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 200628038: Estate sale to foundation insider avoids self-dealing tax
An estate planned to sell real property intended for a private foundation to the founder's son, a disqualified person, for cash equal to the property's fair market value. The IRS ruled that the sale…
PLR 200628037: Foundation's online course project qualifies for set-aside treatment
A private foundation planned a free online library of courses spanning school and college subjects. It proposed setting aside funds for a multiyear startup phase covering staff, technology,…
PLR 200628036: Confusing online transfer earns IRA rollover deadline waiver
A taxpayer meant to change investments within his IRA but used confusing online transfer screens to move the money into non-IRA accounts. He discovered the mistake after the 60 day rollover period…
PLR 200628035: Hospital pension funding waiver security deadline extended
A hospital had a conditional waiver of its pension plan's minimum funding standard for the plan year ending June 30, 2004. The IRS modified the deadline for an agreement with the Pension Benefit…
PLR 200628034: IRA rollover deadline waived after fund custodian error
A taxpayer moved IRA money into an investment fund within 60 days, believing it was held in an IRA. A fund representative had advised the investment but failed to arrange for an eligible trustee or…
PLR 200628033: Qualified plan rollover deadline waived after fund account error
A taxpayer took a distribution from a qualified retirement plan and deposited it with an investment fund within 60 days, believing the account was an IRA. The fund's representative did not arrange…
PLR 200628032: Late Roth IRA recharacterizations allowed, with a wait before reconversion
A taxpayer converted three traditional IRAs to Roth IRAs in 2004, then sought to reverse the conversions. She contacted IRS employees for instructions in 2005 and submitted a ruling request before…
PLR 200628031: IRA rollover deadline waived after fund account mistake
A taxpayer withdrew money from an IRA and deposited it with an investment fund within 60 days, believing the new account was also an IRA. The fund's representative accepted the investment without…
PLR 200628030: IRA rollover deadline waived after deposits went to ordinary CDs
A taxpayer withdrew money from an IRA intending to roll part of it into a higher yielding IRA investment. A misunderstanding with a bank put that part into ordinary certificates of deposit instead.…
PLR 200628029: IRA payment errors and offsetting transfer do not trigger early distribution tax
A taxpayer was taking scheduled, substantially equal payments from two IRAs under an exception to the early distribution tax. In two months, the custodian paid the amount intended for one IRA from…
PLR 200628028: IRA rollover deadline waiver denied for funds used as a short term loan
A taxpayer withdrew funds from an IRA to pay off a loan secured by property she wanted to sell, expecting to put the money back after the sale. Delays carried the withdrawal beyond the 60 day…
PLR 200628027: Rollover deadline waived after online account setup error
A retiree directed a distribution from his employer's plan to an account he believed he had opened as an IRA. The custodian's online application had instead created an ordinary individual account,…
CCA 200628026: Trust failed to qualify as a charitable remainder unitrust
Chief Counsel reviewed a trust whose written terms appeared consistent with a charitable remainder unitrust. The trust used its funds to pay the grantor's personal truck expenses, let him use trust…
PLR 200628025: Project designated for qualified green building bond authority
After reviewing an application and consulting the Environmental Protection Agency, the IRS designated a project as a qualified green building and sustainable design project. It also allocated a…
PLR 200628024: Project designated for qualified green building bond authority
After reviewing an application and consulting the Environmental Protection Agency, the IRS designated a project as a qualified green building and sustainable design project. It also allocated a…
PLR 200628023: Project designated for qualified green building bond authority
After reviewing an application and consulting the Environmental Protection Agency, the IRS designated a project as a qualified green building and sustainable design project. It also allocated a…
PLR 200628022: Project designated for qualified green building bond authority
After reviewing an application and consulting the Environmental Protection Agency, the IRS designated a project as a qualified green building and sustainable design project. It also allocated a…
CCA 200628021: Inflated basis in a business asset may extend the assessment period
A partnership reported gain from selling business assets using a basis increased through a series of related partnership transactions. Chief Counsel advised that overstating the basis of an asset…
CCA 200628020: Business became an employer for railroad retirement tax
The Railroad Retirement Board told the IRS that a business had become an employer under the railroad retirement and unemployment insurance laws. Chief Counsel reviewed the Board's opinion and the…
CCA 200628019: Business became an employer for railroad retirement tax
The Railroad Retirement Board told the IRS that a business had become an employer under the railroad retirement and unemployment insurance laws. Chief Counsel reviewed the Board's opinion and the…
