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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Estate received an extension for a 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…
Professional reliance justified a late portability election
An estate did not timely file Form 706 to elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion. It represented that the decedent's gross estate, including taxable gifts,…
Unawareness of the requirement supported 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…
Estate obtained relief for a missed 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, including taxable…
LLC receives 180 days to file a late partnership classification election
A limited liability company intended to be taxed as a partnership from a redacted effective date, but it did not timely file the required entity classification election. It later elected corporate…
Estate receives time to sever a marital trust and make a reverse QTIP election
A decedent's estate made a QTIP election for a marital trust but did not sever the trust, make a reverse QTIP election, or allocate the decedent's unused GST exemption. The executor had relied on a…
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 gross estate 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 gross estate 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 gross estate 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 gross estate and…
Corporate group receives 60 days to make a late consolidated return election
A parent corporation acquired a former consolidated group and intended to file a new consolidated federal income tax return with itself as common parent. A valid election was not filed by the…
Parties receive time to file a late section 336(e) election statement
A partnership purchased a controlling percentage of an S corporation's stock from its shareholders. Before the filing deadline, the parties signed binding agreements to make a section 336(e)…
Parties receive time to file a late section 336(e) election statement
A partnership purchased a controlling percentage of an S corporation's stock from its shareholder. The parties timely signed binding agreements to make a section 336(e) election and filed the…
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 gross estate and…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate below the estate-tax filing threshold missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount. Because the estate was not otherwise…
Corporation receives 60 days to perfect success-fee safe-harbor election
A corporation paid success-based investment-banking fees in an acquisition. Its return deducted 70 percent of those fees and capitalized 30 percent, consistent with the safe harbor in Revenue…
Estate receives 120 days to elect out of automatic GST allocation
A decedent transferred limited-partnership interests to three irrevocable trusts primarily benefiting the decedent's children. The law firm that prepared the trusts and gift-tax return failed to…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate below the estate-tax filing threshold missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount. Because the estate was not otherwise…
Partnership receives 120 days to make a late section 754 election
A partnership underwent a technical termination under then-applicable IRC § 708(b)(1)(B) when an owner's interest changed hands. The partnership intended to make an IRC § 754 election but did not…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate below the estate-tax filing threshold missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount. Because the estate was not otherwise…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate below the estate-tax filing threshold missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount. Because the estate was not otherwise…
Taxpayer may elect out of automatic GST allocation for three trusts
A taxpayer made transfers to a grantor retained annuity trust and two descendant trusts with generation-skipping transfer potential. The taxpayer intended not to allocate GST exemption, but the…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate below the estate-tax filing threshold missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount. Because the estate was not otherwise…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate below the estate-tax filing threshold missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount. Because the estate was not otherwise…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate below the estate-tax filing threshold missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount. Because the estate was not otherwise…
Partnership receives 45 days to perfect accounting-method changes
A partnership decided to make automatic accounting-method changes for IRC § 263A capitalization and accrued bonuses. Its CPA timely filed the duplicate Form 3115 with the IRS, but a staff error…
Captive insurer receives 90 days to make a late section 831(b) election
A newly formed captive insurance company intended to elect taxation under IRC § 831(b) for its first tax year. Its officer directed the CPA to make the election, but the CPA omitted the required…
Captive insurer receives 90 days to make a late section 831(b) election
A newly formed captive insurance company intended to elect taxation under IRC § 831(b) for its first tax year. Its president directed the CPA to make the election, but the CPA omitted the required…
Corporation receives late S election and three late QSub elections
A corporation intended to elect S status and to treat three wholly owned subsidiaries as qualified subchapter S subsidiaries from their respective formation dates. None of the required elections was…
Partnership receives 120 days to make a late section 754 election
A partner in a limited partnership died, but the partnership filed its return for that year without an IRC § 754 election. Such an election allows basis adjustments under §§ 734(b) and 743(b)…
Surviving spouse receives 120 days to make estate's portability election
An estate below the estate-tax filing threshold missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount. No executor or administrator had been…
Foreign entity receives 120 days to elect partnership status
A foreign eligible entity had a default classification as an association taxable as a corporation, but its owners intended partnership treatment from formation. A qualified tax professional failed…
