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 200403028: Single owner LLC gets time to elect corporate tax treatment
A single owner limited liability company wanted to be taxed as a corporation from a specified date but failed to file Form 8832 on time. It sought a discretionary extension under the regulatory…
PLR 200403027: Four exempt organizations are not individuals for REIT ownership test
A corporation seeking real estate investment trust treatment had shares owned by four charitable organizations. It asked whether those holdings counted as stock held by individuals under the closely…
PLR 200403026: City hospital is a municipal unit and receives deductible gifts
A city hospital asked whether it was an integral part of the city for federal tax purposes and whether public purpose gifts to it could be deducted. The city appointed its trustees, reviewed its…
PLR 200403025: Feeder fund looks through portfolio partnership for RIC tests
A feeder investment fund planned to invest cash in a master portfolio organized as a partnership, while retaining a substantial amount in bonds and other fixed income investments to protect…
PLR 200403024: Mechanical breakdown plans qualify as insurance contracts
An equipment distributor planned to form a subsidiary that would sell plans covering certain mechanical failures after equipment sales or leases. The subsidiary would pay the distributor to repair…
PLR 200403023: City redevelopment payments count as qualifying REIT income
A real estate investment trust held an indirect interest in a developer building within a city redevelopment area. The city agreed to reimburse approved development costs, with payments limited by…
PLR 200403022: Five year nuclear decommissioning fund schedule approved
A utility with an ownership interest in a nuclear plant requested a revised schedule of deductible payments to its decommissioning fund. Three public utility commissions had included decommissioning…
PLR 200403021: Five year nuclear decommissioning fund schedule approved
A utility with an ownership interest in a nuclear plant requested a revised schedule of deductible payments to its decommissioning fund. Three public utility commissions had included decommissioning…
PLR 200403020: Corporation may make late S election for its first tax year
A corporation intended to elect S corporation status for its first taxable year but did not file Form 2553 on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed deadline under section 1362(b)(5).…
PLR 200403019: Subsidiary recapitalization and business split-off qualify for nonrecognition
A parent corporation planned to separate its subsidiary because customers objected to the parent's ownership. The transaction included contributing an intercompany note to the subsidiary, creating…
PLR 200403018: Consolidated group may file late loss carryback waiver
After a reverse acquisition changed the common parent of a consolidated group, the parent intended to waive the group's entire carryback period for a consolidated net operating loss. It missed the…
PLR 200403017: Consolidated group may file late loss carryback waiver
The parent of a consolidated corporate group intended to waive the group's entire carryback period for a consolidated net operating loss. It missed the required election statement and asked for an…
PLR 200403016: Seller may use alternative basis recovery for contingent installments
A shareholder sold stock in an installment transaction treated under section 338(h)(10) as a sale of the corporation's assets. Later payments depended on the buyer group's pretax income, with no…
PLR 200403015: Seller may use alternative basis recovery for contingent installments
A shareholder sold stock in an installment transaction treated under section 338(h)(10) as a sale of the corporation's assets. Later payments depended on the buyer group's pretax income, with no…
PLR 200403014: Seller may use alternative basis recovery for contingent installments
A shareholder sold stock in an installment transaction treated under section 338(h)(10) as a sale of the corporation's assets. Later payments depended on the buyer group's pretax income, with no…
PLR 200403013: Seller may use alternative basis recovery for contingent installments
A shareholder sold stock in an installment transaction treated under section 338(h)(10) as a sale of the corporation's assets. Later payments depended on the buyer group's pretax income, with no…
PLR 200403012: Seller may use alternative basis recovery for contingent installments
A shareholder sold stock in an installment transaction treated under section 338(h)(10) as a sale of the corporation's assets. Later payments depended on the buyer group's pretax income, with no…
PLR 200403011: Seller may use alternative basis recovery for contingent installments
A shareholder sold stock in an installment transaction treated under section 338(h)(10) as a sale of the corporation's assets. Later payments depended on the buyer group's pretax income, with no…
PLR 200403010: Seller may use alternative basis recovery for contingent installments
A shareholder sold stock in an installment transaction treated under section 338(h)(10) as a sale of the corporation's assets. Later payments depended on the buyer group's pretax income, with no…
PLR 200403009: Seller may use alternative basis recovery for contingent installments
A shareholder sold stock in an installment transaction treated under section 338(h)(10) as a sale of the corporation's assets. Later payments depended on the buyer group's pretax income, with no…
