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 200642008: IRS denies waiver of pension plan funding standard
A company asked the IRS to waive the minimum funding standard for its pension plan during a period of financial hardship. The company described falling demand, industry competition, a strike, and…
PLR 200642007: IRS grants conditional pension funding waiver
A family-owned company asked for a waiver of the minimum funding standard for its pension plan. The IRS found that the company had suffered substantial business hardship, but that the hardship…
PLR 200642006: IRS waives missed 60-day IRA rollover deadline
A taxpayer withdrew money from an IRA to seek a better investment return. She consulted representatives of two financial institutions about opening a rollover IRA, but they did not tell her about…
PLR 200642005: IRS waives IRA rollover deadline after account setup error
A taxpayer sent an IRA distribution to a financial institution intending to open a rollover IRA. She also asked to use her maiden name after a divorce. Despite her instructions, the institution…
PLR 200642004: IRS grants conditional pension funding waiver
A company requested a waiver of the minimum funding standard for its pension plan after foreign competition forced it to close a facility. It said that the unsold facility strained cash flow, then…
PLR 200642003: IRS waives rollover deadline after advisor's clerical error
A taxpayer tried to roll a distribution from a retirement plan into an IRA. His financial advisor deposited the check into a non-IRA savings account with a similar account number, and the taxpayer…
CCA 200642002: Chief Counsel confirms railroad employer status
The Railroad Retirement Board told the IRS that a business had become an employer under the Railroad Retirement Act and the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act. Chief Counsel reviewed the Board's…
CCA 200642001: Chief Counsel explains hurricane loss carryback elections
Chief Counsel answered IRS staff questions about net operating losses tied to Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma. It explained that only qualifying Katrina business or investment property losses in…
PLR 200641012: IRS waives late IRA rollover for amount reinvested
A taxpayer moved money out of an IRA and believed the 60-day rollover period began when he picked up the distribution checks. The IRS treated an earlier check issue date as the distribution date,…
PLR 200641011: IRS approves foundation scholarship procedures
A private foundation sought advance approval for a grant program intended to help students pursue education after high school. The IRS determined that the proposed award procedures met section…
PLR 200641010: IRS approves set-asides to acquire rainforest land
A private foundation planned to buy rainforest land for conservation, research, and education. It asked to set aside funds over four tax years rather than spend each year's amount immediately, so it…
PLR 200641009: IRS approves set-aside for historic site visitor center
A private foundation pledged support for a public charity's renovation of a historic site and construction of a visitor center. It placed part of that pledge in a separate investment account and…
PLR 200641008: IRS rules on public safety retiree welfare plan
A retirement system for police officers and firefighters established a voluntary plan funded by members' payroll deductions to provide post-retirement welfare benefits. The IRS ruled that the plan…
PLR 200641007: IRS conditionally extends pension liability amortization
A multiemployer pension plan sought a 10-year extension to amortize unfunded liabilities after investment losses and declining membership strained its funding. The IRS found that refusing the…
Other 200641006: IRS closes withdrawn pension funding extension request
A pension plan had asked for more time to amortize its unfunded liabilities under section 412(b)(2)(B). Its authorized representative later asked the IRS to withdraw that request. The IRS confirmed…
CCA 200641005: Chief Counsel finds utility reserve flow-through would violate normalization rules
An electric utility asked whether it could pass tax credit and deferred tax reserve balances from sold generating facilities to customers through rates or stranded cost reductions. After the IRS…
CCA 200641004: Chief Counsel rejects railroad employer classification
The Railroad Retirement Board advised the IRS that a business was not an employer under the Railroad Retirement Act or the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act. Chief Counsel reviewed the Board's…
CCA 200641003: Chief Counsel confirms railroad employer classification
The Railroad Retirement Board concluded that a business became an employer under the Railroad Retirement Act and the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act. Chief Counsel reviewed the Board's opinion…
PLR 200641002: Stadium bonds do not meet the private activity bond tests
A government agency planned to issue tax-exempt bonds to help build a stadium used by a private company and its affiliated team. The agency acknowledged that the stadium would meet the private…
CCA 200641001: Limited disclosures during qualified intermediary audits
Chief Counsel considered what the IRS may tell a withholding agent or an external auditor while investigating a qualified intermediary. Counsel argued that the bare fact that an intermediary lost…
PLR 200640003: Retirement plan restoration is deductible but the officer's withdrawal is taxable
