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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Taxpayer received 45 days to file a duplicate Form 3115
A corporate taxpayer changed a subsidiary's accounting method for capitalizing certain indirect and mixed service costs under section 263A. It timely attached the original Form 3115 to its…
Estate received 120 days to make a late portability election
A decedent's estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the decedent's unused estate and gift tax exclusion for the surviving spouse. The estate represented that the gross…
Estate received 120 days to make a late portability election
A decedent's estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the decedent's unused estate and gift tax exclusion for the surviving spouse. The estate represented that the gross…
Estate received 120 days to make a late portability election
A decedent's estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the decedent's unused estate and gift tax exclusion for the surviving spouse. The estate represented that the gross…
Taxpayer received 60 days to make the success-based fee safe-harbor election
A corporation paid success-based adviser fees in a taxable stock acquisition. Its return deducted 70% of the fees and capitalized 30%, following the safe harbor in Revenue Procedure 2011-29, but its…
REIT owners received 90 days to make late taxable REIT subsidiary elections
Several real estate investment trusts indirectly owned a corporation formed to hold a shared parking garage. The owners and corporation intended the corporation to be a taxable REIT subsidiary from…
Nine partnerships received 120 days to make late section 754 elections
Nine entities treated as partnerships were owned through two trusts by two individuals. When one individual died, each partnership failed to make a section 754 election for that taxable year. Such…
Corporation receives 60 days to make late IC-DISC election
A domestic corporation intended from its formation to operate as an interest charge domestic international sales corporation, or IC-DISC. Its accounting firm prepared Form 4876-A and the…
Partnership receives 120 days to make late section 754 election
A limited partnership timely filed its federal return but inadvertently omitted the written election under section 754 to adjust the basis of partnership property. The partnership represented that…
Taxpayer receives 60 days to elect out of bonus depreciation
A corporate group calculated stock basis before its termination and contributed cash to eliminate an excess loss account in a subsidiary's stock. When preparing the consolidated return, the tax…
Transferor receives 60 days to make late section 362 election
A partnership transferred loss property held through a disregarded entity to its corporate subsidiary. Section 362(e)(2) generally would reduce the corporation's basis in the property to fair market…
S corporation receives 120 days for late QSub election
An S corporation formed a wholly owned domestic subsidiary and intended to treat it as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary, or QSub, from the subsidiary's formation date. The parent inadvertently…
Estate receives 120 days to elect portability
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion amount. The estate represented that the decedent's gross estate was…
Foreign entity receives 120 days for late disregarded-entity election
A foreign eligible entity intended to be classified as disregarded from its stated effective date but did not timely file Form 8832. The IRS concluded that the entity satisfied the standards for…
Estate receives 120 days to elect portability
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion amount. The estate represented that the decedent's gross estate was…
Estate receives 120 days for late 2010 carryover-basis election
The estate of a nonresident alien who died in 2010 intended to elect the modified carryover-basis rules under section 1022 instead of the reinstated estate tax rules. The estate's attorneys failed…
Estate receives 120 days to elect portability
An estate did not file Form 706 by the deadline to elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion amount. The estate represented that the decedent's gross estate,…
Estate receives 120 days to elect portability
An estate did not file Form 706 by the deadline to elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion amount. The estate represented that the decedent's gross estate,…
Estate receives 120 days to elect portability
An estate did not timely file Form 706 to elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion amount. The surviving spouse, acting as executor, represented that the…
Estate receives 120 days to elect portability
An estate did not timely file Form 706 to elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion amount. The estate represented that the decedent's gross estate and taxable…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
A surviving spouse, treated as the estate's executor because no executor had been appointed, missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the decedent's unused estate and gift tax…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the decedent's unused estate and gift tax exclusion for the surviving spouse. The estate represented that the decedent's gross…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
A surviving spouse serving as executor missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the decedent's unused estate and gift tax exclusion. The executor represented that the decedent's…
Late Form 1128 is treated as timely filed
A partnership filed Form 1128 late while seeking to adopt an October 31 tax year. It requested relief soon after learning that the form had been required by the original deadline. The IRS found that…
Corporation receives 60 days to file IC-DISC election
A domestic corporation was formed to serve as an interest charge domestic international sales corporation for its parent, which sold farming and agricultural products. Its accounting and law firms…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the decedent's unused estate and gift tax exclusion for the surviving spouse. The estate represented that the decedent's gross…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
A decedent's son, serving as personal representative, missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the decedent's unused estate and gift tax exclusion for the surviving spouse. He…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
A decedent's daughter, serving as personal representative, missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the decedent's unused estate and gift tax exclusion for the surviving spouse.…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the decedent's unused estate and gift tax exclusion for the surviving spouse. The estate represented that the decedent's gross…
