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 200221041: Synthetic fuel partnership may claim and allocate production credits
A partnership operated facilities that converted coal into solid synthetic fuel and asked for rulings after changes in ownership and relocation of the equipment. The IRS concluded that its described…
PLR 200221040: Taxpayer gets more time to elect FSC treatment
A taxpayer missed the deadline to file Form 8279 to elect treatment as a foreign sales corporation (FSC) or small FSC. It sought an extension before the IRS discovered the missed filing. Based on…
PLR 200221039: Former resident rebuts tax avoidance presumption through good faith submission
A former U.S. long-term resident gave up lawful permanent resident status while exceeding the net-worth threshold for the expatriation tax rules. He sought a ruling that the loss of status did not…
PLR 200221038: LLC gets more time to elect corporate classification
A single-owner LLC and its owner intended from the LLC's formation to elect federal tax treatment as a corporation, but the LLC inadvertently missed the Form 8832 deadline. A single-owner domestic…
PLR 200221037: Planned citizenship loss found to lack a tax avoidance purpose
A U.S. citizen who had become a resident and citizen of another country planned to give up her U.S. citizenship. Her expected net worth exceeded the threshold that could trigger a presumption of tax…
PLR 200221036: Fraternal society's accounts may hold funds eligible for look-through rule
A tax-exempt fraternal beneficiary society planned to offer variable life insurance and annuity contracts backed by separate accounts. Those accounts would invest in regulated investment companies,…
PLR 200221035: Partnership agreement permits S corporation election after classification as corporation
Shareholders of an existing S corporation planned to form a general partnership, elect to classify it as a corporation for federal tax purposes, and make an S corporation election. The new entity…
PLR 200221034: Company may make late S corporation election
A company's sole shareholder intended S corporation treatment from the start of its first tax year and relied on an attorney to file Form 2553. The form was not filed on time. The IRS found…
PLR 200221033: Corporation receives relief for missed S election
A corporation's shareholders wanted S corporation treatment from the date of incorporation, but no timely election was filed. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed election under section…
PLR 200221032: Pro rata division of trust preserves tax treatment
Trustees proposed to divide one family branch's share of a trust into four separate trusts so they could use different investment programs for the beneficiaries. A court approved the change, and the…
PLR 200221031: Late S corporation election granted relief
A corporation's shareholder intended to elect S corporation treatment from its incorporation date, but the election was not filed on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the delay and granted…
PLR 200221030: Late S election may take effect when corporation began its tax year
A corporation's shareholders intended S corporation treatment, and the corporation and shareholders filed returns consistent with that treatment. Its advisers failed to file the election form. The…
PLR 200221029: Missed S election filing receives reasonable cause relief
Two shareholders decided that their corporation would elect S corporation treatment from its incorporation date and relied on a tax attorney to file Form 2553. The form was not filed on time. The…
PLR 200221028: Corporation gets relief to file late S election
A corporation's sole shareholder intended S corporation treatment from its incorporation date, but the corporation did not file its election on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the delay and…
PLR 200221027: Active residential rental income is not passive investment income
A corporation with accumulated earnings and profits owned and managed residential rental properties. Its employees handled leasing, rent collection, records, and much of the maintenance, while…
PLR 200221026: Late S corporation election receives reasonable-cause relief
A corporation's shareholders intended to elect S corporation status, but their tax advisor did not timely file Form 2553. The corporation asked the IRS to treat the election as timely under IRC §…
PLR 200221025: Corporation receives relief for late S election
A corporation's shareholders intended to elect S corporation status from a specified date, but the election was filed late. The IRS found reasonable cause for the delay and granted relief under IRC…
PLR 200221024: Late S corporation election treated as timely
A corporation intended to elect S corporation status from its incorporation date, but it missed the filing deadline. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late election and granted relief under IRC…
PLR 200221023: Attorney's missed S election deadline receives relief
A corporation's sole shareholder intended it to be an S corporation from its first taxable year, and corporate records reflected that intention. Its attorney inadvertently failed to file Form 2553…
PLR 200221022: LLC receives extra time to elect corporate classification
A single member limited liability company intended to be classified as a corporation for federal tax purposes from its formation date, but it did not timely file Form 8832. The IRS concluded that…
