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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CCA 200507013: Custom manufacturing may require percentage of completion accounting
A manufacturer asked to use the completed contract method for part of its work, and the IRS had denied that accounting method change. In a follow-up memorandum, Chief Counsel observed that some…
PLR 200507012: Rental income is not passive investment income for S corporation rule
A company that owned and leased a property planned to elect S corporation status. It asked whether its rent counted as passive investment income under the rule that can terminate an S election. The…
PLR 200507011: Corporation granted relief for late S election
A corporation's shareholder intended to elect S corporation status from the date of incorporation, but the election was not filed on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed deadline and…
PLR 200507010: Trust conversion to unitrust preserves GST tax exemption
A trustee proposed converting an older trust's income payments to a unitrust payout equal to a fixed percentage of the trust's value under state law. The trust had become irrevocable before the…
PLR 200507009: Reincorporation does not trigger gain recognition agreement
A company treated as a U.S. corporation had transferred stock of a foreign subsidiary and agreed to recognize deferred gain if a specified event later occurred. It proposed moving its corporate…
PLR 200507008: Charter school qualifies as state instrumentality for Social Security tax rule
A nonprofit charter school asked whether it was an instrumentality of its state for the Social Security portion of FICA. The IRS considered its public education role, state charter and oversight,…
PLR 200507007: Partnership gets 60 days to make late basis adjustment election
After a partner died, a partnership filed its return without a section 754 election to adjust the basis of partnership property. Its professional tax preparer had not advised it that the election…
PLR 200507006: Corporate asset transfer and liquidation qualify as D reorganization
A holding company proposed transferring its assets to a subsidiary in exchange for the subsidiary's stock, then dissolving and distributing that stock to its shareholders. On the stated…
PLR 200507005: Business separation receives spin-off and reorganization rulings
An S corporation operating two businesses proposed moving one business to a new corporation and distributing the new corporation's stock proportionately to its shareholders. The IRS ruled that the…
PLR 200507004: Charitable trust ownership does not make proposed REIT closely held
A shopping center company planning to operate as a real estate investment trust was owned by a charitable trust and intended to sell shares to new investors. It asked how the trust's holdings…
PLR 200507003: S election preserved after stock reached ineligible shareholders
An S corporation's stock was bought by another corporation and an IRA, both ineligible shareholders. Accountants discovered the problem while preparing returns, and the shares were transferred or…
PLR 200507002: Trust settlement preserves GST status, but IRS declines two income tax rulings
Beneficiaries settled a dispute over distributions from a trust that became irrevocable before the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax cutoff. The agreement divided one child's trust into two…
PLR 200507001: Partnership interest listing services do not alone create public trading
A broker-dealer operated two private services for buying and selling partnership interests. One was designed to meet the qualified matching service rules; the other did not meet all those rules but…
200506038: Debt management seller denied charitable tax exemption
A credit counseling organization applied for exemption under section 501(c)(3). The IRS found that its main activity was selling debt management plans in a commercial manner, with little evidence of…
PLR 200506037: Pension plan receives conditional funding waiver
A manufacturer emerging from bankruptcy faced a liquidity crisis after delays and a sharp rise in its main raw material cost. The IRS granted its pension plan a conditional waiver of the minimum…
PLR 200506036: Second pension plan receives conditional funding waiver
A manufacturer emerging from bankruptcy faced a liquidity crisis after delays and a sharp rise in its main raw material cost. The IRS granted a conditional waiver of the minimum funding standard for…
PLR 200506035: Pension plan receives two conditional funding waivers
A manufacturer emerging from bankruptcy faced a liquidity crisis after delays and a sharp rise in its main raw material cost. The IRS granted its defined benefit plan conditional waivers of the…
PLR 200506034: Hourly pension plan receives conditional funding waiver
A manufacturer emerging from bankruptcy faced a liquidity crisis after delays and a sharp rise in its main raw material cost. The IRS granted a conditional minimum funding waiver for its hourly…
PLR 200506033: IRS waived an IRA rollover deadline after bad advice from the IRA company
A taxpayer withdrew money from an IRA intending to buy a first home, but was not selected to buy the house. He tried to redeposit the money within 60 days. Personnel at the IRA company discouraged…
PLR 200506032: IRS granted a pension plan minimum funding waiver
A steel products company sought relief from the minimum funding standard for its defined benefit pension plan. It reported declining revenue and sharply higher raw material costs, while contracts…
PLR 200506031: IRS waived an IRA rollover deadline after an erroneous tax withholding
