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.
OTHER 200702045: Proposed Christian theme park fails to establish exemption eligibility
An applicant initially proposed educational programs and later shifted its plans to a Christian theme park and support for outreach ministries. The IRS found that changing statements of purpose and…
OTHER 200702044: Social club loses exemption because public festival dominates activity and income
An audit and technical advice found that a social club's annual public street festival failed both the activities and member-income tests for section 501(c)(7). The recurring fundraising festival…
PLR 200702043: Hospital retains public charity status after governance reorganization
A hospital and related support organizations proposed centralized governance under a nonprofit parent. The parent would elect subsidiary boards and provide shared administrative services at cost…
OTHER 200702042: Military financial education affiliate denied exemption for private benefit
An applicant proposed financial education, scholarships, and support programs for military families while sharing officers, materials, and resources with its for-profit financial services founder.…
PLR 200702041: Earlier endowment investment ruling modified to remove another entity
The IRS modified a prior private letter ruling concerning an organization's investment in another organization's endowment. The prior ruling addressed unrelated business taxable income under section…
PLR 200702040: IRS suspends new charitable lead trust endowment investment rulings
An organization received notice about charitable lead trusts investing in its endowment. The IRS said its October 3, 2003 ruling, PLR 200352017, remained in effect, but it would stop issuing…
PLR 200702039: IRA house purchase funding does not justify late rollover relief
A taxpayer withdrew IRA funds while waiting for financing for a house purchase and deposited them in a bank account. Part of the money was used for the purchase, and a smaller amount was returned to…
PLR 200702038: Hospital merger preserves charitable status without taxing the asset transfer
Two hospitals within an integrated charitable health system merged, with one hospital surviving and continuing both hospitals’ activities. The surviving hospital retained community representation on…
PLR 200702037: Hospital merger preserves charitable status without taxing the asset transfer
Two hospitals within an integrated charitable health system merged, with one hospital surviving and continuing both hospitals’ activities. The surviving hospital retained community representation on…
PLR 200702036: Existing charitable lead trust endowment investments retain protection while new money is excluded
A charitable lead trust had received a ruling that buying, holding, redeeming, and receiving payments on units in an organization’s endowment would not generate unrelated business taxable income.…
PLR 200702035: Health system reorganization and essential support services avoid unrelated business income
A charitable support organization, a hospital, and a fundraising organization proposed reorganizing under the support organization’s control. The parent would appoint subsidiary boards and provide…
PLR 200702034: Hospital fundraising affiliate retains supporting organization status after governance changes
A hospital fundraising organization would come under a charitable parent’s control as part of a health system reorganization. Its purposes, activities, and revenue sources would remain the same, and…
PLR 200702033: Internal split-off and public spin-off receive conditional reorganization treatment
A public holding company proposed separating a business through an internal split-off followed by a distribution of a new company’s shares to public shareholders. The transactions also involved…
PLR 200702032: Undisclosed airport noise permits exclusion of home-sale settlement gain
A homeowner discovered substantial airport noise after buying a residence despite repeated visits, questions about noise, and a legally required notice that the sellers and agents had failed to…
PLR 200702031: Regularly traded OTC Bulletin Board shares qualify for appreciated stock gift treatment
A financial holding company planned to donate appreciated shares of another company to its private foundation. The shares were freely transferable, held for more than one year, regularly traded on…
PLR 200702030: Corporate group receives 60 days to make missed consolidated return election
A parent corporation and its subsidiaries intended to file a consolidated federal income tax return but failed to make a valid election after relying on a tax professional. The IRS found reasonable,…
PLR 200702029: Housing project receives 45 days to correct minimum set-aside election
A taxpayer failed to make a proper section 42(g)(1) election for a low-income housing project. The IRS found the requirements for discretionary election relief satisfied on the submitted facts and…
PLR 200702028: Nonstock subsidiary restructuring receives nonrecognition and carryover asset basis rulings
A holding company planned to move a taxable nonprofit, nonstock subsidiary into a new corporation in another state and convert it to a stock corporation. Another subsidiary would then merge into the…
PLR 200702027: Late election and ineligible partnership shareholder do not defeat corrected S status
A corporation intended to elect S status from incorporation but filed late and omitted required shareholder consents. It later issued shares to a plan and partnership, then cancelled those shares…
PLR 200702026: Reasonable cause permits S election effective from incorporation
A corporation intended to be taxed as an S corporation from its incorporation but failed to file the election on time. The IRS found reasonable cause under section 1362(b)(5) based on the submitted…
