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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Open-transaction to realization treatment requires a section 481(a) adjustment
Chief Counsel advised that changing a taxpayer's treatment of certain transactions from open-transaction treatment to realization treatment is a change in method of accounting under IRC § 446. The…
PLR 1351001: governmental deferred compensation plan qualifies under section 457(b)
A state planned to offer a deferred compensation plan to its employees and participating political subdivisions and instrumentalities. The IRS concluded that the plan qualified as an eligible…
TAM 1350033: mining exploration costs must be recaptured even for closed years
This Technical Advice Memorandum addresses a mining company's failure to recapture exploration expenditures after mines reached the producing stage. The IRS concludes that the company must recapture…
CCA 1348013: Counsel agrees with the technical position on GRAT asset distributions
Chief Counsel confirmed its position on applying IRC § 469(j)(6) to distributions of assets from a grantor retained annuity trust (GRAT). Counsel agreed with the position taken by the Technical…
IRS advises that a qualified settlement fund may deduct liquidation expenses and certain losses
The IRS analyzed whether a qualified settlement fund could deduct expenses and losses connected with liquidating commercial real estate held for defrauded investors. It concluded that necessary…
PLR 1347010: IRS approves a revised nuclear decommissioning funding schedule
A regulated public utility asked the IRS to approve a revised schedule of ruling amounts for contributions to a nuclear decommissioning fund under section 468A. The utility described its ownership…
PLR 1347009: IRS approves a revised nuclear decommissioning funding schedule and formula
A public utility asked the IRS to approve a mandatory revised schedule of ruling amounts for contributions to a nuclear decommissioning fund. The revision was prompted by a substantial change in the…
CCA 1345025: Correcting duplicate commission deductions is not an accounting method change
Chief Counsel considered whether a taxpayer that had deducted employee commissions twice could treat the correction as a change in accounting method. The taxpayer deducted a commission when earned…
PLR 1345019: Taxpayer may make a special nuclear decommissioning transfer and use revised deduction schedules
A corporation that owned part of a nuclear power plant asked for a schedule of deduction amounts and a revised schedule of ruling amounts for decommissioning costs. The IRS concluded that the…
PLR 1343012: accounting method changes granted for six liability categories
The IRS granted a corporation permission to change how it accounts for six categories of liabilities after a merger, including advertising and program services, royalties, equipment disposal and…
PLR 1342009: IRS grants more time to elect the LIFO inventory method
A corporate subsidiary asked for more time to file Form 970 and elect the LIFO inventory method after discovering that the form had not been filed. The IRS found that the taxpayer had acted…
PLR 1341030: IRS grants late-election relief for combining rental real estate activities
The IRS granted married taxpayers 120 days to make a late election to treat all of their rental real estate interests as one rental real estate activity. The taxpayers represented that they were in…
PLR 1336015: IRS approves a revised nuclear decommissioning funding schedule
A taxpayer with an ownership interest in a nuclear power plant requested a mandatory revised schedule of ruling amounts for contributions to its nuclear decommissioning fund. The request was…
IRS approves nuclear decommissioning fund transfers in a utility restructuring
The IRS approved the transfer of qualified nuclear decommissioning funds as part of a utility restructuring involving a merger and a contribution to a holding company. The funds would not be…
IRS approves transfers of a nuclear decommissioning fund in a restructuring
The IRS ruled that a qualified nuclear decommissioning trust would remain qualified after a subsidiary's interest in a nuclear power plant was transferred through a merger and a later contribution…
IRS approves transfers of a nuclear decommissioning trust in a two-step restructuring
The IRS approved a taxpayer's two-step restructuring involving a nuclear power plant and its qualified nuclear decommissioning trust. The trust would move first in a merger involving a wholly owned…
IRS approves transfers of a nuclear decommissioning trust in a two-step restructuring
The IRS approved a taxpayer's two-step restructuring involving a nuclear power plant and its qualified nuclear decommissioning trust. The trust would move first in a merger involving a wholly owned…
PLR 1331004: IRS approves a revised nuclear decommissioning funding schedule
The IRS approved a revised schedule of ruling amounts for a taxpayer's contributions to a nuclear decommissioning fund. The request was required because the taxpayer's nuclear plant operating…
PLR 1331003: IRS approves a revised nuclear decommissioning funding schedule
The IRS approved a revised schedule of ruling amounts for a taxpayer's contributions to a nuclear decommissioning fund. The request was required because the taxpayer's nuclear plant operating…
PLR 1327002: IRS says a fund need not report payments that retain their personal-injury exclusion
