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 200230023: Foreign subsidiary receives late disregarded entity election relief
A company acquired a foreign entity with a subsidiary it intended to treat as disregarded for US tax purposes. During a change in tax advisers, the company missed the deadline to file the…
PLR 200230022: Trust disclaimers and reformation permit estate tax charitable deductions
A decedent's trust paid income to her brother, allowed discretionary principal payments to him, and left the remainder to charity. The brother proposed to disclaim his principal right and a…
PLR 200230021: Former resident's departure lacked a principal tax avoidance purpose
A former US lawful permanent resident returned to the country of his birth and citizenship and gave up his green card. His net worth exceeded the threshold that, under the law discussed in this 2002…
PLR 200230020: Partnership gets more time to elect corporate classification
A limited partnership's owners intended to elect corporate tax classification from a specified date, but Form 8832 was not filed on time. The partnership requested relief from the filing deadline.…
PLR 200230019: Estate receives time to file physician certification for GST rule
An estate had filed its estate tax return and a supplement without the physician certification used for a generation-skipping transfer tax rule concerning mental disability. The IRS granted an…
PLR 200230018: IRA funded charitable gift annuity receives partial favorable rulings
An IRA owner planned to name a public charity as beneficiary in exchange for a lifetime annuity to another person if that person survived the owner. The IRS ruled that receiving the IRA proceeds…
PLR 200230017: Severed QTIP trust interest sale receives several favorable rulings
A surviving spouse and other beneficiaries proposed to split a QTIP marital trust into seven trusts and have the spouse sell her income interest in one trust to its remainder beneficiary. Subject to…
PLR 200230016: Partnership may revoke elections out of installment reporting
A real estate partnership sold three properties for payments extending beyond the sale years, but its accounting firm reported all the gains immediately. The firm had mistakenly believed that sales…
PLR 200230015: Foreign entity gets time to correct corporate classification election
A foreign entity's founders intended it to be classified as a corporation for US tax purposes from its formation date, but its Form 8832 was not filed correctly. The entity requested an extension to…
PLR 200230014: Foreign entity receives extension for Form 8832 election
A foreign entity intended to elect corporate classification for US tax purposes from its formation date. Its Form 8832 was not filed correctly because of inadvertence. The IRS found that the entity…
CCA 200230013: Form 1065 checkbox does not elect partnership audit procedures
A partnership with fewer than ten C corporation partners had checked “Yes” on Form 1065 when asked whether it was subject to the TEFRA partnership audit procedures. Chief Counsel advised that this…
PLR 200230012: Scientist may reelect foreign earned income exclusion
A US citizen had elected the foreign earned income exclusion while working abroad, then revoked it after returning to the United States. He later moved to another country for a university job and…
PLR 200230011: Company may file late S corporation election
A newly incorporated company's two shareholders intended it to be an S corporation for its first tax year but did not file Form 2553 on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed election…
PLR 200230010: Company may file late S corporation election
A company intended to be an S corporation from its incorporation, but its sole shareholder did not file Form 2553 on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed election under section…
PLR 200230009: Partnership may claim credit for coal based synthetic fuel
A partnership operated a facility that made solid synthetic fuel from coal and asked about the section 29 fuel credit. The IRS ruled that its process produced qualified fuel and that the partnership…
PLR 200230008: LLC may file late S corporation election
A single member LLC elected to be taxed as a corporation, and its owner intended it to be an S corporation from that effective date. The LLC filed an S corporation tax return but did not file Form…
PLR 200230007: Vehicle donation through charity's agent qualifies for deduction
An individual planned to donate a used vehicle to a charity through a company acting as the charity's agent. The IRS ruled that the donation would be made to the charity and would qualify for a…
PLR 200230006: Corporate spin offs qualify for specified tax free treatment
A corporate group proposed an external spin off and a related internal spin off, with transfers of businesses to controlled corporations. Based on the group's representations, the IRS ruled that the…
PLR 200230005: Charity may accept donated property through paid agent
A charity proposed to use a paid company as its agent to solicit, receive, and sell donated vehicles and other property. The IRS ruled that donations through the program could qualify for a section…
PLR 200230004: Trust may receive company dividends and later redeem donated stock
Spouses planned to donate most of their closely held company stock to a trust intended to be a charitable remainder unitrust. The IRS ruled that the company's earnings would not themselves be…