PLR 200221021: Divorced spouse's stock retitling avoids gain and gift tax
A divorce decree allocated part of closely held company stock to one former spouse, although the certificates remained titled in the other former spouse's name. The parties later sought to retitle…
PLR 200221020: Partnership substantially complied with large partnership election
A partnership intended to elect large partnership treatment for 1998 but filed ordinary partnership returns for 1998 and 1999 instead of Form 1065-B. It attached an election statement to its 1998…
PLR 200221019: Motorhome bodies and later chassis sales avoid truck excise tax
A manufacturer built motorhomes and vehicles with living quarters and towing decks on chassis designated for recreational vehicles. It asked whether its first retail sales would face the 12 percent…
CCA 200221018: Foreign loss exception needs fuller support
A corporate group used losses from foreign activities to reduce income on its consolidated U.S. return. Chief Counsel advised that one domestic subsidiary apparently was not a dual resident…
CCA 200221017: Deconsolidation does not trigger another currency loss
A parent company claimed a foreign currency loss when its foreign subsidiary left the U.S. consolidated group after a § 1504(d) election ended. The subsidiary's foreign business used the dollar as…
CCA 200221016: Vessel depreciation class follows charterer's primary use
A vessel owner leased offshore support vessels through subsidiaries to outside companies and classified all the vessels as offshore drilling assets for depreciation. Chief Counsel advised that each…
PLR 200221015: Fishing cart and bait catcher avoid sport fishing excise tax
A manufacturer sold a wheeled cart for carrying fishing gear and a metal device for catching sand fleas used as bait. It asked whether either product was subject to the manufacturer's excise tax on…
PLR 200221014: Missed trust elections do not end S corporation treatment
A shareholder transferred S corporation shares to two trusts designed to qualify as qualified subchapter S trusts, but the beneficiaries did not timely elect that treatment. The IRS concluded that…
PLR 200221013: Late S corporation election accepted for first tax year
Two shareholders intended their new corporation to be an S corporation from its first taxable year, but no completed Form 2553 was filed on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed…
PLR 200221012: Filed S return supports late election relief
A corporation's shareholders intended S corporation treatment for its first taxable year, and the corporation filed an S corporation income tax return for that year. Its attorney had inadvertently…
PLR 200221011: Estate may deduct IRA income set aside for charity
An estate was the beneficiary of the decedent's IRA. After specified bequests and estate expenses, the will directed the remaining estate to qualifying charities selected by the executor. The IRS…
CCA 200221010: Sparse LLC gift disclosure leaves assessment period open
A donor reported gifts of LLC interests to two trusts on a gift tax return but identified only the LLC, the class of units, and a stated value. Chief Counsel concluded that the return did not…
PLR 200221009: Business separation lets key employees buy main company stock
A corporation planned to move its equipment business into a controlled company and distribute that company's stock to its sole shareholder. The separation would leave the main business in the…
CCA 200221008: Unissued debt may allow rate lock loss when realized
A company used Treasury rate locks while planning a bond issue to lower its financing costs, but it never issued the planned bonds and paid to settle the later rate locks. On the facts supplied,…
PLR 200221007: Late S election effective from incorporation date
A corporation intended to be taxed as an S corporation from its incorporation date but did not file its election on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late filing and granted relief under…
CCA 200221006: Validity of tax assessment extension depends on taxpayer's knowledge
An IRS agent obtained a signed consent extending the time to assess tax but did not tell the taxpayer that he could refuse or limit the extension, as IRC § 6501(c)(4)(B) requires. Chief Counsel…
PLR 200221005: Late S election receives relief from formation date
A corporation intended to elect S corporation status effective from its incorporation date but missed the filing deadline. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late election and granted relief…
CCA 200221004: Summons litigation preserves assessment and refund periods
The IRS and a corporation had extended assessment deadlines for several years when they litigated enforcement of a designated summons. Chief Counsel advised that the litigation suspended the…
PLR 200221003: Corporation gets late S election relief
A corporation wanted S corporation treatment beginning on its incorporation date but missed the election deadline. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late filing and granted relief under IRC §…
CCA 200221002: Sentencing finding does not bar civil fraud penalty claim
Two taxpayers were convicted of filing false returns involving income from two businesses. At sentencing, the court based punishment only on the unreported income from one business, finding no…
PLR 200220030: Foundation may transfer all assets to another foundation
