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.
No determinations match these filters
Try fewer or different words, check the spelling, or clear the filters to browse everything.
Late accounting-period application is treated as timely
A taxpayer sought to change from a calendar tax year to a tax year ending March 31 under the automatic procedure in Revenue Procedure 2006-46. It missed the deadline for Form 1128 but requested…
Late accounting-period application is treated as timely
A taxpayer sought to change from a calendar tax year to a tax year ending March 31 under the automatic procedure in Revenue Procedure 2006-46. It missed the deadline for Form 1128 but requested…
Late accounting-period application is treated as timely
A taxpayer sought to change from a calendar tax year to a tax year ending March 31 under the automatic procedure in Revenue Procedure 2006-46. It missed the deadline for Form 1128 but requested…
Affiliated group receives extra time to elect consolidated filing
A parent corporation intended to file a consolidated federal income tax return with three subsidiaries but did not file a valid return by the election deadline. The group requested relief before the…
Parties receive extra time for section 336(e) election
A purchaser acquired all stock of an S corporation from its shareholders, and the parties intended the stock sale to be treated as an asset sale under section 336(e). They failed to execute the…
REIT receives extra time for two taxable-subsidiary elections
A company intending to qualify as a real estate investment trust acquired a building containing offices, a hotel, an athletic club, and restaurants. Two subsidiaries leased and operated the hotel…
Foreign entity receives late disregarded-entity election
A foreign entity's sole owner intended the entity to be disregarded for federal tax purposes, but the entity did not timely file Form 8832. The IRS found that the entity met the standards for…
Wife receives extra time to allocate GST exemption to two trusts
A married couple created two irrevocable descendant trusts and intended to allocate generation-skipping transfer exemption to their gifts. They also intended to split eligible gifts between the…
Husband receives extra time to allocate GST exemption to three trusts
A husband created three irrevocable trusts for his spouse and descendants and intended to allocate generation-skipping transfer exemption to gifts made over five years. He and his wife also intended…
Estate receives extra time to make a 65-day distribution election
An estate made a distribution during the first 65 days of a fiscal year and intended to treat it as paid or credited on the last day of the preceding tax year under section 663(b). The estate failed…
LLC receives extra time to elect partnership classification
A limited liability company had previously elected S corporation treatment but later intended to change its federal tax classification to a partnership. It failed to file Form 8832 by the intended…
Partnership receives extra time for a deemed-sale election on a REIT contribution
A two-member limited liability company treated as a partnership contributed property to a subsidiary that had elected REIT status. Because part of the property's gain or loss would be allocated to a…
Partnership receives extra time for a deemed-sale election on a REIT contribution
A two-member limited liability company treated as a partnership contributed property to a subsidiary that had elected REIT status. Because part of the property's gain or loss would be allocated to a…
Foreign entity receives extra time to elect disregarded status
A foreign eligible entity intended to be treated as disregarded from its owner for U.S. federal tax purposes but did not timely file Form 8832. The entity represented that it was eligible for…
Manufacturer receives extra time to file its LIFO election
Several related companies had used the last-in-first-out inventory method and later combined in mergers. The surviving company then transferred its manufacturing business, operating assets, and…
Estate receives extra time to allocate GST exemption to a family trust
A decedent's residuary trust created an irrevocable subtrust for the decedent's spouse and descendants. The spouse was entitled to the subtrust's net income and held a limited power to appoint…
Consolidated group gets more time to waive loss carryback
A parent corporation intended to waive the carryback period for its consolidated group's net operating loss, and the group's returns were filed consistently with that intent. A valid election…
Foreign entity gets more time for disregarded status election
A foreign entity's indirect owner became a U.S. tax resident and intended the entity to be classified as disregarded for federal tax purposes. The entity did not timely file Form 8832 to make that…
Foreign entity gets more time for disregarded status election
A foreign entity's owner became a U.S. tax resident and intended the entity to be classified as disregarded for federal tax purposes. The entity did not timely file Form 8832 to make that…
Foreign entity gets more time for partnership election
A foreign entity owned by a U.S. citizen and foreign persons intended to be classified as a partnership from its formation date. It was eligible to make that classification election but failed to…
