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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LLC granted extensions to elect corporate (association) status and late S corporation status
An LLC intended, from its formation date, both to be treated as a corporation (an "association taxable as a corporation") and to be taxed as an S corporation, but it never filed the required Form…
120-day extension granted for an estate to make a portability (DSUE) election
A deceased person's estate asked the IRS for more time to make a "portability" election under section 2010(c)(5)(A), which lets a surviving spouse use the deceased spouse's unused estate-tax…
Extension granted to make a section 336(e) election treating an S corp stock sale as an asset sale
When a buyer acquires all the stock of a corporation, the parties can elect under section 336(e) to treat the stock sale as if it were a sale of the company's assets, which can give the buyer a…
120-day extension for a partnership to make a GILTI high-tax exclusion election for its CFC
US shareholders of a controlled foreign corporation (CFC) generally must include the CFC's "global intangible low-taxed income" (GILTI) in their income each year, but they can elect a "high-tax…
120-day extension for a partnership to make a GILTI high-tax exclusion election for its CFC
US shareholders of a controlled foreign corporation (CFC) generally must include the CFC's "global intangible low-taxed income" (GILTI) in their income each year, but they can elect a "high-tax…
120-day extension for a partnership to make a GILTI high-tax exclusion election for three CFCs
US shareholders of a controlled foreign corporation (CFC) generally must include the CFC's "global intangible low-taxed income" (GILTI) in their income each year, but they can elect a "high-tax…
120-day extension for a partnership to make a GILTI high-tax exclusion election for three CFCs
US shareholders of a controlled foreign corporation (CFC) generally must include the CFC's "global intangible low-taxed income" (GILTI) in their income each year, but they can elect a "high-tax…
120-day extension for a partnership to make a GILTI high-tax exclusion election for its CFC
US shareholders of a controlled foreign corporation (CFC) generally must include the CFC's "global intangible low-taxed income" (GILTI) in their income each year, but they can elect a "high-tax…
120-day extension for a partnership to make a GILTI high-tax exclusion election for five CFCs
US shareholders of a controlled foreign corporation (CFC) generally must include the CFC's "global intangible low-taxed income" (GILTI) in their income each year, but they can elect a "high-tax…
120-day extension for a partnership to make a GILTI high-tax exclusion election for five CFCs
US shareholders of a controlled foreign corporation (CFC) generally must include the CFC's "global intangible low-taxed income" (GILTI) in their income each year, but they can elect a "high-tax…
Extension granted to make a section 338(g) election for a foreign purchaser's acquisition of a CFC
When one corporation buys all the stock of another in a "qualified stock purchase," it can make a section 338 election to treat the deal as if it had instead bought the target's assets, which resets…
Late Form 8996 accepted as timely, letting an LLC self-certify as a Qualified Opportunity Fund
A Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF) is an investment vehicle that gets special capital-gains tax benefits for investing in designated low-income "opportunity zones," and an entity self-certifies as a…
Consent granted to reelect S corporation status before the five-year waiting period, and to treat it as timely
When a corporation's S election is terminated, section 1362(g) generally bars it from electing S status again for five years unless the IRS consents. Here a company's S election ended when its sole…
Extension granted to make the 70/30 safe-harbor election for merger success-based fees
Fees paid to facilitate a merger or acquisition generally must be capitalized rather than deducted, and a fee that is contingent on the deal closing (a "success-based fee") is presumed to facilitate…
Final revocation of a social club's 501(c)(7) exemption for too much investment and nonmember income
The IRS issued a final adverse determination stripping a small recreational social club of its self-declared tax-exempt status under IRC Section 501(c)(7). A 501(c)(7) club stays exempt only if…
501(c)(3) exemption revoked for inadequate records and failing the operational test
The IRS revoked a charity's tax-exempt status under IRC Section 501(c)(3), retroactive to a stated effective date. The organization was formed to provide educational programs about the benefits of…
IRS revokes a purported charity that ran bargain-sale real-estate deals, kept no charitable records, and funneled excess benefits to its president through undisclosed controlled companies
The IRS revoked a nonprofit's 501(c)(3) exemption after an audit found it operated as a real-estate business, not a charity. According to the examination, the organization had obtained its exempt…
501(c)(7) social club revoked for recurring nonmember rental income over the threshold
The IRS revoked a recreational club's tax-exempt status as a social club under IRC Section 501(c)(7). A 501(c)(7) club must be supported substantially by its members and can take in only limited…
501(c)(8) fraternal society's exemption revoked for failing to produce records
The IRS revoked the tax-exempt status of a fraternal beneficiary society described in IRC Section 501(c)(8). The reason was recordkeeping, not the group's fraternal purpose. Every exempt…
501(c)(3) scholarship foundation revoked for awarding scholarships to a related club's employees
The IRS revoked a scholarship foundation's tax-exempt status under IRC Section 501(c)(3). The foundation was affiliated with a social club exempt under Section 501(c)(7), and it awarded almost all…