CCA 200628018: Manufacturer's included product warranty is not an insurable risk
A manufacturer withdrew a ruling request after Chief Counsel reached an adverse view of its plan to have an insurance subsidiary cover its standard product warranties. The warranties came with the…
PLR 200628017: Foreign entity gets more time to elect partnership status
A foreign entity eligible to choose its federal tax classification missed the deadline to file Form 8832. It wanted to be treated as a partnership from its formation date. The IRS found that the…
PLR 200628016: Late S corporation election accepted for incorporation date
A corporation's shareholders intended S corporation status from the date of incorporation but did not file the election on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late filing and ruled that the…
PLR 200628015: Late S corporation election accepted for incorporation date
A corporation's shareholders intended S corporation status from the date of incorporation but did not file the election on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late filing and ruled that the…
PLR 200628014: S corporation status preserved after trust shareholder errors
Shareholders transferred S corporation stock to eight trusts, but the trustee did not create the intended successor trusts and beneficiaries did not make qualified subchapter S trust elections. The…
PLR 200628013: Corporate group gets more time to elect consolidated filing
A corporate group had filed returns as though it had elected consolidated filing, but had not made a valid election on time. The IRS found that the common parent reasonably relied on a qualified tax…
PLR 200628012: Foreign entity gets more time to elect partnership status
A foreign entity eligible to choose its federal tax classification missed the deadline to file Form 8832. It wanted to be treated as a partnership from its formation date. The IRS found that the…
PLR 200628011: Foreign entity gets more time to elect partnership status
A foreign entity eligible to choose its federal tax classification missed the deadline to file Form 8832. It wanted to be treated as a partnership from its formation date. The IRS found that the…
PLR 200628010: Foreign entity gets more time to elect partnership status
A foreign entity eligible to choose its federal tax classification missed the deadline to file Form 8832. It wanted to be treated as a partnership from the date it began operations. The IRS found…
PLR 200628009: More time granted for subsidiary S corporation election
An S corporation intended to elect qualified subchapter S subsidiary status for its wholly owned subsidiary but missed the filing deadline. The IRS found that the requirements for discretionary…
PLR 200628008: Cash mergers into disregarded subsidiary treated as asset sales and liquidations
Two companies described as S corporations merged for cash into a company owned by a partnership and disregarded for federal tax purposes. The IRS ruled that each merger would be treated as an asset…
PLR 200628007: Spouse's renunciation of part of marital trust produces net gifts
A surviving spouse proposed to divide a marital trust in two and renounce all her rights in one part, allowing the remainder to pass to the decedent's sons. The sons agreed to pay the resulting gift…
PLR 200628006: Late S election accepted after subsidiary stock distribution
A company had been treated as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary before its stock was distributed to individual shareholders. No S corporation election was filed to take effect when that status…
PLR 200628005: Active rental operations keep receipts outside S corporation passive income rule
An S corporation with accumulated earnings and profits owned and operated rental properties. It reported providing tenant, maintenance, security, and other property services, with employees and…
PLR 200628004: Vehicle loss and theft plans qualify as insurance contracts
A company sold vehicle service plans covering a financing shortfall after a total loss and benefits after theft. Its three main plans accounted for more than half its gross income, and it handled…
PLR 200628003: Holding period waived for federally assisted housing acquisition
A partnership planned to acquire and rehabilitate a federally assisted housing project, but the buildings had last been placed in service less than 10 years earlier. That timing would normally…
PLR 200628002: Transfer and distribution of a business approved as a Type D reorganization
A corporation planned to transfer the assets of one of its two businesses to a newly formed subsidiary, then distribute all of that subsidiary's stock to its parent. The IRS ruled that the transfer…
PLR 200628001: Commodity linked note income qualifies for regulated investment company income test
Several investment funds intending to qualify as regulated investment companies planned to buy notes whose returns were linked to a commodity index. A note would be paid for in full when issued, and…
TAM 200627026: Employee shuttle fuel generally ineligible for bus fuel tax relief
A private bus company sought fuel tax relief for buses it operated under contracts to shuttle state employees between agency parking lots and offices. The IRS concluded that buses dedicated to those…
TAM 200627025: Reasonable estimates may support accounting method adjustment for constructed assets
A company changed how it capitalized costs of self constructed, noninventory assets under § 263A. It used recent years' data to estimate part of the § 481(a) adjustment for earlier years, and the…
