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 200514024: Tribal police contributions qualify for a state governmental pension plan
A federally recognized tribe's police department sought to enroll its officers in a state pension plan for peace officers and firefighters. State law gave the department state law enforcement powers…
PLR 200514023: Financial adviser misunderstanding leads to a late IRA rollover waiver
An IRA owner received a distribution and was told by her financial adviser that she had 60 days to put it in another account. After a misunderstanding, she transferred the money to an account at a…
TAM 200514022: Employer payments count toward welfare fund costs only under a reimbursement arrangement
An employer asked how payments for employee medical benefits affect deductions for its welfare benefit fund. The IRS found that the fund qualified as a welfare benefit fund under IRC § 419. For…
IRS determination 200514021: Credit counseling group's ties to private financial planners defeat exemption
A credit counseling organization applied for recognition as a charity under IRC § 501(c)(3). Its founder operated a financial planning business from the same office, and other directors also worked…
TAM 200514020: Quarterly revolving credit facility fees are deductible when paid
An accrual basis company paid quarterly fees to keep a revolving credit facility available. The fees were calculated for each completed quarter and paid afterward, whether or not the company…
TAM 200514019: Spun off company cannot add former parent's income to its loss limitation register
A corporate parent transferred a business to a subsidiary and then spun off the subsidiary. The subsidiary later reported a consolidated net operating loss and sought to carry part of it back to a…
CCA 200514018: Domestic reincorporation leaves a gain recognition agreement in place
Chief Counsel reported that a recent private letter ruling addressed a stapled foreign corporation treated as domestic under IRC § 269B. The corporation proposed moving its legal seat to a U.S.…
CCA 200514017: IRS accepts railroad board finding that a business ceased to be an employer
The Railroad Retirement Board told the IRS that a business had ceased to be an employer under the Railroad Retirement Act and Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act. After reviewing the board's opinion…
CCA 200514016: Ending railroad employer status leaves earlier tax duties in place
The Railroad Retirement Board found that a business had ceased to be an employer under the Railroad Retirement Act and Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act. Chief Counsel reviewed the board's opinion…
CCA 200514015: IRS concludes a business ceased being a railroad employer
The Railroad Retirement Board advised the IRS that a business had ceased being an employer under the Railroad Retirement Act and Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act. After reviewing the board's…
CCA 200514014: Business is outside railroad employer coverage; workers' status remains open
The Railroad Retirement Board supplied a reconsidered opinion about a business's coverage under the Railroad Retirement Act and Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act. Based on the board's information,…
CCA 200514013: Business became a railroad employer on a redacted date
The Railroad Retirement Board informed the IRS that a business became an employer under the Railroad Retirement Act and Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act. Chief Counsel reviewed the board's…
CCA 200514012: Two businesses became railroad employers; partners' employee status unresolved
The Railroad Retirement Board told the IRS that two businesses became employers under the Railroad Retirement Act and Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act. Chief Counsel agreed that both became…
CCA 200514011: Apostolic corporation's Form 1065 does not trigger partnership audit rules
An exempt apostolic organization under IRC § 501(d) filed Form 1065 as required for that type of organization. Its return expressly said that it was exempt under § 501(d) and was not a partnership.…
CCA 200514010: Bond participation interests do not support claimed foreign tax credits
A U.S. taxpayer claimed foreign tax credits for taxes on redemption proceeds of foreign government bonds in which its subsidiary bought participation interests shortly before maturity. Chief Counsel…
CCA 200514009: American Samoa residency affects Social Security tax and refund, despite withholding
A Western Samoa citizen receiving U.S. Social Security benefits claimed to be a bona fide resident of American Samoa and sought a refund of 30 percent withholding. Chief Counsel said the Social…
PLR 200514008: S corporation election avoids immediate dual consolidated loss recapture with a closing agreement
A parent of a consolidated corporate group planned to elect S corporation status and make qualified subchapter S subsidiary elections. Some group members had dual consolidated losses that ordinarily…
PLR 200514007: Dual citizen rebuts expatriation tax avoidance presumption
A woman who held U.S. and another country's citizenship from birth gave up her U.S. citizenship. Her net worth exceeded the threshold that would ordinarily create a presumption of tax avoidance…
PLR 200514006: Changing assigned share of claims preserves earlier income ruling
A taxpayer previously received a ruling that proceeds from an assigned 50 percent interest in several claims would not be included in its income if the assignment terms were met. It then asked…
PLR 200514005: Business separation qualifies for specified tax free contribution and distribution treatment
