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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Late entity-classification election granted
A foreign entity intended to elect corporate classification for federal tax purposes but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. It represented that it acted reasonably and in good faith and…
Late entity-classification election granted
A foreign entity intended to elect corporate classification for federal tax purposes but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. It represented that it acted reasonably and in good faith and…
Late entity-classification election granted
A foreign entity intended to elect corporate classification for federal tax purposes but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. It represented that it acted reasonably and in good faith and…
Late entity-classification election granted
A foreign entity intended to elect corporate classification for federal tax purposes but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. It represented that it acted reasonably and in good faith and…
Late REIT election granted after missed extension filing
A limited liability company intended to elect real estate investment trust status on its first Form 1120-REIT. Its tax adviser prepared Form 7004, but administrative burdens during a high-volume…
Late taxable-REIT-subsidiary election granted
A REIT indirectly owned a subsidiary connected with a qualified lodging facility and intended to elect taxable-REIT-subsidiary status. A group within the tax adviser learned of the property…
Late domestic-corporation election granted to insurer
A foreign regulated insurance company intended to elect domestic-corporation treatment under section 953(d). Its accounting firm prepared the election and instructed a management firm to file it,…
Late success-based-fee safe-harbor election granted
A corporation paid success-based investment-banking fees in two taxable acquisitions. It relied on its CPA to identify and make relevant return elections, but the CPA omitted the statements required…
Late partnership-classification election granted
An eligible domestic entity intended to be treated as a partnership for federal tax purposes but did not file Form 8832. The IRS concluded that the requirements for discretionary election relief…
Three late accounting-method forms treated as timely
A foreign corporate parent intended to extend the filing deadline for its federal income tax return, but a former employee apparently failed to file Form 7004. The company later filed its return…
Late foreign disregarded-entity election granted
A foreign limited company had initially elected corporate classification but later intended to become a disregarded entity. It failed to file Form 8832 by the deadline for the requested effective…
Estates may make late GST-exemption allocations
A married couple created an irrevocable generation-skipping trust for a family member and descendants, then reported years of contributions as split gifts without allocating GST exemption. The…
Foreign entity receives late disregarded-entity election relief
A foreign limited company owned by a nonresident alien failed to timely file Form 8832 to elect disregarded-entity status. The IRS found that the company met the standards for discretionary election…
Tax-exempt controlled entity receives late depreciation election relief
An entity wholly owned by a tax-exempt corporation served as general partner of a low-income housing partnership. It intended to elect under section 168(h)(6)(F)(ii) not to be treated as tax-exempt…
Buyer receives late success-based fee safe-harbor relief
A corporation paid success-based fees to acquire a subsidiary and reported them using Revenue Procedure 2011-29's safe harbor, deducting 70 percent and capitalizing 30 percent. Its return preparer…
Foreign entity receives late corporate classification election relief
A foreign eligible entity intended to elect association taxable as a corporation status but failed to timely file Form 8832. The entity represented that it acted reasonably and in good faith and…
Taxpayer receives 60 days to elect out of bonus depreciation
A foreign corporate taxpayer placed qualified property in service but filed its income tax return late after an unusual series of events prevented a timely extension request. Its late return…
Late success-based-fee safe-harbor statement receives relief
A corporation paid a success-based fee in a taxable stock acquisition and intended to use Revenue Procedure 2011-29's safe harbor. Its return deducted 70 percent of the fee and capitalized 30…
Late tax-year-change application is treated as timely filed
A taxpayer filed Form 1128 late when seeking to change to a calendar tax year. The delay resulted from an oversight or misunderstanding by its tax professional. The IRS found that the taxpayer acted…
Late estate-tax portability election is treated as timely
An estate below the estate-tax filing threshold failed to file Form 706 on time to transfer the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount to the surviving spouse. The surviving spouse later filed…
Grantor receives 120 days to allocate GST exemption to trust
A grantor created an irrevocable trust for a spouse and descendants and transferred stock to it. The grantor intended the trust to avoid generation-skipping transfer tax but relied on an accountant…
Estate receives 120 days to make portability election
An estate below the estate-tax filing threshold missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount. Because that estate was not otherwise…
Foreign insurer receives 60 days for domestic-corporation election
A regulated foreign insurance company intended to elect domestic-corporation treatment under section 953(d). Its accounting firm prepared the election statement, but a management firm failed to file…
Foreign entity receives late disregarded-entity election relief
A single-owner foreign eligible entity failed to file Form 8832 on time to elect disregarded-entity status. The IRS found that the entity satisfied the standards for regulatory-election relief. It…
Tax-exempt controlled entity receives late depreciation election relief
A corporation owned equally by two section 501(c)(3) organizations was a tax-exempt controlled entity under section 168(h)(6). Its partnership agreement required an election not to be treated as…
Real estate holding company may make late depreciation election
A real estate holding company owned by two section 501(c)(3) organizations was a tax-exempt controlled entity under section 168(h)(6). Its partnership agreement called for an election not to be…
S corporation receives 120 days for late QSub election
An S corporation acquired all the stock of another corporation but failed to file Form 8869 on time to elect qualified subchapter S subsidiary status. The IRS found that the parent satisfied the…
Taxpayer may elect out of automatic GST exemption allocation
A taxpayer and spouse transferred community property to three irrevocable trusts with generation-skipping transfer potential. Their advisers did not explain the automatic GST exemption allocation or…
Corporation receives 60 days for late IC-DISC election
A newly formed corporation intended to elect interest charge domestic international sales corporation status from inception. Its law firm and accounting firm each expected the other to file Form…
Late election may prevent automatic GST allocation to three trusts
A taxpayer and spouse contributed community property to three irrevocable trusts for their children. Their accounting firm and consultant did not advise them about automatic GST exemption allocation…
