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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Determination 200534022: Seller funded down payment program denied charitable exemption
An organization sought section 501(c)(3) status for down payment assistance, tuition aid, and financial literacy programs. Its housing program offered aid without income limits and was financed…
Determination 200534021: Charitable exemption revoked for commercial and private purposes
The IRS issued a final letter revoking an organization's section 501(c)(3) exemption effective on a redacted date. The letter says the organization was not primarily engaged in exempt activities and…
PLR 200534020: Partnership receives more time to make a section 754 election
A limited partnership missed the deadline to elect a basis adjustment under section 754 after a partner died. The IRS found that the requirements for late election relief under the section 301.9100…
PLR 200534019: Foreign company gets more time to elect partnership status
A foreign limited liability company with two owners missed the deadline to file Form 8832 to be treated as a partnership from its formation date. Because both owners had limited liability, the…
PLR 200534018: Service related firefighter disability benefits partly excluded from income
A locally administered plan paid disability benefits to firefighters under a statute that covered injuries or diseases arising from their work. The IRS treated that statute as a workers'…
PLR 200534017: Occupational disability benefits excluded only up to statutory amount
An employer's locally administered plan paid disability benefits under a statute covering injuries or diseases incurred in the course of work. The IRS concluded that the statute was in the nature of…
PLR 200534016: Late S corporation election accepted from incorporation date
A newly incorporated company intended to elect S corporation status from its incorporation date but missed the filing deadline. The IRS found reasonable cause for the delay and granted relief under…
PLR 200534015: Assignment of wrongful death proceeds to trust is a completed gift
A surviving spouse proposed to assign part of the potential proceeds from a wrongful death claim to an irrevocable trust for her descendants. She would still direct the litigation and make…
PLR 200534014: Retitling business interests from father to son is not a gift
A son supplied the money for company shares that were issued in his father's name so the business could use the father's credit standing. The father represented that he held the shares, and related…
PLR 200534013: REIT may preserve net operating loss by designating capital gain dividends
A real estate investment trust had capital gains and an operating loss in the same tax year. It designated all distributions to shareholders as capital gain dividends. The IRS ruled that section…
PLR 200534012: Trustee replacement changes preserve older trusts' transfer tax exemption
Fourteen trusts created before September 25, 1985 sought to change who could remove and replace their corporate trustee and to lower the capital requirement for a successor. After the existing…
PLR 200534011: Testamentary trust administration changes preserve transfer tax exemption
Fourteen trusts created under a will before September 25, 1985 proposed changes to trustee replacement, successor trustee capital requirements, and notice for certain transactions. After the named…
PLR 200534010: Late election to disregard an entity allowed after early transfer
An entity moved between related owners earlier than planned during a restructuring, and its election to be disregarded for federal tax purposes was not filed on time. The IRS found that the…
PLR 200534009: Potential nonresident beneficiary causes inadvertent S termination
Four electing small business trusts owned shares of an S corporation. When a trust beneficiary married a nonresident alien, the spouse became a potential current beneficiary under the trusts' powers…
PLR 200534008: Potential nonresident beneficiary causes inadvertent S termination
Four electing small business trusts owned shares of an S corporation. When a trust beneficiary married a nonresident alien, the spouse became a potential current beneficiary under the trusts' powers…
PLR 200534007: Missed trust election treated as inadvertent S termination
An S corporation shareholder died, and company shares passed to a trust. The trust was an eligible shareholder for two years after the death, but its beneficiary missed the election to treat it as a…
PLR 200534006: Stock held by compensation trust does not undo spin-off ruling
After a corporate spin-off, a trust holding assets for the distributing company's deferred compensation plan received shares of the spun-off company. The trust was treated as owned by the…
PLR 200534005: Planned business separation receives spin-off tax rulings
An S corporation planned to separate one of its two businesses so a key employee could acquire a significant interest in the remaining business. It would elect corporate status for its wholly owned…
PLR 200534004: Estate receives more time to elect family business deduction
An estate included a farming sole proprietorship, but its accountants filed the estate tax return without claiming the section 2057 qualified family-owned business deduction. The IRS found that the…
PLR 200534003: Couple may make late election to group rental properties
A married couple filed a joint return without the statement electing to treat all their rental real estate interests as one activity. They said their tax preparer had not advised them of the…
