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 receives 120 days to make QTIP election
A decedent's will created a marital trust that paid all net income to the surviving spouse at least quarterly and allowed principal distributions for the spouse's support. The estate's Form 706…
S corporation receives more time for section 336(e) election statement
A purchaser acquired all stock of an S corporation for cash, and the target and shareholder had timely signed a binding agreement to make a section 336(e) election treating the stock sale as an…
Estate receives more time to elect portability
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount. The personal representative stated that the gross estate, after accounting for…
Corporation receives more time to elect IC-DISC status
A corporation was formed to operate as an interest charge domestic international sales corporation and hired an accounting firm to prepare its election. The completed but unsigned Form 4876-A was…
Estate receives relief for late portability election
An estate believed it had requested an extension and filed Form 706 three days before that supposed extension would have expired. The surviving spouse, who also served as executor, represented that…
Foreign corporation receives more time to file branch profits tax waiver
A foreign corporation sold its only asset, a U.S. condominium used by its nonresident shareholders as a vacation home, and later dissolved. It believed withholding from the sale satisfied its U.S.…
Surviving spouse receives more time to elect portability
All of a decedent's assets passed directly to the surviving spouse by designation, survivorship ownership, or state law. Because no executor was appointed, the spouse was treated as the executor for…
LLC receives more time for entity classification and tax-exempt control elections
A tax-exempt organization wholly owned a limited liability company that served as general partner of a partnership operating residential rental property. The LLC intended to elect corporate tax…
LLC receives more time for corporate and depreciation elections
A tax-exempt organization wholly owned a limited liability company that was the general partner of a residential rental partnership. The LLC intended to elect treatment as a taxable corporation and…
LLC gets late corporate and tax-exempt control elections
A tax-exempt organization owned an LLC that served as general partner of a partnership holding rehabilitated residential rental property. The LLC meant to elect corporate status and opt out of…
Estate received 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 estate and gift tax exclusion for the surviving spouse. The executor represented that the estate…
Estate received 120 days to elect portability after a missed deadline
An estate failed to file Form 706 by the deadline for electing portability of the decedent's unused exclusion amount to the surviving spouse. The estate represented that its gross estate, including…
Estate received 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate did not file Form 706 by the deadline for electing portability of the decedent's unused exclusion amount to the surviving spouse. The executors represented that the gross estate was below…
Tax-exempt controlled entity received late MACRS election relief
A corporation indirectly owned by a tax-exempt entity developed residential rental property and intended to elect not to be treated as a tax-exempt controlled entity for depreciation purposes. The…
Rental-property company received late MACRS election relief
A rental-property corporation wholly owned by a tax-exempt entity intended to elect not to be treated as a tax-exempt controlled entity under the depreciation rules. Its transaction documents…
Partnership's late Form 1128 is treated as timely filed
A partnership sought to adopt an April 30 tax year but did not file Form 1128 by the required deadline. It requested an extension soon after learning that the form was required. The IRS found that…
Corporation receives 60 days to file its late IC-DISC election
A domestic corporation was formed to operate as an interest charge domestic international sales corporation, or IC-DISC, but its Form 4876-A election was not filed for its first tax year. The…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate missed the Form 706 deadline for electing portability of the decedent's unused exclusion amount to the surviving spouse. The estate represented that the gross estate, including taxable…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate missed the Form 706 deadline for electing portability of the decedent's unused exclusion amount to the surviving spouse. The estate represented that the gross estate, including taxable…
Corporate group receives 60 days to make a late consolidated return election
A corporation left its former consolidated group and became the parent of a new affiliated group. The new group intended to file a consolidated federal income tax return, but a valid election was…
Parties receive more time to make a section 336(e) election
An individual purchased all the stock of an S corporation, and the buyer, seller, and target intended to make a section 336(e) election to treat the stock sale as an asset disposition. They missed…
S corporation receives 120 days to make a late QSub election
An S corporation owned all the stock of a domestic subsidiary and intended to treat it as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary from the acquisition date. The parent failed to file Form 8869 because…
Entity receives 120 days to make a late corporate classification election
A domestic eligible entity intended to be treated as an association taxable as a corporation but failed to file Form 8832 on time. The entity represented that it acted reasonably and in good faith…
Foreign entity receives 120 days to make a late disregarded-entity election
A domestic corporation acquired all interests in a foreign eligible entity that was classified by default as an association. The owner intended the foreign entity to become disregarded for federal…
Taxpayer receives 60 days to elect success-fee safe harbor
A corporation paid a success-based fee in a taxable acquisition and deducted the entire amount on its short-period return. Its accountant neither documented that the full fee was non-facilitative…
Estate and spouse receive 120 days to allocate GST exemption
A decedent transferred property to an irrevocable trust for children and their families and elected with the decedent's spouse to treat the gift as made one-half by each spouse. Their accountant…
Estate receives 120 days to elect portability
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate tax exclusion for the surviving spouse. The estate represented that the decedent's gross…
Estate receives 120 days to make the 2010 carryover basis election
The executor of an estate for a decedent who died in 2010 hired an attorney to prepare required tax filings. The attorney failed to file Form 8939 by the extended deadline, so the estate did not…
Surviving spouse receives 120 days to elect portability
A surviving spouse serving as executrix did not file Form 706 by the deadline to elect portability of the decedent's unused estate tax exclusion. She represented that the estate was below the…
