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 200222032: Fraternal societies' merger preserves exemption and policy status
Two tax exempt fraternal benefit societies planned to merge, with one surviving and assuming the other's insurance and annuity contracts. The IRS ruled that the survivor would keep its section…
PLR 200222031: Emergency medical provider's call center income is related
A charitable emergency medical and rescue provider planned to offer a paid after hours call center for local physicians and medical providers. Its dispatch staff could relay callers' messages, give…
PLR 200222030: Museum village sales and rent receive different tax treatment
An exempt museum expanded into a recreated maritime village with exhibits, classes, a gift shop, a restaurant, and meeting space. The IRS ruled that operating the village would not end the museum's…
TAM 200222029: Child welfare charity is not a state instrumentality for FICA
A nonprofit child welfare provider asked whether it was a state instrumentality, which would exempt pay for teachers in a state retirement system from FICA tax under section 3121(b)(7)(F). It…
PLR 200222028: Six more months to undo an ineligible Roth IRA conversion
A taxpayer converted a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA in 1998 without realizing that the couple's income exceeded the then applicable $100,000 conversion limit. The couple filed their 1998 return…
PLR 200222027: Expatriate avoids tax avoidance presumption, but receives no ruling on purpose
A person who had become a U.S. citizen planned to renounce that citizenship and become a resident of the country where he was born. His net worth exceeded the threshold that would ordinarily presume…
PLR 200222026: Broker dealer's conversion to single member LLC creates no debt discharge income
A broker dealer LLC was owned by a banking corporation and its subsidiary. It proposed to redeem the subsidiary's one percent interest, leaving the bank as its sole owner. The LLC would then stop…
PLR 200222025: Late S corporation election allowed after missed Form 2553
A corporation's sole shareholder intended it to be an S corporation, and board minutes recorded that intent, but no Form 2553 was filed. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed election under…
PLR 200222024: Spouse has qualifying life interest in property but not in rest of trust
A decedent's trust gave her surviving spouse lifetime use of her real estate and related personal property. Other trust terms directed income and principal to her descendants, and a state court…
PLR 200222023: Late S corporation election allowed with timely Form 2553 filing
A corporation's president said it was intended to be an S corporation from its incorporation date, but the corporation did not file Form 2553 on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late…
CCA 200222022: Utility withdrew salvage value accounting method request
A utility asked to change the salvage value used to depreciate older electric transmission and distribution assets under the CLADR system. It proposed a lower industry estimate instead of its…
PLR 200222021: Late S corporation election treated as timely from incorporation
A corporation said it intended to be an S corporation from inception but did not file Form 2553 on time. It began doing business later and filed an S corporation return for that later year. The IRS…
PLR 200222020: Late S corporation election allowed after attorney missed filing
The shareholders of a new corporation intended it to elect S corporation status from its incorporation date. They relied on a tax attorney to file Form 2553, but it was not filed on time. The IRS…
PLR 200222019: Retiree medical coverage funded by unused sick leave excluded from income
A school district proposed to convert retiring employees' accumulated unused sick leave into supplemental benefits. The district would decide whether to fund later medical coverage or a deferred…
PLR 200222018: Coal synfuel qualifies for section 29 credit and passes through partnership
A partnership wholly owned a disregarded LLC that acquired a coal synfuel facility and sought five rulings on the section 29 fuel credit. Based on the represented process and chemical test results,…
PLR 200222017: Coal synfuel credit rulings reaffirmed after facility and ownership changes
A partnership that produced synthetic fuel from coal asked the IRS to confirm an earlier ruling after its ownership changed, it moved its facility, and it changed the chemical reagents used in…
PLR 200222016: S status preserved after two trusts missed QSST elections
Two trusts received shares of an S corporation after an earlier shareholder trust was divided. Their qualified subchapter S trust (QSST) elections were prepared but mistakenly placed in a client…
PLR 200222015: Late S election permitted after C corporation years
A corporation began as a C corporation, then its shareholders intended to elect S status for a later tax year. The corporation filed S corporation returns from that later year but did not timely…
PLR 200222014: Partnership receives more time to elect a September tax year
A partnership filed its first return using a September 30 tax year, but its tax representative failed to file Form 8716 to elect that year under section 444. The IRS found that the partnership acted…
PLR 200222013: S election effective from incorporation despite late filing
A corporation's shareholders wanted S corporation treatment from the date of incorporation but did not file the election on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed deadline under section…