A former trustee diverted assets from a company's retirement plan. The company's president, who faced a potential fiduciary liability claim, moved money from his own retirement account to restore…
PLR 200640002: Pension funding waiver granted with contribution conditions
A manufacturer lost revenue after its largest customer moved gear sourcing elsewhere. The company took steps to cut costs and rebuild sales, but its pension plan remained poorly funded. The IRS…
PLR 200640001: Stadium bonds avoid private activity bond classification
A government agency planned to issue tax-exempt bonds to finance a stadium and related facilities used by a private company and its affiliated team. The agency acknowledged that the stadium would…
PLR 200639003: Employer may recover plan contributions caused by accounting mistakes
An employer overstated income during a change in accounting systems and made excess profit-sharing plan contributions based on that figure. Following a merger, an audit exposed the errors. The IRS…
PLR 200639002: Surviving spouse receives extra time to roll over inherited IRA funds
A deceased IRA owner's trust directed that the IRA proceeds pass outright to his surviving spouse. Acting as trustees, the spouse and her son withdrew the money after the credit union said it could…
PLR 200639001: Confusing website instructions justify an IRA rollover waiver
A taxpayer intended to transfer money from one IRA to another using the financial company's website. Confusing instructions led the taxpayer to place the money in an account that was not an IRA, and…
Determination 200638027: Retiree medical trust denied VEBA exemption
An organization sought exemption as a voluntary employees' beneficiary association for a plan that reimbursed retirees' medical expenses. Its plan also allowed leftover account balances to pass to a…
PLR 200638026: Club land sales preserve exemption and qualify for gain deferral
A tax-exempt social club planned to sell two parcels formerly or currently used for recreation and club operations. It intended to spend the proceeds on improvements to its golf course and clubhouse…
PLR 200638025: Misrouted IRA transfer receives rollover deadline waiver
A taxpayer instructed a financial company by phone to transfer money from one IRA to another. A representative instead moved it to a non-IRA account with an almost identical account number. The…
TAM 200638024: Power plant belongs in the electric utility depreciation class
An energy company owned and operated a natural gas fired power plant under an agreement giving a separate marketer ownership of the fuel and the electricity produced. The company argued for a…
PLR 200638023: Late S corporation election treated as timely
A company intended to be an S corporation from its formation but missed the deadline to file Form 2553. It and its shareholder had filed tax returns consistently with S corporation treatment. The…
PLR 200638022: LLC gets time to elect corporate tax classification
An LLC intended to elect treatment as a corporation from its formation date but failed to file Form 8832 on time. It sought an extension under the rules for late regulatory elections. The IRS found…
PLR 200638021: LLC gets time to elect corporate tax classification
An LLC intended to elect treatment as a corporation from its formation date but failed to file Form 8832 on time. It sought an extension under the rules for late regulatory elections. The IRS found…
PLR 200638020: Trust settlement avoids gift tax and preserves GST exemption
Two sisters disputed how a family trust should bear costs arising from one sister's bankruptcy. A court approved their settlement, which would divide the older trust into separate trusts for each…
PLR 200638019: S corporation status restored after trust income errors
Two trusts holding S corporation shares failed to distribute income annually as required for qualified Subchapter S trusts. That failure ended the company's S election. The IRS found the termination…
PLR 200638018: Pipeline and fuel terminal fees count as qualifying income
A publicly traded partnership operated petroleum pipelines and fuel terminals. It earned fees for operating pipelines and for injecting additives and blending ethanol into fuel at the terminals. The…
PLR 200638017: Late S corporation election receives filing relief
A corporation's two shareholders intended it to be an S corporation from its formation date, but Form 2553 was not filed on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the delay and granted relief…
PLR 200638016: Tribal town qualifies as a political subdivision
An Indian tribal government established a town as a home-rule municipality and delegated local governing powers, including a sales tax. The town sought treatment as a political subdivision of the…
PLR 200638015: Seller may recognize prepaid goods when paid and costs when delivered
A foreign seller planned to receive a large prepayment from an affiliated distributor for manufactured goods to be delivered over future calendar quarters. The seller could use the payment without…
PLR 200638014: Late S corporation election treated as timely if filed within 60 days
A corporation's sole shareholder intended it to be an S corporation from formation, but the IRS service center had no record of a timely Form 2553 election. The IRS found reasonable cause for the…
PLR 200638013: Late S corporation election treated as timely if filed within 60 days
