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 200512032: IRS denied a pension funding waiver as plan termination loomed
A company suffering losses and litigating a disputed payment sought a waiver of its pension plan's minimum funding standard. It told the IRS that it had made no plan contributions, including…
PLR 200512031: IRS conditionally waived a pension plan funding shortfall
A company emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy asked for relief from a pension plan funding shortfall. The IRS granted a waiver under IRC § 412(d), but required the company to provide collateral…
PLR 200512030: IRS denied a pension funding waiver as plan termination loomed
A company suffering losses and litigating a disputed payment sought a waiver of its pension plan's minimum funding standard. It told the IRS that it had made no plan contributions, including…
PLR 200512029: Account setup error led to a late rollover waiver
A former employee tried to roll a retirement plan distribution into an IRA. Part of the distribution instead went into an ordinary brokerage account after an account application was prepared…
PLR 200512028: Widow received extra time to restore an IRA withdrawal
A widow withdrew all the money from an IRA while seeking a better return and deposited the proceeds in three ordinary bank accounts. She said she did not realize the source account was an IRA, and…
IRS determination 200512027: Boat donation facilitator denied charitable exemption
An organization took title to donated boats, arranged repairs and sales, paid half the net proceeds to charities chosen by donors, and kept the other half. It also bought some boats from donors…
PLR 200512026: Foundation may set aside income for church renovation
A private foundation wanted to reserve income for a grant to renovate a church that was also tax exempt. It said the project needed more than its annual distributable income and that it would pay…
PLR 200512025: Educational venue's sales receive mixed unrelated business tax treatment
A tax exempt organization operating an educational complex asked how unrelated business income tax applied to nine revenue activities. The IRS found that admissions and activities tied to its…
PLR 200512024: Foundation may reserve income to build a senior facility
A private foundation planned to build a senior facility but had been delayed by a property sale and years of litigation before it recovered the property. It sought to reserve income for the project…
IRS determination 200512023: Health insurance facilitator denied social welfare exemption
A nonprofit arranged health insurance access for participating small employers and their employees through four insurance companies. It collected premiums, paid insurers and agents, and received…
PLR 200512022: Prize trust may set aside income for a future award
A private foundation trust wanted to build a substantial prize for practical accomplishments in a field the public letter calls “N.” Its trust agreement did not require an award every year, and the…
TAM 200512021: Merger termination fee had to be capitalized
A broadband company agreed to merge with one company, then received a more favorable merger proposal from another. It paid a fee to end the first agreement, which was a condition of entering the…
TAM 200512020: Trust certificate sale required sharing basis with retained rights
A taxpayer placed foreign bank instruments in a trust, kept certificates for early income, and sold certificates for later income and principal payments. The IRS advised that the instruments were…
CCA 200512019: Counsel closed arbitrage rebate interest inquiry without an answer
An IRS manager asked whether future valuing an arbitrage rebate payment when computing a refund amounted to paying statutory interest. Chief Counsel said it could not answer without interpreting IRC…
CCA 200512018: Counsel advised how to handle zero returns marked “nunc pro tunc”
Chief Counsel examined individual tax returns filled with zeros and marked “nunc pro tunc.” It advised that the IRS could treat them as frivolous under IRC § 6702 and that the phrase did not affect…
CCA 200512017: Counsel explained insurance special tax payment corrections
Chief Counsel addressed four insurance company questions about special estimated tax payments under IRC § 847. For one company, payments had to be restored to its account to reflect a corporate tax…
CCA 200512016: Appraisers can face penalties for knowing tax understatements
Chief Counsel explained when an appraiser may face an IRC § 6701 penalty for aiding a tax understatement. The appraiser must know that the document would understate someone else's tax; the advice…
CCA 200512015: Business ceased to be a railroad tax employer
The Railroad Retirement Board told the IRS that a business had ceased to be an employer under the Railroad Retirement Act and the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act. After reviewing that opinion…
CCA 200512014: Business became a railroad tax employer
The Railroad Retirement Board told the IRS that a business had become an employer under the Railroad Retirement Act and the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act. After reviewing that opinion and the…
CCA 200512013: Business ceased to be a railroad tax employer
The Railroad Retirement Board told the IRS that a business had ceased to be an employer under the Railroad Retirement Act and the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act. After reviewing that opinion…
CCA 200512012: Business was not a railroad tax employer