PLR 200222012: Limited appointment preserves old trust's GST exemption
A trust created for a decedent's daughter was irrevocable by September 25, 1985, and had received no later additions. The daughter proposed to exercise a testamentary power to direct the remainder…
CCA 200222011: Software royalties sourced entirely to U.S. use, subject to withholding
A domestic corporation paid a foreign affiliate royalties for software rights covering all countries except the licensor's country, then modified and sublicensed the software in the United States to…
PLR 200222010: LLC receives more time to elect corporate tax classification
A domestic LLC with one foreign corporate owner intended from inception to be treated as a corporation for federal tax purposes, but it failed to file Form 8832 on time. Under the default…
PLR 200222009: Parent and subsidiary receive relief for three S election errors
A parent corporation's S election was ineffective because trustees, rather than the minor beneficiaries or their legal representatives, signed trust elections and shareholder consents. The parent…
CCA 200222008: Divorcing spouse's stock redemption treated as her taxable sale
Under a divorce settlement, a husband transferred company stock to his former wife, and the company then redeemed all of her shares for cash. The settlement stated that she would bear any capital…
PLR 200222007: Proposed state insurance fund qualifies as integral government entity
A state proposed to create an insurance fund to provide property coverage where the private market was unavailable. State officials would appoint and oversee its leadership, review its operations,…
PLR 200222006: Hotel management contract avoids private business use outside safe harbor
A governmental issuer financed a hotel whose public owner hired a private manager. It asked whether the management contract caused private business use of the bond financed hotel. The IRS found that…
PLR 200222005: Federal agency's contract clerical worker is an employee
A federal agency hired a clerical worker under a written contract at an hourly rate. She worked full days at the agency's site with its equipment, received instructions about her duties, and did not…
PLR 200222004: Firefighter disability benefits excluded up to statutory amount
A local firefighter plan asked whether duty related disability benefits were excluded from recipients' income under section 104(a)(1). The IRS found that the state statute limited those benefits to…
TAM 200222003: Tribal gaming trust distributions taxed when beneficiaries receive them
A tribe placed gaming revenue allocated to minors and legally incompetent members in a trust for later distribution. The beneficiaries had no immediate right to the money, and the trust assets…
TAM 200222002: Heavy towing vehicles taxable as tractors, with no retroactivity relief
A dealer sold medium duty chassis cabs fitted with short flatbeds and heavy towing equipment. It argued that the completed vehicles were trucks under the weight based exception to the section 4051…
PLR 200222001: Settlement fund payments generally avoid reporting and withholding
A qualified settlement fund administered payments to people who claimed injuries from a company's products. The IRS ruled that medical monitoring reimbursements, product cost refunds, cash in place…
PLR 200221069: Private foundation merger preserves status and tax attributes
Two related private foundations planned to merge, with one foundation surviving and receiving all the other's assets and liabilities. The IRS treated the merger as a transfer under section…
PLR 200221068: Asset distribution among related foundations preserves tax status
A private foundation planned to distribute all its assets among three new foundations and then cease to exist. The four foundations were exempt organizations controlled by the same persons. The IRS…
PLR 200221067: Asset distribution among related foundations preserves tax status
A private foundation planned to distribute all its assets among three new foundations and then cease to exist. The four foundations were exempt organizations controlled by the same persons. The IRS…
PLR 200221066: Foundation asset transfer to three new foundations approved
A private foundation controlled by trustees from three branches of a family planned to transfer all its assets to three new private foundations so each branch could pursue its own charitable…
PLR 200221065: Merger of two private foundations approved
Two private foundations under common control planned to merge so they could reduce duplicate costs and coordinate their charitable grants. One foundation would transfer all its assets and…
PLR 200221064: Asset division among three foundations approved
Trustees from three branches of a family wanted to divide a private foundation's assets among three new foundations so each branch could pursue its own charitable goals. The IRS ruled that the…
PLR 200221063: Municipal pension contributions qualified as employer pick ups
A municipality operated two fully funded retirement plans and proposed new rules for employees who chose a special arrangement that delayed retirement while continuing employment. Those employees…
PLR 200221062: Six extra months to undo ineligible Roth IRA conversions
A married couple converted their traditional IRAs to Roth IRAs in 1998, when their adjusted gross income exceeded the limit for a Roth conversion. They said their tax preparer had not warned them…
PLR 200221061: Three daughters treated as IRA trust beneficiaries