PLR 200403008: Seller may use alternative basis recovery for contingent installments
A shareholder sold stock in an installment transaction treated under section 338(h)(10) as a sale of the corporation's assets. Later payments depended on the buyer group's pretax income, with no…
PLR 200403007: Seller may use alternative basis recovery for contingent installments
A shareholder sold stock in an installment transaction treated under section 338(h)(10) as a sale of the corporation's assets. Later payments depended on the buyer group's pretax income, with no…
PLR 200403006: Revised nuclear decommissioning fund payment schedule approved
A utility with an ownership interest in a nuclear plant asked the IRS to revise the annual amounts it could contribute to its nuclear decommissioning fund. Three public utility commissions set rates…
PLR 200403005: REIT and subsidiary receive more time to file joint election
A real estate investment trust and a corporation it indirectly owned intended to elect taxable REIT subsidiary treatment, but the required joint Form 8875 was filed for a related REIT instead. The…
PLR 200403004: Foreign entity gets more time to elect disregarded status
A foreign entity in a restructuring missed the deadline to file Form 8832 to be treated as disregarded from its owner for federal tax purposes. It requested relief under the rules for late…
PLR 200403003: Foreign entity gets more time to elect partnership status
A foreign entity in a restructuring missed the deadline to file Form 8832 to elect partnership treatment for federal tax purposes. It requested relief under the rules for late regulatory elections.…
PLR 200403002: Foreign entity gets more time to elect partnership status
A foreign entity in a restructuring missed the deadline to file Form 8832 to elect partnership treatment for federal tax purposes. It requested relief under the rules for late regulatory elections.…
TAM 200403001: Dump truck sale remains subject to retail excise tax
A truck retailer sold a dump truck without paying the section 4051 retail excise tax after obtaining the buyer's statement that the truck was for off-road use. The truck had a standard highway…
PLR 200402031: Tribal police contributions count toward a governmental plan
A federally recognized tribe's police department asked whether its contributions for peace officers to a state retirement plan would count as contributions by a governmental agency under section…
PLR 200402030: Pension plan receives conditional minimum funding waiver
A company requested relief from the minimum funding standard for its defined benefit pension plan for the year ended December 31, 2002. Its parent had sustained net losses and defaulted on senior…
PLR 200402029: Surviving spouse receives waiver for late IRA rollover
After her spouse died, a taxpayer recovering from major back surgery requested a full distribution of his IRA to a trust rather than the periodic payments specified in the beneficiary designation.…
PLR 200402028: Adviser error leads to waiver of IRA rollover deadline
A taxpayer directed an investment adviser to move an IRA to a new IRA at another company. The adviser mistakenly opened a regular brokerage account instead, causing a distribution, and the taxpayer…
PLR 200402027: Revised state plan contributions qualify as employer pickup
A state retirement system sought a new ruling after the IRS had found that optional employee contributions to a governmental defined contribution plan did not qualify as employer picked up…
PLR 200402026: Hospital pension plan receives conditional funding waiver
A hospital received a conditional waiver of its pension plan's minimum funding standard for the 2002 plan year. The hospital reported losses over three fiscal years, declining plan assets, lower…
PLR 200402025: Nonprofit hospital pension plan receives conditional waiver
A nonprofit hospital formed through a merger received a conditional waiver of its pension plan's minimum funding standard for the 2002 plan year. The hospital reported net losses and negative…
PLR 200402024: Glassmaker's pension plan receives conditional waiver
A glass container manufacturer received a conditional waiver of its collectively bargained pension plan's minimum funding standard for the 2002 plan year. The company reported substantial losses,…
PLR 200402023: Manufacturer's pension plan receives funding waiver
A manufacturer received a waiver of its pension plan's minimum funding standard for the 2002 plan year. The plan had been closed to new participants and frozen since 1997, while investment losses…
PLR 200402022: Pension funding and 100 percent excise tax waivers granted
A company with a pension plan tied to a closed plant received a conditional waiver of the minimum funding standard for the 2002 plan year. The IRS also waived the 100 percent excise tax under…
PLR 200402021: S corporation status restored after excess passive income
An S corporation had accumulated earnings and profits and received more than 25 percent of its gross receipts from passive investment income for three consecutive years. Its S election therefore…
PLR 200402020: Pro rata division of old trust preserves tax treatment
The trustee of a trust that became irrevocable before September 25, 1985, proposed dividing it into four separate trusts for its current beneficiaries. The assets would be divided in proportion to…
