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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CCA 200237017: State law partnership conversion may qualify as an F reorganization
A corporation converted under state law to a limited partnership, then elected to remain taxed as a corporation under the entity classification regulations. Chief Counsel advised that the…
CCA 200237016: Airline maintenance facility meets airport bond tests
A public authority financed a maintenance and engine overhaul facility next to a public airport and leased it to an airline. The airline did not offer passenger service at that airport, but it used…
PLR 200237015: Managed property rents excluded from S corporation passive income
A property company planning to elect S corporation status owned and managed commercial and residential rentals. Its employees and contractors maintained the properties and provided tenant services,…
PLR 200237014: Partnership shareholding caused an inadvertent S termination
Two shareholders transferred part of their S corporation stock to a limited partnership, which was not an eligible S corporation shareholder. They later removed the partnership from ownership and…
PLR 200237013: Attorney's missed S election receives late-filing relief
A corporation's sole shareholder intended S corporation treatment from its first tax year, and the corporate documents reflected that intent. Its attorney did not file Form 2553 on time. The IRS…
PLR 200237012: Corporate shareholder's stock corrected after S termination
An S corporation issued shares to another S corporation, an ineligible shareholder, after advisers failed to alert the parties that this would end the first company's S election. Once the error was…
PLR 200237011: Partnership shareholding caused an inadvertent S termination
Two shareholders transferred part of their S corporation stock to a limited partnership, which was not an eligible S corporation shareholder. They later removed the partnership from ownership and…
PLR 200237010: Vehicle breakdown coverage treated as insurance
A company sold contracts protecting vehicle owners against repair costs from mechanical breakdowns beyond warranty coverage. It reimbursed covered losses, did not itself perform repairs, and passed…
PLR 200237009: Missed trust election treated as inadvertent S termination
After an S corporation's sole shareholder died, his estate transferred the shares to a trust. The trust beneficiary did not make the required qualified subchapter S trust election because she and…
PLR 200237008: Foreign entity gets time to elect corporate tax classification
A foreign entity was classified by default as a partnership but intended to elect corporate tax classification from the date it was formed. Its Form 8832 was not filed on time. The IRS found that…
PLR 200237007: Foreign entity gets time to elect corporate tax classification
A foreign entity was classified by default as a partnership but intended to elect corporate tax classification from the date it was formed. Its Form 8832 was not filed on time. The IRS found that…
PLR 200237006: Foreign entity gets time to elect corporate tax classification
A foreign entity was classified by default as a partnership but intended to elect corporate tax classification from the date it was formed. Its Form 8832 was not filed on time. The IRS found that…
PLR 200237005: Shopping center rents excluded from S corporation passive income
A company planning to elect S corporation status owned and managed a retail shopping center. It had no employees, but its president and a paid consultant supervised contractors who inspected,…
CCA 200237004: IPO investors and target owners meet section 351 control test
A corporation planned an initial public offering alongside mergers to acquire twelve operating businesses. The target shareholders would transfer stock, and public investors would contribute cash,…
CCA 200237003: IRS outlines challenges to a related-party currency loss
A corporate group claimed a large loss after related parties formed a foreign company, created offsetting short-term notes, transferred a small amount of foreign currency to a domestic affiliate,…
TAM 200237002: Toterhome use is outside the heavy vehicle excise tax
An auto dealer bought a toterhome tax free for resale but later used it itself. An examining IRS office treated it as a taxable truck tractor because it had a hitch and air brakes. In technical…
CCA 200237001: Estate may recover surplus sale proceeds as a deposit
The IRS sold a taxpayer's seized property and had proceeds left after paying the tax debt and costs. The taxpayer first refused to claim the surplus, later sought it through an attorney, and died…
PLR 200236055: Conditional waiver of pension minimum funding standard
A company sought relief from the minimum funding contribution for its defined benefit pension plan after losses and restructuring. The plan's assets equaled 57 percent of its current liability, and…
PLR 200236054: State pension contributions qualify as employer pickups
A state employer proposed to pay mandatory employee contributions directly into a governmental defined benefit pension plan by reducing employees' current pay. Employees could not receive those…
PLR 200236053: Direct retirement plan transfers for service credit avoid distribution tax
A state proposed to let employees transfer money directly from its qualified 401(k) plan to its qualified teachers' retirement plan to buy service credit. The trustees would transfer the money…
