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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IRS approves a private foundation's educational-grant procedures under section 4945(g)(3)
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve in advance its procedures for making educational grants to individuals. Private foundations normally owe an excise tax under section 4945 on grants to…
IRS denies 501(c)(3) charity status to a recreational soccer-league organization
An organization that runs youth and adult soccer leagues, already tax-exempt as a 501(c)(7) social club, applied to be recognized as a 501(c)(3) charity, a status that would let donors deduct their…
Late Form 1128 to change a corporation's tax year treated as filed on time
A corporation wanted to change its tax year from a December 31 year-end to a June 30 year-end. To do that automatically, it had to file Form 1128 by the due date (including extensions) of the…
Tax-free split of two insurance businesses through a "D" reorganization and a chain of section 355 spin-offs
A foreign-owned insurance group wanted to separate two insurance businesses, called Business A and Business B, into different branches of its corporate family tree. The plan moved Business B's…
Private foundation gets five more years to shed excess business holdings in a complex family company
A private foundation, funded by a trust that a now-deceased business owner set up, received a large block of stock (about 12 percent) in a closely held family holding company as part of a bequest.…
Extra 60 days granted to elect out of bonus depreciation after a preparer left off the required statement
A partnership decided to opt out of the additional first year (bonus) depreciation deduction under section 168(k) for all classes of property it placed in service in a given year. Making that…
Extra 60 days granted to elect out of bonus depreciation after a preparer left off the required statement
A partnership decided to opt out of the additional first year (bonus) depreciation deduction under section 168(k) for all classes of property it placed in service in a given year. Making that…
Extra 60 days granted to elect out of bonus depreciation after a preparer left off the required statement
A partnership decided to opt out of the additional first year (bonus) depreciation deduction under section 168(k) for all classes of property it placed in service in a given year. Making that…
Extra 60 days granted to elect out of bonus depreciation after a preparer left off the required statement
A partnership decided to opt out of the additional first year (bonus) depreciation deduction under section 168(k) for all classes of property it placed in service in a given year. To make that…
Partnership received 60 days to elect out of bonus depreciation
A partnership intended to elect out of the additional first-year depreciation deduction for every class of qualified property it placed in service during a tax year. Its return preparer calculated…
Partnership obtained relief for a missing bonus depreciation election statement
A partnership decided not to claim additional first-year depreciation for any class of qualified property placed in service during a tax year. Its return preparer reflected that decision in the…
Late election relief preserved a partnership's bonus depreciation opt-out
A partnership intended to forgo additional first-year depreciation for all classes of qualified property placed in service during a tax year. The preparer computed taxable income to reflect that…
Partnership received an extension to elect out of bonus depreciation
A partnership planned to elect out of additional first-year depreciation for all classes of qualified property placed in service during a tax year. Its return preparer calculated the timely filed…
Missing statement did not prevent late bonus depreciation relief
A partnership wanted to elect out of the additional first-year depreciation deduction for every class of qualified property placed in service during a tax year. Its preparer reflected that choice in…
Partnership gained 60 days to complete its depreciation election
A partnership intended to decline additional first-year depreciation for all classes of qualified property placed in service during a tax year. Although its preparer calculated the return to match…
Partnership could make its missed bonus depreciation election late
A partnership chose not to deduct additional first-year depreciation for all classes of qualified property placed in service during a tax year. The return preparer followed that choice when…
Three late opportunity fund self-certifications were treated as timely
A partnership was formed to operate as a qualified opportunity fund and told its longtime accountant of that intent. The accountant prepared three years of partnership returns but did not attach…
Private foundation could transfer all assets to a commonly controlled foundation
Two private foundations controlled by the same trustees planned to consolidate by having one foundation transfer all of its assets to the other without consideration. The IRS ruled that the transfer…
Foundation could transfer all assets and terminate without excise tax
A private foundation planned to consolidate with another foundation controlled by the same trustees by transferring all of its assets without receiving consideration. The IRS ruled that the transfer…