A corporation intended to elect S corporation treatment from its formation, but did not file Form 2553 on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missing election under section 1362(b)(5). It…
PLR 200638012: Late S corporation election treated as timely if filed within 60 days
A corporation intended to elect S corporation treatment from its formation, but did not file Form 2553 on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missing election under section 1362(b)(5). It…
PLR 200638011: Late S corporation election treated as timely if filed within 60 days
A corporation’s shareholders wanted S corporation treatment from formation, but the corporation did not file its election on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missing election under…
PLR 200638010: Consolidated group gets more time to waive loss carryback
A consolidated tax group missed the deadline to elect out of carrying back its consolidated net operating loss. Its parent said it had relied on a qualified tax professional, and represented that no…
PLR 200638009: Foreign entity gets more time to elect corporate tax status
A foreign entity said it qualified to choose its federal tax classification but inadvertently missed the deadline to file Form 8832. It wanted to be treated as an association taxable as a…
PLR 200638008: Divorce settlement payment is not deductible alimony
A divorced taxpayer and former spouse agreed to a settlement payment to resolve past and future alimony claims. Their court-approved agreement expressly designated the payment as excluded from the…
PLR 200638007: Serviced property rents are not passive investment income for S corporation test
An S corporation with accumulated earnings and profits received rent from three properties held through a qualified S subsidiary and disregarded companies. It represented that it provided tenant…
PLR 200638006: Late S corporation election treated as timely if filed within 60 days
A corporation's four shareholders intended it to have S corporation status from a specified effective date, but it did not timely file Form 2553. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late election…
PLR 200638005: LLC gets relief for late corporate classification and S elections
A limited liability company intended to be taxed as an S corporation from its formation date, but filed neither the corporate classification election nor the S election on time. The IRS concluded…
PLR 200638004: Inadvertent trust errors do not end S treatment during specified period
An S corporation's shares passed to several trusts. One trust's terms failed the qualified subchapter S trust requirements, and the trust beneficiaries did not file the required elections. The IRS…
PLR 200638003: More time granted for dual consolidated loss election agreement
A parent company's subsidiary had three foreign branches that incurred dual consolidated losses. The parent relied on a CPA firm for its consolidated return and required elections, but an overlooked…
PLR 200638002: Utility interconnection facilities qualify as capital contribution
A contributor agreed to fund facilities connecting its power operation to a utility's transmission system, while the utility would construct and own the facilities. The parties represented that the…
PLR 200638001: IRS rules on acquisition and internal corporate restructuring
A publicly traded parent acquired another corporate group and planned to reorganize subsidiaries to integrate their businesses. The plan moved subsidiary stock through the group, merged three…
PLR 200637042: Trust division preserves GST exemption and avoids gain or gifts
A trustee proposed dividing an irrevocable trust into four equal trusts, each benefiting one of the original beneficiary's children and that child's family line. The trustee planned to allocate…
PLR 200637041: Foundation may hold rental properties through disregarded LLCs
A private foundation planned to receive largely unencumbered rental properties and hold them through wholly owned, disregarded limited liability companies. It also planned to pay one or more…
PLR 200637040: IRA rollover deadline waived after incorrect bank advice
An 80-year-old IRA owner, acting through her daughter under a power of attorney, received a distribution by cashier's check to move her account to another institution. The daughter said the…
Determination 200637039: Exemption denied to financial services applicant tied to for-profit firm
An applicant sought section 501(c)(3) status while planning to sell debt management, credit repair, and mortgage related services. The IRS found that its proposed trust and corporate organizing…
PLR 200637038: IRA rollover deadline waived during spouse's medical crisis
An IRA owner missed the 60-day rollover deadline after his wife suffered two heart attacks and required his nursing care and transportation for treatment. He submitted medical records and evidence…
PLR 200637037: Pension funding surplus may return to employer without reversion tax
A company in bankruptcy was terminating its defined benefit pension plan and contributed enough to buy annuities covering remaining benefits. Its actuaries used conservative assumptions, so a…
PLR 200637036: Pension funding surplus may return to employer without reversion tax
A company in bankruptcy was terminating its defined benefit pension plan and contributed enough to buy two annuity contracts covering remaining benefits. Its actuaries used conservative assumptions,…
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.