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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Estate receives 120 days to elect portability
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount for the surviving spouse. The executor represented that the gross estate was…
Foreign entity receives 120 days to elect partnership status
A foreign entity whose owners all had limited liability intended to be classified as a partnership for federal tax purposes but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS found that the…
Estate receives 120 days to opt out of automatic GST allocation
A donor transferred property to an irrevocable trust for a child and descendants but did not intend to allocate generation-skipping transfer tax exemption to the gift. The donor relied on a…
Consolidated group receives more time for an extended NOL carryback election
A former common parent of a consolidated group failed to timely elect an extended carryback period for a consolidated net operating loss under IRC § 172(b)(1)(H). The group explained that it…
Affiliated group receives more time to elect consolidated filing
A parent corporation and subsidiary intended to file a consolidated federal income tax return but failed to make the required election on time. The parent showed that it reasonably relied on a…
Estate receives 120 days to elect portability
An estate failed to timely file Form 706 to transfer the decedent’s unused estate tax exclusion to the surviving spouse. The spouse had reasonably relied on a qualified tax professional who failed…
Corporation receives 60 days to file its IC-DISC election
A domestic corporation was formed to operate as an interest charge domestic international sales corporation, and its owner timely signed Form 4876-A. The form was never filed because the accounting…
Foreign entity receives more time for disregarded-entity election
A foreign single-owner entity was classified by default as an association for federal tax purposes. Its U.S. parent tried to file Form 8832 to elect disregarded-entity status, but the election was…
Late accounting-period change application is treated as timely
A taxpayer filed Form 1128 late when seeking to change its annual accounting period. It requested discretionary relief and submitted the form within 90 days after the filing deadline. The IRS found…
Foreign entity receives more time for disregarded-entity election
A foreign single-owner entity was classified by default as an association for federal tax purposes. Its U.S. parent tried to file Form 8832 to elect disregarded-entity status, but the election was…
Foreign entity receives more time for disregarded-entity election
A foreign single-owner entity was classified by default as an association for federal tax purposes. Its U.S. parent tried to file Form 8832 to elect disregarded-entity status, but the election was…
Foreign entity receives more time for disregarded-entity election
A foreign single-owner entity was classified by default as an association for federal tax purposes. Its U.S. parent tried to file Form 8832 to elect disregarded-entity status, but the election was…
Foreign entity receives late election for disregarded period
A foreign single-owner entity was classified by default as an association, and its U.S. parent unsuccessfully tried to elect disregarded-entity status on Form 8832. The entity later converted under…
Foreign entity receives more time for disregarded-entity election
A foreign single-owner entity was classified by default as an association for federal tax purposes. Its U.S. parent tried to file Form 8832 to elect disregarded-entity status, but the election was…
Foreign entity receives more time for disregarded-entity election
A foreign single-owner entity was classified by default as an association for federal tax purposes. Its U.S. parent tried to file Form 8832 to elect disregarded-entity status, but the election was…
Partnership may make late low-income housing credit elections
A partnership placed several buildings in service but inadvertently failed to elect to begin their low-income housing credit periods in the following year. The IRS found that the partnership met the…
Estate receives more time to elect portability of unused exclusion
An estate below the federal estate-tax filing threshold missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the decedent's unused exclusion amount to the surviving spouse. Because the…
REIT subsidiary's late taxable election is treated as timely
A real estate investment trust and its subsidiary intended to elect taxable REIT subsidiary status from the date the subsidiary began operating a facility. Their accounting firm did not obtain the…
Foreign entity receives late election for disregarded period
A foreign single-owner entity was classified by default as an association, and its U.S. parent unsuccessfully tried to elect disregarded-entity status on Form 8832. The entity later converted under…
Taxpayer may make late GST exemption allocation to trust
A taxpayer transferred property to an irrevocable trust with generation-skipping transfer tax potential. A tax professional failed to advise the taxpayer to allocate GST exemption on a timely Form…
Corporation may make late IC-DISC election
A domestic corporation was formed to operate as an interest charge domestic international sales corporation and filed returns on that basis. It later learned that neither its law firm nor accounting…
Partnership may make late election out of bonus depreciation
A partnership claimed additional first-year depreciation on qualified property even though its transaction documents and financial projections reflected an intent not to claim it. The return…
Corporation may replace invalid IC-DISC election
A domestic corporation was formed to operate as an interest charge domestic international sales corporation. It timely filed Form 4876-A and later filed IC-DISC returns, but the IRS found that the…
Estate receives 120-day extension to elect portability
An estate below the estate-tax filing threshold missed the deadline to elect portability of the decedent's unused estate and gift tax exclusion to the surviving spouse. The estate discovered the…
Extension granted to elect consolidated return filing
An affiliated corporate group intended to elect consolidated federal income tax return filing but did not make the election on time. The IRS found that the common parent had reasonably relied on a…
Estate receives extension to elect portability
An estate below the estate tax filing threshold missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount. Because the election deadline for an…
Foreign entity receives extension for disregarded-entity election
A foreign eligible entity did not timely file Form 8832 to elect treatment as an entity disregarded from its owner. The IRS found that the requirements for discretionary election relief were met and…
Extension granted for depreciation elections after adviser error
A corporation relied on an outside return preparer who failed to analyze an ownership change and its limits on net operating losses. The corporation consequently missed elections to forgo bonus…
Extension granted to elect expiration of subsidiary loss carryovers
A consolidated group acquired a subsidiary with loss carryovers that were limited under IRC § 382. The parent intended to elect that the unusable portion expire immediately before the subsidiary…
Foreign subsidiary receives late disregarded-entity election relief
A foreign eligible entity intended to be treated as disregarded from its sole owner and consistently reported that way, but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. The entity represented…
