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 200308004: Business separation qualifies as a type D reorganization
A corporate group planned to place one business in a controlled corporation and distribute that corporation's stock to the parent's common shareholders. It sought supplemental rulings after an…
PLR 200308003: Inadvertent stock transfer receives S corporation termination relief
An S corporation's shareholders transferred stock to an ineligible shareholder without realizing the transfer would end the corporation's S election. The IRS found the termination inadvertent under…
PLR 200308002: Commercial property rents are not passive investment income
An S corporation owned and managed six commercial rental properties. It described tenant services, property maintenance, and the work of its employee and contractors, and asked whether its rent was…
TAM 200308001: Geothermal depletion uses field price or reasonable income allocation
A geothermal producer converted steam to electricity and sold the electricity under a contract. The advice explains that percentage depletion is based on the geothermal deposit as defined in §…
PLR 200307097: Hospital retirement plans qualify as church plans
A church affiliated hospital and its affiliate separated from a larger health system, and portions of three existing retirement plans became new plans for their employees. The hospital asked whether…
PLR 200307096: Three hospital retirement plans qualify as church plans
A church affiliated hospital and its affiliate separated from a larger health system, and portions of three existing retirement plans became new plans for their employees. The hospital asked whether…
PLR 200307095: IRA beneficiary may use his own life expectancy for distributions
A mother died before she had to begin taking minimum distributions from her IRA. She had named her three children as equal beneficiaries, and the IRA was divided into separate accounts for them…
PLR 200307094: Health care recruitment services preserve exemption and avoid unrelated business tax
An exempt health organization operated an online service that listed health care jobs and a more personal recruitment service for small rural hospitals. It asked whether expanding those services…
PLR 200307093: County may sponsor spun off governmental deferred pay plan
A county board was taking over park functions and employees from an entity it controlled. The entity had adopted a cash or deferred arrangement in 1985, before federal law generally barred new…
PLR 200307092: County agency may treat picked up pension contributions as employer contributions
A county agency proposed a defined contribution retirement plan under which eligible employees could irrevocably choose a contribution rate. The agency would pay the amounts directly to the plan in…
PLR 200307091: Taxpayer gets more time to undo an ineligible Roth IRA conversion
A taxpayer converted a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA in 1998 after receiving advice from the account provider. His income exceeded the then applicable limit for a Roth conversion, but he did not…
PLR 200307090: Peace officers may join state governmental retirement plan
A law enforcement agency for a federally recognized Indian band wanted its peace officers to join a state retirement plan. State law authorized the agency to exercise law enforcement powers, while…
PLR 200307089: Plan transfer and picked up contributions avoid current tax
A public transportation agency proposed a new defined contribution plan alongside its existing pension plan. Some employees could move the present value of their existing benefits directly to the…
PLR 200307088: IRS grants more time to allocate GST tax exemption to two trusts
A married couple created two trusts and made gifts of stock to them in different years. The taxpayer filed gift tax returns but did not attach notices allocating generation-skipping transfer tax…
CCA 200307087: Retread tire costs depend on use and useful life
Chief Counsel clarified earlier advice about taxpayers that did not elect a special capitalization method for vehicle tires. Such taxpayers must treat retread tires used as original or replacement…
CCA 200307086: Collector's return starts the excise tax assessment period
Chief Counsel addressed the deadline to assess excise taxes on communications and air transportation services against the customer who owes them. The service provider collects these taxes and files…
PLR 200307085: Late S corporation election receives relief
A corporation intended to be an S corporation but discovered that its election had not been filed on time. It asked the IRS to treat the election as timely for the year it had intended. The IRS…
PLR 200307084: Employee relief fund grants are excluded from recipients' income
A retailer planned to let employees make voluntary payroll contributions to an independent public charity that helps employees and dependents facing temporary financial hardship. The charity would…
PLR 200307083: IRS finds no principal tax avoidance purpose in expatriation
A former U.S. citizen requested a ruling after renouncing citizenship while having net worth above the threshold in the expatriation rules then in force. He had lived outside the United States and…
PLR 200307082: Extension granted for GST exemption allocations to two trusts
