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 200631007: Foreign insurer gets time to elect domestic treatment for second year
A foreign insurance company filed a section 953(d) election seeking U.S. domestic corporation treatment for its first tax year after that year's deadline. Its adviser did not tell it to request an…
PLR 200631006: Donor may deduct renounced unitrust interest and designated charitable remainder
A donor had retained lifetime payments from a charitable remainder unitrust and the power to choose its charitable remainder beneficiaries. She proposed to renounce her payment interest and…
PLR 200631005: Worker abroad receives more time to elect foreign earned income exclusion
A U.S. worker abroad believed her employer was handling her U.S. tax obligations and did not file returns or pay tax for two years. After the IRS notified her of a missing return, she sought help…
PLR 200631004: Parent may file late statement for subsidiary stock loss
A member of a consolidated group disposed of stock in another subsidiary and reported a loss. The parent missed the deadline for a statement that could allow recognition of some or all of the loss…
PLR 200631003: New corporate parent gets time to elect consolidated filing
A holding company acquired the parent of an existing consolidated tax group, ending the old group and creating a new one. The new parent and its subsidiaries failed to timely elect to file a…
PLR 200631002: Vehicle repair coverage counts as insurance for federal tax
A company issued extended warranty contracts that reimbursed vehicle owners for covered mechanical breakdown costs beyond the manufacturer's warranty. Although the company was not regulated as an…
CCA 200631001: Summons enforcement against credit rating publishers faces press protections
During a tax audit, two credit rating institutions invoked a journalist's privilege in response to IRS summonses seeking information about a taxpayer's claimed investment. Chief Counsel advised that…
TAM 200630019: Manufacturer must capitalize production license royalties
A U.S. manufacturer paid its foreign parent royalties for rights and technical information used to make products, but allocated none of those costs to ending inventory. The IRS advised that section…
TAM 200630018: Utility must report gain on generation plant sales in sale year
A utility sold power generation plants during electricity market restructuring. The sale proceeds reduced transition costs that the utility could otherwise recover from customer charges. The utility…
CCA 200630017: Tax treatment of California paid family leave contributions and benefits
Chief Counsel analyzed California's employee funded paid family leave program. It treated mandatory payroll contributions as state income taxes deductible under section 164 for employees who itemize…
CCA 200630016: Individual bankruptcy estate may deduct qualifying administration costs in computing adjusted gross income
Chief Counsel considered how an individual debtor's bankruptcy estate should deduct administrative expenses. It agreed with a bankruptcy court that the estate is an estate for section 67(e)…
CCA 200630015: Military family can exclude home sale gain but must recapture accelerated depreciation
A service member and spouse moved from their home under military orders, rented it for more than 12 years, then sold it. Chief Counsel advised that the service member's extended duty let them…
PLR 200630014: Parent gets time to file annual dual consolidated loss certifications
A corporate parent's tax managers concluded that annual certifications were unnecessary for dual consolidated losses tied to interests in 15 hybrid entities. A later review found that the…
PLR 200630013: Related corporations get time to file dual consolidated loss papers
A corporation acquired another company with a hybrid entity interest that generated dual consolidated losses. Elections and annual certifications connected to those losses were missed across several…
PLR 200630012: Seller may undo accidental election out of installment reporting
A seller intended to report gain from three asset sales under the installment method, but its return preparer reported the entire gain in the sale year. That filing counted as an election out of…
PLR 200630011: Corporation receives relief for a late S election
A corporation's shareholder intended S corporation treatment from a specified date, but the corporation did not timely file the election. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed deadline under…
PLR 200630010: Mortgage backed loan to REIT subsidiary excluded from securities limit
A real estate investment trust's partnership planned to secure a loan to its taxable REIT subsidiary with mortgages on the subsidiary's real estate. The REIT asked whether the loan would count as a…
PLR 200630009: Parent gets time to file dual consolidated loss elections and certifications
A corporation's tax department missed required elections and annual certifications for dual consolidated losses from a hybrid entity. An outside accounting firm identified the omission during due…
PLR 200630008: Taxpayer gets 60 days for dual consolidated loss filings across five entities
A taxpayer relied on an accounting firm to prepare its returns and advise on required elections and annual certifications for dual consolidated losses. The firm missed filings connected to two…
PLR 200630007: Utility cannot return remaining tax benefits after selling generating assets
