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 200226023: Corporation receives late S election relief from incorporation date
A corporation intended to be taxed as an S corporation from its incorporation date but did not file the election on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the delay under IRC § 1362(b)(5). It…
PLR 200226022: Corporation receives late S election relief from incorporation
A corporation's shareholders wanted S corporation treatment from the date the company was incorporated, but the election was not timely filed. The IRS found reasonable cause for the delay. It ruled…
PLR 200226021: Late S election accepted after corporation shows reasonable cause
A corporation intended to be taxed as an S corporation from the date it first issued stock, but it did not file Form 2553 on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed election under IRC §…
PLR 200226020: Unneeded QTIP election disregarded because estate tax was already zero
An estate elected qualified terminable interest property treatment on its estate tax return for property that included a trust for the surviving spouse. The IRS found the election was unnecessary:…
PLR 200226019: Late S election granted from incorporation date
A corporation's shareholders wanted it to elect S corporation status from the date of incorporation, but the election was not timely filed. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed filing. It…
PLR 200226018: Approved workers compensation payments need no reporting or backup withholding
An injured employee and employer settled a workers compensation claim with an initial cash amount and periodic payments to be made by another company. The IRS explained that the settlement must…
PLR 200226017: Corporation may make late S election from incorporation date
A corporation intended S corporation treatment from the date it was incorporated but failed to make the election on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late filing and granted relief under…
PLR 200226016: Late S election effective when corporation began business
A corporation was formed on one date and began doing business on a later date. Its shareholders wanted an S corporation election effective when business began, but Form 2553 was not timely filed.…
PLR 200226015: IRA payments through trusts are taxable to beneficiaries when distributed
An IRA owner designated two revocable trusts as beneficiaries of separate IRAs. After the owner's death, each trust would receive required minimum distributions and pay those amounts to its…
CCA 200226014: IRS may argue purported partnership interest sale was partly a loan
A corporate group arranged for an outside partnership to buy interests in a partnership holding group assets, using bank financing. The group reported losses on the purported sales and described…
PLR 200226013: Partnership interest backed loans may count as REIT real estate assets
A real estate investment trust made additional loans to owners of partnerships that borrowed against housing complexes. Because a program barred second mortgages, the loans were secured by pledges…
PLR 200226012: Gift to foreign charitable trust qualifies for gift tax deduction
A U.S. resident proposed giving cash and part of her remainder interest in family company stock to a charitable foundation organized in a foreign country. The foundation would be treated as a…
PLR 200226011: Late S corporation election treated as timely if filing conditions are met
A corporation's shareholders intended to elect S corporation status for its first tax year, but the election form was never filed. The corporation filed a corporate income tax return and learned…
CCA 200226010: Payments count when assessing a late foreign earned income exclusion election
IRS examination staff asked how to apply the “owes no federal income tax” condition to a late election for the foreign earned income exclusion under IRC § 911. Their guidelines had looked at tax…
PLR 200226009: Late subsidiary election allowed and uneven distributions did not end S status
An S corporation acquired all the shares of another corporation but did not file the form to elect qualified subchapter S subsidiary (QSub) treatment. It also made distributions to two shareholders…
PLR 200226008: Extension granted for a foreign subsidiary's entity classification election
A foreign subsidiary intended to elect treatment as a disregarded entity but failed to file Form 8832. It requested extra time under the regulatory election relief rules. Based on the submitted…
PLR 200226007: Business split into three corporations qualifies as Type D reorganizations
Shareholder disputes led an S corporation to propose dividing its business among itself and two new corporations. It would transfer operating assets and other assets to the new corporations, then…
PLR 200226006: Inadvertent S election termination relieved after stock transfer to trust
S corporation shares were transferred from an annuity trust to another trust after counsel said the transfer would not affect S status. That trust was not wholly treated as owned by one person, so…
PLR 200226005: Research training stipends are grants, not pay for services
A tax-exempt medical research organization paid living-expense stipends to predoctoral and postdoctoral fellows in research training programs modeled on a federal program. The fellows pursued…
CCA 200226004: Entity classification change does not itself establish worthless stock
A U.S. corporate group elected to treat two foreign entities as partnerships for federal tax purposes and claimed a worthless stock loss for its interests in them. Chief Counsel advised that,…