PLR 200534002: Late historic status application treated as timely for rehabilitation credit
A property owner renovated a building in a historic district and applied for federal historic status certification only after placing it in service. The owner said it had mistakenly believed the…
PLR 200534001: Late S election may take effect from incorporation
A corporation intended to elect S status from its incorporation date but did not file Form 2553 on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed deadline and granted relief under section…
PLR 200533025: Extra time to reverse an ineligible Roth IRA conversion
A taxpayer converted a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA and also made a Roth contribution. The IRS later notified him of additional income that put his modified adjusted gross income above the $100,000…
PLR 200533024: Scholarship grant procedures receive advance approval
An organization planned to fund scholarships administered by a public charity for minority youth in a specified region. The charity would select recipients using academic performance, counselor…
TAM 200533023: Credit card fees receive different interest and OID treatment
The IRS advised on how a credit card bank should classify six kinds of fees for federal income tax purposes. Annual fees and interchange fees paid through card association programs were not interest…
TAM 200533022: Retail credit card late fees are interest, merchant fees pay for services
A retailer's subsidiary bank charged late fees to cardholders and merchant fees to the retailer's stores for processing purchases on its store credit cards. The IRS concluded that the late fees were…
PLR 200533021: Corporate split receives conditional tax rulings
Two families that owned and managed a group of businesses proposed a complex series of contributions, stock distributions, and a merger to separate their interests. The IRS ruled that specified…
PLR 200533020: Estate gets more time to file family business deduction election
An estate consisting primarily of timberland filed its estate tax return on time, but its accounting firm failed to make the election for a qualified family-owned business interest deduction under…
PLR 200533019: LLC gets time to file corporate classification and S elections
An LLC intended to be taxed as an S corporation from a redacted effective date, but it had no record of filing either its corporate classification election or its S election on time. The IRS found…
PLR 200533018: Late REMIC elections treated as timely
Several entities formed under a pooling and servicing agreement intended to elect real estate mortgage investment conduit (REMIC) status. Their representative mistakenly listed the entities as one,…
PLR 200533017: Corporate split and vessel transfers receive conditional rulings
Two families that owned and managed a group of businesses proposed a complex series of contributions, stock distributions, and a merger to separate their interests. The IRS ruled that specified…
PLR 200533015: Family business split receives conditional tax rulings
Two families that owned and managed a group of businesses proposed a complex series of contributions, stock distributions, and a merger to separate their interests. The IRS ruled that specified…
PLR 200533014: Business separation receives conditional reorganization rulings
Two families that owned and managed a group of businesses proposed a complex series of contributions, stock distributions, and a merger to separate their interests. The IRS ruled that specified…
PLR 200533013: Split of family owned businesses receives conditional rulings
Two families that owned and managed a group of businesses proposed a complex series of contributions, stock distributions, and a merger to separate their interests. The IRS ruled that specified…
PLR 200533012: Family corporate separation receives conditional rulings
Two families that owned and managed a group of businesses proposed a complex series of contributions, stock distributions, and a merger to separate their interests. The IRS ruled that specified…
PLR 200533011: Family business separation receives conditional tax rulings
Two families that owned and managed a group of businesses proposed a complex series of contributions, stock distributions, and a merger to separate their interests. The IRS ruled that specified…
PLR 200533010: Trustee replacement changes preserve trust tax status
A grantor had created 14 irrevocable trusts for grandchildren before September 25, 1985. The trustees sought to change the rules for replacing trustees and the qualifications for successor corporate…
PLR 200533009: Trust modifications preserve GST exemption and avoid appointment powers
A grantor had created 14 irrevocable trusts before September 25, 1985, for a foundation, certain employees, and then grandchildren. The trustees sought to change the rules for replacing trustees and…
PLR 200533008: Trustee succession changes preserve GST exemption
A grantor had created 14 irrevocable trusts before September 25, 1985, for a foundation and then grandchildren. The trustees sought to change the rules for replacing trustees and the qualifications…
PLR 200533007: Single trust keeps GST exemption after trustee changes
A grantor had created an irrevocable trust for a child and the child’s children before September 25, 1985. The trustees sought to change the rules for replacing trustees and the qualifications for…