TAM 200627024: Utility deregulation did not support involuntary conversion deferral
An electric utility sought to defer gain under § 1033 after state deregulation and the sale of a power plant. It treated its former franchise rights, access easements, and plant as involuntarily…
CCA 200627023: IRS may seek security for deferred estate tax after assessment period expires
An estate elected to pay estate tax in installments under § 6166 but had not provided a bond or special lien. The assessment period had expired, and the IRS had sent the executor an estate tax…
PLR 200627022: Foreign subsidiary transfers qualify for nonrecognition treatment
A corporate group planned to move a foreign branch business into one controlled foreign corporation and then transfer stock of that corporation to another. The first step involved a circular flow of…
PLR 200627021: Replacement life insurance policy triggers interest deduction limit
A company owned a life insurance policy on a person who was its employee when first insured. The company planned to exchange it for a policy from a different insurer after the person's employment…
PLR 200627020: Late partnership classification election receives 60 day extension
A foreign entity eligible to elect partnership tax treatment inadvertently missed the deadline to file Form 8832. It asked the IRS for more time to make the classification effective on its intended…
PLR 200627019: S corporation receives more time to elect subsidiary treatment
A corporation that had elected S corporation status intended to elect qualified subchapter S subsidiary treatment for its wholly owned subsidiary, but missed the Form 8869 filing deadline. The IRS…
PLR 200627018: Extension granted to opt out of automatic GST exemption allocation
Two spouses made gifts to a trust for their children and descendants and elected to split the gifts. Their gift tax returns did not elect out of the automatic allocation of generation skipping…
PLR 200627017: Extension granted to opt out of automatic GST exemption allocation
Two spouses made gifts to a trust for their children and descendants and elected to split the gifts. Their gift tax returns did not elect out of the automatic allocation of generation skipping…
PLR 200627016: Marital bequests affect estate tax credit for taxes paid to a U.S. possession
The executors of a U.S. citizen's estate asked how to calculate the § 2014 credit for death taxes paid to a U.S. possession where the decedent owned assets. The IRS explained that a possession is…
PLR 200627015: Converted LLC receives extension for corporate classification election
A corporation converted to a limited liability company under state law. Its default federal tax classification after conversion was as a disregarded entity, but its operating agreement showed an…
PLR 200627014: Critical illness rider benefits depend on who paid the premiums
A life insurer asked how recipients would be taxed on lump sum benefits from a critical illness rider attached to a term life policy. The IRS treated the rider as accident or health insurance.…
PLR 200627013: Partnership distribution gets only partial marketable securities exception
A limited partnership planned a liquidating distribution of assets, including marketable securities, to one of its trust partners. Ordinarily § 731(c) treats distributed marketable securities as…
PLR 200627012: Company may undo election out of installment sale reporting
A company's shareholders sold their stock for cash and promissory notes, and the parties elected to treat the sale as a deemed sale of the company's assets. The company's original tax return…
PLR 200627011: Taxpayer gets 60 days to file dual consolidated loss elections
A U.S. consolidated group claimed losses from a domestic LLC that was taxed as a separate entity abroad. The group did not file the elections and annual certifications needed under the dual…
PLR 200627010: Brief ownership by an ineligible shareholder does not end S status
An S corporation transferred shares to an ineligible shareholder, who immediately transferred them to eligible shareholders. The transfer terminated the company's S election under the ordinary…
PLR 200627009: Oil recovery method qualifies for tertiary recovery treatment
An oil producer proposed withdrawing water from part of a reservoir while injecting outside natural gas into another part to increase oil recovery. It asked whether this combined method counted as a…
PLR 200627008: Dividing a family trust does not trigger three federal taxes
Trustees proposed dividing a deceased son's trust into five equal trusts for his children, following a court approved reformation. The original trust became irrevocable before September 25, 1985,…
PLR 200627007: Telephone cooperative's stock sale proceeds are patronage income
A rural telephone cooperative helped form a cellular company to bring mobile service to its members, then sold its ownership stake. The sale proceeds caused the cooperative to fail the income test…
PLR 200627006: Premium on tax exempt bonds must be amortized
An investor bought four tax exempt municipal bonds for more than the remaining payments other than stated interest. The IRS ruled that each bond was acquired at a premium and that the investor must…
PLR 200627005: Converting trust income to a unitrust payment preserves tax treatment
The trustee and beneficiaries proposed asking a court to replace a trust's income payments with payments based on five percent of the trust's value. The trust became irrevocable before September 25,…
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.