REIT successors get more time for subsidiary elections
Two predecessor REITs intended to elect taxable REIT subsidiary status for their respective subsidiaries and filed Forms 8875 by the intended deadlines. During a later acquisition, their successors…
New affiliated group gets more time for consolidated election
A parent acquired eight subsidiaries and intended the resulting affiliated group to file a consolidated return. The group filed a consolidated return by the extended deadline that would have…
Corporation gets more time for IC-DISC election
A domestic corporation was formed solely to operate as an interest charge domestic international sales corporation under a commission arrangement with its parent. Its accounting firm prepared Form…
Parties get more time for section 336(e) election
A partnership purchased all the stock of an S corporation for cash, and the parties intended the stock sale to be treated as a deemed asset sale under section 336(e). They did not timely execute the…
Foreign entity gets more time for corporate classification election
A foreign entity was initially classified as disregarded for federal tax purposes. Its owner intended it to become an association taxable as a corporation on a later date, but the entity did not…
Estate gets more time to make QTIP election
An estate timely filed its federal estate tax return but did not elect qualified terminable interest property treatment for a marital trust. The executor, a CPA whose accounting firm prepared the…
Corporation gets more time for success-fee safe harbor
A corporate group paid an investment bank a success-based fee when its parent was acquired in a taxable stock transaction. Its accounting firm prepared the short-year consolidated return using…
Late basis-reduction election allowed after adviser missed extension filing
A company emerging from bankruptcy reported cancellation-of-debt income and intended to elect under section 108(b)(5) to reduce the basis of depreciable property first. Its return included Form 982…
Estate gets extra time for reverse QTIP election and trust severance
A decedent's estate made a QTIP election for a marital trust but did not divide the trust into GST-exempt and non-exempt shares or make a reverse QTIP election. The accountant who prepared the…
Late tax-exempt controlled entity election treated as timely
A taxable corporation wholly owned by a section 501(c)(3) organization invested in a partnership that developed rental real estate. Because the corporation was a tax-exempt controlled entity, it…
Partnership receives 120 days to make late section 754 election
A limited partner died, creating a transfer for which the partnership wanted a section 754 election and the related section 743(b) basis adjustment. The partnership's tax advisers neither filed the…
Foreign corporation receives relief for two late tax elections
A foreign corporation sold its interest in a partnership holding U.S. real property and later learned that the sale produced taxable gain. It wanted to elect out of installment reporting and report…
Corporation receives 60 days to file late IC-DISC election
A domestic corporation was formed to operate as an interest charge domestic international sales corporation, or IC-DISC, and hired an accounting firm to complete the required election. The…
S corporation receives 120 days for late QSub election
An S corporation formed a domestic subsidiary and owned all of its stock from the subsidiary's incorporation date. The parent intended to treat the subsidiary as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary,…
Five subsidiary elections receive inadvertent or late-filing relief
An S corporation intended five wholly owned subsidiaries to be qualified subchapter S subsidiaries, or QSubs. Elections filed for four subsidiaries were ineffective, and the parent inadvertently…
Foreign entity gets 120 days to elect disregarded status
A foreign entity's owner intended the entity to be treated as a disregarded entity for federal tax purposes from the date it was formed. The entity did not timely file Form 8832, but represented…
Foreign entity gets 120 days to elect disregarded status
A foreign entity's indirect owner intended the entity to be treated as a disregarded entity for federal tax purposes from the date it was formed. The entity did not timely file Form 8832, but…
Taxpayers get more time to complete section 336(e) election
A corporate group intended to make a section 336(e) election for a disposition of all the target company's stock. The seller and target did not timely enter the written binding agreement required…
Estate gets 120 days to make 2010 carryover-basis election
A nonresident noncitizen died in 2010, and the decedent's U.S.-situs property passed to the surviving spouse. The spouse did not file Form 8939 by the January 17, 2012 deadline, so the estate did…
REIT receives extensions to make two taxable-subsidiary elections
A real estate investment trust and two indirectly owned corporations intended to elect taxable REIT subsidiary status, but their advisers and internal personnel failed to file the required Forms…
Corporation receives another extension to elect IC-DISC status