A corporate group planned to separate one business by transferring its assets to a new controlled company and distributing that company's stock to existing shareholders. A separate contributor would…
PLR 200514004: Corporation gets 60 days to file a late S election
A corporation and its shareholders intended S corporation treatment from a redacted date, but its Form 2553 was not filed on time. The company filed its first two income tax returns consistently…
PLR 200514003: Synthetic fuel credit survives partnership interest sale and facility relocation
A partnership operating a coal based synthetic fuel facility sought confirmation of earlier IRC § 29 credit rulings after selling membership interests to a new investor. The IRS confirmed that fuel…
PLR 200514002: Policy sale between grantor trusts is disregarded for income tax
A taxpayer created two irrevocable trusts and proposed to move two life insurance policies from the first trust to the second for consideration. The taxpayer represented that both trusts were…
PLR 200514001: Moving life policies between grantor trusts does not trigger transfer for value rule
A taxpayer created two irrevocable trusts and proposed to move two life insurance policies from the first trust to the second for consideration. The taxpayer represented that both trusts were…
PLR 200513033: Taxpayer gets 60 days to reverse an ineligible Roth conversion
A taxpayer converted a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA while expecting to file a joint return. She later filed separately, making the conversion ineligible under the rules then in effect, and missed…
PLR 200513032: Inherited IRA cannot receive a rollover deadline waiver
A deceased IRA owner's trust was the beneficiary of his IRA, and his child, acting as executor and trustee, tried to move the proceeds into another IRA. The investment firm sent a distribution form,…
PLR 200513031: Court injunction permits a private foundation's contingent set aside
A private foundation received estate assets but relatives challenged the will and trust transfers in court. An injunction prevented the foundation from distributing its assets while the case…
PLR 200513030: Foundation receives advance approval to seek public charity status
A private operating foundation sought to end its private foundation status by qualifying as a publicly supported charity. It expected support from government grants, public contributions,…
PLR 200513029: Restoration matching grant qualifies as a foundation set aside
A private foundation set aside funds for a matching grant to a public charity restoring a property listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The grant agreement required the charity to…
TAM 200513028: Estate cannot deduct interest on unnecessary family partnership loan
An estate borrowed from a partnership it nearly entirely owned to pay estate taxes, then claimed a deduction for ten years of interest due on the loan. The IRS concluded that the interest was not a…
TAM 200513027: Public stock price anchors loss corporation value after ownership change
A publicly traded company acquired another company in a stock exchange, creating ownership changes that limited use of both companies' net operating losses under IRC § 382. The taxpayer proposed…
CCA 200513026: Two businesses are outside railroad employer coverage; worker service remains unresolved
The Railroad Retirement Board concluded that two businesses were not employers under the Railroad Retirement Act and Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act. After reviewing its opinion, Chief Counsel…
CCA 200513025: Two businesses became railroad employers and one did not
The Railroad Retirement Board reported that two businesses became employers under the Railroad Retirement Act and Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act, while a third was not an employer under those…
CCA 200513024: Contracted engineer and conductor work counts as rail carrier employee service
The Railroad Retirement Board provided an opinion about work performed through a redacted business. Chief Counsel concluded that service as a locomotive engineer or conductor for a covered rail…
CCA 200513023: Business became a railroad employer; treatment of separate operations unresolved
The Railroad Retirement Board concluded that a business became an employer under the Railroad Retirement Act and Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act. Chief Counsel agreed that it became an employer…
CCA 200513022: Building transfer through a partnership was a disguised sale
A corporation planned to sell a building but instead transferred it to a limited liability company in exchange for cash, a small common interest, and a preferred interest. The company borrowed…
PLR 200513021: Corporation received more time to elect subsidiary treatment
After two corporations were sold to a new shareholder, one intended to elect qualified subchapter S subsidiary (QSub) treatment for the other. It inadvertently missed the filing deadline. The IRS…
PLR 200513020: Cooperative could issue shares for a convertible commercial unit
A cooperative housing corporation planned to issue shares tied to a commercial unit and give the purchaser a proprietary lease. The purchaser would have the right to convert and occupy the unit as a…
PLR 200513019: Taxpayers received more time to request a closing agreement
After acquiring a company, a taxpayer learned that the company had missed the deadline to request a closing agreement under Revenue Procedure 2000-42. The IRS treated that request as a regulatory…
PLR 200513018: Bank could change asset valuation but missed a separate interest election