Estate receives portability relief after missing the election
An estate did not file Form 706 by the deadline to elect portability of the decedent's unused estate tax exclusion for the surviving spouse. It represented that the estate was below the filing…
REIT receives 90 days to elect taxable subsidiary status
A subsidiary had been covered by a taxable REIT subsidiary election with an original REIT parent. After that REIT merged into a new parent, an advisor failed to explain that the existing Form 8875…
Executor receives 120 days to make a portability election
A surviving spouse acting as executor did not file Form 706 by the deadline to elect portability of the decedent's unused estate tax exclusion. The executor represented that the gross estate was…
Estate gets 120 days to file a portability election
An estate missed the Form 706 deadline for electing portability of the decedent's unused estate tax exclusion. It represented that the gross estate, including any lifetime taxable gifts, was below…
Missed portability election receives a 120-day extension
An estate did not file Form 706 by the deadline for electing portability of the decedent's unused estate tax exclusion. It represented that the gross estate, after considering lifetime taxable…
Trust gets 120 days to make a 65-day distribution election
A calendar-year trust made a distribution during the first 65 days of a later year and intended to treat it as paid on the final day of the prior year under section 663(b). The trust inadvertently…
Surviving spouse gets a late portability election
A surviving spouse acting as executor missed the Form 706 deadline for electing portability of the decedent's unused estate tax exclusion. The executor represented that the estate was below the…
Estate receives relief for an adviser-missed portability election
An estate missed the Form 706 deadline to elect portability of the decedent's unused estate tax exclusion for the surviving spouse. It represented that the gross estate, including taxable gifts, was…
Late Form 1128 is treated as timely filed
A taxpayer sought to change from a calendar tax year to a tax year ending March 31. Its tax professional filed Form 1128 late because of an oversight or misunderstanding. The IRS found that the…
Tax adviser error supports late portability relief
An estate failed to file Form 706 by the deadline to elect portability of the decedent's unused estate tax exclusion. It represented that the estate was below the section 6018 filing threshold after…
Estate gets 120 days for an adviser-missed portability election
An estate did not file Form 706 by the deadline to elect portability of the decedent's unused estate tax exclusion. It represented that the gross estate was below the section 6018 filing threshold…
Estate receives late portability relief after missing the requirement
An estate failed to file Form 706 by the deadline to elect portability of the decedent's unused estate tax exclusion. It represented that the estate was below the section 6018 filing threshold after…
Estate gets extra time for a missed portability election
An estate missed the Form 706 deadline for electing portability of the decedent's unused estate tax exclusion. It represented that the gross estate was below the section 6018 filing threshold after…
Trust may make a late 65-day distribution election
A calendar-year trust made a distribution during the first 65 days of the next year and intended to treat it as paid on the last day of the prior year under section 663(b). The trustee inadvertently…
Partnership gets 120 days to make a section 754 election
A limited liability company taxed as a partnership failed to make a section 754 election for the year in which one of its members died. The election would allow a partner-specific adjustment to the…
Company may reverse elections made instead of bonus depreciation
A consolidated corporate group had elected under former section 168(k)(4) to forgo bonus depreciation and instead increase specified credit limitations. A later adviser determined that the former…
Partnership may file a late section 754 election
A limited liability company taxed as a partnership timely filed its return but inadvertently omitted a section 754 election. That election permits basis adjustments to partnership property after…
Omitted section 754 election receives a 120-day extension
A limited liability company taxed as a partnership timely filed its federal return but inadvertently left out a section 754 election. The election permits basis adjustments to partnership property…
Foreign entity may file a late partnership classification election
A foreign eligible entity defaulted to association status because all of its members had limited liability. It intended to file Form 8832 and elect partnership classification from its formation date…
Corporation receives more time to file its IC-DISC election
A domestic corporation was formed solely to operate as an interest charge domestic international sales corporation. Its owners understood that Form 4876-A was required and relied on their law firm…
Partnership receives 120 days to make a late section 754 election
A partner died after holding general and limited partnership interests, but the partnership inadvertently omitted a section 754 election from its timely return for that year. The IRS found that the…
Fund receives 90 days to make a late foreign tax election
A regulated investment company intended to elect under section 853 so its shareholders would be treated as paying their shares of certain foreign taxes paid by the fund. Its accountant prepared a…
Late request for a 52-53-week tax year is treated as timely
A taxpayer sought to change from a calendar tax year to a 52-53-week year ending on the Saturday nearest January 31. It filed Form 1128 after the deadline but requested an extension soon afterward.…
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 executor represented that the 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 executor represented that the estate and…
Corporation receives 120 days to make an S termination-year election
A corporation's S election terminated during a tax year, dividing that year into an S short year and a C short year. The corporation intended to elect under section 1362(e)(3) to allocate tax items…
First estate receives 120 days to elect portability after both spouses died
One spouse died without a timely Form 706 portability election, and the surviving spouse later died as well. The personal representative of both estates sought extra time to elect portability of 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 executor represented that the 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 executor represented that the estate and…
Foreign entity receives 120 days to file a late disregarded-entity election
A foreign entity's sole owner intended the entity to be disregarded for federal tax purposes from its formation date. The entity did not timely file Form 8832 to make that classification election.…
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 executor represented that the estate 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.