501(c)(3) foundation revoked because nearly all disbursements benefited private individuals
The IRS revoked a nonprofit's tax-exempt status under IRC Section 501(c)(3). The organization was set up to run a program letting people designate contributions to pre-qualified charities, and…
120-day extension to make a late estate-tax portability (DSUE) election
When someone dies without using all of their federal estate and gift tax exclusion, the surviving spouse can inherit the unused amount, called the deceased spousal unused exclusion (DSUE), but only…
75-day extension to make a late election waiving a consolidated group's NOL carryback
A corporate group that files a consolidated tax return had a consolidated net operating loss (CNOL) for one year. Normally a net operating loss can be carried back to earlier years, but a group can…
75-day extension to file a late section 336(e) election for an S corporation target
When a buyer acquires at least 80 percent of a corporation's stock, the parties can elect under IRC Section 336(e) to treat the stock sale as if it were a sale of the company's assets for tax…
60-day relief to treat a late Form 8996 (Qualified Opportunity Fund self-certification) as timely
A partnership was set up to invest in an Opportunity Zone, a program under IRC Section 1400Z-2 that gives tax benefits for putting capital gains into distressed areas through a Qualified Opportunity…
Inadvertent S corporation termination relief after a trust shareholder became ineligible
A company taxed as an S corporation can lose that status if it ends up with a shareholder that is not allowed to own S corporation stock. Here, some of the company's shares were held by a trust.…
120-day extension to make a late estate-tax portability (DSUE) election
When someone dies without using all of their federal estate and gift tax exclusion, the surviving spouse can inherit the unused amount, called the deceased spousal unused exclusion (DSUE), but only…
Consent to revoke a section 643(e)(3) election that failed because of the related-party loss rule
An estate had elected to treat a decedent's revocable trust as part of the estate (an IRC Section 645 election). During one year the trust distributed property to the decedent's surviving spouse,…
120-day extension to make a late estate-tax portability (DSUE) election
When someone dies without using all of their federal estate and gift tax exclusion, the surviving spouse can inherit the unused amount, called the deceased spousal unused exclusion (DSUE), but only…
Modifying a pre-1985 grandfathered trust for a disabled beneficiary keeps its GST-tax exemption
Trusts that became irrevocable before September 25, 1985 are "grandfathered" and generally exempt from the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax, a tax on transfers that skip a generation. This…
Modifying a pre-1985 grandfathered trust for a disabled beneficiary keeps its GST-tax exemption
Trusts that became irrevocable before September 25, 1985 are "grandfathered" and generally exempt from the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax, a tax on transfers that skip a generation. This…
A market-rate solar-plus-storage facility is not "public utility property," so the normalization rules do not apply
A regulated electric utility is investing, through a chain of subsidiaries and a partnership that includes outside investors, in a solar project paired with a battery storage system. The tax…
Relief treating a late Form 8996 (Qualified Opportunity Fund self-certification) as timely
A newly formed LLC, taxed as a partnership, was set up to invest in an Opportunity Zone under IRC Section 1400Z-2. To become a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF), it had to file Form 8996 with its…
Retiree gets more time to convert four years of ineligible Roth IRA contributions
A taxpayer contributed to a Roth IRA for four years, then learned from her daughter that her income was above the limit that lets a person fund a Roth, so those contributions were not allowed. By…
Married couple gets extra time to undo years of ineligible Roth IRA contributions
A married couple contributed to their Roth IRAs for eight years, but their income was too high to be eligible, so those contributions were improper. Their financial advisor never warned them about…
IRS revokes 501(c)(3) status of an alumni support group that failed the supporting-organization responsiveness test
A charity can avoid being treated as a private foundation by qualifying as a "supporting organization" under IRC § 509(a)(3), but only if it has the right relationship with the public charity it…
IRS revokes 501(c)(3) status of an advocacy group that stopped responding to the audit
To keep tax exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3), an organization must show it actually operates for charitable or educational purposes, and it must keep records and answer the IRS when audited. This…
IRS revokes 501(c)(7) status of a club funded almost entirely by investment income
A social club exempt under IRC § 501(c)(7) must be a real club: members who commingle for social and recreational purposes, supported mainly by dues, with no more than 35% of gross receipts coming…
IRS revokes 501(c)(7) status of a social club whose outside-membership income exceeded the 35% limit
A social club exempt under IRC § 501(c)(7) may take in no more than 35% of its gross receipts from sources outside its membership, a category that includes investment income. This club, which was…
IRS revokes 501(c)(3) status of a charity that sold its operations and existed only to wind down and pay its directors
To keep tax exemption as a charity under IRC § 501(c)(3), an organization must actually operate for charitable purposes; it fails the "operational test" if more than an insubstantial part of what it…
IRS revokes 501(c)(7) status of a social club whose nonmember income exceeded the 15% limit year after year
