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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IRS denies 501(c)(3) status to a mixed-use real-estate redevelopment group that mostly leases commercial space and benefits a for-profit owned by its director
An organization applied to be recognized as a tax-exempt charity under IRC Section 501(c)(3), saying it would redevelop a former production facility in a poor neighborhood into a mixed-use building wi…
IRS denies 501(c)(4) social-welfare status to a homeowners' association with no areas open to the public
A homeowners' association for a residential subdivision applied to be recognized as a tax-exempt social welfare organization under IRC Section 501(c)(4). The IRS denied it, and because the association…
IRS grants a 1-year approval of substitute mortality tables for a plan's non-annuitant populations after a coverage change
A company that sponsors several defined benefit pension plans asked the IRS for permission to use its own substitute mortality tables for the male and female non-annuitant populations of one plan (Pla…
IRS pre-approves a foundation's travel and workshop grants for educators in an invention-education network
A private foundation runs a program that supports a network of educators, nonprofit leaders, and researchers working in a specialized field of education. It asked the IRS to approve, in advance, the p…
IRS excuses a governmental-unit affiliate from filing Form 990
Most tax-exempt organizations must file an annual information return (Form 990) with the IRS. This organization asked to be excused from that requirement. The IRS has discretion under IRC Section 6033…
IRS denies 501(c)(3) status to a homeowners'-association-style membership group
An organization that operates like a homeowners' association applied for 501(c)(3) charitable tax-exempt status using the streamlined Form 1023-EZ, and the IRS denied it. The group is a membership ass…
IRS denies 501(c)(6) business-league status to a business-referral networking group
A business-referral networking group (the kind where each member is the sole representative of their occupation and everyone is expected to pass leads to the others) applied for tax exemption as a 501…
IRS denies 501(c)(3) status to a commercial-style legal payment and practice-management platform
An organization that runs an online payment-processing and practice-management platform for lawyers (branded "D" in the redacted letter) applied for 501(c)(3) charitable status, pitching itself as a l…
IRS denies 501(c)(3) status to a short-term rental house run as a church "supporting organization"
A newly formed nonprofit that operates a single short-term rental house (a 4-bedroom farmhouse listed on a popular booking site) applied for 501(c)(3) status, and the IRS denied it. The organization w…
IRS grants 120 more days to make a late election passing the rehabilitation credit through to a tenant
A limited liability company that owns a rehabilitated building asked the IRS for extra time to make a tax election it had missed. Under the rehabilitation credit rules (Code section 47), the owner of …
120 days granted to make a late Section 754 basis-adjustment election after a partner's death
An LLC treated as a partnership for tax purposes had a partner die during the year. When a partner dies (or a partnership interest otherwise transfers), a Section 754 election lets the partnership adj…
Late Form 8996 accepted, letting an LLC self-certify as a Qualified Opportunity Fund
Two investors deferred capital gains by putting the money into an LLC they intended to run as a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF), the vehicle that lets taxpayers defer and reduce tax on gains invested…
LLC granted late relief to elect corporate status and be treated as an S corporation
An LLC wanted to be taxed as an S corporation, but it never filed the two elections that requires. An LLC first has to elect to be treated as a corporation (Form 8832), and then elect S corporation st…
60 days granted to make a late election letting a tax-exempt-controlled corporation use faster depreciation
A C corporation was owned by a parent partnership whose partners were more than half tax-exempt entities. That made the corporation a "tax-exempt controlled entity" under Section 168(h). Normally that…
Late Form 8996 accepted, letting an LLC self-certify as a Qualified Opportunity Fund
Two investors deferred capital gains by putting the money into an LLC they intended to run as a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF), the vehicle that lets taxpayers defer and reduce tax on gains invested…
120 days granted to make a late Section 754 basis-adjustment election, via an amended partnership return
An LLC taxed as a partnership meant to make a Section 754 election, which lets a partnership adjust the tax basis of its property when interests change hands or property is distributed, but it missed …
120 days granted to make a late Section 754 basis-adjustment election, via an amended partnership return
An LLC taxed as a partnership meant to make a Section 754 election, which lets a partnership adjust the tax basis of its property when interests change hands or property is distributed, but it missed …
75 days granted to make a late Section 362(e)(2)(C) election in a built-in-loss property transfer
A taxpayer transferred property to a corporation in a transaction meant to qualify as a tax-free Section 351 exchange. The catch: the property's total tax basis was higher than its fair market value, …
75 days granted to make a late Section 362(e)(2)(C) election in a built-in-loss property transfer
A taxpayer transferred property to a corporation in a transaction meant to qualify as a tax-free Section 351 exchange. The property's total tax basis was higher than its fair market value, so there wa…
75 days granted to make a late Section 382 closing-of-the-books election after an ownership change
A corporation with tax losses went through an "ownership change" under Section 382, which limits how much pre-change loss the company can use to offset income earned after the change. In the year of t…
75 days granted for a corporate group to make a late election to file a consolidated return