An IRA owner named a trust as beneficiary after he had begun required distributions. When he died, the trust was to end and its remaining assets would go to his three daughters after specific…
PLR 200221060: State pension contributions qualified as employer pick ups
A state pension system asked about contributions to a retirement plan for school employees. State law and a system resolution required participating employers to pay mandatory employee…
PLR 200221059: Daughters' life expectancy governed IRA trust distributions
An IRA owner named a trust as beneficiary after he had begun required distributions. The trust would end at his death, with its remaining assets going to his three adult daughters after specific…
PLR 200221058: State retirement plan contributions treated as employer payments
A state instrumentality established an optional retirement plan for a group of employees. Its statute and plan required the employer to pay the employees' 2.17 percent contributions, and employees…
PLR 200221057: Extra time to reverse an ineligible Roth IRA conversion
An IRA owner converted a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA in 1998, when the couple's income exceeded the limit for a conversion. The owner missed the later deadlines for reversing the conversion,…
PLR 200221056: Oldest daughter sets IRA trust distribution period
An IRA owner named a trust as the beneficiary of his account after required distributions had begun. The trust ended at his death, and three adult daughters were its residuary beneficiaries. The IRS…
PLR 200221055: Late reversal of an ineligible Roth IRA conversion accepted
A taxpayer converted a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA in 1998, when the couple's income exceeded the limit for conversion. They discovered the problem in February 2000 and transferred the Roth IRA to…
PLR 200221054: Extra time to reverse three ineligible Roth IRA conversions
A married couple converted three traditional IRAs to Roth IRAs in 1998, although their combined income exceeded the conversion limit. They filed a timely return but did not know of the income limit…
PLR 200221053: Extra time to reverse an ineligible 1999 Roth conversion
An IRA owner converted a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA in 1999, although the couple's income exceeded the conversion limit. Their tax preparer did not tell them about the limit or the option to…
PLR 200221052: Community leadership grants approved for private foundation
A private foundation proposed grants of up to $10,000 a year for two years to people pursuing charitable projects in rural communities. Applicants would be selected under objective criteria, could…
PLR 200221051: Surviving spouse could transfer IRA from trust to her own IRA
A deceased IRA owner's beneficiary was a trust whose surviving trustee and beneficiary was his spouse. The spouse amended the trust to give herself an unconditional right to its principal, then…
PLR 200221050: Foundation may transfer assets to two related foundations without termination tax
A private foundation proposed transferring about one quarter of its investment assets to each of two other private foundations and continuing to operate. The organizations had overlapping…
PLR 200221049: Plan transfer avoids reversion tax, while employer receives taxable remainder
An employer planned to terminate an overfunded defined benefit plan after paying its remaining benefits. It proposed transferring 25% of the excess assets to a defined contribution plan covering the…
PLR 200221048: Daughter may transfer inherited IRA and use her life expectancy for distributions
An IRA owner died in 2000 after naming her daughter and granddaughter as equal beneficiaries. The daughter wanted her half moved directly to another IRA held in the deceased owner's name for her…
PLR 200221047: Company receives 60 more days to elect corporate tax classification
A company intended to be treated as a corporation for federal tax purposes but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832. It asked the IRS for more time to elect classification as an association…
CCA 200221046: Foreign stock transfers should be analyzed as one transaction
A U.S. corporation contributed stock of controlled and other foreign corporations to its foreign subsidiary, then transferred the subsidiary's stock to its foreign parent. Chief Counsel advised that…
CCA 200221045: Bankruptcy stay does not invalidate a tax collection deadline waiver
The IRS obtained a Form 900 waiver extending the time to collect a debtor's prepetition tax while a bankruptcy automatic stay was in effect. Chief Counsel advised that obtaining an otherwise…
PLR 200221044: Company may use tax book values to apportion interest expense
A domestic corporation had used fair market values of its assets to apportion interest expense. After public stock offerings, it left its former consolidated group but remained affiliated with its…
PLR 200221043: Former parent may use tax book values to apportion interest expense
A domestic holding company and a former subsidiary had used fair market values of assets to apportion interest expense. Public stock offerings removed the subsidiary from the holding company's…
PLR 200221042: Divorcing spouses may divide charitable remainder trust without immediate tax
A married couple had funded a charitable remainder unitrust with community property and later divorced. Their property settlement called for dividing it into two trusts, each holding about half the…
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.