PLR 200236052: Surviving spouse may roll estate's IRA proceeds into her own IRA
A deceased IRA owner's estate was the named beneficiary of his IRA. His surviving spouse was both the estate's sole executrix and its sole residuary beneficiary. She planned to receive the IRA…
PLR 200236051: Student housing and supervised real estate training support educational exemption
An exempt organization that supports a university business school proposed to develop and operate apartments limited to the university's students. It also planned a faculty supervised clinical…
PLR 200236050: IRS waives additional excise tax for three pension plan years
A company with negative net worth and working capital could not meet its defined benefit pension plan's minimum funding standard. The IRS granted waivers of the additional 100 percent excise tax…
PLR 200236049: Exempt charities may merge without losing their tax status
Two organizations exempt under section 501(c)(3), each publicly supported and providing reproductive education and health care services, planned to merge. The IRS ruled that the surviving…
PLR 200236048: Collective bargaining pension plan qualifies as a church plan
A nonprofit health care corporation overseen by several church congregations asked whether its defined benefit pension plan for collectively bargained employees was a church plan. The IRS concluded…
PLR 200236047: One time contribution elections are not elective deferrals
A nonprofit medical practice affiliated with a public university planned to amend its section 403(b) plan and adopt a section 401(a) retirement plan. Employees could make one time irrevocable…
PLR 200236046: Employee benefit plans qualify as church plans
A nonprofit organization affiliated with a church maintained a defined benefit pension plan, several welfare benefit plans, and a fringe benefit plan. The organization asked whether the plans…
PLR 200236045: Short sales remain within the constructive sale exception
A limited partnership held stock and entered into short against the box transactions while continuing to hold the same number of shares. It had identified the shares and short sales as offsetting…
PLR 200236044: S corporation may spin off a business unit to new owners
An S corporation planned to transfer the assets of one branch of its business to a newly formed corporation in exchange for that corporation’s stock and its assumption of related liabilities. The S…
CCA 200236043: Limits on unenrolled preparers signing returns and receiving refunds
Chief Counsel Advice considered returns prepared for nonresident aliens whose refund checks were sent to an unenrolled preparer. The advice states that an unenrolled preparer may sign a return only…
CCA 200236042: Overseas taxpayers’ penalties begin after the extended due date
Service Center Advice considered the failure to file and failure to pay penalties for a United States citizen living abroad who qualified for the automatic two month extension under Treasury…
PLR 200236041: Estate receives more time to elect alternate valuation
An estate filed its federal estate tax return without electing the alternate valuation method because its tax professionals did not determine the relevant alternate date values. The co-executors…
PLR 200236040: Foreign subsidiary gets time to elect corporate status
A parent company’s foreign subsidiary formed a wholly owned entity to provide financing. The subsidiary believed the new entity was a corporation for federal tax purposes and filed an information…
PLR 200236039: Late accounting period change request denied
A taxpayer had filed returns using a December 31 year end after changing from a March 31 year end without permission. It asked the IRS to treat a late Form 1128 as timely so the change could be…
PLR 200236038: Three businesses may separate through two tax free split offs
An S corporation operated three businesses managed by different shareholders. It planned to transfer two businesses to newly formed corporations, then distribute each new company’s shares to the…
PLR 200236037: REIT must include most service expense reimbursements in income
A real estate investment trust developed and operated apartment projects through an operating partnership and project LLCs. The partnership received reimbursements for development, management, and…
PLR 200236036: S corporation may recover remaining sale basis sooner
An S corporation sold assets for cash, stock, and possible contingent payments tied to the buyer’s future earnings. The buyer had fallen far short of its earnings targets and lost a key license…
PLR 200236035: More time to file dual consolidated loss elections
After corporate acquisitions and a merger, a consolidated group discovered that elections, agreements, and annual certifications concerning an entity’s dual consolidated losses had not been filed…
PLR 200236034: Revised nuclear decommissioning fund schedule approved
A utility requested a revised schedule of ruling amounts for its nuclear decommissioning fund after changes in the costs approved by its public utility commissions and a settlement suspending…
PLR 200236033: Expatriation submission rebuts tax avoidance presumption
A former long term U.S. resident relinquished permanent resident status and returned to the country of his citizenship. His net worth exceeded a threshold that could create a presumption of tax…
PLR 200236032: Section 29 credits for synthetic fuel facilities and relocation
