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.
No determinations match these filters
Try fewer or different words, check the spelling, or clear the filters to browse everything.
PLR 200340010: Late S corporation election granted after accountant filing lapse
Two shareholders intended their new corporation to be an S corporation from its first tax year. One assumed the accountant had filed Form 2553, but there was no record of a timely filing. The IRS…
PLR 200340009: Foreign entity receives extension for classification election
A foreign eligible entity intended to elect a federal tax classification effective on a specified date but inadvertently missed the Form 8832 deadline. The IRS found that the entity satisfied the…
PLR 200340008: Foreign entity receives extension for classification election
A foreign eligible entity intended to elect a federal tax classification effective on a specified date but inadvertently missed the Form 8832 deadline. The IRS found that the entity satisfied the…
PLR 200340007: Utility successor and generating facilities meet local furnishing tests
After a utility restructuring, a subsidiary acquired generating assets formerly used by an electric company serving a local area. The IRS ruled that the subsidiary was a successor in interest to the…
PLR 200340006: Utility successor and generating facilities meet local furnishing tests
After a utility restructuring, a subsidiary acquired generating assets formerly used by an electric company serving a local area. The IRS ruled that the subsidiary was a successor in interest to the…
PLR 200340005: Post-service bond redemption does not defeat housing bond financing
A partnership planned an affordable rental housing project funded in part with tax-exempt bonds. It represented that bond proceeds covering at least half the project's aggregate basis would be spent…
PLR 200340004: Court-awarded class counsel fees excluded from members' income
A qualified settlement fund paid attorneys' fees awarded by a court in an opt-out wage and hour class action. The IRS ruled that the fee payments were not income to class members, so the fund did…
PLR 200340003: Late S election allowed from first stock issuance
A corporation intended to elect S status when it first issued shares but did not timely file Form 2553. Its president said it had no stock, business, or assets before that date, and board minutes…
PLR 200340002: Missing S election cured for corporation's first tax year
A corporation intended to be an S corporation from its first tax year and filed an S corporation return for that year, but it never filed Form 2553. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missing…
PLR 200340001: Reformed charitable trust qualifies for estate tax deduction
A decedent's will created a trust paying income to a friend for life, with the remainder going to charity. The original terms did not qualify as a charitable remainder trust because the friend's…
PLR 200339056: Church retirement income plan qualifies under section 403(b)(9)
A church asked whether its defined contribution retirement plan for clergy and other workers was a retirement income program under IRC § 403(b)(9). The plan kept a separate account for each member…
PLR 200339055: Hospital benefit plans qualify as governmental plans
A state-created agency acquired corporate control of a nonprofit hospital system. It chose the holding company's trustees and the hospital's directors, appointed key officers, and reserved approval…
PLR 200339054: Voting share changes and contribution qualify for nonrecognition
Two foreign corporations planned to change the voting power of their shares in a holding company, then contribute those shares to another corporation in exchange for its stock. The IRS ruled that…
PLR 200339053: Investors receive consent for retroactive PFIC elections
U.S. investors held passive foreign investment companies through a foreign partnership. The partnership attempted some qualified electing fund (QEF) elections, but it was not eligible to make them;…
PLR 200339052: Estate receives time to split a trust and elect reverse QTIP treatment
An estate's executor filed a federal estate tax return without dividing a marital trust share into separate trusts for generation-skipping transfer tax purposes or making a reverse QTIP election.…
PLR 200339051: Extension granted for dual consolidated loss filings
A taxpayer missed elections and agreements needed for two years of an entity's dual consolidated losses, as well as a related annual certification. The taxpayer said it had relied on a CPA firm to…
PLR 200339050: Convertible commercial units can qualify in a housing cooperative
A housing cooperative planned to sell shares tied to units currently used as commercial space. Each buyer's lease would allow residential occupancy, and the cooperative represented that converting…
TAM 200339049: Variable annuity account fees count as amounts retained
Two life insurers issued variable annuities backed by separate investment accounts. To calculate the interest credited to policyholders under IRC § 812, the IRS considered which fees the insurers…
CCA 200339048: IRS should resolve doubtful Virgin Islands residency before tax coverover
An IRS processing office asked how to handle tax returns submitted by the Virgin Islands tax bureau when the filer might not be a bona fide Virgin Islands resident. Chief Counsel advised that taxes…
CCA 200339047: Rental company interest does not qualify for estate tax installments
An estate withdrew part of its request for a ruling on paying estate tax in installments under IRC § 6166. Chief Counsel explained its tentative adverse view of the withdrawn issue. A corporation…