A spouse created separate trusts for the couple's son and daughter and transferred cash and stock to them. The spouses filed gift tax returns and elected to split the gifts, but the taxpayer did not…
PLR 200307081: Electric intertie transfer excluded as capital contribution
A rural electric cooperative planned to transfer an interconnection facility to an investor-owned utility. The facility would connect a new generator to the utility's transmission grid, chiefly so…
PLR 200307080: Insurer holding company distributions are liquidating payments
After a life insurer's liquidity crisis, its mutual holding company sold its operating subsidiary and planned to distribute the remaining proceeds to eligible policyholders as it liquidated. The IRS…
PLR 200307079: S election survives temporary limited partnership conversion
An S corporation converted into a state limited partnership to reduce state franchise tax and elected to remain classified as a corporation for federal tax purposes. It later converted back after…
PLR 200307078: Taxpayer gets more time for GST allocations to child trusts
A taxpayer created separate trusts for a son and daughter and transferred cash and stock to each. The taxpayer and spouse filed gift tax returns electing to split the gifts, but the taxpayer made no…
CCA 200307077: Bankrupt common parent remains consolidated group's agent
Chief Counsel considered who could sign a Form 872 extending the assessment period for a consolidated tax group after its parent company entered bankruptcy and formed a liquidating trust. The parent…
PLR 200307076: Coal synfuel qualifies for the former section 29 credit
An entity acquired and moved a plant that turns coal into synthetic fuel, then sought rulings on the former § 29 production credit. The IRS found that the specified process produced qualified fuel…
PLR 200307075: Consolidated group gets more time to waive loss carryback
A consolidated corporate group intended to give up the carryback period for a consolidated net operating loss, but its timely tax return lacked a valid election statement. The IRS found that the…
PLR 200307074: Company may file its S election late after attorney omission
A company whose sole shareholder was a grantor trust began doing business after a limited liability company merged into it. The company and the trust's trustees and beneficiaries intended S…
PLR 200307073: Corporation receives relief for late S election
A corporation intended S corporation tax treatment from its incorporation date but failed to file Form 2553 on time. It asked the IRS for a ruling under § 1362. The IRS found reasonable cause for…
PLR 200307072: Attorney's late filing of S election receives relief
A corporation's sole shareholder decided it should be an S corporation from its incorporation date and relied on an attorney to file Form 2553. The form was not filed on time, although the…
PLR 200307071: Late S election treated as timely with Form 2553 filing
A corporation with one shareholder intended to be taxed as an S corporation from the date it was incorporated. It later discovered that Form 2553 had not been filed on time. The IRS found reasonable…
PLR 200307070: Invalid S election receives inadvertence relief
Two trusts held company stock when the company elected S corporation status, but they were ineligible shareholders at that time. After discovering the problem, the trusts transferred shares back to…
PLR 200307069: Late S election allowed for a later tax year
A company with two shareholders intended S corporation treatment from incorporation but did not file its election on time. It filed a C corporation return for its first tax year, and the assessment…
PLR 200307068: Foreign subsidiary gets time for entity classification election
A company acquired a foreign entity and filed an election to treat it as disregarded for federal tax purposes. It missed a similar election for that entity's subsidiary because the company and its…
PLR 200307067: Business trust series gets time for corporate classification election
A series of a state business trust intended to elect corporate tax classification but failed to file Form 8832 on time. It requested a discretionary filing extension under the entity classification…
PLR 200307066: Trust series may file late corporate classification election
A series of a state business trust meant to be classified as a corporation for federal tax purposes but did not file Form 8832 on time. It requested extra time to make the election. The IRS found…
PLR 200307065: Gifts to state education body qualify as charitable contributions
A state body asked whether contributions to it were deductible as gifts to a governmental unit. It was established by governors' orders and later placed in the state's executive branch by…
PLR 200307064: Business trust series gets late Form 8832 filing relief
A series of a state business trust intended to elect corporate tax status but inadvertently missed the Form 8832 filing deadline. The IRS concluded that the series met the requirements for an…
PLR 200307063: Partnership gets time to correct its section 754 election
A partnership included a § 754 basis-adjustment election with its return and filed as if it had made the election, but the election was not properly executed. It requested more time to make a valid…
PLR 200307062: Shareholders' water rights sales create no company gain