A private foundation planned to transfer all its assets to another private foundation to support charitable work and reduce administrative costs. The IRS ruled that the transfer qualified under IRC…
PLR 200220029: Direct Roth IRA transfer cannot receive recharacterization relief
A taxpayer moved funds directly from a qualified retirement plan into a Roth IRA in 1998 and later sought extra time to move them to a traditional IRA. The IRS said the recharacterization extension…
PLR 200220028: Securities lending commitment fees excluded from UBTI
A pension trust proposed to let securities borrowers pay periodic fees for the exclusive right to borrow securities from its portfolio. Its lending agent would arrange the commitments, with the fee…
PLR 200220027: Amendment limits earlier ruling on LLC partnership status
The IRS amended an earlier private letter ruling to state that an LLC represented itself as classified as a partnership under Treas. Reg. § 301.7701-3. The amendment also added a limitation: the IRS…
CCA 200220026: Minor's tax compromise may be disaffirmed
Chief Counsel considered whether a minor or a parent could settle the minor's federal tax liability through an offer in compromise. It advised that a minor generally could disaffirm such an…
PLR 200220025: Purchaser gets more time for foreign target election
A corporation acquired all the stock of a foreign target and intended to make an IRC § 338(g) election, but its tax professional failed to make or advise it to make a valid election on time. The IRS…
PLR 200220024: Active shopping center rents avoid S corporation passive income rule
An S corporation owned and operated a shopping center and asked whether its rental receipts counted as passive investment income under IRC § 1362. The corporation represented that its employees…
PLR 200220023: Late S election effective from incorporation date
A corporation intended S corporation treatment from its incorporation date but did not file the election on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the delay and granted relief under IRC §…
PLR 200220022: Late S election takes effect on requested date
A corporation was incorporated on one date and intended to elect S corporation treatment effective on a different, specified date, but it missed the filing deadline. The IRS found reasonable cause…
PLR 200220021: Corporation receives late S election relief
A corporation intended to be treated as an S corporation from a specified date but failed to file its election on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed deadline and granted relief…
PLR 200220020: Redeeming housing bonds after the project enters service does not undo bond financing
A partnership planned to build a low-income housing project with tax-exempt bond proceeds and repay the bond loan after the project was placed in service. It asked whether redeeming the bonds then…
PLR 200220019: Corporate stock distribution qualifies for tax-free spin-off treatment
A parent corporation proposed to distribute all of its stock in a subsidiary to its shareholders. The subsidiary's key employees then planned to buy more of its stock to increase their ownership and…
PLR 200220018: Parent gets more time to elect consolidated return filing
A parent corporation and its subsidiary missed the deadline to elect to file a consolidated federal income tax return. The IRS found that they had acted reasonably and in good faith and that an…
PLR 200220017: Former resident rebuts expatriation tax avoidance presumption
A former U.S. lawful permanent resident gave up that status and returned to his birth country. His net worth exceeded the threshold that ordinarily creates a presumption of a tax avoidance purpose…
PLR 200220016: Loss group gets time to make closing of the books election
A corporate group's ownership changed after a merger, and the group missed the deadline to elect to close its books on the change date for purposes of allocating income and losses under § 382. The…
PLR 200220015: Residence trust annuity on unused sale proceeds creates no additional gift
A taxpayer put an interest in a residence into a trust intended to qualify as a qualified personal residence trust. After the residence was sold and another acquired, some sale proceeds remained…
PLR 200220014: Residence trust annuity on unused sale proceeds creates no additional gift
A taxpayer put an interest in a residence into a trust intended to qualify as a qualified personal residence trust. After the residence was sold and another acquired, some sale proceeds remained…
PLR 200220013: Buyer and seller get more time for a section 338(h)(10) election
A corporate buyer acquired all the stock of a target corporation, and the buyer and seller's common parent intended to make a joint § 338(h)(10) election. They missed the filing deadline after the…
PLR 200220012: Merged group may use tax book values to apportion interest expense
After a merger, corporations joining a consolidated group used different methods to value assets when apportioning interest expense. One corporation and its subsidiaries had used fair market values,…
PLR 200220011: Redeeming housing bonds after the project enters service does not undo bond financing
A partnership planned to build a low-income housing project with tax-exempt bond proceeds and repay the bond loan after the project was placed in service. It asked whether redeeming the bonds then…
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.