A foreign bank asked to change methods used to calculate interest expense connected with its U.S. business under Treasury Regulation § 1.882-5. The IRS allowed it to elect fair market value for U.S.…
PLR 200513017: Corporate group received more time for a value restoration election
After an acquisition, a corporate group missed the deadline for an election that could restore value to controlled group members when calculating the IRC § 382 limit on pre-change losses. The IRS…
PLR 200513016: Corporate group received more time after an IPO to elect value restoration
An initial public offering reduced a foreign owner's stake in a corporate group with net operating loss carryovers. The parent and its subsidiaries missed an election deadline under Treasury…
PLR 200513015: Late accounting year application treated as timely filed
A corporation filed Form 1128 more than 90 days late to request a change in its accounting year. Under Treasury Regulation § 301.9100-3, such a late accounting period request normally prejudices the…
PLR 200513014: Estate received more time to elect farm use valuation
A decedent had contributed farmland to a farming partnership, and the estate's tax professional missed the election to value the property based on its farm use for estate tax purposes. The IRS found…
PLR 200513013: LLC received more time to elect corporate tax classification
A newly formed limited liability company intended to be taxed as a corporation from its formation date, but it inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS found that it met the standards…
PLR 200513012: Share purchase plan qualified as an incentive stock option plan
A subsidiary's employee share purchase plan offered options for shares of its parent company. Employees would save through payroll deductions and exercise their options after a year, at a price set…
PLR 200513011: Home construction damages reduced basis rather than creating income
A homeowner recovered damages after faulty construction caused water damage to his residence. The IRS ruled that the damages, excluding attorney fees and costs, replaced part of the homeowner's…
PLR 200513010: Rental property co-owners would hold direct property interests
A company planned to sell undivided fractional interests in leased rental property to no more than 35 co-owners while retaining an interest itself. The co-owners would share income and expenses in…
PLR 200513009: LLC received more time to elect corporate tax treatment
An LLC wanted to be taxed as a corporation from its formation date. Its accountant failed to advise it to make the election, so the LLC did not file Form 8832 on time. The IRS concluded that the LLC…
PLR 200513008: Donor received more time to allocate GST exemption to a trust
A donor made transfers to a family trust over three years. Although advised that the transfers needed allocations of his generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax exemption, his accountant omitted them…
PLR 200513007: Corporation could make a late S corporation election
A corporation's sole shareholder intended S corporation status from its formation date, but Form 2553 was filed late. The IRS found reasonable cause for the delay under IRC § 1362(b)(5). It ruled…
PLR 200513006: Late GST allocations took effect when inclusion periods ended
A donor transferred publicly traded stock to a family trust in three years but made no allocations of her generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax exemption. She had relied on advisers who did not…
PLR 200513005: Trust mergers preserved tax status and permitted S corporation ownership
Trustees proposed to merge three older family trusts into new trusts with nearly identical terms, but narrower charitable beneficiary provisions. The changes were intended to let the new trusts…
PLR 200513004: Trust mergers preserved tax status and permitted S corporation ownership
Trustees proposed to merge three older family trusts into new trusts with nearly identical terms, but narrower charitable beneficiary provisions. The changes were intended to let the new trusts…
PLR 200513003: Trust mergers preserved tax status and permitted S corporation ownership
Trustees proposed to merge three older family trusts into new trusts with nearly identical terms, but narrower charitable beneficiary provisions. The changes were intended to let the new trusts…
PLR 200513002: Secured warehouse loans counted as real estate assets for a REIT
A real estate investment trust (REIT) planned to restructure a warehouse credit line to an affiliated mortgage lender. The advances would be nonrecourse and backed by assigned mortgage loans, with…
PLR 200513001: Stock transfer through disregarded entities preserved S election
An S corporation's sole shareholder planned to transfer its stock through two LLCs into a limited partnership. The same person would own both LLCs, and neither would elect corporate tax treatment.…
PLR 200512035: Fraud victim received a waiver for a late IRA rollover
A nursing home resident withdrew money from an IRA after a person helping with his finances said it was needed to pay his bills. That person deposited the money into her own account and used it for…
PLR 200512034: Pension funding tax waived if distress termination is approved
A company facing receivership and a shutdown sought relief related to its pension plan's funding deficiency. It withdrew its request to waive the minimum funding standard, and the IRS closed that…
PLR 200512033: IRS extended a deadline in a pension funding waiver
The IRS had previously granted a conditional waiver of a pension plan's minimum funding standard. One condition required the company to reach an agreement with the Pension Benefit Guaranty…
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.