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 200303033: Inadvertent corporate shareholder does not end S status
A shareholder transferred shares of an S corporation to another corporation, an ineligible S corporation shareholder. After discovering the problem, the shares were cancelled and reissued to the…
PLR 200303032: Trust's stock transfer to its LLC preserves S elections
An electing small business trust planned to put its S corporation shares into a new LLC that it would own entirely. The LLC would not elect corporate tax treatment, so it would be disregarded as a…
PLR 200303031: S corporation gets time for subsidiary and entity elections
An S corporation formed a domestic subsidiary and a foreign entity for its overseas operations. It intended to elect qualified subchapter S subsidiary treatment for the domestic company and…
PLR 200303030: Trust ruling preserves tax treatment after court includes adopted descendants
A court interpreted a decedent's will to include legally adopted descendants among the beneficiaries of an existing trust. The trustee asked whether that interpretation would create a taxable gift,…
PLR 200303029: School district merger preserves certain employees' Medicare tax exception
Two school districts combined into a new district that kept their employees, seniority, tenure, and benefits. Some employees had qualified for the Medicare tax exception for state and local…
PLR 200303028: Insurer mergers leave policy issue dates and testing periods intact
A life insurance company planned to merge two wholly owned insurance subsidiaries into itself in a complete liquidation. It would assume their policies and annuity contracts as the sole obligor,…
PLR 200303027: Consolidating five trusts preserves their tax treatment
A trustee planned to combine five trusts with the same beneficiaries and distribution terms for easier administration. Each trust had a zero generation skipping transfer tax inclusion ratio, and the…
PLR 200303026: Corporation receives relief for a late S election
A corporation intended to be an S corporation from its incorporation date, but miscommunication with its attorney caused it to miss the Form 2553 deadline. An affidavit from the original attorney…
PLR 200303025: State human services agency qualifies as a governmental instrumentality
A state authorized a regional agency to provide human services, including job training, child care, transportation, and health care. The agency asked whether it was a state instrumentality so that…
PLR 200303024: Former group parent may make late foreign fund elections
A U.S. corporation owned two foreign corporations that had been passive foreign investment companies (PFICs) in earlier years. Its consolidated group's tax staff did not identify their PFIC status…
PLR 200303023: Partition of jointly owned land does not realize gain
Family members and a trust jointly owned one contiguous tract of land with fee, life estate, and remainder interests. They planned to divide the tract into parcels matching the value of their…
PLR 200303022: Spouses may allocate missed generation skipping tax exemption
A spouse put company stock into a trust for children and descendants, and the spouses elected to treat the gift as made half by each of them. Their accountant filed gift tax returns but omitted…
CCA 200303021: Stock basis uses exchange rates from the original foreign investments
A U.S. corporation acquired shares of a foreign subsidiary from foreign investors in a tax free stock reorganization. The investors had originally received those shares by contributing foreign…
PLR 200303020: Family's partial estate disclaimers qualify under section 2518
A decedent's spouse, children, and minor grandchildren planned a series of disclaimers affecting interests in the residuary estate and a marital trust. Under the will and applicable state law, the…
PLR 200303019: Investment master fund receives partnership and fund tax rulings
Two investment funds transferred portfolios to a master fund in a master and feeder structure. The IRS concluded that the master fund was a separate taxable partnership and was not publicly traded…
PLR 200303018: Investment master fund receives partnership and fund tax rulings
Two investment funds transferred portfolios to a master fund in a master and feeder structure. The IRS concluded that the master fund was a separate taxable partnership and was not publicly traded…
PLR 200303017: Investment master fund receives partnership and fund tax rulings
Two investment funds transferred portfolios to a master fund in a master and feeder structure. The IRS concluded that the master fund was a separate taxable partnership and was not publicly traded…
PLR 200303016: Trust amendments and merger do not draw assets into trustor's estate
A trustor had created four irrevocable trusts, several of which held life insurance policies on the trustor's life. The trustees planned to amend the trusts and merge them into one, while…
PLR 200303015: Puerto Rico resident does not qualify for special estate and gift tax status
A U.S. citizen living in Puerto Rico asked whether he would be treated as a “nonresident not a citizen of the United States” for estate and gift tax purposes. He was born outside the United States…
PLR 200303014: Late accounting period change application treated as timely
A taxpayer sought to change its tax year end from December 31 to March 31, but filed Form 1128 after its May 15 deadline. The filing was made within 90 days of the deadline, and the delay resulted…