PLR 200226003: Employer plan may reimburse vision correction surgery without employee income
An employer proposed a plan to reimburse eligible employees for part of the cost of radial keratotomy, a vision correction surgery. The IRS concluded that the procedure is medical care under IRC §…
PLR 200226002: Ethanol stillage processing project qualifies as a solid waste disposal facility
A public authority planned bonds to finance equipment that would process unwanted stillage from an ethanol plant into cattle feed and treat the resulting wastewater. The IRS found the stillage was…
CCA 200226001: Separate pension reversions need separate returns and rate analysis
An employer received pension plan assets in separate reversions and later entered a liquidating Chapter 11 case. Chief Counsel advised that each reversion was a separate taxable event requiring its…
PLR 200225047: More time granted to reverse ineligible Roth IRA conversions
A married couple converted three traditional IRAs to Roth IRAs in 1998, believing their income was below the conversion limit. They later learned their adjusted gross income exceeded the applicable…
PLR 200225046: Educational group's taxable website subsidiary remains a separate entity
A tax-exempt educational organization formed a taxable subsidiary to operate an Internet portal and licensed its name, membership database, publications, and directory to that company. The IRS ruled…
PLR 200225045: Early charitable annuity payment avoids termination and excise taxes
A split-interest trust owed annuity payments to its sole charitable beneficiary over a set term. Appreciation of its assets allowed the trust to propose paying the remaining charitable obligation…
PLR 200225044: Manufacturing work program revenue is related to a charity's training purpose
A charity trained people with developmental and physical disabilities through a manufacturing work program. Its main contractor began requiring vendors to buy and warehouse parts, so the charity…
PLR 200225043: Multiemployer pension plan receives four-year funding extension
A multiemployer defined benefit pension plan asked to extend the period for amortizing its unfunded liabilities. Its trustees had challenged earlier benefit increases, received an arbitration award,…
PLR 200225042: Nonpartisan conferences for officials do not trigger self-dealing tax
A private foundation expected to acquire a property and proposed using it for nonpartisan conferences with government officials. Some conferences would discuss public governance; others would bring…
PLR 200225041: Combining employee benefit trusts preserves exemption and avoids reversion tax
After acquisitions, a sponsor wanted to transfer the assets of four voluntary employees' beneficiary associations into two associations that now covered its eligible employees. The IRS ruled that…
PLR 200225040: Divorce related payment reduction avoids early distribution penalty
A retired plan participant received substantially equal periodic payments that qualified for an exception to the 10 percent early distribution tax. A proposed divorce settlement would transfer part…
PLR 200225039: Fraternal society merger preserves exemption and policy tax treatment
Two tax-exempt fraternal beneficiary societies proposed a merger in which one would survive and assume the other's obligations. Members and their insurance and annuity contracts would continue with…
PLR 200225038: Fraternal society merger preserves exemption and policy tax treatment
Two tax-exempt fraternal beneficiary societies proposed a merger in which one would survive and assume the other's obligations. Members and their insurance and annuity contracts would continue with…
PLR 200225037: Estate payment of trust transfer taxes is not foundation self-dealing
A decedent's will left the estate residue to a private foundation and created trusts for other beneficiaries. A dispute arose over whether the estate residue or five trusts owed generation skipping…
PLR 200225036: Hospital construction set-aside counts as a qualifying distribution
A private foundation set aside funds for an intensive care unit at a hospital under construction overseas. It expected the pledge to help other participants commit to completing the hospital and…
PLR 200225035: Complete expatriation submission removes tax avoidance presumption
A former U.S. citizen renounced citizenship and became a citizen of his birth country, where he would be taxed on worldwide income. His net worth exceeded the threshold that could trigger a…
PLR 200225034: Loans secured by property company interests count as REIT real estate assets
A real estate investment trust invested through a partnership that proposed two loans secured by ownership interests in entities holding commercial real property. One loan was secured by the full…
PLR 200225033: Loan secured by partnership interests can qualify as a REIT real estate asset
A real estate investment trust made an additional loan related to a property financing transaction. The loan was secured by the ownership interests of the partners in the property-owning partnership…
PLR 200225032: German group taxes allocated for U.S. foreign tax credits
A U.S. corporation owned a German parent company and two German subsidiaries that combined their income for German tax purposes. The IRS ruled that the German income tax should be allocated among…
PLR 200225031: Foreign merger steps qualify as a corporate reorganization
A corporate group proposed to combine foreign subsidiaries through a merger and escrow arrangement. The IRS treated the central steps as a transfer of substantially all of one company's assets for…