Estate receives 120-day extension for portability election
An estate below the mandatory estate-tax filing threshold missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount. Because the estate was not…
Successor receives 60 days for deemed-sale election
A foreign investment company transferred assets in a reorganization to a successor that elected regulated investment company status, then dissolved. The predecessor failed to attach the election for…
LLC receives late corporate-classification and depreciation election relief
An LLC owned by two section 501(c)(3) organizations served as general partner of a low-income housing partnership. Its partnership agreement required both corporate tax classification and an…
Estate receives 120 days to make omitted QTIP election
A decedent's revocable trust created a marital trust that paid all net income to the surviving spouse for life. The estate timely filed Form 706, but its attorney mistakenly omitted the trust from…
IC-DISC election extension granted, but capitalization defect remains
A corporation formed to operate as an IC-DISC missed its election deadline after personnel changes disrupted tracking and its management firm sent Form 4876-A to an incorrect ZIP code. The IRS found…
Late disregarded-entity election granted
A foreign eligible entity was formed for a trust and had one owner. The entity, the trust, and the trust's grantor intended from formation to treat the entity as disregarded for federal tax purposes…
Late IC-DISC election receives relief
A domestic corporation was formed solely to operate as an interest charge domestic international sales corporation and entered into a commission agreement consistent with that intent. Its chief…
Late election out of bonus depreciation granted
A consolidated corporate group placed qualified property in service and did not claim additional first-year depreciation for any property class. Its parent timely filed the return but inadvertently…
Late success-fee safe-harbor election granted
A corporation incurred success-based fees in taxable stock acquisitions and intended to use the Revenue Procedure 2011-29 safe harbor, deducting 70 percent and capitalizing 30 percent. Its longtime…
Late merger-fee safe-harbor election granted
A corporation incurred success-based fees in merger transactions carried out through bankruptcy plans. Its timely return deducted 70 percent and capitalized 30 percent under the Revenue Procedure…
Late disregarded-entity elections granted for twelve foreign entities
A domestic corporate parent formed or acquired twelve wholly owned foreign eligible entities and consistently reported their activities, assets, and liabilities as if they were disregarded entities.…
Late small-insurance-company tax election granted
A property and casualty insurer failed to timely file returns and make the election that allows a qualifying small insurance company to be taxed only on investment income. The insurer said it relied…
Late accounting-period application treated as timely
A taxpayer filed Form 1128 late when seeking to adopt a calendar tax year. The delay resulted from an oversight or misunderstanding by the taxpayer's tax professional. The IRS found that the…
Estate received 120 days to make a portability election
An estate below the estate-tax filing threshold missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect transfer of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount to the surviving spouse. Because the estate…
Late low-income housing credit-period elections granted
A partnership placed multiple low-income housing buildings in service but inadvertently failed to elect that their 10-year credit periods begin in that year. The IRS found that the standards for…
Late election to capitalize employee lease costs granted
A partnership incurred employee compensation costs while entering into a long-term office lease and intended to elect to capitalize those costs. Its return preparer included the election in the…
Late IC-DISC election granted after incomplete filing
A newly formed domestic corporation intended to operate as an interest charge domestic international sales corporation from its formation date. It mailed Form 4876-A within the 90-day period, but…
Parent received more time to file section 338 elections
A corporate parent requested extra time to file section 338(g) elections after a purchaser acquired a foreign target and the target's many foreign subsidiaries. The elections were not filed by their…
S corporation received more time to file duplicate Form 3115
An accrual-method S corporation timely filed its return and attached the original Form 3115 for a depreciation accounting-method change. It failed to send the required signed duplicate to the IRS…
Taxpayer received more time for success-based fee safe harbor
A corporation incurred success-based fees in merger transactions completed through bankruptcy plans. Its short-period return treated 70 percent of the fees as deductible and capitalized 30 percent…
Foreign entity received more time to elect disregarded status
A foreign eligible entity intended to be treated as disregarded from its owner for U.S. federal tax purposes but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. The entity represented that it acted…
Foreign entity received 120 days to elect disregarded status
A foreign eligible entity intended to elect treatment as a disregarded entity for U.S. federal tax purposes but did not timely file Form 8832. It represented that the late request did not involve…
Foreign entity received more time to elect corporate status
A foreign eligible entity intended to elect treatment as an association taxable as a corporation for U.S. federal tax purposes but inadvertently missed the Form 8832 deadline. It represented that it…
Foreign entity received late disregarded-entity election relief
A foreign single-owner entity intended to be classified as disregarded for federal tax purposes but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. It represented that it was eligible to make the…
Foreign entity received late disregarded-entity election relief
A foreign single-owner entity intended to be classified as disregarded for federal tax purposes but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. It represented that it was eligible to make the…
Foreign entity received late disregarded-entity election relief
A foreign single-owner entity intended to be classified as disregarded for federal tax purposes but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. It represented that it was eligible to make the…
Late REIT election received a 90-day extension
An LLC intended to elect real estate investment trust status on its first eligible Form 1120-REIT. Its advisor prepared both the return and an extension request, but the Form 7004 did not reach the…
Affiliated group received late consolidated-return election relief
A parent corporation acquired all the stock of a subsidiary and intended to file a consolidated federal income tax return for the acquisition year. The affiliated group did not timely make the…
Late IC-DISC election received a 60-day extension
A newly formed domestic corporation intended to elect interest charge DISC status from its inception and relied on outside counsel to prepare and file Form 4876-A. Counsel sent the form and received…
Professional's omission justified late GST election
A grantor created four trusts for siblings, but the accountant omitted the gifts from the grantor's gift-tax return and therefore failed to elect out of automatic generation-skipping transfer…
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.