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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Late section 336(e) election receives extension
A purchaser acquired all stock of an S corporation target in a transaction the parties represented was a qualified stock disposition. The parties intended to elect under section 336(e) to treat the…
Foreign entity receives extension for classification election
A foreign limited liability company wanted a federal tax classification different from its default status but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS found that the entity met the…
LLC receives extension to elect corporate classification
A domestic limited liability company was eligible to elect treatment as an association taxable as a corporation but did not timely file Form 8832. The IRS found that the company satisfied the…
Late portability election receives 120-day extension
An estate below the estate-tax filing threshold did not timely file Form 706 to elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount. The failure was discovered after the election…
Estate granted 120 days for portability election
An estate below the filing threshold failed to file Form 706 by the deadline for electing portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount. After discovering the omission, it requested…
Estate granted 120 days for portability election
An estate below the filing threshold failed to file Form 706 by the deadline for electing portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount. After discovering the omission, it requested…
Estate granted 120 days for portability election
The surviving spouse, acting as executor, missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount. The estate was below the filing threshold, and…
Company granted time for two research expenditure elections
A parent company used the optional 10-year writeoff for research and experimental expenditures on consolidated returns for two tax years but failed to attach the required election statements. It…
REIT granted time for taxable subsidiary election
A real estate investment trust and an indirectly owned hotel lessee intended to elect taxable REIT subsidiary status, but their adviser omitted the lessee after receiving a list with its name…
Group granted time to waive loss carryback
A consolidated group intended to waive the entire carryback period for a consolidated net operating loss, and its returns were filed consistently with that intent, but the required election…
Foreign entity granted late partnership election
A foreign entity with two owners intended to elect partnership classification for federal tax purposes but did not timely file Form 8832. It represented that it was an eligible foreign entity and…
Estate granted 120 days for portability election
An estate below the federal estate tax filing threshold missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount. After discovering the omission,…
Estate granted 120 days for portability election
An estate below the federal estate tax filing threshold did not timely file Form 706 to elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount. The omission was discovered after the…
Late rental real estate grouping election approved
A married couple represented that they qualified as real property business taxpayers but filed their joint return without the statement electing to group all rental real estate interests as one…
Late S election and QSST relief approved
An S corporation parent distributed all stock of its qualified subchapter S subsidiary to three trusts, ending the subsidiary election. The company intended to become an S corporation immediately,…
Late qualified small business stock election approved
A taxpayer sold qualified small business stock but failed to make the section 1045 election on its return. That election can defer gain when replacement qualified small business stock is purchased…
Estate granted 120 days for portability election
An estate below the federal estate tax filing threshold failed to file Form 706 by the deadline for electing portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount. The decedent had made no…
Couple granted late foreign earned income elections
A married couple filed joint returns while one spouse worked for an employer in a foreign country. They did not timely file Form 2555 or Form 2555-EZ to elect the section 911 foreign earned income…
Estate granted 120 days for portability election
An estate below the federal estate tax filing threshold failed to file Form 706 by the deadline for electing portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount. The decedent had made no…
Late success-based fee safe-harbor statement approved
A subsidiary paid a success-based broker fee in a completed stock acquisition. The taxpayer's return treated 70 percent of the fee as deductible and 30 percent as capitalized under Revenue Procedure…
Late disregarded-entity election receives a 120-day extension
A foreign eligible entity failed to file Form 8832 on time to be treated as a disregarded entity from its intended effective date. It represented that it had acted reasonably and in good faith and…
Late disregarded-entity election receives a 120-day extension
A foreign eligible entity's owner intended the entity to be classified as a disregarded entity from its formation date, but the entity did not file Form 8832 on time. The IRS concluded that the…
Late partnership-classification election receives a 120-day extension
The owners of a foreign eligible entity intended it to be classified as a partnership from its formation date, but the entity did not file Form 8832 on time. The IRS concluded that the entity…
Partnership receives 120 days to make a late section 754 election
A limited liability company taxed as a partnership timely filed its federal return but inadvertently omitted its intended section 754 election. The election would allow basis adjustments to…
Late section 754 election is approved after an owner's death
A limited liability company taxed as a partnership failed to make a section 754 election for the year in which an owner, who held an interest through a grantor trust, died. The partnership…
Late qualified subchapter S subsidiary election is approved
An S corporation wholly owned a domestic subsidiary and intended to treat it as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary from the subsidiary's incorporation date. The parent inadvertently failed to file…
Late elections out of bonus depreciation receive 60 days
A consolidated corporate group consistently calculated depreciation as though it had elected out of additional first-year depreciation for specified property classes across seven taxable years. Its…
Late consolidated return election receives 60-day extension
A new corporate parent failed to timely elect to file a consolidated federal income tax return with its subsidiaries and members of an acquired group's former consolidated group. It requested…
Corporate group gets 45 days to make late consolidated election
A corporate parent failed to timely elect to file a consolidated federal income tax return with its affiliated group. The parent showed that it had reasonably relied on a qualified tax professional…
Estate gets 120 days to elect portability
A decedent's 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 gross…
Donor gets 120 days to allocate GST exemption