Partnership received 120 days to make a late Section 754 election
A limited liability company taxed as a partnership intended to make a Section 754 election after one partner acquired portions of another partner's interest in two transactions. The partnership…
Foreign entity received 120 days to elect partnership classification
A foreign eligible entity wanted to be classified as a partnership for federal tax purposes from its formation date but did not timely file Form 8832. The IRS concluded that the entity met the…
Corporate group received 75 days to make a late consolidated return election
A corporation was the common parent of an affiliated group but did not timely make the election to file a consolidated federal income tax return for the group. The parent showed that it reasonably…
Need-based scholarship procedures received advance approval
A private foundation proposed need-based scholarships for students from underserved communities attending college, university, community college, or a post-high-school trade school. Eligibility…
Exemption was revoked after incomplete records prevented verification
A Section 501(c)(3) organization recognized through Form 1023-EZ was selected for examination. State records showed involuntary dissolution, and the articles supplied during the audit lacked the…
Fundraising for one person's medical bills served a private interest
An organization applied for Section 501(c)(3) status with the stated purpose of raising money to pay one named person's breast cancer treatment expenses. Its planned activities were a local benefit…
Missing records and articles led to retroactive revocation
A Section 501(c)(3) organization was examined to determine whether its activities and finances remained consistent with exempt status. It provided descriptions of activities, revenue material, and…
Neighborhood property services did not qualify as a social club
A neighborhood property-owners association applied for exemption as a Section 501(c)(7) social club. It maintained privately owned residential streets, boat docks, boat ramps, and common areas, and…
One nonmember-heavy annual event did not sustain social-club exemption
A social club's principal activity was one annual food, drink, raffle, and fellowship event, with only two board meetings at other times. Members and guests paid the same amount, members could…
Mixed design purposes may still satisfy the research-credit experimentation test
An apparel retailer claimed research credits for activities used to develop a new or revised business component. Examination disallowed the claim in part because it viewed the development work as…
RSU income for foreign transferees has different FITW and FICA treatment
A U.S. corporation granted restricted stock units to employees who later transferred to controlled foreign corporations before the awards vested. The IRS advised that the entire RSU income was wages…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate that was not otherwise required to file an estate tax return failed to timely elect portability of the decedent's unused exclusion amount for the surviving spouse. Because the filing…
Seven foreign entities receive 120 days for late disregarded-entity elections
Seven foreign eligible entities failed to timely file Forms 8832 electing disregarded-entity status. Based solely on the submitted facts and representations, the IRS concluded that each entity met…
Seven foreign entities receive 120 days for late disregarded-entity elections
Seven foreign eligible entities failed to timely file Forms 8832 electing disregarded-entity status. Based solely on the submitted facts and representations, the IRS concluded that each entity met…
Seven foreign entities receive 120 days for late disregarded-entity elections
Seven foreign eligible entities failed to timely file Forms 8832 electing disregarded-entity status. Based solely on the submitted facts and representations, the IRS concluded that each entity met…
Seven foreign entities receive 120 days for late disregarded-entity elections
Seven foreign eligible entities failed to timely file Forms 8832 electing disregarded-entity status. Based solely on the submitted facts and representations, the IRS concluded that each entity met…
Seven foreign entities receive 120 days for late disregarded-entity elections
Seven foreign eligible entities failed to timely file Forms 8832 electing disregarded-entity status. Based solely on the submitted facts and representations, the IRS concluded that each entity met…
Seven foreign entities receive 120 days for late disregarded-entity elections
Seven foreign eligible entities failed to timely file Forms 8832 electing disregarded-entity status. Based solely on the submitted facts and representations, the IRS concluded that each entity met…
Seven foreign entities receive 120 days for late disregarded-entity elections
Seven foreign eligible entities failed to timely file Forms 8832 electing disregarded-entity status. Based solely on the submitted facts and representations, the IRS concluded that each entity met…
Partnership receives 60 days to make a late QOF self-certification
A partnership formed to invest in qualified opportunity zone property did not file its first Form 1065 or the attached Form 8996 needed to self-certify as a qualified opportunity fund. Its members…
Partnership interests in a mortgage-loan pool qualify as similar pooled-fund interests