Shareholders of a mutual ditch company planned to sell rights to water the company stored and delivered for them. Under the state law described in the letter, the shareholders beneficially owned the…
PLR 200307061: Water rights transfers taxed as shareholder sales
Shareholders of a mutual ditch company planned to sell beneficial rights to water the company transported and stored. The company would amend its allotment contract to reflect the transfers but…
PLR 200307060: Ditch company recognizes no gain on members' water rights sales
Members of a mutual ditch company sought to transfer rights to water that the company transported and stored for them. The company would not receive proceeds or materially participate in the…
PLR 200307059: Shareholder water rights sales leave ditch company untaxed
Shareholders planned to transfer water rights allocated through a mutual ditch company, which would only amend its allotment contract and receive no sale proceeds. The IRS ruled that the…
PLR 200307058: Water rights sales by shareholders cause no company gain
Shareholders planned to transfer water rights allocated through a mutual ditch company, which would only amend its allotment contract and receive no sale proceeds. The IRS ruled that the…
PLR 200307057: Water rights transfers are shareholder capital-asset sales
Shareholders planned to transfer water rights allocated through a mutual ditch company, which would only amend its allotment contract and receive no sale proceeds. The IRS ruled that the…
PLR 200307056: Water rights sales do not create ditch company gain
Shareholders planned to transfer water rights allocated through a mutual ditch company, which would only amend its allotment contract and receive no sale proceeds. The IRS ruled that the…
PLR 200307055: Water rights transfers are sales by shareholders
Shareholders planned to transfer water rights allocated through a mutual ditch company, which would only amend its allotment contract and receive no sale proceeds. The IRS ruled that the…
PLR 200307054: Ditch company is not the seller of members water rights
Shareholders planned to transfer water rights allocated through a mutual ditch company, which would only amend its allotment contract and receive no sale proceeds. The IRS ruled that the…
PLR 200307053: Members water rights transfers produce no company gain
Shareholders planned to transfer water rights allocated through a mutual ditch company, which would only amend its allotment contract and receive no sale proceeds. The IRS ruled that the…
PLR 200307052: Shareholders sell capital assets without company gain
Shareholders planned to transfer water rights allocated through a mutual ditch company, which would only amend its allotment contract and receive no sale proceeds. The IRS ruled that the…
PLR 200307051: Company has no gain from shareholders water rights sales
Shareholders planned to transfer water rights allocated through a mutual ditch company, which would only amend its allotment contract and receive no sale proceeds. The IRS ruled that the…
PLR 200307050: Water rights sales are attributed to shareholders
Shareholders planned to transfer water rights allocated through a mutual ditch company, which would only amend its allotment contract and receive no sale proceeds. The IRS ruled that the…
PLR 200307049: Shareholder water rights transfers do not tax company
Shareholders planned to transfer water rights allocated through a mutual ditch company, which would only amend its allotment contract and receive no sale proceeds. The IRS ruled that the…
PLR 200307048: Shareholder water rights sales produce no company gain
Shareholders planned to transfer water rights allocated through a mutual ditch company, which would only amend its allotment contract and receive no sale proceeds. The IRS ruled that the…
PLR 200307047: Water rights sales are shareholders transactions
Shareholders planned to transfer water rights allocated through a mutual ditch company, which would only amend its allotment contract and receive no sale proceeds. The IRS ruled that the…
PLR 200307046: Ditch company recognizes no gain on water rights transfers
Shareholders planned to transfer water rights allocated through a mutual ditch company, which would only amend its allotment contract and receive no sale proceeds. The IRS ruled that the…
PLR 200307045: Shareholders water rights sales do not tax company
Shareholders planned to transfer water rights allocated through a mutual ditch company, which would only amend its allotment contract and receive no sale proceeds. The IRS ruled that the…
PLR 200307044: Shareholder water rights transfers cause no company gain
Shareholders planned to transfer water rights allocated through a mutual ditch company, which would only amend its allotment contract and receive no sale proceeds. The IRS ruled that the…
PLR 200307043: Members water rights sales are capital-asset transfers
Shareholders planned to transfer water rights allocated through a mutual ditch company, which would only amend its allotment contract and receive no sale proceeds. The IRS ruled that the…
PLR 200307042: Water rights sales by members cause no company gain
Shareholders planned to transfer water rights allocated through a mutual ditch company, which would only amend its allotment contract and receive no sale proceeds. The IRS ruled that the…
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.