A parent company and its affiliated group of corporations wanted to file a single consolidated federal income tax return, with the parent as the common parent. A group makes that election, in effect, …
120 days granted to elect out of automatic GST exemption allocation on gifts to children's trusts
A married couple set up three irrevocable trusts for their three children and made gifts to them over two years. Gifts to this kind of trust are "indirect skips" for generation-skipping transfer (GST)…
LLC granted late relief to elect corporate status and be treated as an S corporation
An LLC intended to be taxed as an S corporation from a specific date but never filed the required elections. An LLC first has to be treated as a corporation (Form 8832) and then elect S corporation st…
60 days granted to make a late Section 336(e) election treating an S corporation stock sale as an asset sale
Buyers purchased all the stock of an S corporation from its shareholder. The parties wanted the deal treated as if the corporation had sold its assets rather than as a stock sale, which can give the b…
120 days granted for a single-member LLC to make a late election to be taxed as a corporation
A single-owner LLC wanted to be treated as a corporation for federal tax purposes rather than as a disregarded entity (the default for a one-owner LLC). To do that, it has to file Form 8832, the entit…
Consent granted for a foreign insurance company to revoke its Section 953(d) "domestic corporation" election
A foreign-incorporated insurance company had elected under Section 953(d) to be treated as a domestic (U.S.) corporation for tax purposes. That election lets certain foreign insurers be taxed like U.S…
120 days granted to a surviving spouse's estate to make a late QTIP election on a marital trust
When a married person dies, property left to the surviving spouse in a qualifying marital trust can escape estate tax if the estate makes a "qualified terminable interest property" (QTIP) election und…
120 days granted for an S corporation to make a late QSub election for a subsidiary
An S corporation that wholly owns another corporation can elect to treat that subsidiary as a "qualified subchapter S subsidiary" (QSub), which makes the subsidiary disappear for tax purposes so its i…
120 days granted for a foreign unlimited liability company to make a late election to be taxed as a corporation
A business entity formed outside the United States can choose how it is treated for U.S. federal tax purposes by filing Form 8832, the entity classification election. Here, a foreign "unlimited liabil…
120 days granted to a corporation to make a late S corporation election for reasonable cause
A corporation that wants to be taxed as an S corporation (income passing through to shareholders rather than being taxed at the corporate level) must file Form 2553 by a deadline tied to the start of …
120 days granted for an LLC to make a late election to be reclassified as a partnership after revoking its S election
An LLC had elected to be an S corporation, which under the classification rules also meant it was treated as a corporation for federal tax purposes. Later it revoked the S election and wanted to be tr…
120 days granted to elect out of automatic GST-exemption allocation on gifts to three children's trusts
When someone makes a gift to certain trusts that could later skip a generation (for example, benefiting grandchildren), the tax rules automatically use up part of the giver's generation-skipping trans…
Early termination of a charitable lead annuity trust, paying the undiscounted remaining annuities to a donor-advised fund, triggers no foundation excise taxes
A charitable lead annuity trust (CLAT) pays a fixed amount to charity each year for a set term, and whatever is left at the end goes to a private beneficiary. This CLAT pays its annuity to a donor-adv…
Inadvertent-termination relief where an S corporation's status lapsed because a trust shareholder missed its QSST election
An S corporation can only have certain kinds of shareholders. A trust can qualify while it is treated as owned by a living individual, and it stays eligible for two years after that owner dies; after …
An S corporation's rental income from actively managed real estate is not passive investment income
An S corporation that carries over accumulated earnings and profits from a prior C corporation life can lose its S status (and owe a special tax) if more than 25% of its gross receipts are "passive in…
A rural telephone cooperative's gain from selling a subsidiary's partnership interest, to the extent tied to patrons' network use, is patronage-sourced income
A cooperative operates at cost for its members (patrons), returning its margins to them as patronage dividends, and those patronage-sourced amounts can be excluded from the cooperative's taxable incom…
Approval for a pension plan aggregated group to use plan-specific substitute mortality tables for funding computations
Single-employer defined benefit pension plans must calculate how much money to set aside (their minimum funding) using mortality tables that predict how long participants will live. Instead of the sta…
Approval for a single pension plan (after a merger) to use plan-specific substitute mortality tables for funding computations
Single-employer defined benefit pension plans must calculate their minimum funding using mortality tables. A sponsor with enough participants may ask to use "substitute" mortality tables built from it…
120 days granted for a late section 865(h)(2) election to treat foreign-corporation stock-sale gain as foreign-source income under a treaty
When a U.S. resident sells stock, the gain is normally treated as U.S.-source income. But § 865(h) lets a taxpayer elect to treat gain from selling stock in a foreign corporation as foreign-source inc…
A county land-reclamation nonprofit's income is excludable under section 115(1) and contributions to it are deductible under section 170(c)(1)
A county created a nonprofit corporation (a "land bank") to reclaim and repurpose vacant, abandoned, and tax-foreclosed property and to promote housing and economic development. It asked the IRS for t…
A rural telephone cooperative's gain from selling a subsidiary's partnership interest, to the extent tied to patrons' network use, is patronage-sourced income
