treatment
Two electric utilities transferred their interests in a nuclear plant and related decommissioning funds to another company. Assets of their qualified decommissioning funds moved into a new qualified…
PLR 200731008: Nuclear decommissioning fund transfer preserves tax treatment
Two electric utilities transferred their interests in a nuclear plant and related decommissioning funds to another company. Assets of their qualified decommissioning funds moved into a new qualified…
PLR 200731007: Nuclear decommissioning fund transfer preserves tax treatment
Two electric utilities transferred their interests in a nuclear plant and related decommissioning funds to another company. Assets of their qualified decommissioning funds moved into a new qualified…
PLR 200731006: Three foreign branches get late loss election relief
A taxpayer's foreign branches generated dual consolidated losses over three tax years, but its tax department filed deficient election statements or omitted an agreement. The taxpayer discovered the…
PLR 200731005: Wife gets time to allocate GST exemption to two trusts
A couple made transfers to two trusts for their descendants but did not timely allocate the wife's generation skipping transfer tax exemption to several post-1985 gifts. Earlier gift returns split…
PLR 200731004: Husband gets time to allocate GST exemption to two trusts
A husband created two trusts for descendants and later contributed property, but his generation skipping transfer tax exemption was not allocated to several post-1985 gifts. Some gift returns split…
PLR 200731003: Parent gets 45 days for late foreign stock purchase election
A consolidated group's foreign subsidiary acquired a foreign target, but the group missed the deadline for a § 338(g) election on that purchase. The IRS found reasonable reliance on a tax…
PLR 200731002: Linked classification elections qualify as an F reorganization
A foreign group changed the U.S. tax classifications of a foreign subsidiary and its U.S. business holding entity on the same effective date. The foreign subsidiary became disregarded while the U.S.…
PLR 200731001: Housing project gets time for late income set aside election
A taxpayer did not properly make the required low income housing election for buildings in a project. The IRS allowed 60 days to file amended Forms 8609 for two tax years electing the § 42(g)(1)(B)…
OTHER 200730031: Foundation loses exemption after personal use of its funds
The IRS revoked a private foundation's § 501(c)(3) exemption effective January 1 of a redacted year. Its examination found that much of the foundation's spending benefited trustees and other…
PLR 200730029: Prebankruptcy pension amendment avoids benefit increase restriction
An employer agreed to increase a pension benefit multiplier in a collective bargaining agreement three days before filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The IRS ruled that the restriction in §…
PLR 200730028: State pension lump sums may recover pre-1987 contributions first
A state pension plan let participants withdraw their employee contributions when they retired or left service and later added an option to take part of a pension as a lump sum. The IRS ruled that a…
PLR 200730027: Bankrupt supplier receives conditional hourly pension funding waiver
A vehicle parts supplier in Chapter 11 received a conditional waiver of the minimum funding standard for its hourly pension plan. The IRS cited substantial financial hardship but made the waiver…
PLR 200730026: Bankrupt supplier receives conditional pension funding waiver
A vehicle parts supplier operating in Chapter 11 received a conditional waiver of the minimum funding standard for a pension plan. The IRS found substantial business hardship but required the…
PLR 200730025: IRS waives late IRA rollover for surviving spouse
A surviving spouse received a distribution from her late husband's IRA and deposited the check in a personal savings account. She said she did not understand that the payment came from the IRA, and…
PLR 200730024: IRS denies rollover deadline waiver for work and family scheduling
An IRA owner took a distribution when his certificate of deposit matured, intending to move the money to another bank for a higher interest rate. He missed the 60-day rollover deadline while taking…
PLR 200730023: IRS declines IRA rollover waiver after funds entered a non-IRA account
A widow tried to move money from an IRA at one bank to another bank. The first bank issued her a cashier's check instead of making a wire transfer, and she used the check to buy a certificate of…
PLR 200730022: IRS denies change to pension funding waivers after property sale falters
A company asked the IRS to modify conditional waivers of minimum funding requirements for two pension plans. The earlier waivers had relied heavily on an expected sale of company property after…
PLR 200730021: IRS waives late IRA rollover after prolonged medical treatment
A surviving spouse deposited a distribution from the deceased spouse's IRA into a regular account and missed the 60-day rollover deadline. The spouse reported mental and physical incapacity, and…
CCA 200730020: Insurance recoveries limit product liability deductions and specified liability losses
Chief Counsel advised on a manufacturer's product liability costs, insurance recoveries, and specified liability losses. A loss under section 165 cannot be deducted while a reimbursement claim has a…
PLR 200730019: Income of public school risk pool's captive insurer is excluded
A captive insurer formed to provide excess coverage to a public agency risk pool for school districts and community colleges asked whether its income was excluded from federal gross income. The pool…