TAM 200230003: Revocable spousal GRAT interests do not qualify under section 2702
Two spouses created four grantor retained annuity trusts with contingent annuity interests for the surviving spouse. The IRS advised that the revocable spousal interests were not qualified interests…
PLR 200230002: Some corporate distributions qualify as partial liquidation
A company proposed to liquidate two subsidiaries and distribute business interests and sale proceeds to shareholders. The IRS ruled that the subsidiary liquidations qualified under section 332…
CCA 200230001: Project development work may require arm's length compensation
Two United States companies developed a foreign project through a joint venture, and Chief Counsel considered the transfer pricing treatment of their work for a related foreign partnership. The…
PLR 200229056: Pension plan may return specified employer contributions
A defined benefit pension plan sought permission to return employer contributions that were not deductible. The IRS determined that the specified contributions could be considered disallowed, to the…
PLR 200229055: Pension plan may return specified employer contributions
A defined benefit pension plan sought permission to return employer contributions that were not deductible. The IRS determined that the specified contributions could be considered disallowed, to the…
PLR 200229054: Pension plan may return specified employer contributions
A defined benefit pension plan sought permission to return employer contributions that were not deductible. The IRS determined that the specified contributions could be considered disallowed, to the…
PLR 200229053: Foundation may transfer all assets to successor foundation
A private foundation organized as a trust proposed to transfer all its assets to a nonprofit corporation that would continue its charitable work. The IRS ruled that the transfer would qualify under…
PLR 200229052: Foundation may transfer all assets to successor foundation
A private foundation organized as a trust proposed to transfer all its assets to a nonprofit corporation that would continue its charitable work. The IRS ruled that the transfer would qualify under…
PLR 200229051: Section 415(n) does not cover payments for enhanced pension benefits
A governmental pension plan asked whether section 415(n) applied when inactive, fully vested members made voluntary payments for an enhanced retirement benefit. The IRS ruled that it did not.…
PLR 200229050: Church retirement assets may share investment funds with endowments
A church-related plan administrator proposed pooling assets from two qualified retirement plans and a retirement income account with church endowment assets for investment. The IRS ruled that the…
PLR 200229049: IRS conditionally waives a pension plan funding shortfall
A company with declining sales and negative earnings sought a minimum funding waiver for its defined benefit pension plan. The IRS granted a conditional waiver under section 412(d), covering the…
PLR 200229048: IRS amends the facts in an earlier inherited IRA ruling
The IRS amended one paragraph of an earlier private letter ruling about IRA distributions after a decedent's death. The replacement paragraph says the successor trustees plan to split a consolidated…
PLR 200229047: Late S corporation election receives relief
A corporation's sole shareholder intended to elect S corporation status for its first taxable year, but the corporation did not file Form 2553 on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late…
PLR 200229046: Division of a charitable remainder trust preserves stated tax treatment
An estate proposed dividing a charitable remainder unitrust into three trusts as part of a settlement over estate taxes. Each successor trust would receive a proportionate share of the assets, and…
PLR 200229045: Corporation receives relief for a late S election
A corporation's shareholders intended to elect S corporation treatment from its incorporation date, but the election was late. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed deadline and granted…
PLR 200229044: Taxpayer gets more time for dual consolidated loss certifications
A taxpayer missed annual certification deadlines for dual consolidated losses of two entities. It asked the IRS for more time under the regulatory election relief rules. Based on the submitted facts…
PLR 200229043: Estate receives more time for reverse QTIP election
An estate missed the deadline to make a reverse QTIP election for the generation-skipping transfer tax exempt part of a family trust. The IRS found that the requirements for discretionary filing…
PLR 200229042: Trust sale and changes preserve GST tax exemption
Trustees proposed a stock sale between two trusts, a division of one trust, and changes to its authorized investments and trustee requirements. The IRS ruled that these steps would not cause the…
PLR 200229041: Stock sale between trusts preserves GST tax exemption
Trustees proposed selling corporate shares from a testamentary trust to another family trust to consolidate the holdings. A local court approved the sale contingent on a favorable IRS ruling. The…
PLR 200229040: IRS extends dual consolidated loss filing deadlines
A taxpayer omitted required agreements and annual certifications for dual consolidated losses from its tax returns. Its tax staff and outside CPA firm had failed to detect the omissions. The IRS…