A taxpayer asked the IRS to confirm section 29 credit treatment after forming a partnership, changing a chemical reagent used to produce synthetic fuel, and relocating one production line. The IRS…
PLR 200236031: Member distributions in a nonprofit corporation's liquidation
A nonprofit membership corporation planned to dissolve after its reinsurance subsidiary stopped writing policies. A state regulator required the subsidiary to retain assets for possible claims, so…
PLR 200236030: Matching trusts may merge without changing beneficiaries' tax positions
Three children each benefited from two trusts with identical terms, created through their parents' estate plans. The trustees proposed merging each pair to reduce administrative costs. The IRS ruled…
PLR 200236029: Loss of permanent resident status was not for tax avoidance
A longtime U.S. permanent resident relinquished that status and returned to the country of his birth and citizenship. His net worth exceeded the threshold that could trigger a presumption of a…
PLR 200236028: Software project costs split between current deductions and amortization
A distributor bought enterprise software and hired consultants to customize and implement it. The IRS ruled that the purchased software and sales tax must be capitalized and amortized over 36…
PLR 200236027: Insurer's charitable benefit payments treated as business expenses
A life insurer proposed a promotional program that would pay a charitable or civic organization chosen by a policy owner when the insured died. The insurer expected the added benefit to attract…
PLR 200236026: Online intermediary arrangements for deferred equipment exchanges
A business used an online qualified intermediary to sell equipment and acquire replacement equipment in separate batches. The IRS ruled that each batch would be treated as a separate like-kind…
CCA 200236025: Replacement refund unavailable after deposit to return's listed account
A taxpayer said a volunteer return preparer entered the wrong bank details, causing a refund to go to someone else's account. The IRS traced the payment to the account and routing number on the…
PLR 200236024: Funded power intertie treated as a capital contribution
An electric cooperative agreed to build and own a transmission intertie funded by a generator whose plant would use the line. The IRS found that the transfer met the conditions of the cited intertie…
PLR 200236023: Irish reinsurer qualifies for insurance excise tax treaty relief
An Irish reinsurer sought relief from the U.S. excise tax on premiums for U.S. risks under the U.S.–Ireland income tax convention. The IRS concluded, based on the reinsurer's representations about…
PLR 200236022: Highway department pickup trucks fail nonpersonal-use vehicle test
A state highway department required some employees to drive marked pickup trucks home so they could respond to emergencies outside regular hours. The department prohibited personal use and added…
PLR 200236021: Unnecessary QTIP election for credit shelter trust disregarded
An estate made QTIP elections for both a marital trust and a credit shelter trust that benefited the surviving spouse. The credit shelter trust election did not reduce the estate tax because the…
PLR 200236020: Late GST exemption allocation allowed for family trust
A taxpayer and her spouse transferred real estate and leases to a trust benefiting their descendants. Their tax adviser allocated only part of her generation-skipping transfer (GST) exemption,…
PLR 200236019: Estate allowed late GST allocations for two trusts
A decedent had funded two trusts for family members, including one with a life insurance policy and later cash transfers. A tax adviser allocated too little generation-skipping transfer (GST)…
PLR 200236018: Late entity election granted with conflicting classification language
A corporation converted under state law into a two-member LLC. The LLC said it intended to elect corporate classification for federal tax purposes as of the conversion date but missed the Form 8832…
PLR 200236017: Estate receives more time to elect QTIP treatment for spouse's trust
A decedent's trust divided its assets between a fund for the surviving spouse and a fund passing to the children. The estate's timely tax return incorrectly described the property passing to the…
PLR 200236016: Spouses receive time to correct GST allocations to family trust
Two spouses made cash and limited partnership unit transfers to a trust for their children and grandchildren. Their gift tax returns omitted some transfers and the related generation-skipping…
PLR 200236015: Entity receives late corporate and S corporation election relief
An entity intended to elect federal tax treatment as a corporation and then as an S corporation, both effective when it was formed. It failed to file the entity classification form and the S…
PLR 200236014: City disability and survivor benefits receive mixed income exclusions
A city asked whether benefits from its line of duty disability and death benefit plan could be excluded from recipients' income as workers' compensation. The IRS found that the relevant plan…
PLR 200236013: Corporation receives relief for invalid S election tied to trust errors
A corporation's S election was ineffective because three shareholder trusts needed electing small business trust elections and four other trusts' qualified subchapter S trust elections were signed…
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.