PLR 200702025: Shorter refunding bond maturity reduces the housing project restriction period
An issuer and borrower planned to amend multifamily housing bonds to shorten their maturity, causing a tax reissuance treated as another current refunding. The project remained subject to the 1954…
PLR 200702024: Trust provision for contributing assets to a partnership does not bar ESBT election
A trust owned S corporation shares and an interest in an LLC taxed as a partnership. Its governing instrument called for other trust assets to be contributed to the LLC at termination, with a…
PLR 200702023: Late application to change to a calendar tax year is treated as timely
A corporation filed Form 1128 late to change from a February 28 year-end to December 31. It requested discretionary relief shortly after the filing deadline and had not obtained an extension for the…
PLR 200702022: Teacher compensation trust gains income exclusion only after dissolution clause amendment
A public school district and teachers’ bargaining unit formed a trust to invest tax revenues reserved for an alternative teacher compensation system. The IRS found that this supported an essential…
PLR 200702021: Qualifying REIT like-kind exchange avoids sale counting except for the boot portion
A REIT owning apartment property through its operating partnership proposed replacing a planned sale with a deferred like-kind exchange. The IRS ruled that, if the transaction qualified under…
PLR 200702020: Missed trust election and later ineffective election receive S termination relief
An S corporation’s shares were transferred to a trust whose beneficiary failed to file a qualified subchapter S trust election. That omission terminated S status and made a second trust’s otherwise…
PLR 200702019: Joint tribal resource authority qualifies as a governmental instrumentality
Five recognized Indian tribal governments formed an authority to coordinate natural and cultural resource management and enforcement. Each tribe elected a commissioner, retained control over…
PLR 200702018: Invalid bequest deductions and unnecessary family-share QTIP election are voided
An estate elected qualified terminable interest property treatment for the entire value of a revocable trust, including specific bequests and a family share. The specific bequests went to people…
PLR 200702017: Nuclear decommissioning fund contribution schedule approved with special qualifying percentage method
A nuclear plant owner requested a schedule of deductible payments to its decommissioning fund under section 468A. Utility regulators had approved cost recovery through another collector, which would…
PLR 200702016: Trust receives 60 days to elect prior-year treatment of charitable distributions
A trust terminated after its surviving lifetime beneficiary died, and litigation determined payments to two charities and the beneficiary’s estate. The trustee intended to deduct the charitable…
PLR 200702015: Reduced utility cost recovery leads to revised nuclear decommissioning schedule
A nuclear plant owner requested a revised section 468A contribution schedule after one utility commission reduced decommissioning costs included in rates. That commission used a step approach with…
PLR 200702014: Spouses receive 60 days to allocate missed GST exemption to an earlier split gift
A married taxpayer created a trust with generation-skipping transfer potential and made a gift for which the spouses elected split-gift treatment. Their accountant omitted GST exemption allocations…
PLR 200702013: Family and marital trusts may convert to total return unitrusts without specified tax costs
A surviving spouse serving as trustee proposed converting a family trust and a marital QTIP trust from income payments to total return unitrust payments under state law. Both trusts had zero…
PLR 200702012: Settlement fund must report direct retirement payments and post-judgment interest
An SEC settlement fund would compensate mutual fund investors for losses from improper market timing and advisory fees, and also distribute specified post-judgment interest. Because it could not…
PLR 200702011: Mutual fund settlement reporting relief preserves direct retirement distribution duties
An SEC settlement fund would distribute compensation to investors harmed by improper mutual fund market timing. The IRS held that ordinary compensation required no section 6041 reporting because the…
PLR 200702010: Mutual fund settlement reporting relief preserves direct retirement distribution duties
An SEC settlement fund would distribute compensation to investors harmed by improper mutual fund market timing. The IRS held that loss and advisory-fee compensation required no section 6041…
PLR 200702009: Mutual fund settlement reporting relief preserves direct retirement distribution duties
An SEC settlement fund would distribute compensation to investors harmed by improper mutual fund market timing. The IRS held that loss and advisory-fee compensation required no section 6041…
PLR 200702008: Mutual fund settlement reporting relief preserves direct retirement distribution duties
An SEC settlement fund would distribute compensation to investors harmed by improper mutual fund market timing. The IRS held that loss and advisory-fee compensation required no section 6041…
PLR 200702007: Plan proceeds passing to a beneficiary trust do not accelerate decedent income
A deceased participant’s profit-sharing plan named a trust as beneficiary, and the taxpayer was the trust’s beneficiary. The taxpayer asked whether placing the plan assets in the trust would…
PLR 200702006: Mutual fund settlement reporting relief preserves direct retirement distribution duties
An SEC settlement fund would compensate mutual fund investors for losses and excessive advisory fees caused by improper market timing. The IRS held that ordinary compensation required no section…