Consolidated group receives 60 days for late section 382 election
A consolidated group experienced an ownership change that limited its use of pre-change losses and credits. The group failed to make the regulatory election to close its books on the change date and…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the decedent's unused estate and gift tax exclusion for the surviving spouse. The estate represented that the decedent's gross…
Investment funds receive 90 days for late foreign-tax elections
Several regulated investment companies in a fund-of-funds structure intended to elect under section 853 so their shareholders could claim proportionate shares of foreign taxes. Their return preparer…
Late elections to amortize drilling costs were allowed
An affiliated group intended to elect under section 59(e) to deduct its intangible drilling and development costs ratably over 60 months for five tax years, but it did not timely file the required…
Estate received more time to elect portability
A decedent's estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion for the surviving spouse. The surviving spouse…
Estate received 120 days to elect portability
A decedent's estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion for the surviving spouse. The estate represented that the…
Late portability election was permitted
A decedent's estate did not timely file Form 706 to elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion for the surviving spouse. The estate represented that the…
Tax-exempt controlled corporation received late-election relief
A taxable corporation wholly owned by a section 501(c)(3) organization was a tax-exempt controlled entity for depreciation purposes. It intended to elect under section 168(h)(6)(F)(ii) not to be…
Estate obtained late portability relief
A decedent's estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion for the surviving spouse. The estate represented that the…
Missed portability election received relief
A decedent's estate failed to file Form 706 by the deadline for electing portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion. The estate represented that the gross estate,…
Late section 336(e) asset-sale election was allowed
A purchaser acquired all the stock of an S corporation, and the parties intended to elect under section 336(e) to treat the stock sale as a deemed asset sale. They did not timely execute the…
Late success-fee safe-harbor election was allowed
A corporation incurred success-based advisory fees in a stock-sale transaction. Its return preparer incorrectly advised that all the fees were nondeductible facilitative costs, so the corporation…
Estate received 120 days to elect portability
A decedent's estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion. The executor represented that the gross estate,…
Omitted success-fee election statement received relief
A corporation paid success-based fees in an acquisition and reported them using the Revenue Procedure 2011-29 safe harbor, deducting 70 percent and capitalizing 30 percent. Its return preparer…
Corporate group received more time for consolidated return election
A merger ended one consolidated group and placed the surviving corporation under a new parent. The new parent group intended to elect to file a consolidated federal income tax return, but no valid…
Acquisition-fee safe-harbor statement could be filed late
A corporate group paid success-based advisory fees in a business combination that ended the group's consolidated-return existence. Its tax adviser applied the Revenue Procedure 2011-29 safe harbor…
Estate obtained late portability relief
A decedent's estate did not file Form 706 by the deadline for electing portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion. The executor represented that the estate was below…
Surviving spouse received late portability relief
A decedent's estate missed the Form 706 deadline for electing portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion. The surviving spouse, acting as executor, represented that…
Estate could make late portability election
A decedent's estate missed the deadline to elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion. The surviving spouse represented that the estate was below the filing…
Missed portability election received relief
A decedent's estate failed to file Form 706 by the deadline for electing portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion. The estate represented that the gross estate,…
Estate received more time to elect portability
A decedent's estate missed the Form 706 deadline for electing portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion. The estate represented that the gross estate, including…
Estate received late portability relief
A decedent's estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion. The estate represented that the gross estate, including…
LLC received late corporate and S elections
A single-member limited liability company intended to be classified as a corporation and taxed as an S corporation from the same effective date. It inadvertently failed to file both Form 8832 and…
Late portability election was permitted
A decedent's estate did not timely file Form 706 to elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion. The surviving spouse represented that the estate was below the…
Adviser error justified a late success-fee election
A corporation paid a success-based fee to a financial adviser in connection with a merger. Its outside CPA concluded that the safe harbor in Revenue Procedure 2011-29 did not apply because the fee…
Omitted Form 3115 received a filing extension
A corporation engaged a tax firm to prepare automatic accounting method changes and the related Form 3115. The firm timely sent a copy of the form to the IRS service center, but inadvertently failed…
Estate received more time to elect portability
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion. The estate represented that the decedent's gross estate plus…
Reliance on a tax professional supported late portability relief
An estate did not timely file Form 706 to elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion. The estate represented that the decedent's gross estate, including taxable…
Estate obtained 120 days to elect portability
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion. It represented that the decedent's gross estate, including taxable…
Estate's unawareness supported late portability relief
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion. It represented that the decedent's gross estate, including taxable…
Tax-professional reliance supported a late portability election
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion. It represented that the decedent's gross estate plus adjusted…
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.