PLR 200303013: Taxpayer may make late investment income election
An individual had investment interest expense and net capital gains but did not elect to count any of those gains as investment income on Form 4952. During an IRS examination, the omission led to a…
TAM 200303012: Deficiency interest starts when the credit moves to the next tax year
A taxpayer applied a Year 1 overpayment to Year 2 estimated taxes but also paid enough estimated tax to cover Year 2 without that credit. A later deficiency arose for Year 1, and the taxpayer argued…
PLR 200303011: Parent receives more time to complete foreign stock transfer disclosures
A parent company had an existing gain recognition agreement when it completed a transaction. It later discovered that it should have disclosed the transaction and entered into a new agreement to…
TAM 200303010: Estate cannot discount savings bonds for tax on accrued interest
An estate valued Series E savings bonds at less than their redemption value. It argued that a buyer would account for income tax on interest that had accrued before the decedent's death. The IRS…
PLR 200303007: Late tax year change application is treated as timely filed
A taxpayer filed Form 1128 late while seeking to change its tax year end from August 31 to December 31. It said an error or misunderstanding caused the late filing. Under the extension rules, the…
PLR 200303006: Late tax year change application is treated as timely filed
A taxpayer filed Form 1128 late while seeking to change its tax year end from August 31 to December 31. It said an error or misunderstanding caused the late filing. Under the extension rules, the…
PLR 200303005: IRS reaffirms spin-off ruling after revised restructuring plan
A company had received rulings that its transfer of assets to a controlled company and the ensuing distribution qualified for tax free treatment under sections 355 and 368(a)(1)(D). It later changed…
PLR 200303004: IRS reaffirms split-off and spin-off rulings after revised restructuring plan
A company previously received a ruling that a contribution of assets to a controlled company, followed by a split-off and spin-off of its stock, qualified for tax free treatment under sections 355…
PLR 200303003: Employment discrimination settlement is taxable wages
A government department settled a class action by employees who alleged discrimination in promotions, pay related opportunities, and other employment matters. The agreement called all payments…
PLR 200303002: Late S corporation election may take effect from incorporation
A corporation's sole shareholder intended S corporation status from the date of incorporation, but the corporation did not file Form 2553 on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late filing…
200303009: IRS release pulled for an inspection delay
The official IRS PDF for this release number is a one-page notice marked “PULLED (Inspection Delay).” It contains no taxpayer facts, legal question, analysis, or tax outcome. This entry records the…
PLR 200302052: VEBA reserve may pay retiree medical premiums after union agreement ends
After a collective bargaining agreement ended, some retired marketing representatives were to receive medical coverage through their former employer's insured plan instead of directly through a…
PLR 200302051: Private foundation may set aside income to build a botanical garden
The IRS considered a private foundation's request to set aside income for a botanical garden that would be open to the public for viewing and education. The foundation represented that it would…
PLR 200302050: Multiemployer pension plan contributions are deductible under the planwide limit
The trustees of a multiemployer defined benefit pension plan asked whether employer contributions for a plan year were deductible under sections 404(a) and 413(b)(7). The plan's expected…
PLR 200302049: IRS revokes three prior private letter rulings
The IRS revoked three private letter rulings issued to the same taxpayer in response to a 1997 ruling request. The IRS stated that the rulings contained inconsistent legal positions and that the…
PLR 200302048: Pension stock distribution qualifies for lump sum and net appreciation treatment
The IRS considered a retired participant's distribution of employer stock from a qualified pension plan. The participant rolled part of the distribution into an IRA and proposed contributing the…
PLR 200302047: Foundation's scholarship and direct grant procedures approved
A private foundation sought advance approval for two individual grant programs. One would fund graduate or professional study for former participants in educational programs; the other would help…
CCA 200302046: IRS summons can satisfy FERPA's subpoena exception
An IRS attorney asked Chief Counsel whether a university could comply with an IRS administrative summons for education records without violating the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act…
CCA 200302045: Volunteer emergency responders' property tax relief is income
Chief Counsel considered whether Connecticut municipalities' property tax abatements and exemptions for volunteer emergency responders were taxable to the volunteers. The programs tied the tax…
CCA 200302043: Federal tax lien follows a sold redemption right into redeemed property
After a bank foreclosed on property subject to a junior federal tax lien, a third party bought the taxpayer's state law right of redemption and used it to redeem the property. Chief Counsel advised…
PLR 200302042: Consent granted to revoke foreign tax credit safe harbor elections