A cooperative operates at cost for its members (patrons), returning its margins to them as patronage dividends, and those patronage-sourced amounts can be excluded from the cooperative's taxable incom…
No gain or loss on a taxable corporation's liquidation into a tax-exempt tribal corporation, which will itself be exempt from federal income tax
When a taxable corporation moves its assets into a tax-exempt entity, the tax rules normally treat that like a taxable sale so the built-in gain does not escape tax forever. Here, a state-law corporat…
Advance approval of a private foundation's scholarship-award procedures under section 4945(g)(1)
A private foundation that hands money to individuals for study normally risks an excise tax on that payment, unless the IRS approves its grant-making procedures in advance. Here, a foundation running …
Final adverse ruling denying 501(c)(3) exemption to an employee-aid fund that serves private, not public, interests
To be tax-exempt as a charity under section 501(c)(3), an organization must operate exclusively for public purposes, not to benefit a private group. Here, an unincorporated association applied for 501…
Final adverse ruling denying 501(c)(4) exemption to a gated homeowners association whose common areas are closed to the public
A social welfare organization can be tax-exempt under section 501(c)(4) only if it operates for the good of a whole community, not just its own members. Here, a real estate management association (whi…
9100-3 relief granting a late Form 1128 to adopt a 52-53 week taxable year after the advisor missed the deadline
To change or adopt a tax year, a taxpayer generally must file Form 1128 by the due date of the return for the first year affected. Here, a taxpayer wanted to adopt a 52-53 week fiscal year but its tax…
9100-3 relief, 120 days for a foreign eligible entity to file a late Form 8832 electing to be disregarded from its owner
Under the "check-the-box" rules, an eligible business entity can choose how it is taxed by filing Form 8832. A single-owner foreign entity can elect to be "disregarded," meaning it is ignored as separ…
9100-3 relief, 120 days for a non-filing estate to make a late portability election so the surviving spouse can use the DSUE amount
When someone dies without using up their full estate/gift tax exclusion, the leftover ("deceased spousal unused exclusion," or DSUE) can be passed to the surviving spouse, but only if the estate makes…
Transitory, insignificant momentary ownership of S-corp stock by an ineligible shareholder under the equity-compensation regulations does not terminate the S elections
An S corporation loses its S status if it ever has an ineligible shareholder, such as a partnership. Here, two S corporations (Y and Z) ran equity compensation plans that let employees of a related bu…
Inadvertent S-corp termination relief under 1362(f) after five trust shareholders missed their QSST elections
An S corporation can only have certain kinds of shareholders. A trust generally qualifies only if its beneficiary makes a "qualified subchapter S trust" (QSST) election on time. Here, five trusts acqu…
9100-3 relief, 60 days to file a late Form 8996 to self-certify as a Qualified Opportunity Fund
A Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF) is an investment vehicle that gets special tax benefits for putting money into designated low-income "opportunity zones." To become a QOF, an entity must self-certif…
9100-3 relief, 120 days for a foreign entity to file a late Form 8832 electing to be taxed as a corporation
Under the "check-the-box" rules, an eligible business entity can choose how it is taxed by filing Form 8832. Here, a foreign entity had been treated as a partnership but, after 100% of its interests w…
9100-3 relief, 60 days for a late 168(h)(6)(F)(ii) election not to be treated as a tax-exempt controlled entity
When a tax-exempt organization owns property (directly or through certain entities), the depreciation rules are less favorable, using slower "alternative depreciation." A corporation that is at least …
Advance approval of a private foundation's educational grant procedures under section 4945(g)(3)
A private foundation that gives money to individuals for study or similar purposes risks an excise tax on that payment, unless the IRS approves its grant-making procedures in advance. Here, a foundati…
Advance approval of a private foundation's last-dollar scholarship procedures under section 4945(g)(1)
A private foundation that gives money to individuals for study risks an excise tax on that payment, unless the IRS approves its grant-making procedures in advance. Here, a foundation runs a scholarshi…
Approval to use plan-specific substitute mortality tables under section 430 for an aggregated group of union defined benefit plans (Group B)
Employers that sponsor traditional (defined benefit) pension plans must calculate how much to fund each year, and those calculations depend on mortality assumptions (how long retirees are expected to …
Approval to use plan-specific substitute mortality tables under section 430 for an aggregated group of non-union defined benefit plans (Group A)
Employers that sponsor traditional (defined benefit) pension plans must calculate how much to fund each year, and those calculations depend on mortality assumptions (how long retirees are expected to …
Supporting organization's set-aside for a firefighting training facility approved
A tax-exempt, non-functionally integrated Type III supporting organization asked to count construction funds set aside for a firefighting training facility toward its annual distribution requirement. …
IRS denies 501(c)(3) exemption to a family heritage organization
A family heritage organization sought recognition as a tax-exempt charity under IRC Section 501(c)(3). Its activities included family reunions and picnics, genealogical and historical research, cemete…
Farmers market denied § 501(c)(3) exemption because it primarily benefited vendors
An organization sought § 501(c)(3) status for operating a farmers market where local producers and artisans paid weekly or seasonal fees to sell goods. It also held monthly educational events and host…
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.