A regulated electric utility sold generating assets during a market restructuring and sought to pass remaining investment tax credit and excess deferred tax balances to its customers through…
PLR 200630006: Spouses may deduct charitable unitrust interests they give up
A husband and wife held successive payment interests in a charitable remainder unitrust, and family members held powers to name the charitable remainder beneficiaries. They proposed to release those…
PLR 200630005: Lender and its intermediary can serve same like kind exchange customer
A specialty finance company planned to lend customers money for replacement property in like kind exchanges while its wholly owned affiliate served as qualified intermediary. It also considered…
PLR 200630004: Violent crime permits reduced home sale gain exclusion
A homeowner moved out after being abducted at gunpoint while leaving the residence, then rented the property and planned to sell it. The homeowner had owned and used it for less than the usual two…
PLR 200630003: Late tax year change application treated as timely filed
A corporation filed Form 1128 after the deadline to request a change from a July 31 tax year to a December 31 tax year. It soon sought late filing relief. The IRS found that the corporation acted…
PLR 200630002: Corporate conversion does not significantly modify outstanding debt
A public company planned to become a single member limited liability company under a new holding company while leaving its publicly traded debt outstanding. State law and the proposed terms would…
PLR 200630001: City's development corporation gets income exclusion but must file returns
A city backed nonprofit corporation planned to develop business parks and sell prepared sites to private companies to promote jobs and economic growth. The IRS found that this activity served an…
TAM 200629031: Integrated refinery units belong in petroleum refining depreciation class
A refinery classified several operating units as chemical manufacturing assets for depreciation, including units that made hydrogen, removed sulfur, and produced a gasoline additive. The IRS advised…
TAM 200629030: Punitive part of environmental project costs cannot enter tax basis
A facility operator agreed to build an emissions reduction project to settle alleged Clean Air Act violations instead of paying a civil penalty. The IRS advised that the portion of project costs…
CCA 200629029: Nuclear plant decommissioning contracts do not transfer insurance risk
Two taxpayers withdrew a ruling request after the IRS reached an adverse conclusion about proposed contracts covering nuclear plant decommissioning costs. Chief Counsel explained that each plant…
CCA 200629028: Proposed nuclear decommissioning coverage is not insurance
The IRS notified a field office that two taxpayers withdrew a request after receiving an adverse view of proposed nuclear plant decommissioning contracts. A proposed subsidiary would reimburse…
CCA 200629027: Contract damage test for historical bonus depreciation applies item by item
A taxpayer bought multiple items under an amended contract and claimed the additional first year depreciation available under historical section 168(k) rules. Chief Counsel advised that liquidated…
CCA 200629026: California franchise tax deductions depend on length of first year
Chief Counsel analyzed when an accrual method corporation beginning business in California can deduct its franchise tax. It advised that the first year's tax is deductible under ordinary accrual…
CCA 200629025: Program analysts need delegated authority before handling certain summonses
The IRS exchange of information office asked whether its program analysts could issue information document requests and take over summons work from revenue agents when responding to tax treaty…
PLR 200629024: Couple may elect to capitalize past property taxes after deadline
A married couple paid property taxes on unimproved investment land but did not elect to add those costs to the land's tax basis. Their adviser later recognized that capitalization could help because…
PLR 200629023: IRA shareholder causes inadvertent S termination
A corporation with a valid S election issued shares to its sole shareholder's individual retirement account. Because an IRA was not an eligible S corporation shareholder, the election terminated on…
PLR 200629022: Late S corporation election granted relief
A corporation intended to elect S corporation status from its incorporation date, but did not file the election on time. It asked the IRS for relief under section 1362(b)(5). The IRS found…
PLR 200629021: Dividing a grandfathered trust into three trusts preserves tax treatment
A trustee proposed dividing a trust into three equal trusts, one for each current beneficiary and that beneficiary's descendants, with each asset divided proportionally. The IRS ruled that, if the…
PLR 200629020: LLC gets more time to elect partnership tax treatment
An LLC initially elected corporate tax treatment, then intended to change its classification to a partnership. It missed the deadline to file Form 8832 for the intended effective date. The IRS found…
PLR 200629019: Estate gets more time to make a reverse QTIP election
An estate made a QTIP election for a trust and allocated the decedent's generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax exemption to it, but the return preparer omitted the reverse QTIP election. Without…
PLR 200629018: Member controlled service company qualifies as a cooperative
A trade association planned to move its group services business, including group purchasing, into a new company. The association would own the company's common stock, but the company's member…