A donor transferred interests in real property to an irrevocable trust for a child, the child's spouse, and their descendants. The donor's enrolled agent timely filed Form 709 but reported the…
Partnership gets 120 days to make section 754 election
A limited partnership intended to elect under IRC § 754 to adjust the basis of partnership property but inadvertently omitted the election from its timely filed return. The partnership and all…
Late estate tax portability election receives relief
An estate failed to file Form 706 by the deadline needed to elect portability of the decedent's unused estate tax exclusion for the surviving spouse. The surviving spouse represented that the…
Late success-fee safe harbor elections approved
An acquiring corporation and its target sought extra time to elect the safe harbor in Revenue Procedure 2011-29 for success-based transaction fees. Their return had allocated the fees under the safe…
Estate receives 120-day portability extension
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the decedent's unused estate tax exclusion for the surviving spouse. The estate represented that the gross estate, including…
Late QSub election receives 120-day extension
An S corporation owned all the stock of a subsidiary and intended to elect qualified subchapter S subsidiary status effective when the subsidiary was formed. It failed to file Form 8869 because of…
Spouse gets 120 days to complete QDOT annuity transfers
A noncitizen surviving spouse received payments from a nonassignable pension annuity and later established a qualified domestic trust. She transferred the corpus portion of the payments to the QDOT,…
Taxpayers get 60 days for late investment income election
Married taxpayers had investment interest expense and carryovers that exceeded their net investment income. Their return preparer omitted earlier carryovers and failed to advise them that they could…
S corporation received more time to file original accounting-method forms
An S corporation hired an accounting firm to implement two automatic accounting-method changes involving its inventory. The firm prepared both Forms 3115, timely filed the required copies with the…
Partnership received 120 more days to make a § 754 election
A limited liability company taxed as a partnership intended to elect under § 754 to adjust the basis of partnership property. It timely filed its partnership return but inadvertently omitted the…
Estate received 120 more days to elect portability of unused exclusion
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount to the surviving spouse. The personal representative represented that the gross…
Property insurer received more time to make the small-company tax election
A property and casualty insurer relied on a tax professional to prepare its first Form 1120-PC and the election under § 831(b) to be taxed only on investment income. Oversights at the professional's…
Corporation received 60 more days to elect IC-DISC status
A domestic corporation was formed to operate as an interest charge domestic international sales corporation. Its accounting firm prepared Form 4876-A, an officer signed it, and another officer was…
Acquired company received more time for success-based fee safe harbor
A corporation incurred success-based fees while arranging its acquisition by another company. Its merger agreement required the Rev. Proc. 2011-29 safe harbor election, and its return treated 70…
Partnership received conditional relief for a late § 754 election
A limited partnership failed to make a timely § 754 election for the year in which one of its partners died. The partnership represented that it acted reasonably and in good faith and that late…
Consolidated group received more time to waive loss carryback
A consolidated corporate group incurred a consolidated net operating loss and intended to waive the entire carryback period for that loss. The common parent failed to file a valid election with the…
Corporation received S election and subsidiary election relief
A corporation's S election was ineffective because spouses with community property interests did not consent and the ownership information on Form 2553 was inaccurate. The corporation also failed to…
Spouse received more time to opt out of automatic GST allocations
A married couple made cash gifts to three family trusts and elected to treat certain gifts as made one-half by each spouse. Their accountant failed to timely prepare several gift tax returns, so the…
Donor received more time to opt out of automatic GST allocations
A husband made annual cash gifts to two family trusts, and the spouses elected to treat certain gifts as made one-half by each spouse. Their accountant failed to timely prepare several gift tax…
Late entity classification election granted 9100 relief
A limited liability company asked for additional time to elect disregarded-entity status after its sole owner acquired it. The company and its owner had filed their relevant returns consistently…
Estate received more time to elect portability
A surviving spouse, acting as executor, asked for more time to elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate tax exclusion. The estate had missed the Form 706 deadline but represented…
Late duplicate Form 3115 filing received an extension
A taxpayer timely filed its original income tax return with Form 3115 for an automatic accounting method change, but did not send the required duplicate Form 3115 to the designated IRS office. The…
Late Form 1128 treated as timely filed
A corporation filed Form 1128 late when seeking to change its annual accounting period from a June 30 year-end to a March 31 year-end. It missed the due date tied to the short-period return but…
Estate received more time to elect portability
A surviving spouse, acting as executor, asked for more time to elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate tax exclusion. The estate had missed the Form 706 deadline but represented…
Estate received more time to elect portability
A surviving spouse, acting as executor, asked for more time to elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate tax exclusion. The estate had missed the Form 706 deadline but represented…
Estate received more time to elect portability
A surviving spouse, acting as executor, asked for more time to elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate tax exclusion. The estate had missed the Form 706 deadline but represented…
Estate received more time to elect portability
A surviving spouse, acting as executor, asked for more time to elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate tax exclusion. The estate had missed the Form 706 deadline but represented…
Estate received more time to elect portability
A surviving spouse, acting as executor, asked for more time to elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate tax exclusion. The estate had missed the Form 706 deadline but represented…
Estate received more time to elect portability
A surviving spouse's representative asked for more time to elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate tax exclusion. The estate had missed the Form 706 deadline but represented that…
Estate received more time to elect portability
A surviving spouse's representative asked for more time to elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate tax exclusion. The estate had missed the Form 706 deadline but 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.