A domestic corporation asked to revoke two predecessors' safe harbor elections for measuring foreign income taxes on qualifying levies of one country. The companies had used the elections for more…
PLR 200302041: Revised nuclear decommissioning fund contribution schedule approved
An electric utility requested a revised schedule of deductible payments to its nuclear decommissioning fund for a plant regulated by two public utility commissions. The IRS concluded that the…
PLR 200302040: Employee and director stock options do not alter affiliated group status
A parent corporation asked whether stock options issued under its plan and its subsidiary's plan would count when deciding whether the two corporations remained members of an affiliated group. The…
PLR 200302039: Late S corporation election granted reasonable cause relief
A corporation's shareholders intended S corporation treatment from the date it was incorporated, but the election was filed late. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed deadline and granted…
PLR 200302038: Extension granted to allocate GST exemption to trust transfers
A taxpayer sought more time to allocate generation skipping transfer (GST) exemption to gifts made to an irrevocable trust for descendants. An accounting firm had prepared gift tax returns but…
PLR 200302037: Extension granted for omitted GST exemption allocations
A taxpayer sought more time to allocate generation skipping transfer (GST) exemption to earlier gifts made to an irrevocable trust for descendants. An accounting firm had omitted the allocations on…
PLR 200302036: Corporation receives relief for a late S election
A corporation intended to elect S corporation status from its incorporation date but did not file Form 2553 on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the delay and agreed to treat the election as…
PLR 200302035: Spouse receives extension for GST exemption allocations
A taxpayer sought extra time to allocate her generation skipping transfer (GST) exemption to gifts her spouse made to a trust for descendants. The couple had split the gifts, but an accounting firm…
PLR 200302034: Extension granted for consent dividend elections
Members of a consolidated group discovered that their tax adviser had not tested several companies for personal holding company status on earlier returns. The review found potential personal holding…
PLR 200302033: Extension granted for spouse's GST exemption allocations
A taxpayer sought more time to allocate her generation skipping transfer (GST) exemption to split gifts her spouse made to a trust for descendants. The accounting firm preparing the returns had not…
PLR 200302032: School district's unused sick leave conversion avoids current employee income
A school district proposed converting retiring employees' unused sick leave into supplemental medical coverage or contributions to a qualified retirement plan or section 403(b) arrangement.…
PLR 200302031: Estate receives time to elect family owned business deduction
An estate's attorney did not consider the section 2057 deduction for a qualified family owned business interest when preparing its estate tax return. After the return was filed and placed under IRS…
PLR 200302030: Business split to resolve shareholder dispute qualifies as a reorganization
A corporation proposed transferring part of its business assets and liabilities to a new corporation, then distributing the new corporation's stock to a shareholder trust in exchange for the trust's…
PLR 200302029: Disclaimer and trust reformation preserve charitable remainder deduction
A beneficiary proposed disclaiming her right to principal distributions from a testamentary trust while retaining her income interest. The estate then planned to seek court reformation of the trust…
PLR 200302028: Revised nuclear decommissioning schedule approved for one commission
An electric utility requested a revised schedule of deductible payments to its nuclear decommissioning fund for a plant subject to two utility commissions. The IRS concluded that the proposed…
PLR 200302027: Revised decommissioning fund schedule approved for direct plant interest
An electric utility with a direct ownership interest in a nuclear plant asked for a revised schedule of payments to its decommissioning fund. The IRS accepted the proposed schedule under section…
PLR 200302026: Late entity classification and S corporation elections receive relief
A single owner company intended to be taxed as an S corporation from its start but failed to file both its entity classification election and S election on time. It filed its first Form 1120S, and…
PLR 200302025: Sole shareholder's company gets late S election relief
A sole shareholder intended the corporation to have S status from incorporation and believed its tax adviser had filed Form 2553, but the filing was late. The IRS found reasonable cause and agreed…
PLR 200302024: Business manager's missed S election receives relief
A corporation's two shareholders relied on a business manager to file Form 2553 so the company would have S corporation status from incorporation. The filing was late. The IRS found reasonable cause…
PLR 200302023: Revised nuclear decommissioning fund schedule approved with limits
An electric utility requested a revised schedule of deductible payments to a nuclear decommissioning fund after acquiring an interest in a power plant. Five public utility commissions had approved…
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.