PLR 200702005: Limited partnership receives 60 days to elect corporate classification for restructuring
A corporate group transferred a subsidiary’s assets through several restructuring steps to a limited partnership owned by two group members. The partnership intended to elect association status…
PLR 200702004: Late GST allocation must cover the whole transfer including gift-tax annual exclusions
A taxpayer transferred property to a trust that created separate lifetime trusts for her two children, but her attorney omitted GST exemption allocation on the gift tax return. The IRS granted 60…
PLR 200702003: Corrected ineligible trust ownership receives inadvertent S termination relief
An S corporation’s sole shareholder transferred shares to two trusts that were not eligible shareholders, terminating its S election. After discovering the problem, one trust’s shares were…
PLR 200702002: Spouses may make missed GST allocations at original transfer-date values
A husband established a trust for his wife, children, and descendants, and both spouses contributed property and elected split-gift treatment. Their CPA omitted GST exemption allocations, an error…
PLR 200702001: Unregulated plant owner receives decommissioning schedule tied to utility collections
An unregulated nuclear plant owner sought a revised section 468A decommissioning contribution schedule after a corporate restructuring. A related regulated electric company collected approved…
PLR 200701037: Bankruptcy litigation over involuntary IRA distribution justifies late rollover waiver
A taxpayer sought permission to roll over IRA funds that had been involuntarily distributed during bankruptcy proceedings in 2002. Several courts rejected his claim that the IRA was exempt before a…
PLR 200701036: Medical incapacity justifies late rollover of a deceased spouse’s IRA distribution
A widow withdrew funds from her deceased husband’s IRA in 2004 before moving to another city and placed them in a money market account that was not an IRA. She sought a waiver of the 60-day rollover…
PLR 200701035: Pension plan denied more time to fund liabilities because benefit cuts are not imminent
A defined benefit pension plan jointly sponsored by a union and industry employers requested more time to amortize its unfunded liabilities for the plan year ending April 1, 2004. Section 412(e)…
PLR 200701034: Underfunded multiemployer pension plan receives conditional five-year funding extension
A multiemployer defined benefit plan sought a five-year extension to amortize unfunded liabilities for the plan year beginning January 1, 2004. Its assets were approximately 36 percent of accrued…
PLR 200701033: Youth-program foundation receives advance approval for transition to public-charity status
A private operating foundation providing youth and community programs sought an advance ruling for a 60-month transition to public-charity status. It planned to broaden fundraising, maintain a…
TAM 200701032: Splitting mutual-fund principal and dividend rights creates a partnership
A corporate group sold certificates tied to money market mutual fund shares while retaining current dividend rights and contingent rights to principal. It claimed a capital loss using the entire…
TAM 200701031: Prior audits do not shield an inaccurate LIFO inventory method
A manufacturer used two price indexes to value inventory under the dollar-value last-in, first-out method. It argued that an earlier technical advice memorandum, prior audits, and an approved…
PLR 200701030: Late deemed-sale election denied after an informed choice to skip it
Two hotel partnerships sought more time to make the transitional deemed-sale election under section 311(e) of the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997. That election was intended to make certain future gains…
PLR 200701029: Revised nuclear-decommissioning funding schedule approved
A utility requested a revised schedule for contributions to its qualified nuclear-decommissioning fund after two regulators reduced the costs included in electric rates. The IRS approved the…
PLR 200701028: S status preserved despite missing consents and ineligible shareholders
A corporation’s S election was ineffective because required community-property shareholder consents and three trust elections were missing. It also issued warrants and later transferred shares to an…
PLR 200701027: Co-op commercial-unit shares can be distributed and pooled without current tax
A housing cooperative planned to allocate new shares to its commercial units, distribute those shares to existing residents, and have the residents contribute them to a limited liability company.…
PLR 200701026: Reciprocal insurer may deduct subscriber savings and policyholder dividends
A reciprocal insurer providing medical-malpractice coverage asked about deductions for savings credited to its subscribers. Its agreements fixed subscribers’ rights to current-year savings and…
PLR 200701025: Extra time granted for dual-consolidated-loss elections
A consolidated corporate group missed elections and agreements relating to its dual-resident foreign entities because its accounting firm did not advise it to file them. The group requested relief…
PLR 200701024: Late investment-company and dividend elections treated as timely
Three investment funds intended to elect regulated-investment-company treatment for their first tax year. A misunderstanding between their accounting firm and administrator caused the return…
PLR 200701023: Late S election allowed with a 60-day filing deadline
A corporation intended to elect S-corporation treatment from a specified date but did not timely file Form 2553. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed deadline under section 1362(b)(5). It…
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.