The IRS ruled that a fund created during the liquidation of an insolvent life insurance company would not have information reporting obligations for certain payments to annuity beneficiaries. The…
Partnership reporting controls passive-loss refund claims
Chief Counsel Advice addresses how partnership reporting affects passive-loss refund claims. It says the character of partnership income or loss is a partnership item, so changing the character…
PLR 1322030: IRS approves a revised nuclear decommissioning fund schedule
The IRS approved a taxpayer's revised schedule of annual amounts for funding the decommissioning of a nuclear power plant. The taxpayer had a qualifying direct ownership interest in the plant and…
PLR 1322029: IRS approves a revised nuclear decommissioning fund schedule
The IRS approved a taxpayer's revised schedule of annual amounts for funding the decommissioning of a nuclear power plant. The taxpayer had a qualifying direct ownership interest in the plant and…
PLR 1322026: IRS approves grantor trust elections for settlement trusts
The IRS ruled that a taxpayer could make a grantor trust election for several trusts formed under a bankruptcy reorganization plan and related settlement agreements. The trusts were created to…
PLR 1322023: IRS addresses income and deduction issues for a mortgage securitization business
The IRS considered a ruling request from a stockholder-owned corporation that purchases residential mortgages and mortgage-related securities, securitizes them into mortgage-backed securities, and…
CCA 1321023: CAPCO must recognize income from tax-credit offsets used for investor payments
Chief Counsel Advice addresses a certified capital company, or CAPCO, that uses insurance premium tax-credit offsets to pay interest and principal on notes issued to investors. The advice concludes…
CCA 1321021: Appeals may accept an amended return for a late real-estate election
Chief Counsel Advice addresses a procedural requirement for relief under Rev. Proc. 2011-34. That procedure allows certain taxpayers to make a late election under Treas. Reg. § 1.469-9(g) to treat…
TAM finds trusts did not materially participate in an S corporation's activities
The IRS considered whether two complex trusts materially participated in the relevant activities of an S corporation for the alternative minimum tax rules. A beneficiary served as the corporation's…
PLR 1314042: Separate regulatory statements may be combined for the section 475 valuation safe harbor
A foreign bank owned a domestic corporation that filed a consolidated federal income tax return and conducted securities dealer activities through disregarded entities. The corporation asked whether…
CCA 1312041: section 469 did not control the final treatment of capital gains and ordinary losses
Chief Counsel advised on the treatment of capital gains and ordinary losses from property used in a passive activity. The IRS generally agreed with the Tax Court's analysis of the passive loss rules…
PLR 1312024: IRS approves elective stock-compensation cost-sharing methods
The IRS granted a multinational taxpayer prospective consent to use an elective method for measuring and timing employee stock options, restricted shares, and restricted share units included as…
Prepaid FDIC assessments are not currently deductible
The Office of Chief Counsel considered whether a consolidated group could deduct prepaid FDIC assessments for two taxable years. It concluded that the prepaid assessment was part of a capital…
PLR 1311018: IRS approves changes to stock-based compensation methods in a cost sharing arrangement
The IRS granted a taxpayer consent to change how it measures and identifies employee stock options and restricted shares for a cost sharing arrangement. The taxpayer sought to use an elective method…
PLR 1311011: IRS approves continued treatment of nuclear decommissioning funds after restructuring
The IRS ruled that qualified nuclear decommissioning funds would remain qualified after a corporate restructuring that converted a subsidiary into a disregarded limited liability company. The ruling…
PLR 1311001: IRS permits a cost-sharing method change for stock-based compensation
A corporation asked to change how it measured and identified employee stock options, restricted stock units, and performance-based restricted stock units for a cost-sharing arrangement with a…
CCA 1308028: Chief Counsel explained when LLC debt guarantees create at-risk basis
Chief Counsel advised that an LLC debt guarantor may be at risk even without completely waiving subrogation and reimbursement rights, if the guaranty is bona fide and enforceable and the guarantor…
CCA 1302022: Terminating a section 444 election requires a required tax year
Chief Counsel Advice addresses termination of a section 444 tax-year election by a partnership, S corporation, or personal service corporation. It states that once a section 444 election is…
PLR 1250007: IRS approves a revised nuclear decommissioning funding schedule
The IRS approved a utility's revised schedule of ruling amounts for contributions to a nuclear decommissioning fund. The utility's nuclear plant license had been extended, so it updated its…
PLR 1250006: IRS approves a revised nuclear decommissioning fund schedule
The IRS approved a nuclear utility's revised schedule of ruling amounts for contributions to a decommissioning fund after the plant's operating license was extended. The utility based its proposed…
PLR 1249001: IRS approves a revised nuclear decommissioning funding schedule
The IRS approved a revised schedule of ruling amounts for a regulated public utility's nuclear decommissioning fund. The schedule sets the annual amounts the taxpayer may pay into the fund and…