A domestic corporation formed to operate as an interest charge domestic international sales corporation failed to make its initial election on time. The IRS had already granted a 60-day extension,…
Partnership receives 120 days to make a late section 754 election
A limited partnership failed to make a section 754 election after a partner in its general partner died because its tax advisers neither explained the election nor filed it. The partnership…
Partnership receives late section 754 election relief after a partner's death
A limited partnership failed to make a section 754 election after one of its limited partners died because its tax advisers neither explained the available election nor filed it. The partnership…
Taxpayers receive 60 days to elect partial disposition of a replaced roof
Owners of rental property replaced the roof of a commercial building and capitalized the new roof, but failed to file their income tax return on time. They had calculated timely estimated payments…
Estate receives 120 days to allocate GST exemption to family trust
A decedent's will created a family trust with generation-skipping transfer tax potential. The estate's accounting firm timely filed Form 706 but allocated GST exemption to a different trust and…
A corporation received more time to file its IC-DISC election
A domestic corporation was formed to operate as an interest charge domestic international sales corporation, or IC-DISC. Its law firm completed the formation filings but failed to file Form 4876-A,…
An S corporation received more time to elect the success-based fee safe harbor
An S corporation paid a success-based fee in connection with an acquisition and reported the fee using the safe harbor in Revenue Procedure 2011-29. It deducted 70 percent and capitalized 30…
A corporation received more time to file its IC-DISC election after an adviser mix-up
A domestic corporation was formed to operate as an interest charge domestic international sales corporation, or IC-DISC. Its accounting firm believed the law firm had filed Form 4876-A, while the…
A foreign entity received more time to elect disregarded status
A fund held a foreign entity that was intended to be treated as disregarded from the date it was formed. The entity did not timely file Form 8832 to make that classification election. Based on the…
A foreign entity received 120 days to make a late disregarded entity election
A fund intended a foreign entity it held to be classified as disregarded for federal tax purposes from the entity's formation date. The entity failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS concluded,…
A foreign entity may file a late Form 8832 for disregarded status
A foreign entity held by a fund was meant to be classified as disregarded for federal tax purposes beginning on its formation date. It failed to file the required Form 8832 by the deadline. The IRS…
A foreign entity obtained late relief for a disregarded entity election
A fund intended one of its foreign entities to be disregarded for federal tax purposes effective on the date the entity was formed. The entity did not timely submit Form 8832. Based only on the…
A foreign entity received late relief to elect partnership status
A fund intended a foreign entity it held to be classified as a partnership for federal tax purposes from the entity's formation date. The entity did not file Form 8832 on time. Based on the facts…
A foreign entity may make a late partnership classification election
A fund held a foreign entity that it intended to treat as a partnership beginning on the entity's formation date. The entity failed to timely file Form 8832 for that classification. The IRS found…
A missed Form 8832 deadline did not prevent late partnership election relief
A foreign entity owned through a fund was intended to be treated as a partnership from the day it was formed. Form 8832 was not filed by the normal deadline. The IRS concluded that the entity had…
A foreign entity received a 120-day extension for its partnership election
A fund intended a foreign entity to have partnership status for federal tax purposes as of the entity's formation. The entity missed the deadline for filing Form 8832. After reviewing the supplied…
A foreign entity may elect partnership treatment after the filing deadline
A fund wanted a foreign entity it held to be classified as a partnership effective on its formation date. The entity did not timely file the necessary Form 8832. Based on the representations and…
A foreign entity obtained an extension to elect partnership status
A fund held a foreign entity that was intended to have partnership classification from its formation date. The entity failed to make a timely election on Form 8832. The IRS determined from the…
Late Form 8832 relief allowed partnership treatment from formation
A foreign entity owned through a fund was intended to be classified as a partnership from its formation date. It did not file Form 8832 within the normal election period. The IRS concluded that the…
A foreign entity received extra time for a partnership classification election
A fund intended a foreign entity it held to be treated as a partnership for federal tax purposes from the date of formation. Form 8832 was not filed on time. The IRS concluded, based on the facts…
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.