PLR 200629017: Mistaken LLC shareholder does not end S corporation treatment
Purchase documents mistakenly named an LLC as a shareholder of an S corporation, even though the parties intended an individual to own those shares. An LLC was an ineligible shareholder, so the…
PLR 200629016: Donor gets more time to allocate GST exemption to trust gifts
A donor made gifts to a trust for his children and their descendants. His accountant did not file gift tax returns for two years because the accountant mistakenly believed they were unnecessary, so…
PLR 200629015: Foreign entity gets more time to elect disregarded status
A foreign entity missed the deadline to elect treatment as a disregarded entity from its formation date. The IRS explained that a foreign eligible entity with one owner who has limited liability may…
PLR 200629014: S corporation gets more time for subsidiary elections
An S corporation acquired full ownership of several subsidiaries and intended to elect qualified subchapter S subsidiary (QSub) treatment from the acquisition date. It missed the filing deadline for…
PLR 200629013: Parent gets late QSub election after acquiring subsidiary
An S corporation acquired all the stock of another S corporation and relied on its attorney for advice about required elections. It was not told to file a qualified subchapter S subsidiary (QSub)…
PLR 200629012: Utility cooperative retains bond status after membership and project changes
A cooperative serving government utility members had earlier IRS rulings that its bonds were issued on behalf of those members and that it was their wholly owned instrumentality. It planned changes…
PLR 200629011: LLC gets late partnership classification election
An LLC elected corporate tax treatment when it was formed and later intended to elect partnership treatment. It did not file Form 8832 by the deadline for the intended change. The IRS found that the…
PLR 200629010: LLC gets late partnership classification election
An LLC elected corporate tax treatment when it was formed and later intended to elect partnership treatment. It did not file Form 8832 by the deadline for the intended change. The IRS found that the…
PLR 200629009: Passive income termination of S election ruled inadvertent
An S corporation acquired accumulated earnings and profits through a merger but did not know it had them. For three consecutive years, it also had enough passive investment income to terminate its S…
PLR 200629008: Dividing old family trust preserves GST exemption without gain
Trustees proposed dividing a trust created before September 25, 1985 into five trusts, one for each of the settlor's children. The IRS concluded that the division would neither subject the new…
PLR 200629007: Business separation and follow-on merger qualify as reorganizations
A publicly traded company proposed transferring one of its businesses to a controlled company, distributing that company's stock to its shareholders, and then merging the controlled company into a…
PLR 200629006: Late S corporation election accepted from formation date
A newly formed corporation's sole shareholder intended S corporation status from the formation date, but Form 2553 was not filed on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late election under…
PLR 200629005: Actively managed property rents are not passive investment income
An S corporation with accumulated C corporation earnings and profits received rent from a property with retail, entertainment, restaurant, and office tenants. It represented that its employees and…
PLR 200629004: Foreign entity gets late partnership classification election
A foreign entity missed the deadline to elect partnership classification for U.S. federal tax purposes from its formation date. It represented that its filing failure was reasonable, that it acted…
PLR 200629003: Late S corporation election effective from incorporation
A corporation intended to be taxed as an S corporation from its incorporation date but did not file its election on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late filing under section 1362(b)(5).…
PLR 200629002: Taxpayer gets more time for dual consolidated loss filings
A taxpayer deducted dual consolidated losses from a foreign subsidiary treated as a U.S. corporation and four foreign branches. It failed to file the required election agreements for those losses…
PLR 200629001: Business separation and follow-on merger qualify as reorganizations
A publicly traded company proposed transferring one of its businesses to a controlled company, distributing that company's stock to its shareholders, and then merging the controlled company into a…
CCA 200628042: Reasonable cause does not excuse late estate tax installment election
Chief Counsel analyzed an estate that elected installment payment of estate tax on a late Form 706 and later paid an installment late. It advised that reasonable cause for the late return does not…
Determination 200628041: Debt settlement applicant denied charitable exemption
An applicant sought section 501(c)(3) status for a proposed debt negotiation and settlement program. The IRS denied the application because the applicant supplied no organizing document and did not…
PLR 200628039: Charity can run thrift store without losing exemption
An existing charity planned to open a thrift store and use the proceeds to buy food, clothing, and medicine for poor people and charities abroad. Its board and officers would work without pay, and…
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.