A taxpayer requested a direct transfer between two SEP IRAs. The first IRA provider instead treated the transfer as taxable and withheld federal income tax, so only part of the funds reached the…
PLR 200506030: IRS waived a rollover deadline after divorce settlement funds went to a brokerage account
A former spouse was due a distribution from her former husband's retirement plan under a qualified domestic relations order. She intended a direct rollover to her IRA, but an incorrect account…
PLR 200506029: IRS waived an IRA rollover deadline missed after a spouse's death
A surviving spouse tried to redeposit funds her husband had withdrawn from his IRA before his death, so they could then be rolled into her IRA. The bank refused because the 60-day deadline had…
PLR 200506028: IRS waived an IRA rollover deadline after a bank teller gave incorrect advice
A taxpayer asked a bank teller about moving an IRA to another IRA. The teller incorrectly said the taxpayer's age prevented the rollover. Relying on that advice, the taxpayer cashed in the IRA and…
PLR 200506027: IRS granted a conditional pension funding waiver after bankruptcy
A manufacturer sought a minimum funding waiver for a defined benefit pension plan after emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Raw material costs and a delayed exit from bankruptcy had created a short…
PLR 200506026: IRS granted a conditional pension funding waiver after bankruptcy
A manufacturer sought a minimum funding waiver for a defined benefit pension plan after emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Raw material costs and a delayed exit from bankruptcy had created a short…
PLR 200506025: Members-only legal information service preserved a business league's exemption
A tax-exempt business league held half the income and losses of a partnership formed to provide members with an online legal information service. The service would organize legal opinions,…
Determination 200506024: IRS denied exemption to an inactive church benefits organization
A nonprofit formed to administer benefit plans for organizations affiliated with a state convention of churches sought recognition as tax-exempt under IRC § 501(c)(3). It had not begun operations…
CCA 200506023: Rejecting amended returns was not an IRS-imposed accounting method change
A taxpayer filed amended returns using a new prepayment assumption to calculate original issue discount on interest-only strips. It had not requested consent to change its accounting method under…
PLR 200506022: Dual citizen's expatriation lost the tax avoidance presumption
A person born in the United States to citizens of another country held both citizenships and later renounced her U.S. citizenship. Her net worth exceeded the statutory threshold that would…
PLR 200506021: IRS extended filing time for dual consolidated loss elections
A corporation missed deadlines for election agreements and annual certifications relating to a subsidiary's dual consolidated losses. It sought relief under the Treasury regulations that permit…
PLR 200506020: IRS allowed a late S corporation election for reasonable cause
A corporation's shareholders intended it to be an S corporation from a stated date, but its Form 2553 was filed late. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed election deadline under IRC §…
PLR 200506019: Inventor kept patent holder status after transferring rights to an LLC
Three independent inventors planned to transfer patent and related rights to an LLC in exchange for membership interests. One inventor asked whether the transfer would end that person's status as a…
PLR 200506018: IRS extended time to sever a QTIP trust and make a reverse election
An estate elected qualified terminable interest property treatment for trust assets but failed to sever the trust and make a reverse QTIP election for generation skipping transfer tax purposes. The…
PLR 200506017: IRS approved a limited revised schedule for nuclear decommissioning fund payments
A utility with an ownership interest in a nuclear plant requested a revised schedule of amounts it could pay into a nuclear decommissioning fund under IRC § 468A. Two public utility commissions had…
PLR 200506016: IRS granted relief for an inadvertently missed S corporation election
A corporation's shareholders intended to elect S corporation status when it was incorporated, but the corporation inadvertently missed the Form 2553 filing deadline. The IRS found reasonable cause…
PLR 200506015: No information return required for untraceable medical purchase rebate points
A company awarded members points that could reduce the price of later medical and related purchases. Some points could reflect a member's own purchases, while others could reflect purchases by a…
PLR 200506014: IRS consented to a fund's revocation of an excise tax timing election
A regulated investment fund had elected to use its December 31 tax year to measure certain income for the distribution requirement under IRC § 4982. It found the election created administrative…
PLR 200506013: Replacing exchangeable notes did not exercise stock options for affiliation rules
A corporate parent bought enough subsidiary stock to bring the subsidiary back into its consolidated group. It financed the purchase with notes that the lender could exchange for subsidiary shares.…
PLR 200506012: IRS treated a late S corporation election as timely if filed within 60 days
A corporation's two shareholders intended S corporation status from the incorporation date, but the corporation missed the Form 2553 filing deadline. The IRS found reasonable cause for the delay…