A limited partnership planned to use investor capital principally to acquire beneficial interests in a trust holding U.S. real-estate loans. The trust interests were represented to be…
LLC interests in a mortgage-loan pool qualify as similar pooled-fund interests
A limited liability company taxed as a partnership planned to use investor capital principally to acquire beneficial interests in a trust holding U.S. real-estate loans. The trust interests were…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate that was not otherwise required to file an estate tax return failed to timely elect portability of the decedent's unused exclusion amount for the surviving spouse. Because the filing…
LLC receives relief for late corporate-classification and S corporation elections
An LLC intended to be classified as an association taxable as a corporation and to elect S corporation status from the same effective date, but it filed neither Form 8832 nor Form 2553. Based on the…
Emergency scholarship grant procedures approved
A private foundation requested advance approval for a scholarship program serving current college, graduate, and other post-secondary students facing recent unexpected financial difficulties. Grants…
Employer-related scholarship procedures approved
A private foundation proposed scholarships for dependent children of employees in several geographic employee groups. An independent third-party administrator would evaluate academic performance,…
Alumni educational-project grant procedures approved
A private foundation proposed one-time grants to alumni of three schools for innovative educational projects benefiting children, families, and communities. Applicants would submit a project…
Record retailer denied Section 501(c)(3) status
An organization applied for Section 501(c)(3) status while operating retail record sales in person and online. It said its purpose included buying and selling records, conducting community events,…
Property-management club loses Section 501(c)(7) status
A social club owned and managed property containing a lodge and cottages used exclusively by certain members. Its meetings and activities focused on property maintenance and management, while many…
Fraternal membership group denied Section 501(c)(3) status
An unincorporated association affiliated with a fraternal organization applied for Section 501(c)(3) status. Its charter contained no stated corporate purpose, and the group described itself as a…
Debt-limit conversion of Demand Deposit SLGS preserves arbitrage treatment
During a federal debt-limit suspension, Treasury regulations converted outstanding Demand Deposit State and Local Government Series securities into special 90-day certificates of indebtedness.…
Federal credit unions qualify for ARP paid-leave credits but not FFCRA credits
Federal credit unions claimed refundable credits for paid sick and expanded family and medical leave provided during 2020 and 2021. The IRS concluded that federal credit unions are instrumentalities…
Affiliated group receives 75 days for a late consolidated-return election
A corporate parent and its affiliated group failed to timely elect to file a consolidated federal income tax return. The request for relief was submitted before the IRS discovered the missed…
Taxpayer receives 120 days to elect out of automatic GST exemption allocations
A taxpayer created nine annuity trusts whose remainders passed to separate trusts for the taxpayer's children and descendants, and also made direct gifts to those children's trusts. The taxpayer and…
Affiliated group receives 75 days for a late consolidated-return election
A corporate parent and its affiliated group failed to timely elect to file a consolidated federal income tax return. The request for relief was submitted before the IRS discovered the missed…
LLC receives 120 days for a late corporate-classification election
A limited liability company intended to be classified as an association taxable as a corporation from its requested effective date but failed to timely file Form 8832. Based solely on the submitted…
Foreign-owned LLC receives 120 days for a late corporate-classification election
A domestic LLC wholly owned by a foreign proprietary limited company intended to be classified as an association taxable as a corporation from its formation date. After converting between two…
Taxpayer receives 120 days to elect out of automatic GST exemption allocations
A taxpayer created five grantor retained annuity trusts whose remainders passed to separate trusts for the taxpayer's children, and also made direct gifts to those children's trusts. The taxpayer…
Taxpayer receives 120 days to undo automatic GST exemption allocations
A married couple split gifts for federal gift-tax purposes involving nine irrevocable annuity trusts and separate trusts for their children. They intended not to allocate generation-skipping…
Patron-use share of wireless divestiture income is patronage sourced
A taxable rural telephone cooperative used two consolidated subsidiaries to own a cellular partnership that served both patrons and nonpatron customers. The partnership and a subsidiary later sold…
Five partnerships receive 120 days for late section 754 elections
An upper-tier partnership and four lower-tier partnerships inadvertently failed to make section 754 elections for a tax year in which a partner died. A second partner died in a later year. Section…
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.