Bonus liability is fixed when employees receive payment
Chief Counsel advised that an employer's liability for incentive bonuses was taken into account in the year the bonuses were paid, not the year the employees performed the related services. Under…
PLR 1246011: IRS approves a revised nuclear decommissioning reserve schedule
The IRS approved a revised schedule of ruling amounts for a taxpayer's nuclear decommissioning fund after the operating license for its plant was extended. The taxpayer showed that it had a…
PLR 1246010: IRS approves a revised nuclear decommissioning reserve schedule
The IRS approved a revised schedule of ruling amounts for a taxpayer's nuclear decommissioning fund after the Nuclear Regulatory Commission extended the plant's operating license. The taxpayer…
PLR 1246009: IRS approves an elective review of a nuclear decommissioning schedule
The IRS approved an elective review and revised schedule of ruling amounts for a taxpayer's nuclear decommissioning fund. The taxpayer held a qualifying interest in the plant, relied on an…
PLR 1245011: IRS approves a revised nuclear decommissioning fund schedule
The IRS approved a taxpayer's revised schedule of ruling amounts for a nuclear decommissioning fund. The request followed an extension of the plant's nuclear operating license and updated…
CCA 1244017: Trusts cannot qualify for the individual real-estate-professional tests under section 469(c)(7)
Chief Counsel advised that a trust cannot satisfy the qualifying tests in IRC § 469(c)(7)(B) because those tests apply to individuals. The advice focused on the requirement that the taxpayer perform…
PLR 1244007: IRS approves a revised nuclear decommissioning funding schedule
A nuclear power plant owner requested a revised schedule of annual amounts for its nuclear decommissioning fund after the plant's operating license was extended. The IRS concluded that the taxpayer…
PLR 1239004: IRS denies late trader mark-to-market election
A liquidated subsidiary asked the IRS to treat its use of mark-to-market accounting as substantial compliance with the IRC § 475(f) trader election requirements. In the alternative, it requested…
PLR 1239002: IRS approves a revised nuclear decommissioning funding schedule
A taxpayer that owned an interest in a nuclear power plant requested a revised schedule of ruling amounts for its nuclear decommissioning fund after the plant's operating license was extended. The…
CCA 1238025: Taxpayer qualified as a securities dealer for mark-to-market purposes
Chief Counsel advised that an investment-bank holding company qualified as a dealer in securities under IRC § 475 because it regularly bought trust preferred securities from regional banks and sold…
PLR 1238010: IRS approves a revised nuclear decommissioning funding schedule
The IRS approved a revised schedule of ruling amounts for a taxpayer's share of the costs of decommissioning a nuclear power plant. The schedule used an independent study that reflected an extension…
PLR 1237012: IRS approves an accounting-method change for service liabilities
The IRS approved an accounting-method change for a corporation that acquired a subsidiary in a section 381 transaction. The parent and subsidiary had used different methods for deducting liabilities…
CCA 1231011: Advice addresses accrual-method income from telephone excise-tax refunds
Chief Counsel advice addresses when an accrual-method business should recognize income from a telephone excise-tax refund. It states that income is generally recognized when all events fixing the…
CCA 1231004: Chief Counsel analyzes accounting method changes and § 481(a) adjustments
Chief Counsel advice analyzed whether changing the time for deducting expenditures, or changing from deducting expenditures to capitalizing them, constitutes a change in method of accounting under…
PLR 1228043: IRS waives the 60-day rollover deadline for a late § 457(b) rollover
The IRS waived the 60-day rollover requirement for a taxpayer who received a distribution from a governmental § 457(b) plan and transferred part of it to an IRA about a week late. The taxpayer…
IRS advice defers cooperative patronage-dividend deductions under IRC § 267
The Office of Chief Counsel concluded that IRC § 267(a)(2) applies to patronage dividends paid by a cooperative to related domestic patrons, so the cooperative may not deduct the amounts until they…
TAM 1223015: Trade promotion rebates accrue when customers buy goods
The IRS concluded that an accrual-method manufacturer's trade promotion rebate liabilities become fixed and determinable when customers purchase the goods. The later submission of claim forms and…
CCA explains accounting methods for manufacturers' long-term contracts
Chief Counsel Advice addressed whether a manufacturer may use the completed contract method for its contracts. A contract to produce a unique item, or an item normally requiring more than 12 months…
PLR 1222011: IRS approves pooled income fund terms and related tax treatment
The IRS ruled on six questions concerning a tax-exempt organization’s proposed pooled income fund. It concluded that several provisions in the fund’s governing instrument would not prevent pooled…
PLR 1222010: IRS approves pooled income fund terms and related tax treatment
The IRS ruled on six questions concerning a tax-exempt organization’s proposed pooled income fund. It concluded that several provisions in the fund’s governing instrument would not prevent pooled…
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.