PLR 200402019: Cash redemption and new businesses preserve trust tax status
An S corporation planned to distribute cash proportionately to its shareholders in exchange for some of their stock. Two shareholders were qualified subchapter S trusts, and each would contribute…
PLR 200402018: Estate gets more time to allocate GST exemption
An executor filed a timely estate tax return without Schedule R after relying on a tax professional's advice that no special allocation of generation skipping transfer tax exemption was needed. The…
PLR 200402017: Late GST exemption allocations allowed for trust transfers
A couple transferred closely held stock to a trust with a part intended to be exempt from generation skipping transfer tax. Their tax professional did not advise them to file gift tax returns or…
PLR 200402016: Spouse receives extension for GST exemption allocations
A couple transferred closely held stock to a trust with a part intended to be exempt from generation skipping transfer tax. A tax professional did not advise them to file gift tax returns or…
PLR 200402015: Late GST allocations allowed for split gifts to trusts
A husband made partnership interest and cash transfers to two trusts for grandchildren, and he and his wife elected to split the gifts. The wife intended to allocate her generation skipping transfer…
PLR 200402014: Couple may correct partial GST exemption allocation
A couple split a gift to a trust that held insurance on one spouse's life. The trust could benefit their children and grandchildren, so generation skipping transfer tax could apply. Their accountant…
PLR 200402013: Late election to waive consolidated loss carryback allowed
A consolidated corporate group intended to waive the carryback period for a consolidated net operating loss. It filed its return on time and treated the election as effective, but failed to file a…
PLR 200402012: Trust reformation permits estate charitable deduction
A decedent's trust provided payments to family members followed by charitable interests, but its original terms did not qualify as a charitable remainder trust. The trustee proposed satisfying…
PLR 200402011: Buyer may make late election against acquired losses' carryback
A corporate group acquired five companies from another consolidated group and missed an election to waive carrybacks of losses attributable to those companies into years when they belonged to a…
PLR 200402010: Late loss carryback waiver allowed for nine acquired companies
A corporate group acquired nine companies from another consolidated group and failed to elect against carrying their attributable losses back into years when they belonged to a former group. The IRS…
PLR 200402009: Proportional redemption preserves S corporation and trust treatment
An S corporation planned to redeem stock proportionately from its shareholders, including two qualified subchapter S trusts. The shareholders would invest the cash in two new limited liability…
CCA 200402008: Section 6700 penalties may reach promoter and participants separately
Chief Counsel addressed a tax shelter promoter whose employees solicited clients, prepared transaction materials, and helped implement a strategy that allegedly promised false tax benefits. The…
CCA 200402007: IRS cannot routinely seek waiver of separate notices to joint filers
Chief Counsel considered a proposal to ask spouses filing joint returns to waive separate IRS notices during an audit. Section 3201(d) of the IRS Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 directs the IRS…
PLR 200402006: Late section 338 election allowed after foreign stock acquisition
Two U.S. shareholders of a foreign acquirer intended to elect under section 338(g) for the acquirer's purchase of a foreign target and deemed purchases of its subsidiaries, but failed to file a…
CCA 200402005: Fraud defeats reliance on prior employment tax audit
A couple operating a janitorial business claimed that an earlier IRS employment tax compliance check protected their treatment of workers under section 530 of the Revenue Act of 1978. Chief Counsel…
CCA 200402004: Release from restitution obligation creates no debt discharge income
A corporate owner was personally liable with his company for restitution of crude oil overcharges. After the government released its judgment lien and issued him a cancellation of debt form, IRS…
PLR 200402003: S corporation merger into charity passes tax items to shareholders
An S corporation proposed merging into a newly formed nonprofit that would continue its activities, with no consideration or other benefit to the corporation or its shareholders. The IRS ruled that…
PLR 200402002: Foreign entity gets more time to elect partnership status
A foreign entity involved in a restructuring intended to elect partnership classification for U.S. tax purposes, but inadvertently missed the deadline to file Form 8832. The IRS found that the…
PLR 200402001: Equipment protection plans qualify as insurance contracts
A subsidiary planned to sell three protection plans covering failures of equipment used in automobiles. Depending on the plan, it would pay benefits, cover resulting vehicle repairs, or arrange…
PLR 200401025: IRA rollover deadline waived for taxpayer with Alzheimer's disease
A retiree with progressive Alzheimer's disease withdrew money from an IRA while buying a home. A medical evaluation found that the retiree did not understand the withdrawals or their 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.