PLR 200730018: IRS extends deadline for cleanup fund's relation-back election
An environmental cleanup fund prepared its tax return and relation-back election on time, but its administrator inadvertently filed both after the normal deadline. The filing came before the…
PLR 200730017: IRS grants relief for a late S corporation election
A corporation's shareholders intended S corporation treatment from a specified effective date, but its Form 2553 was not filed on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late election under…
PLR 200730016: S corporation retains status after IRA briefly holds its shares
An S corporation issued shares to an individual retirement account, which is not an eligible S corporation shareholder. Its accountant later identified the problem, and the IRA beneficiary bought…
PLR 200730015: Trust reformation will not pull assets into settlor's estate
A settlor asked about a proposed court reformation of an irrevocable trust. The requested order would clarify that distributions to descendants were discretionary, replacing 'shall' with 'may,' and…
PLR 200730014: Gas contract termination fee need not be capitalized
A natural gas marketer paid a customer to end a fixed price sales contract inherited in an earlier business acquisition, then entered a new contract priced by a market index. The old contract had…
PLR 200730013: IRS permits retroactive QEF elections for two investment funds
Two regulated investment company series bought stock in a foreign corporation that was a passive foreign investment company. Their tax service provider failed to identify that status or advise them…
PLR 200730012: Statutory payments in lieu of property tax are deductible, with a limit unresolved
A developer building condominium units on publicly owned land asked whether statutory payments in lieu of property taxes, collected through its lease, were deductible. The IRS found that the…
PLR 200730011: Grantor owns two trusts for income tax purposes through spouse's powers
A person created two trusts for separate beneficiaries, with the creator's spouse serving as sole trustee. The spouse could delay principal distributions in her sole discretion. Because the grantor…
PLR 200730010: Casualty replacement costs are deductible only within loss and insurance limits
A lessee was required to replace leased property destroyed in a casualty and expected insurance to cover only part of the cost. The IRS allowed a section 165 casualty loss for any basis in destroyed…
PLR 200730009: Unequal shareholder distributions did not end S election
An S corporation made distributions to some shareholders that were out of proportion to their ownership, including tax payments and cash advances, then began corrective payments. Its charter, state…
PLR 200730008: IRS extends ratable allocation election after corporate merger
A corporate group ended when its parent merged downstream into a subsidiary, and the surviving company was acquired shortly afterward. The old parent and surviving company failed to file a valid…
PLR 200730007: IRS grants late election for environmental remediation expenses
An environmental services partnership believed its return had properly elected to deduct qualified cleanup costs under section 198, but a firm later found that the required election statement was…
PLR 200730006: IRS grants late cleanup expense elections for two corporate tax years
An environmental services corporation deducted claimed cleanup costs on two annual returns but omitted the separate section 198 election statements. Its treasurer believed the filings were complete,…
PLR 200730005: Retirement plan investments do not defeat variable fund look-through
A life insurer asked whether qualified retirement plans' direct investments in funds used for variable insurance contracts would prevent the funds from receiving look-through treatment for…
PLR 200730004: Qualified plan investments preserve insurance fund look-through
A life insurer asked whether direct investments by qualified retirement plans would prevent variable contract funds from using the look-through rule for diversification. The IRS held that plan…
PLR 200730003: Required insurer capital counts toward value after ownership change
A foreign parent contributed capital to its US life insurance group to maintain regulatory and rating agency capital levels. A planned sale of newly issued parent shares would cause the US life…
PLR 200730002: Related owners' property swap qualifies for nonavoidance exception
Three family owners held undivided interests in two rental properties. One owner planned to exchange a share of one property for the other owners' shares of the second property; the other owners…
PLR 200730001: Vehicle repair protection contracts qualify as insurance
A company sold service contracts covering certain repair costs after mechanical breakdowns of used vehicles. It remained liable to contract holders and paid covered repair claims, while a separate…
PLR 200729043: Foundation may receive related party's promissory notes from trust
A private foundation was due to receive promissory notes from a trust during administration of an estate. The notes were owed by a company owned by the foundation president's daughter and…
OTHER 200729042: Housing charity loses exemption after profitable property resales
An organization formed to rehabilitate distressed property for low cost housing bought four apartment buildings, displaced tenants, renovated the buildings, and sold them at market prices. The IRS…
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.