CCA 200339046: Fishing sales records summons requires federal confidentiality review
The IRS wanted a state agency's fishing sales records during an examination of a fisherman. Chief Counsel advised that state confidentiality law would not bar an IRS summons, but a federal fisheries…
PLR 200339045: Active property management keeps rents outside S corporation passive income rule
An S corporation with accumulated earnings and profits owned and managed commercial rental properties. Its employees and contractors provided maintenance, tenant support, and other services, and it…
PLR 200339044: Active property management keeps rents outside S corporation passive income rule
An S corporation with accumulated earnings and profits owned and managed commercial rental properties. Its employees and contractors provided maintenance, tenant support, and other services, and it…
PLR 200339043: Estate tax installment treatment for two rental businesses excludes radio site
A decedent's trust owned two corporations that operated commercial rental properties. The estate asked whether those holdings counted as closely held businesses for paying estate tax in installments…
PLR 200339042: Active property management keeps rents outside S corporation passive income rule
An S corporation with accumulated earnings and profits owned and managed commercial rental properties. Its employees and contractors provided maintenance, tenant support, and other services, and it…
PLR 200339041: Active property management keeps rents outside S corporation passive income rule
An S corporation with accumulated earnings and profits owned and managed a commercial rental property. Its employees and contractors provided maintenance, tenant support, and other services, and it…
PLR 200339040: Active property management keeps rents outside S corporation passive income rule
An S corporation with accumulated earnings and profits owned and managed a commercial rental property. Its employees and contractors provided maintenance, tenant support, and other services, and it…
PLR 200339039: Partnership consolidation preserves depreciation methods for older property
Six partnerships planned to combine their real estate holdings in a new limited liability company taxed as a partnership. The IRS treated the new company as the continuation of one partnership,…
PLR 200339038: Partnership consolidation preserves depreciation methods for older property
Six partnerships planned to combine their real estate holdings in a new limited liability company taxed as a partnership. The IRS treated the new company as the continuation of one partnership,…
PLR 200339037: Partnership consolidation preserves depreciation methods for older property
Six partnerships planned to combine their real estate holdings in a new limited liability company taxed as a partnership. The IRS treated the new company as the continuation of one partnership,…
PLR 200339036: Partnership consolidation preserves depreciation methods for older property
Six partnerships planned to combine their real estate holdings in a new limited liability company taxed as a partnership. The IRS treated the new company as the continuation of one partnership,…
PLR 200339035: Utility service company is a governmental instrumentality for bond rules
A political subdivision planned to create a nonprofit company to manage electric power and related services for itself and its member governments. The subdivision would appoint and remove the…
PLR 200339034: Parent receives 60 days to make late QSub election
An S corporation acquired all the shares of another corporation and intended to treat it as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary, or QSub, from the acquisition date. It inadvertently missed the…
PLR 200339033: Parent receives 60 days to make late QSub election
An S corporation acquired all the shares of another corporation and intended to treat it as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary, or QSub, from the acquisition date. It inadvertently missed the…
PLR 200339032: Partnership consolidation preserves depreciation methods for older property
Six partnerships planned to combine their real estate holdings in a new limited liability company taxed as a partnership. The IRS treated the new company as the continuation of one partnership,…
PLR 200339031: Partnership consolidation preserves depreciation methods for older property
Six partnerships planned to combine their real estate holdings in a new limited liability company taxed as a partnership. The IRS treated the new company as the continuation of one partnership,…
PLR 200339030: Revised schedule approved for nuclear decommissioning fund
A regulated utility requested a revised schedule of ruling amounts for its qualified nuclear decommissioning fund after a utility commission increased decommissioning costs included in rates. The…
PLR 200339029: Revised schedule approved for nuclear decommissioning fund
A regulated utility requested a revised schedule of ruling amounts for its qualified nuclear decommissioning fund after a utility commission increased decommissioning costs included in rates. The…
PLR 200339028: Vehicle lease trust and holding company disregarded for tax purposes
A fleet leasing company planned to finance vehicles through a wholly owned holding company and a business trust. The IRS ruled that the proposed lease documents met the requirements for a qualified…
PLR 200339027: Corporation receives relief for late S election