PLR 200506011: Spin-off shareholders and option holders avoided immediate tax on specified steps
A public company proposed to distribute the stock of a subsidiary to its shareholders and replace outstanding employee and director stock options with adjusted options in the distributing company,…
PLR 200506010: IRS allowed a late S corporation election after a consistent first return
A corporation's shareholder intended S corporation status from incorporation, but the corporation did not file Form 2553 on time. Its first income tax return was filed consistently with S…
PLR 200506009: Inventor kept patent holder status after contributing rights to an LLC
Three independent inventors planned to contribute patent and related rights to an LLC in exchange for membership interests. One inventor asked whether that transfer would end the inventor's status…
PLR 200506008: Inventor retained patent holder status after rights went to a partnership taxed LLC
Three independent inventors planned to transfer patent and related rights to an LLC in exchange for membership interests. One inventor asked whether the transfer would end that inventor's status as…
PLR 200506007: A deemed asset sale allowed a new S corporation election without a five-year wait
A foreign corporation bought all the stock of an S corporation, and the parties made a § 338(h)(10) election treating the purchase as a deemed asset sale and liquidation. The stock was later resold…
PLR 200506006: IRS extended time for a foreign company to elect partnership classification
Two owners of a foreign private company intended it to be treated as a partnership for U.S. federal tax purposes. The company inadvertently missed the deadline to file Form 8832. The IRS found that…
PLR 200506005: IRS extended time for an LLC to elect corporate tax treatment
A domestic LLC intended to elect treatment as an association taxable as a corporation from its formation date. It inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS found that it met the…
PLR 200506004: County emergency care council's income excluded from tax
A state statute required five counties to establish a council to plan and coordinate regional emergency medical and trauma care. The counties appointed its voting directors, funded its operations…
PLR 200506003: Estate given more time to allocate GST exemption to trust
A taxpayer funded a trust for a child and the child's descendants, but an accountant failed to allocate the taxpayer's generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax exemption on the gift tax return. The…
PLR 200506002: LLC given extra time to elect corporate tax treatment
A single-owner LLC intended to elect treatment as a corporation for federal tax purposes, but inadvertently missed the deadline for Form 8832. Its owner was a U.S. corporation. The IRS found that…
PLR 200506001: Former resident avoids tax-avoidance presumption, but purpose unresolved
A former U.S. lawful permanent resident returned to the country where she was born and held citizenship. Her net worth exceeded the threshold that would normally trigger a presumption that she…
Determination 200505032: Public interest law firm denied tax exemption
An organization sought recognition as a charitable public interest law firm under IRC § 501(c)(3). Its founder, an officer and board member, had initiated litigation offered as an example of the…
PLR 200505031: IRS waives 60-day IRA rollover deadline after bank miscommunication
An IRA owner moved funds from an IRA certificate of deposit to another account at the same bank, intending to roll the money back to an IRA. The bank reported a miscommunication about the type of…
PLR 200505030: Disclaimers allow spouse's marital deduction and plan rollover
A deceased state employee had revoked a trust named as beneficiary of his pension and deferred compensation plans without naming a replacement. The plan proceeds therefore passed to his estate.…
PLR 200505029: Retiree gets more time to roll company stock into an IRA
A retired retail clerk received company stock from her employer's 401(k) plan. She did not understand that the certificate was a distribution and was told by a company representative that no tax…
PLR 200505028: Broker error leads to waiver of IRA rollover deadline
An IRA owner intended to move an IRA investment account to another firm. A broker and its representative supplied the wrong account-opening forms, causing the funds to land in an ordinary account…
PLR 200505027: Pension plan funding period extended subject to conditions
A manufacturer's defined benefit pension plan had unfunded liabilities and a funding deficiency. The IRS conditionally extended the remaining amortization period for a combined unfunded liability…
PLR 200505026: IRA rollover deadline waived after online transfer error
An IRA owner used an investment company's website to move money between mutual funds. She believed the destination fund would remain inside her IRA, but the transfer placed the money in a separate…
PLR 200505025: Late S corporation election treated as timely if filed in 60 days
A corporation's sole shareholder intended S corporation treatment from the company's formation, but Form 2553 was not filed on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed deadline under IRC…
Determination 200505024: Member service group denied business league exemption
An association of veterans, fraternal, and other exempt organizations applied for business league exemption under IRC § 501(c)(6). It provided members with guidance on liquor and bingo licenses, tax…
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.