A tax-exempt social club under IRC § 501(c)(7) can take in only a limited share of its money from outside its membership: no more than 35% of gross receipts from all outside sources, and within…
IRS revokes 501(c)(7) status of a social club that leased its facilities to for-profit operators and earned substantial nonmember income
A tax-exempt social club under IRC § 501(c)(7) is supposed to be run substantially for the pleasure and recreation of its members, funded mostly by member dues, with only limited money coming from…
IRS revokes a 501(c)(3) collection/museum charity that could not be distinguished from the affiliated social club that controlled it
A nonprofit had been recognized as a 501(c)(3) public charity (a publicly supported organization under sections 170(b)(1)(A)(vi) and 509(a)(1)) to assemble, collect, and display a significant…
IRS revokes a "flow-through charity" used as a vehicle in a promoter's abusive donated-LLC-interest charitable-giving tax scheme
A nonprofit obtained 501(c)(3) status using a short-form application (Form 1023-EZ) and then operated as a "flow-through" for donated limited liability company (LLC) interests. On audit, the IRS…
S corporation keeps its status after an operating agreement accidentally created a second class of stock
An S corporation is allowed only one class of stock, meaning all shares must confer identical rights to distributions and liquidation proceeds. Here a corporation adopted an operating agreement…
Estate gets more time to fix a botched QTIP marital-deduction election
A "QTIP" election under § 2056(b)(7) lets an estate claim the unlimited marital deduction for property left in trust for a surviving spouse, so no estate tax is due at the first spouse's death. Here…
Couple gets more time to elect corporate tax rates on foreign-corporation income after their accountant missed it
When a U.S. individual owns a share of a controlled foreign corporation, they can be taxed currently on that foreign income, and a § 962 election lets the individual instead be taxed at corporate…
Couple gets more time to elect corporate tax rates on foreign-corporation income after their accountant missed it
When a U.S. individual owns a share of a controlled foreign corporation, they can be taxed currently on that foreign income, and a § 962 election lets the individual instead be taxed at corporate…
Foreign subsidiary gets extra time to file a late "disregarded entity" election
Under the "check-the-box" rules, a business entity with a single owner can elect on Form 8832 to be disregarded for federal tax purposes, meaning it is treated as part of its owner rather than as a…
Foreign subsidiary gets extra time to file a late "disregarded entity" election
Under the "check-the-box" rules, a business entity with a single owner can elect on Form 8832 to be disregarded for federal tax purposes, meaning it is treated as part of its owner rather than as a…
Foreign subsidiary gets extra time to file a late "disregarded entity" election
Under the "check-the-box" rules, a business entity with a single owner can elect on Form 8832 to be disregarded for federal tax purposes, meaning it is treated as part of its owner rather than as a…
S corporation keeps its status after several trusts accidentally became ineligible shareholders
An S corporation can only be owned by certain kinds of shareholders, and some trusts qualify only if the beneficiary files a timely "QSST" election. Here a corporation's S election was accidentally…
Estate gets extra time to make a portability election for the surviving spouse
When one spouse dies without using all of their federal estate-tax exemption, the leftover amount (the "DSUE" amount) can pass to the surviving spouse, but only if the executor makes a "portability"…
IRS approves a foundation's scholarship procedures for professional-development grants to under-represented communities
A private foundation asked the IRS to pre-approve the way it runs a scholarship program, and the IRS said yes. This advance approval matters because a private foundation normally owes an excise tax…
IRS denies 501(c)(3) status to a fraternal lodge whose main purpose is its own ritual activities
A fraternal lodge applied for 501(c)(3) charity status using the short Form 1023-EZ, then had to answer follow-up questions. The IRS denied the application on both of the two tests every charity…
IRS removes a social club from its group exemption for exceeding the 35% investment-income limit
A social club that housed and served a group of students had its 501(c)(7) exemption pulled after an IRS audit. The club was a subordinate under a parent organization's group ruling; one related…
IRS revokes 501(c)(3) status of a defunct, family-funded charity that failed both the organizational and operational tests
The IRS revoked the 501(c)(3) exemption of a small charity that had essentially gone dormant. On audit, the founder explained that the group had started as a way to do occasional charitable…
IRS revokes a charity's 501(c)(3) status after it failed to produce its records
The IRS revoked a charity's 501(c)(3) exemption because the organization did not cooperate with an examination. The agency picked the group for audit to confirm its documents and activities matched…
IRS revokes 501(c)(7) status of an inactive fraternity clubhouse corporation with only investment income
A corporation that owned and ran a clubhouse for a college chapter's members had its 501(c)(7) social-club exemption revoked after an IRS audit. It had been a subordinate under a parent…
IRS disqualifies a self-declared 501(c)(7) club whose members never meet or commingle
An organization had been treating itself as a tax-exempt social club under 501(c)(7) without ever getting a formal ruling from the IRS and without being covered by any group exemption. On audit, 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.