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 200240021: Late application to change tax year treated as timely filed
A taxpayer filed Form 1128 late to request a change from a calendar tax year to one ending March 31. The delay resulted from an error or misunderstanding. The IRS found that the taxpayer acted…
PLR 200240020: Gift to noncitizen spouse taxable, but leasehold excluded from estate
A U.S. citizen living abroad irrevocably gave his long-term leasehold in a residence to his spouse, who was not a U.S. citizen, about two months before his death. He continued living there with her.…
PLR 200240019: Estate and spouse may allocate GST exemption to earlier trust gift
A taxpayer and spouse split gifts of company stock to a trust for their child and intended to allocate both of their generation-skipping transfer tax exemptions. Their timely gift tax returns…
PLR 200240018: Special needs trust enters beneficiary's estate and receives date-of-death basis
A disabled person's injury settlement funded an irrevocable special needs trust for his benefit. The trust could pay for needs not covered by government assistance and had to reimburse the state for…
PLR 200240017: Managed rental property income excluded from S corporation passive income test
An S corporation owned rental real estate and employed a manager to handle leasing, collections, inspections, maintenance, and tenant needs. The corporation also paid substantial operating costs,…
PLR 200240016: Pro rata trust division preserves GST exemption and tax basis
An irrevocable trust created before September 25, 1985, for three grandchildren was to be divided pro rata into one trust for each grandchild under a court order. The IRS ruled that the division…
PLR 200240015: Disclaimers of four trust remainders avoid gift tax
A beneficiary planned to disclaim her contingent rights to the remainder of four family trusts created before 1977. She would sign the disclaimers within nine months after reaching adulthood, while…
PLR 200240014: Trust partition and merger preserves GST exemption and asset basis
Three trusts created before September 25, 1985, for three grandchildren would each be divided into three shares. The shares for each grandchild would then be merged into a separate trust, with a pro…
PLR 200240013: Late S corporation election receives conditional relief
A corporation's shareholders intended it to be an S corporation, and the company filed S corporation returns, but it did not file the required election on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for…
PLR 200240012: Charitable unitrust may pay a separate trust for disabled beneficiary
A guardian planned to fund a charitable remainder unitrust for an incapacitated person. Its annual payments during that person's life would go to a separate trust that administered money for the…
PLR 200240011: Corporation receives relief for late S election
A corporation's shareholder intended S corporation treatment from the date of incorporation, but the corporation did not file a timely election. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late filing…
CCA 200240010: Trusts required to distribute income are simple trusts
Chief Counsel analyzed several trusts whose documents required current distribution of income to their beneficiaries. The trusts had made no principal distributions, though they had failed to…
PLR 200240009: Revised funding schedule approved for nuclear decommissioning trust
After acquiring an interest in a nuclear plant and its decommissioning fund in a corporate restructuring, a utility requested a revised schedule of deductible funding amounts under § 468A. The IRS…
PLR 200240008: Late S corporation election treated as timely if filed within 60 days
A corporation and its shareholders filed income tax returns consistent with S corporation status from the company's inception, but the corporation had missed the Form 2553 election deadline. The IRS…
PLR 200240007: Late S corporation election receives reasonable cause relief
A corporation's shareholders intended S corporation status from incorporation, but the election was not filed on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed deadline and granted relief under…
PLR 200240006: Required utility divestiture defers gain with asset basis reduction
A registered utility holding company planned to sell a business to comply with a Securities and Exchange Commission order. After specified corporate conversions, the IRS ruled that the listed…
PLR 200240005: Actively managed commercial rents are not passive investment income
An S corporation rented commercial properties and used employees to find tenants, manage leases, provide services, and maintain the buildings. The IRS ruled that its rental receipts were not passive…
IRS 200240004: Pulled release marked wrong inspection date
The released file identifies docket 200240004 and says "PULLED (Wrong Inspection Date)." It does not include the letter, facts, analysis, or an IRS conclusion. Because only the pull notice is…
PLR 200240003: Commercial rental receipts excluded from S corporation passive income
An S corporation rented commercial properties and was responsible for utilities, cleaning, grounds, repairs, insurance, taxes, and emergency management. The IRS ruled that the rental receipts would…
PLR 200240002: Postconversion copyright use fees are not recognized built-in gain
A C corporation that licensed limited use of copyrighted material planned to elect S corporation status. It asked whether fees from customer agreements signed after the conversion would be…