PLR 200229039: Late S corporation and subsidiary elections receive relief
A corporation missed both its own S corporation election and the election to treat its wholly owned subsidiary as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late S…
PLR 200229038: Late QSub election receives a filing extension
An S corporation intended to elect qualified subchapter S subsidiary treatment for its wholly owned subsidiary, but it failed to file the election on time. The IRS found that the corporation met the…
PLR 200229037: Late QSub election receives a filing extension
An S corporation intended to elect qualified subchapter S subsidiary treatment for its wholly owned subsidiary, but it failed to file the election on time. The IRS found that the corporation met the…
PLR 200229036: Active rental income is not passive investment income for an S corporation
An S corporation received rent from 19 properties and used managers to provide extensive property services. It also performed its own financial and operational oversight. The IRS ruled that the…
PLR 200229035: Foreign entities get more time to elect partnership treatment
Two foreign entities with limited liability were classified as associations under the default federal tax rules. They intended to elect partnership treatment but did not file the election forms. The…
PLR 200229034: Partition of an older trust preserves GST tax exemption
A trustee proposed dividing a trust created before September 25, 1985, into five subtrusts and changing how descendants receive the remainder. The IRS ruled that, if a court approves the…
PLR 200229033: Late GST exemption allocation receives relief
A taxpayer and spouse made gifts to trusts for their children and descendants. The taxpayer did not file a gift tax return allocating her generation-skipping transfer tax exemption after an…
PLR 200229032: Late GST exemption allocation receives relief
A taxpayer and spouse made gifts to trusts for their children and descendants. The taxpayer did not file a gift tax return allocating his generation-skipping transfer tax exemption after an…
PLR 200229031: Late environmental remediation expense elections receive relief
A real estate partnership capitalized environmental remediation costs on its returns after its accounting firm failed to identify an available section 198 expense election. The IRS found that the…
PLR 200229030: Foreign subsidiaries' software sales do not create U.S. property
Controlled foreign corporations sold software to customers, including some in the United States, under agreements labeled licenses. The buyers received copies but none of the specified rights to…
PLR 200229029: Taxpayer gets more time for dual consolidated loss filings
A tax preparer initially concluded that an entity's losses were not dual consolidated losses, so the taxpayer omitted required election agreements and annual certifications from several returns. The…
PLR 200229028: Partnership gets more time to make a section 754 election
A partnership did not file a section 754 election when a general partner sold its interest because it mistakenly believed an earlier election was already in effect. The IRS found that the…
PLR 200229027: Active rental operations keep rents outside the S corporation passive income test
A real estate company planned to merge with two corporations that owned rental properties and then elect S corporation status. Its employees handled leasing, tenant issues, inspections, maintenance,…
PLR 200229026: Company gets relief for a late S corporation election
A newly incorporated company intended to be an S corporation from its start but missed the deadline to file Form 2553. The company and its shareholders filed their first year tax returns…
PLR 200229025: Three shareholder groups may separate businesses through a tax-free reorganization
Three owners of an S corporation could not resolve management disputes and proposed taking separate subsidiary corporations in exchange for their shares in the parent. The IRS ruled that the deemed…
PLR 200229024: Inadvertent S corporation termination receives relief
An S corporation issued shares to nonresident aliens, who cannot be S corporation shareholders. When accountants found the problem, the company repurchased the shares. The IRS ruled that the…
PLR 200229023: Corporation gets relief for its late S election
A corporation's sole shareholder decided at formation to elect S corporation status, but Form 2553 was not filed on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed deadline. It agreed to treat…
PLR 200229022: Taxpayer gets 30 days to file dual consolidated loss certification
A taxpayer relied on its tax advisers to handle filings related to an entity's dual consolidated losses, but they missed an annual certification. The IRS found that the taxpayer met the standards…
CCA 200229021: Utility denied depreciation method change for plant control equipment
An electric utility asked to change the depreciation classifications for equipment used in its hydroelectric and nuclear plants. It wanted to classify some assets as general office equipment,…
CCA 200229020: Bond refunding structure appears to create taxable arbitrage
A public bond issuer sold advance refunding bonds but arranged a period with no debt service on the new bonds. It invested revenues freed during that period in a contract yielding materially more…
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.