PLR 200533006: Trust loss allocation preserves GST exemption
A trustee proposed to reduce income paid to a beneficiary of four trusts to account for partnership losses that had reduced trust principal while benefiting the income recipient for tax purposes.…
PLR 200533005: Co-op stock distribution for convertible units is tax free
A cooperative housing corporation proposed to issue new shares tied to units then used commercially but convertible to residences, place them in a single-member LLC, and distribute the LLC interests…
PLR 200533004: Late S election may take effect from incorporation
A corporation intended to elect S status from its incorporation date but did not file Form 2553 on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed deadline. If the corporation filed a completed…
PLR 200533003: Environmental cleanup trusts qualify as settlement funds with excluded income
A company settled state and city claims over environmental contamination by funding two trusts, one for cleanup and another for related concerns. The state court approved the settlement and retained…
PLR 200533002: Same-year stock sale rescission preserves S status
An S corporation sold convertible preferred shares to three partnerships, which caused its S election to terminate. The parties then rescinded the sale and restored their earlier positions within…
PLR 200533001: Cash gift to social club qualifies for gift tax annual exclusion
A member planned to contribute cash to a nonprofit social club for facility upgrades. The club had no stock, and its board would control the money immediately. The IRS treated the transfer as a gift…
PLR 200532062: Annual recalculation of IRA payments qualifies for early distribution tax exception
A 47-year-old taxpayer rolled a qualified plan distribution into an IRA and began monthly payments using the fixed annuitization method. The taxpayer asked whether payments would still qualify for…
PLR 200532061: IRS waives late IRA rollover after delayed annuity refund
A taxpayer withdrew money from one IRA and applied to buy an IRA annuity. He canceled the contract during its trial period, but the insurer's delay in returning the money prevented him from…
PLR 200532060: Surviving spouse may roll over IRA received through estate
A deceased IRA owner's former wife was still the named beneficiary, but she disclaimed her interest. The IRA then passed to his estate, and his surviving spouse was both the estate's sole…
PLR 200532059: Public pension payroll contributions qualify as employer pick-ups
A state public pension system asked about employee contributions that participating employers would deduct from pay and send to its plan. The arrangement covered regular contributions and several…
PLR 200532058: Public ice arena preserves foundation exemption and yields qualifying expenditures
A private foundation proposed to develop a public ice arena through an LLC it controlled, then lease the facility to independent operators. The arena would be open without discrimination at…
PLR 200532057: Church's one-time land sale does not create unrelated business income
A church needed funds to repair and update aging facilities, so it proposed to subdivide land it had held for decades and sell six residential parcels. It would make only the improvements required…
PLR 200532056: Club may sell recreational land and reinvest proceeds in its facilities
A tax-exempt social club planned to sell part of its recreational property to pay for renovations to its golf course and other member facilities. The IRS found that a single sale, or separate…
PLR 200532055: School technology program grants do not create foundation self-dealing
A private foundation proposed to help school districts pay for an after-school technology program for underserved students. A foundation director was also a senior executive at the company that…
PLR 200532054: Court-approved trust property sale avoids foundation self-dealing tax
A trust became irrevocable at its creator's death and held real estate that would ultimately pass to the creator's private foundation. The trust proposed to sell the property for cash to the…
PLR 200532053: Foundation trustee's purchase from trust avoids self-dealing tax
A foundation trustee and the creator's grandchild proposed to buy real estate from an irrevocable trust whose remainder was destined for the foundation. That relationship made the buyer a…
PLR 200532052: Shared fraternity building preserves educational fund exemption
A charitable fund affiliated with a fraternity planned to develop a building containing its educational offices, museum, library, and conference space alongside the fraternity's headquarters. The…
IRS determination 200532051: Organization denied section 501(c)(3) exemption
The IRS issued a final adverse ruling denying an organization's claim to section 501(c)(3) tax exemption. It found that more than an insubstantial part of the organization's activities served…
PLR 200532050: Foundation scholarship procedures receive advance approval
A private foundation proposed to fund scholarships that a publicly supported charity would administer and award to students. The charity would handle applications, select recipients, make payments,…
TAM 200532049: Entire residence included in estate, malpractice suit costs deductible
A couple deeded their residence to their daughter but retained life interests and broad powers to sell or mortgage it and keep the proceeds. After one spouse died, the surviving spouse retained…
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.