CCA 200225030: Employee may deduct state back taxes paid by employer as wages
An employer paid employees' state income taxes for earlier years and treated the payments as wages. Chief Counsel advised that an employee who itemizes deductions is treated as having paid the state…
PLR 200225029: Splitting an old trust preserves its generation-skipping tax exemption
A trustee proposed to divide an irrevocable trust into two equal trusts for the descendants of each of the decedent's children. The original trust was irrevocable before September 25, 1985, and no…
PLR 200225028: Extension granted for late section 338 election
A corporate parent intended to elect under IRC § 338(g) after a subsidiary bought the stock of a foreign target, but the election was not filed on time. The IRS found that the parent reasonably…
PLR 200225027: More time to file an entity classification election
A foreign subsidiary intended to elect treatment as an entity disregarded for U.S. tax purposes but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832. The IRS concluded that the requirements for discretionary…
PLR 200225026: More time to file an entity classification election
A foreign subsidiary intended to elect treatment as an entity disregarded for U.S. tax purposes but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832. The IRS concluded that the requirements for discretionary…
PLR 200225025: More time to file an entity classification election
A foreign subsidiary intended to elect treatment as an entity disregarded for U.S. tax purposes but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832. The IRS concluded that the requirements for discretionary…
PLR 200225024: More time to file an entity classification election
A foreign subsidiary intended to elect treatment as an entity disregarded for U.S. tax purposes but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832. The IRS concluded that the requirements for discretionary…
PLR 200225023: More time to file an entity classification election
A foreign subsidiary intended to elect treatment as an entity disregarded for U.S. tax purposes but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832. The IRS concluded that the requirements for discretionary…
PLR 200225022: More time to file an entity classification election
A foreign subsidiary intended to elect treatment as an entity disregarded for U.S. tax purposes but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832. The IRS concluded that the requirements for discretionary…
PLR 200225021: More time to file an entity classification election
A foreign subsidiary intended to elect treatment as an entity disregarded for U.S. tax purposes but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832. The IRS concluded that the requirements for discretionary…
PLR 200225020: More time to file an entity classification election
A foreign subsidiary intended to elect treatment as an entity disregarded for U.S. tax purposes but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832. The IRS concluded that the requirements for discretionary…
PLR 200225019: More time to file an entity classification election
A foreign subsidiary intended to elect treatment as an entity disregarded for U.S. tax purposes but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832. The IRS concluded that the requirements for discretionary…
PLR 200225018: More time to file an entity classification election
A foreign subsidiary intended to elect treatment as an entity disregarded for U.S. tax purposes but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832. The IRS concluded that the requirements for discretionary…
PLR 200225017: More time to file an entity classification election
A foreign subsidiary intended to elect treatment as an entity disregarded for U.S. tax purposes but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832. The IRS concluded that the requirements for discretionary…
PLR 200225015: Unused old appointment power excluded; partial stock disclaimer allowed
A trust beneficiary had the power to terminate a trust and take one-third of its property, but never exercised that power. The IRS ruled that the power was a general power of appointment created…
CCA 200225014: Later subsidiary loss cannot reduce earlier dividend earnings
A parent corporation paid a dividend before a subsidiary joined its consolidated tax group. The subsidiary later reported a loss that the taxpayer wanted to spread across the parent's full tax year,…
CCA 200225013: Estimated cleanup and benefit liabilities cannot enter inventory early
A manufacturer included estimated environmental cleanup and employee benefit liabilities in inventory costs before those liabilities met the normal accrual requirements. It argued that costs…
PLR 200225012: LLC receives more time to elect corporate tax treatment
An LLC's members intended it to be taxed as a corporation from its formation date, but the LLC inadvertently failed to file Form 8832. The IRS found that the requirements for discretionary…
PLR 200225011: Former resident's green card surrender lacked a tax avoidance purpose
A former U.S. long-term resident surrendered his green card and returned to the country where he was born and held citizenship. His net worth exceeded the threshold that ordinarily triggered a…
PLR 200225010: Tribal joint authority is a governmental instrumentality for bond rules
Three recognized Indian tribal governments created a shared authority to administer programs they supervise. The tribes funded and controlled the authority, owned its property, and barred private…
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.