TAM 200240001: Strike fund contributions must be capitalized rather than deducted
A member of a trade association deducted an assessment paid into the association's strike fund as an ordinary business expense. The fund was intended to make loans during labor stoppages, but its…
PLR 200239036: Care facility retirement and welfare plans qualify as church plans
A tax exempt care facility associated with a church maintained a defined contribution plan and two employee benefit plans. A committee appointed by the facility administered the plans, and the…
PLR 200239035: Transfers between grantor trusts do not dispose of replacement stock
Two taxpayers had deferred gain under § 1042 after selling company stock to an employee stock ownership plan and buying qualified replacement property. They held that property in separate revocable…
PLR 200239033: Managed commercial rents are not passive investment income
An S corporation with accumulated C corporation earnings rented commercial and industrial properties under gross leases. Its employees negotiated leases, reviewed tenants, collected rent, inspected…
PLR 200239032: FIFO reporting after inventory method change meets LIFO conformity rule
A wholesaler planned to change its inventory method for federal income tax from last in, first out (LIFO) to first in, first out (FIFO). Its parent would report that wholesaler's inventory on the…
PLR 200239031: Late S election accepted for the intended second tax year
A corporation was formed in one year, and its shareholders intended S corporation status beginning in its second taxable year. It filed S corporation returns from that second year but missed the…
PLR 200239029: Rural telephone cooperative's wireless stock sale is patronage income
A rural telephone cooperative invested in wireless ventures to extend service to its members and protect its existing wireline business. After a venture was acquired, the cooperative planned to sell…
CCA 200239028: Failure to pay charge starts after notice of disallowed earned income credit
Chief Counsel addressed when the IRS may charge a failure to pay addition to tax after disallowing an earned income tax credit claimed on a return. The disallowance creates a deficiency, so it does…
PLR 200239027: Former resident's departure lacked a principal tax avoidance purpose
A long term U.S. resident surrendered her green card and became fully subject to income tax in the country where her spouse was born. Her prior U.S. tax liability exceeded the threshold that could…
PLR 200239026: Parent receives 60 days to make late QSub election
An S corporation formed a wholly owned subsidiary and intended to elect qualified subchapter S subsidiary (QSub) treatment from the subsidiary's incorporation date. It missed the election deadline.…
PLR 200239025: Missed S election receives relief for first taxable year
A corporation's shareholders intended S corporation status from its first taxable year, as shown by correspondence, an employer identification number application, and an S corporation return. The…
PLR 200239024: Foreign entity receives extension to elect partnership classification
A two member foreign eligible entity intended to be classified as a partnership for U.S. federal tax purposes from the date it began business. It missed the deadline to file Form 8832. The IRS found…
PLR 200239023: Corporation receives conditional late S election relief
A corporation's shareholders intended S corporation status from a specified date but did not file Form 2553 on time for the intended taxable year. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late…
PLR 200239022: Family business separation qualifies for tax deferred distributions
A family owned corporate group proposed separating businesses after disputes among shareholder groups. The transaction included liquidating a subsidiary, transferring businesses into a new…
PLR 200239021: Late S election may take effect when business began
A corporation began doing business after its incorporation, and its president said it had intended S corporation status from the business start date. No Form 2553 election was filed. The IRS found…
PLR 200239020: S corporation election relief effective from incorporation
A corporation's shareholders wanted S corporation treatment from its incorporation date, but the election was not filed on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed deadline and granted…
PLR 200239019: Coal based synthetic fuel facility qualifies for section 29 credit
A partnership bought and relocated a facility that made synthetic fuel from coal. The IRS ruled that the fuel qualified under § 29 and that production was attributable to the partnership, allowing…
PLR 200239018: Sole shareholder's corporation receives late S election relief
A corporation's sole shareholder intended S corporation treatment for a specified taxable year, but Form 2553 was not filed on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed election deadline.…
PLR 200239017: Corporation receives relief for a late S corporation election
A corporation and its shareholders intended for the corporation to be an S corporation beginning on a specified date, but they did not timely file Form 2553. The corporation instead filed a Form…
PLR 200239016: Corporation receives late S election relief for its first tax year
A corporation's sole shareholder intended S corporation treatment for its first taxable year, but the IRS did not receive a timely Form 2553. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late election. It…
