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 200208034: Couple may reverse Roth conversions after learning excise tax recurs
A married couple converted two traditional IRAs to Roth IRAs in 1999, although their combined income exceeded the conversion limit. Their tax advisor told them they could reverse the conversions or…
PLR 200208033: Inherited IRA subaccounts may use beneficiaries' own life expectancies
A father died before required IRA distributions began and named five children as equal beneficiaries. The oldest child timely disclaimed his share, and the remaining children created separate…
PLR 200208032: Late reversal of two Roth IRA conversions approved
A taxpayer converted two traditional IRAs to Roth IRAs in 1998, when his income exceeded the limit for those conversions. A tax preparer told him about the problem in 2001 while preparing later…
PLR 200208031: Spousal rollover and trust distribution period approved
A retirement plan participant died before his required distribution date and left his plan interest to a trust. His surviving spouse was the sole trustee and could demand payment of the portion…
PLR 200208030: Beneficiary's IRA disclaimer and separate account treatment approved
An IRA owner died before his required distribution date and named his five children as equal beneficiaries. The oldest child disclaimed his share within nine months. The IRS ruled that the…
PLR 200208029: Beneficiary's IRA disclaimer and separate account treatment approved
An IRA owner died before his required distribution date and named his five children as equal beneficiaries. The oldest child disclaimed his share within nine months. The IRS ruled that the…
PLR 200208028: Daughter's inherited IRA subaccount treatment approved
An IRA owner died before his required distribution date and named his five children as equal beneficiaries. His oldest child disclaimed his share within nine months. The IRS ruled that the…
TAM 200208027: Hospital parent retains supporting organization status
An exempt parent, an exempt hospital, and a taxable subsidiary formed part of a reorganized hospital system. The IRS considered whether the parent controlled the hospital for the rules taxing…
CCA 200208026: Counsel flags attempted change to accounting method consent
A taxpayer requested several accounting method changes through Form 3115. After the IRS signed a second consent agreement, the taxpayer returned it more than 45 days later with one ruling crossed…
CCA 200208025: Abatement after corporate Chapter 11 default
A corporation substantially defaulted on payments under its confirmed Chapter 11 plan. Counsel addressed whether the IRS could abate assessments for liabilities discharged at confirmation and…
CCA 200208024: First tax notice sets hot interest date for later underpayment
A corporation received a 30-day letter proposing a large deficiency for one tax year, then a second letter years later after the IRS disallowed a loss carryback for the same year. It argued that the…
PLR 200208023: Extension to file dual resident corporation statements
A taxpayer missed the deadlines to attach two agreements and an annual certification concerning a dual resident corporation's losses to its returns. It asked for relief before the IRS discovered the…
PLR 200208022: Stock transfers and foreign amalgamation receive reorganization rulings
A corporate group proposed a series of stock transfers among domestic subsidiaries, followed by an amalgamation of three corporations in another country. The IRS ruled that the specified stock…
PLR 200208021: Late S corporation election granted conditional relief
A corporation's shareholders intended to elect S corporation status from its incorporation date. A founding shareholder relied on an attorney to file Form 2553, but it was late. The IRS found…
PLR 200208020: Single shareholder company's late S election granted relief
A company with one shareholder intended to be an S corporation from its incorporation date but discovered that its election had not been filed on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late…
PLR 200208019: Farm conservation easement qualifies as charitable contribution
A partnership proposed to grant a perpetual conservation easement over a farm to a qualified conservation organization. The IRS found that the easement would protect habitat containing eight listed…
PLR 200208018: Late reverse QTIP election and GST allocation approved
An estate's executors timely filed Form 706 but omitted a reverse QTIP election for part of a marital trust and did not allocate the decedent's generation-skipping transfer (GST) exemption. Their…
PLR 200208017: Mutual insurer conversion and holding company exchanges approved
A mutual life insurer proposed to become a stock company within a mutual holding company structure while its members exchanged membership interests for stock and then for interests in the holding…
PLR 200208016: S corporation may revoke basis reduction election
An insolvent S corporation excluded cancellation of debt income and elected under section 108(b)(5) to reduce depreciable property basis before reducing tax losses. It later learned that its…
PLR 200208015: Expatriate rebuts tax avoidance presumption, purpose unresolved
A former U.S. citizen asked the IRS to rule that avoiding U.S. taxes was not a principal purpose of his expatriation. His net worth exceeded the threshold that would normally trigger a presumption…
PLR 200208014: Late bond volume cap carryforward and successor use approved
A state agency received an allocation of private activity bond volume cap but missed the deadline to elect to carry forward the unused amount. Its director had retired, and the allocation letter…
PLR 200208013: Extensions granted for two QSub elections
An S corporation acquired all the stock of a subsidiary but inadvertently missed the deadline to elect qualified subchapter S subsidiary (QSub) status. It later merged into another S corporation,…
PLR 200208012: Late QSub election allowed for newly formed subsidiary
An S corporation formed a wholly owned subsidiary and intended to elect qualified subchapter S subsidiary (QSub) treatment from the subsidiary's incorporation date. It inadvertently missed the…
PLR 200208011: Late plant ruling amount schedule request treated as timely
A taxpayer filed its request for a revised schedule of ruling amounts for a plant after the regulatory deadline. It submitted another request covering the same period while seeking an extension of…
PLR 200208010: Late plant ruling amount schedule request treated as timely
A taxpayer filed its request for a revised schedule of ruling amounts for a plant after the regulatory deadline. It submitted another request covering the same period while seeking an extension of…
PLR 200208009: Late S election effective from start of business
A shareholder intended a corporation to have S corporation status from the day it began doing business, but the election was not filed on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late filing and…
PLR 200208008: Late S election for first taxable year approved