A corporation intended to elect S corporation status from its incorporation date but did not timely file Form 2553. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed deadline under IRC § 1362(b)(5). It…
PLR 200339026: Revocable trust may own disregarded LLC holding S corporation shares
A married couple planned to transfer their ownership interest in a single-member LLC to their revocable trust. The LLC held interests in several S corporations and was already disregarded for…
PLR 200339025: Estate receives late family-owned business deduction election relief
An estate's tax return preparer omitted the election for the qualified family-owned business interest deduction under IRC § 2057 and did not advise the executor about it. Another law firm discovered…
PLR 200339024: Late S election allowed for corporation's first tax year
A corporation's shareholders intended S corporation status and the corporation filed an S corporation tax return for its first year, but it did not timely file Form 2553. The IRS found reasonable…
PLR 200339023: LLC receives extensions for corporate classification and S election
The owners of an LLC intended it to be taxed as a corporation and to elect S corporation status from its formation date. The LLC inadvertently missed the deadlines for both Form 8832 and Form 2553.…
PLR 200339022: Unit rented to one full-time law student remains low-income unit
A low-income housing project rented a unit to a single, 50-year-old tenant attending law school full time. The tenant met the income limit but did not fall within the listed student exceptions in…
PLR 200339021: Late renunciation of trust benefit is a taxable gift
A surviving spouse wanted to give up her contingent right to distributions from a trust so its assets could pass to her sons. She asked the IRS to rule that doing so would create no taxable gift,…
PLR 200339020: Late S election requires amended returns for first year
A corporation intended to elect S status from its incorporation date but filed a corporate income tax return for its first year and learned later that no S election had been filed. The IRS found…
PLR 200339019: Corporation receives conditional relief for late S election
A corporation intended to elect S corporation status from a specified date but did not timely file Form 2553. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed deadline under IRC § 1362(b)(5). It said…
PLR 200339018: Charitable lead trust gets annuity deduction with grantor status caveat
A taxpayer proposed a 30-year charitable lead trust that would pay a fixed annual amount to qualified charities, then distribute the remainder to the taxpayer's children. The IRS ruled that the…
PLR 200339017: Law school assistance plan qualifies for employee income exclusion
A law firm proposed a written educational assistance plan to help non-lawyer employees pay law school tuition, including through payments tied to loan principal and interest. The plan was open to…
PLR 200339016: Tax treatment of disability and critical illness insurance riders
A life insurer asked how recipients would be taxed on disability income and critical illness benefits under riders attached to a life policy. The IRS ruled that the benefits generally were excluded…
PLR 200339015: Tax treatment of disability and critical illness insurance riders
A prospective policyholder asked how they would be taxed on disability income and critical illness benefits under riders attached to a life policy. The IRS ruled that the benefits generally were…
PLR 200339014: Controlled group may revoke alternative research credit election
A parent company and its controlled group had elected the alternative incremental method for calculating the research credit under IRC § 41(c)(4). Before the due date of a later return, the parent…
PLR 200339013: Taxpayer may revoke alternative research credit election
A taxpayer had elected the alternative incremental method for calculating its research credit under IRC § 41(c)(4). Before the filing deadline for a later tax year, it requested the IRS's consent to…
PLR 200339012: Corporation may continue relying on earlier bond ruling for limited period
A corporation asked to extend the period during which it could rely on an earlier private letter ruling about proposed bonds. It represented that no bonds had been issued and that no significant…
PLR 200339011: Bond authority receives extension for unused volume cap election
A state bond authority missed the deadline to file Form 8328 to carry forward part of its unused 2002 private activity bond volume cap. It filed the form after discovering the omission and then…
PLR 200339010: Replacement property report substantially meets ESOP sale rule
An individual sold company stock to its employee stock ownership plan and bought replacement securities for a possible IRC § 1042 gain deferral. An investment bank delayed providing purchase…
PLR 200339009: Housing authority may use new area purchase price limits
A bond authority submitted sales data for new and existing single-family homes to support average area purchase price limits more precise than published safe harbors. The IRS accepted the…
PLR 200339008: Supplemental ruling narrows a conversion caveat
A taxpayer requested a change to one caveat in an earlier ruling about a corporate conversion. The IRS retained its statement that it expressed no opinion under IRC § 833, including whether the…
PLR 200339007: Business split qualifies as a tax-free reorganization and distribution
Two equal shareholder groups disagreed over how to manage a corporation's business. The corporation planned to transfer about half its assets to a new corporation and distribute all of the new…
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.