PLR 200239015: Late S election relief begins after shareholder dispute
A corporation's two shareholders intended S corporation treatment from its first year, but a misunderstanding between the corporation's attorney and accountant left Form 2553 unfiled. A lawsuit over…
PLR 200239014: Sole shareholder's corporation receives late S election relief
A corporation's sole shareholder chose S corporation treatment effective on the corporation's incorporation date and relied on a tax adviser to file Form 2553. The election was not filed on time.…
PLR 200239013: Two-shareholder corporation receives late S election relief
Two shareholders decided their corporation would be an S corporation from its incorporation date, but the corporation did not file Form 2553 on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed…
PLR 200239012: Fraudulent loss of lifetime use right qualifies as involuntary conversion
A taxpayer held a lifetime right to use a facility, but the operator sold it and displaced the residents. After a court found that the residents had valuable property rights and were deprived of…
PLR 200239011: Corporation receives relief for a missed S election filing
Two shareholders intended S corporation status for their newly incorporated business and relied on a tax adviser to file Form 2553. The election was not filed on time. The IRS found reasonable cause…
PLR 200239010: Revised nuclear decommissioning fund schedule approved after plant transfer
A utility acquired an interest in a nuclear plant and its decommissioning fund through a corporate restructuring. It asked the IRS for a revised schedule of annual amounts it could contribute to the…
PLR 200239009: Fraudulent loss of facility use rights qualifies as involuntary conversion
Taxpayers held a property interest that included a resident's lifetime use of a facility and rights tied to a proposed sale. The operator sold the facility, displaced the resident, and paid damages…
PLR 200239008: Mobile home park rent is active business income for S corporation rule
A corporation that operated a mobile home park sought a ruling before electing S corporation status. It maintained common areas and sites, arranged repairs, handled tenants, and performed other…
PLR 200239007: Corporation may elect S status again before five years have passed
A corporation's S election ended when an ineligible corporate shareholder bought all of its stock. New individual owners later bought the stock and asked to restore S corporation status before the…
PLR 200239006: Business spinoff qualifies as a tax-free reorganization
A publicly traded company planned to put one business into a subsidiary, distribute most of that subsidiary's stock to its shareholders, and then merge the subsidiary into an unrelated company. The…
PLR 200239005: Business spinoff qualifies as a tax-free reorganization
A publicly traded company planned to put one business into a subsidiary, distribute most of that subsidiary's stock to its shareholders, and then merge the subsidiary into an unrelated company. The…
PLR 200239004: Late S corporation election receives conditional relief
A corporation's sole shareholder intended it to be an S corporation from its first taxable year, and the organizational minutes recorded that intent. No Form 2553 was filed, so the corporation…
PLR 200239003: Corporation receives relief for a late S election
A corporation's president and sole shareholder intended S corporation status from the corporation's incorporation date, but a timely Form 2553 was never filed. The corporation sought relief for its…
TAM 200239002: Utility substation fails investment tax credit transition rule
A utility sought an investment tax credit for a substation placed in service after the credit's repeal, relying on a transition rule for property already under construction by the end of 1985. It…
TAM 200239001: Corporate distribution gain excludes minority discounts
A corporation contributed appreciated assets to a partnership formed with family limited partnerships. The IRS examiner treated part of the contributed value as a deemed distribution to the…
CCA 200239034: Cash reporting reviews may flag transactions within their scope
Chief Counsel advised that IRS examiners conducting Form 8300 cash reporting reviews may look for transactions involving trusts, nominees, or foreign accounts if the inquiry stays within § 6050I.…
PLR 200238054: Employer-related scholarship procedures receive advance approval
A private foundation sought advance approval for scholarships sponsored for children and relatives of an employer's employees and administered by a public charity. Students had to become finalists…
PLR 200238053: Foundation may pay related company for necessary services
A private foundation proposed to pay a management company owned through its founder's trust for services used in its charitable work and asset management. Because the company was related to the…
PLR 200238052: Governmental pension contributions qualify as employer pickup
A governmental employer proposed to pay mandatory employee contributions to a defined benefit pension plan directly from employees' compensation. Employees could not choose to receive those amounts…
PLR 200238051: Hospital joint operating agreement preserves tax exemption
A university health system and a children's hospital planned a joint operating agreement for pediatric and women's health services. They would retain ownership of their own facilities while a…
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.