The Railroad Retirement Board told the IRS that a business was not an employer under the Railroad Retirement Act and the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act. After reviewing that opinion and the…
CCA 200512011: Business ceased to be a railroad tax employer
The Railroad Retirement Board told the IRS that a business had ceased to be an employer under the Railroad Retirement Act and the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act. After reviewing that opinion…
CCA 200512010: Counsel found two businesses outside railroad employer status
The Railroad Retirement Board provided the IRS with an opinion concerning two businesses under railroad retirement and unemployment insurance laws. After reviewing it, IRS counsel concluded that one…
CCA 200512009: Business was not a railroad tax employer; worker status unresolved
The Railroad Retirement Board told the IRS that a business was not an employer under railroad retirement and unemployment insurance laws. IRS counsel reviewed that opinion and concluded that the…
CCA 200512008: Business was not a railroad tax employer; worker status unresolved
The Railroad Retirement Board told the IRS that a business was not an employer under railroad retirement and unemployment insurance laws. IRS counsel reviewed that opinion and concluded that the…
CCA 200512007: Business was not a railroad tax employer
The Railroad Retirement Board told the IRS that a business was not an employer under the Railroad Retirement Act and the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act. After reviewing that opinion and the…
PLR 200512006: Couple received more time to allocate GST exemptions to trusts
A couple made gifts over several years to three groups of trusts for their children but did not allocate generation-skipping transfer (GST) exemptions to all the transfers. They said their tax…
PLR 200512005: Insurer's accounting method application treated as timely
A nonlife insurance company filed Form 3115 with its tax return and sent copies to the IRS national office to change how it accounted for premiums earned and losses incurred. It later learned that…
PLR 200512004: Couple may elect out of automatic GST exemption allocation
A couple gave property interests to a trust for their children and filed gift tax returns. They intended to elect out of automatic allocation of their generation-skipping transfer (GST) exemptions,…
PLR 200512003: Couple may elect out of automatic GST exemption allocation
A couple gave property interests to a trust for their children and filed gift tax returns. They intended to elect out of automatic allocation of their generation-skipping transfer (GST) exemptions,…
PLR 200512002: Coal synthetic fuel facility qualifies for section 29 credit under stated conditions
A partnership sought rulings on a coal synthetic fuel facility and the IRC § 29 production credit. The IRS accepted the represented fuel as chemically different from the coal used to make it and…
PLR 200512001: Franchise network corporation qualifies as operating on a cooperative basis
A corporation that markets products through franchisees changed its capital structure, articles, and bylaws to operate for their benefit. It asked whether it would count as a corporation operating…
Other 200412005: Criminal Tax Bulletin reviews federal cases
The IRS Criminal Tax Division's June 2002 bulletin collects case notes for informational purposes. It discusses tax evasion, the right to counsel, grand jury subpoenas, accountant communications,…
IRS determination 200511029: Pension funding excise tax waived if distress termination is approved
A nonprofit sponsoring a pension plan withdrew its request for a waiver of the plan's minimum funding standard. Market losses had reduced plan assets, while the organization's funds were largely…
PLR 200511028: Public retirement plan lump sum may receive basis and rollover treatment
A public retirement system offered eligible police officers and firefighters an option to build a lump sum amount while continuing to work. The IRS ruled that a participant who takes the entire…
IRS determination 200511027: Manufacturer receives conditional pension funding waiver
A manufacturer sought relief from a pension plan's minimum funding requirement after declining revenues and losses caused temporary business hardship. The IRS granted a conditional waiver under IRC…
IRS determination 200511026: Manufacturer receives pension funding waiver
A manufacturer sought a waiver of its pension plan's minimum funding standard for the year ending April 17, 2004. Declining sales in its customer industries had strained cash flow, even as the…
IRS determination 200511025: Organization's tax exemption revoked
The IRS issued a final letter revoking an organization's exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3). It said the organization was neither organized nor operated exclusively for exempt purposes and had not…
IRS determination 200511024: IRS proposes revoking a social welfare group's exemption
An examination report recommended revoking a group's exemption under IRC § 501(c)(4). The IRS found that the group repeatedly used its bank accounts to receive and transfer money unrelated to social…
IRS determination 200511023: IRS proposes revoking a fraternity club's exemption
The IRS examination report recommended revoking a fraternity social club's exemption under IRC § 501(c)(7). It found that approximately 65% of the club's gross receipts for the year ending June 30,…
IRS determination 200511022: IRS proposes revoking an organization's exemption after records go unprovided
The IRS proposed revoking an organization's exemption under IRC § 501(c)(5) because it had not supplied information requested for an examination of its books and records. The report cites a…