Foreign entity receives 120 days to elect partnership status
A foreign eligible entity had a default classification as an association taxable as a corporation, but its owners intended partnership treatment from formation. A qualified tax professional failed…
Foreign entity receives 120 days to elect partnership status
A foreign eligible entity had a default classification as an association taxable as a corporation, but its owners intended partnership treatment from formation. A qualified tax professional failed…
Foreign entity receives 120 days to elect partnership status
A foreign eligible entity had a default classification as an association taxable as a corporation, but its owners intended partnership treatment from formation. A qualified tax professional failed…
Foreign entity receives 120 days to elect partnership status
A foreign eligible entity had a default classification as an association taxable as a corporation, but its owners intended partnership treatment from formation. A qualified tax professional failed…
Foreign entity receives 120 days to elect disregarded status
A single-owner foreign eligible entity was classified by default as an association taxable as a corporation, but it intended disregarded-entity treatment from formation. A qualified tax professional…
Foreign entity receives 120 days to elect partnership status
A foreign eligible entity had a default classification as an association taxable as a corporation, but its owners intended partnership treatment from formation. A qualified tax professional failed…
Foreign entity receives 120 days to elect partnership status
A foreign eligible entity had a default classification as an association taxable as a corporation, but its owners intended partnership treatment from formation. A qualified tax professional failed…
Foreign entity receives 120 days to elect partnership status
A foreign eligible entity had a default classification as an association taxable as a corporation, but its owners intended partnership treatment from formation. A qualified tax professional failed…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate below the estate-tax filing threshold missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount. Because the estate was not otherwise…
Corporate group receives 60 days to make late consolidated-return election
A corporation became the parent of a new affiliated group and intended to file a consolidated return. Its adviser prepared the return as consolidated, but a valid Form 7004 extension was not filed,…
Parent receives 60 days for late success-fee safe-harbor election
A financial-services parent paid success-based investment-banking and legal fees in a tax-free acquisition. Its preparer deducted 70 percent of the bank fee and capitalized 30 percent, but omitted…
REIT and subsidiary receive relief for a late TRS election
A real estate investment trust and a corporation it partly owned intended to elect taxable REIT subsidiary (TRS) status effective from the corporation's formation. A staff administrative oversight…
Partnership receives 120 days to make a late section 754 election
A limited liability company taxed as a partnership timely filed its federal return but inadvertently omitted its section 754 election. That election allows basis adjustments under sections 734(b)…
Corporation receives 60 days to correct its IC-DISC election
A domestic corporation intended to elect interest charge domestic international sales corporation (IC-DISC) status from its formation. Its accounting and law firms miscommunicated about ownership,…
Group receives 60 days to attach its omitted Form 3115
A consolidated group decided to change its accounting method for computer-software development costs under the automatic-change procedures. Its tax adviser timely filed the required copy of Form…
Taxpayer receives 45 days to submit a late accounting-method request
A taxpayer intended to request an accounting-method change on Form 3115 but missed the applicable filing deadline. The proposed change required a section 481(a) adjustment, which ordinarily causes…
Homeowners association's late tax-year change form is treated as timely
A homeowners association wanted to change from a calendar tax year to a March 31 year-end so its accounting period would align with its revenue cycle. It assigned Form 1128 to outside tax…
Partnership receives 120 days to make a late section 754 election
A limited liability company taxed as a partnership timely filed its federal return but inadvertently omitted its section 754 election. That election allows basis adjustments under sections 734(b)…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount for the surviving spouse. The estate represented that the decedent's gross…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount for the surviving spouse. The estate represented that the decedent's gross…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount for the surviving spouse. It represented that the decedent's gross estate plus…
Estate receives 120 days to make the 2010 carryover-basis election
A nonresident alien died in 2010, and U.S.-situs property passed to the surviving spouse outside probate. The estate's representatives missed the January 2012 deadline to file Form 8939 and elect…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount for the surviving spouse. It represented that the decedent's gross estate,…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount for the surviving spouse. It represented that the decedent's gross estate plus…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount for the surviving spouse. It represented that the decedent's gross estate,…
Taxpayer may make late elections to capitalize property-loan interest
A dual U.S. and foreign citizen living abroad had not filed U.S. returns because he did not realize that he remained subject to U.S. filing obligations. He had acquired foreign real estate with a…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount for the surviving spouse. It represented that the decedent's gross estate,…
REIT receives 60 days to make a late consent dividend election
A real estate investment trust relied on an accounting firm to prepare and provide its federal returns for filing. The firm omitted one year's Form 1120-REIT from the package, so the trust neither…
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.