REIT receives extension for taxable subsidiary elections
A company preparing to elect REIT status placed nonqualifying operations in two corporate subsidiaries. Its law and accounting firms each believed the other would file the required taxable REIT…
Lessor receives extension to pass energy credit to tenant
A partnership owned energy property and agreed to pass the related energy credit to a tenant, but it did not timely file the required election and instead reported and allocated the credit on its…
Lessor receives extension to transfer energy credit to tenant
A partnership owned energy property and agreed to pass the related energy credit to a tenant, but it did not timely file the required election and instead reported and allocated the credit on its…
Extension granted to file accounting method change forms
A partnership intended to make a late general asset account election through an automatic accounting method change. Its outside tax firm failed to file the partnership's extension request, making…
Extension granted to amortize research expenditures
An affiliated corporate group intended to elect ten-year ratable deductions for research and experimental expenditures but did not make the election with its timely consolidated return. The group…
Extension granted to document decedent's mental incompetency
An estate timely filed Form 706 but did not include the physician certification or other evidence needed to show that the decedent had been continuously unable to change a trust after October 22,…
S corporation receives more time to elect QSub status
An S corporation acquired all the stock of another S corporation but did not timely elect to treat the subsidiary as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary. The parent and its shareholders said they…
S corporation receives more time for four QSub elections
An S corporation owned four subsidiaries but failed to timely elect qualified subchapter S subsidiary status for them. The parent and its shareholders said they did not know the elections were…
LLC receives relief for a late S corporation election
A limited liability company elected corporate tax classification and intended to elect S corporation status, but it did not properly and timely file Form 2553. The IRS found reasonable cause for the…
Estate receives more time to elect out of GST allocation
An estate asked for more time to elect out of the automatic allocation of generation-skipping transfer exemption to the decedent's 2010 direct gifts to grandchildren and other skip persons. The…
Company receives 90 days to make late REIT election
A corporation formed to own and lease healthcare properties intended to elect real estate investment trust status for its first taxable year. Its chief financial officer inadvertently failed to file…
Estate receives 120 days to elect portability
An estate that was not otherwise required to file an estate tax return missed the deadline to elect portability of the decedent's unused exclusion amount for the surviving spouse. Because the estate…
Entity receives more time to elect corporate classification
An eligible entity intended to be treated as an association taxable as a corporation but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS found that the entity satisfied the standards for…
Foreign entity receives late disregarded-status election
A foreign entity was indirectly and wholly owned by one owner and intended to elect disregarded-entity status from its formation date. It inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS…
Foreign entity receives late disregarded-status election
A foreign entity was indirectly and wholly owned by one owner and intended to elect disregarded-entity status. It inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS found that the entity…
Foreign entity receives late disregarded-status election
A foreign entity had one owner and intended to elect disregarded-entity status. It inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS found that the entity satisfied the regulatory-election…
Foreign subsidiary receives late disregarded-status election
A domestic limited liability company treated as a partnership wholly owned a foreign subsidiary. The subsidiary intended to elect disregarded-entity status from its formation date but failed to file…
Foreign subsidiary receives late disregarded-status election
A domestic limited liability company treated as a partnership wholly owned a foreign subsidiary. The subsidiary intended to elect disregarded-entity status from its formation date but failed to file…
Foreign subsidiary receives late disregarded-status election
A domestic limited liability company treated as a partnership wholly owned a foreign subsidiary. The subsidiary intended to elect disregarded-entity status from its formation date but failed to file…
Foreign subsidiary receives late disregarded-status election
A domestic limited liability company treated as a partnership wholly owned a foreign subsidiary. The subsidiary intended to elect disregarded-entity status from its formation date but failed to file…
Foreign subsidiary receives late disregarded-status election
A domestic limited liability company treated as a partnership wholly owned a foreign subsidiary. The subsidiary intended to elect disregarded-entity status from its formation date but failed to file…
Foreign subsidiary receives late disregarded-status election
A domestic limited liability company treated as a partnership wholly owned a foreign subsidiary. The subsidiary intended to elect disregarded-entity status from its formation date but failed to file…
Foreign subsidiary receives late disregarded-status election
A domestic limited liability company treated as a partnership wholly owned a foreign subsidiary. The subsidiary intended to elect disregarded-entity status from its formation date but failed to file…
New parent receives extension for consolidated-return election
A newly formed parent corporation became the common parent of two subsidiaries but did not timely file the group's election to submit a consolidated federal income tax return. The failure occurred…
Corporation receives 60 days to file IC-DISC election
A domestic corporation intended to elect interest-charge domestic international sales corporation status from its formation. Its parent relied on an accounting firm to prepare and file Form 4876-A,…
Partnership receives 120 days to make section 754 election
A general partner died and the partner's interest in a partnership transferred to another person. When preparing the partnership's return, the partnership relied on its tax adviser and did not know…
Tax-exempt-owned corporation gets 45 days for property election
A corporation wholly owned by a section 501(c)(3) organization held partnership interests connected to a rehabilitated building. Its agreements required it to make an IRC § 168(h)(6)(F)(ii) election…
Taxpayer gets 60 days to opt out of bonus depreciation
A taxpayer timely filed its return without claiming bonus depreciation for any class of qualified property, as it intended. Its accounting firm failed to attach the statement required to elect out…
Partnership may opt leasehold improvements out of bonus depreciation
A partnership that leased office and retail space initially reported certain property as nonresidential real property. It later determined that the property should have been classified as qualified…
Consolidated group gets 60 days to opt out of bonus depreciation
A corporate parent and its twelve subsidiaries placed qualified property in service during the relevant year. Their timely consolidated return did not claim bonus depreciation for any property…
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.