IRS determination 200511021: IRS issues final revocation of a charity's exemption for lack of exempt activity
The IRS issued a final letter revoking an organization's recognition of exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3). It said the organization had not operated exclusively for an exempt purpose or shown that it…
IRS determination 200511020: IRS finally revokes a sports charity's exemption after records go unprovided
The IRS issued a final letter revoking a sports organization's exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3), retroactive to a redacted date. The attached examination report says the organization supported travel…
IRS determination 200511019: IRS revokes an air medical organization's charity exemption
The IRS issued a final letter revoking an air medical organization's exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3), effective on a redacted date. The examination report says the organization had not documented…
IRS determination 200511018: IRS revokes a charity's exemption after requested records go unprovided
The IRS issued a final letter revoking an organization's exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3). It said the organization had not shown that it was organized and operated exclusively for exempt purposes or…
IRS determination 200511017: IRS revokes exemption over private benefit and inflated attendance records
The IRS issued a final letter revoking an organization's exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3), retroactive to a redacted date. The letter says the organization had not operated exclusively for exempt…
TAM 200511015: VEBA insurance premiums do not trigger the employer's deduction bar
An employer contributed to a voluntary employees' beneficiary association (VEBA) that bought life insurance on employees to fund retirement benefits. The IRS considered whether IRC § 264(a)(1),…
PLR 200511014: Trust agreement attached to gift tax return establishes GST exemption allocation
A taxpayer and spouse funded a trust for their sons and attached its agreement to a timely gift tax return. The taxpayer left blank the form's schedule for allocating the generation-skipping…
PLR 200511013: Powers of appointment preserve four trusts' GST tax exemption
A surviving spouse held special powers of appointment over four trusts derived from two trusts established before September 25, 1985. The spouse planned to give current beneficiaries limited powers…
PLR 200511012: Disability services charity does not qualify for school-related excise tax relief
A charity that cares for people with developmental disabilities sought excise tax exemptions, refunds, and payments available to nonprofit educational organizations. Its programs included individual…
PLR 200511011: Corporation may revoke alternative research credit election
A corporation had elected the alternative incremental research credit method for itself and its controlled group. It asked the IRS for permission to revoke that election for a later tax year before…
PLR 200511010: Start-up corporation may revoke alternative research credit election
A start-up corporation had elected to calculate its research credit under the alternative incremental method. It asked the IRS before its return deadline to revoke the election for a later tax year.…
PLR 200511009: Acquired subsidiary may use standard research credit method
A corporation had elected the alternative incremental research credit method for its controlled group. Another company later acquired it and became the group's parent. The new parent asked whether…
PLR 200511008: Stock value changes alone do not increase shareholders' ownership percentages
A corporation had common and preferred stock outstanding. When the common stock lost value, preferred shareholders' share of the company's total equity value rose even though they had not bought…
PLR 200511007: Unchanged executive bonus goal needs no new shareholder vote
A public company had obtained shareholder approval for a performance goal used to calculate an executive's bonus. Its management agreement could extend if a separate extension goal was met. The…
PLR 200511006: Settlement for treaty fishing losses retains tax-exempt character
A federally recognized tribe settled claims that another party's activities had damaged its treaty-protected fishing rights. The settlement payments were intended to replace income that the tribe…
PLR 200511005: Inadvertent S corporation termination relieved after sale to partnership
An S corporation sold some of its stock to a limited partnership, which was not an eligible S corporation shareholder. The IRS found that the sale terminated the S election but that the termination…
PLR 200511004: Funds receive more time to elect prior-year treatment for dividends
Two regulated investment company funds changed their tax year ends. Their administrator updated its filing calendar for the new year end but omitted the deadline for returns covering the prior year.…
IRS determination 200511003: VEBA loses exemption after admitting unrelated employers
A trust providing employee benefits to participating banks changed its terms to admit employers outside the banking industry. The IRS examination report concluded that the resulting membership…
PLR 200511002: Low salinity water injection qualifies as a tertiary oil recovery method
An oil field operator planned to inject low salinity water into a reservoir and asked whether the method qualified for the enhanced oil recovery credit under IRC § 43. The operator represented that…
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.