A corporation's sole shareholder and its incorporation attorney said the shareholder had always intended S corporation status, but Form 2553 was not filed on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for…
PLR 200208007: Commercial property rents excluded from passive investment income
An S corporation with accumulated earnings and profits asked whether rent from its commercial properties counted as passive investment income under section 1362. The corporation described employees…
PLR 200208006: Extension granted for qualified S subsidiary election
An S corporation wholly owned a subsidiary and intended to elect qualified subchapter S subsidiary (QSub) status for it, but failed to file the election on time. The IRS concluded that the…
PLR 200208005: Late S corporation election treated as timely if filed within 60 days
A corporation's shareholders intended to elect S corporation status effective when the corporation was formed. They relied on a tax advisor to file Form 2553, but the form was late. The IRS found…
PLR 200208004: Tax treatment of nuclear plant transfers and decommissioning funds
An electric utility transferred interests in three nuclear plants to other utilities as part of an asset exchange. The buyers assumed the related decommissioning obligations and received assets from…
PLR 200208003: Use of excess VEBA assets for active employees avoids income and excise tax
An electric utility had excess assets in two employee benefit trusts that had been set aside for retirees. It proposed using some of those assets to pay health and welfare benefits for active…
CCA 200208002: Accounting method change denied for supervisory goodwill depreciation
A thrift institution sought to change its tax accounting method so it could depreciate regulatory intangible assets called supervisory goodwill. The IRS denied consent. It concluded that the…
PLR 200208001: Expatriation tax avoidance presumption rebutted, ultimate purpose unresolved
A former U.S. citizen who had returned to her native country asked the IRS to rule that she did not give up citizenship principally to avoid U.S. taxes. Her net worth exceeded the threshold that…
PLR 200207031: Assumed hospital liabilities count as qualifying distributions
A charitable foundation assumed a hospital's employee benefit and other liabilities when the hospital merged into it. Expecting to become a private foundation, it asked how payments on those…
PLR 200207030: Court restricted foundation may count contingent set-asides as distributions
A private foundation created under a will was prevented by a court order from making charitable distributions while litigation over the will continued. The court directed its trustees to create a…
PLR 200207029: Trust interest sale and secured note avoid indirect self-dealing
Trustees proposed to sell a survivor's trust's interests in two property companies to a decedent's trust, using an appraised, secured promissory note as payment. The sale would take place during…
PLR 200207028: Survivor trust sale avoids indirect self-dealing
A survivor's trust proposed to sell its interests in two property companies to a decedent's trust, using an appraised, secured promissory note as payment. The sale would take place during trust…
PLR 200207027: Church affiliated retirement community plan qualifies as church plan
A retirement community founded and governed by two church associations asked whether its employee retirement plan qualified as a church plan under section 414(e). The IRS found that the employer…
PLR 200207025: Geographic business split-off qualifies as tax-free reorganization
Two equal shareholders wanted to run separate geographic divisions of a corporation after disagreements about business direction. The corporation planned to put one division into a new subsidiary…
PLR 200207024: Extension granted for regulated investment company dividend elections
Five funds intended to make section 855 elections for dividends declared before their return deadline, but staff confusion led to missed extension filings and late returns. They later filed returns…
PLR 200207023: Late S corporation election approved with timely Form 2553 filing
A corporation with two shareholders intended to be an S corporation from its formation, but it did not file Form 2553 on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late election under section…
PLR 200207022: Late S corporation election granted from incorporation date
A corporation's shareholders wanted S corporation status from the date it was incorporated, but the election was not filed on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed deadline under…
PLR 200207021: Late S election granted for intended effective date
A corporation's shareholder intended S corporation treatment from a specified date, but no election was filed on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed deadline under section…
PLR 200207020: Fund allowed to revoke excise tax distribution election
A regulated investment company had elected to use its calendar tax year to calculate capital gain income for its section 4982 distribution requirement. It found that the election created…
PLR 200207019: Foreign company gets extension for disregarded entity election
A foreign private limited company with one owner intended to be disregarded as a separate entity for U.S. tax purposes from its formation date. It did not file Form 8832 on time. The IRS found that…
PLR 200207018: Proposed subtrust keeps grandfathered GST status without gain recognition
Trustees proposed to fund a new subtrust for descendants and modify its beneficiaries and administration before funding it. The IRS ruled that the subtrust would be treated as irrevocable before the…
PLR 200207017: Missed trust election treated as inadvertent S termination
An S corporation's shareholder died and left some shares to a trust. The trustees did not make the electing small business trust (ESBT) election needed for the trust to hold S corporation stock, so…
PLR 200207016: Nuclear decommissioning funds preserved after utility restructuring
An electric utility planned to transfer two nuclear plants and their decommissioning funds to a new limited partnership as part of a state required restructuring. The IRS ruled that the qualified…
CCA 200207015: Basis and suspended losses during an S corporation's post-termination transition period
The Field Service Advice considers shareholders of an S corporation whose S election terminated while they had suspended losses. It concludes that stock purchased after the termination can provide…
PLR 200207014: Distribution of a subsidiary's stock does not cause an ownership change
A tax-exempt parent proposed receiving all the stock of a corporation from its wholly controlled nonprofit subsidiary. The corporation was a loss corporation under IRC § 382, and the entities…
PLR 200207013: Tribal authority qualifies as a political subdivision for federal tax purposes
An authority chartered by a federally recognized Indian tribe requested a ruling on whether it was a political subdivision of the tribe under IRC § 7871(d). The authority provided governmental…
CCA 200207012: Allocation of research expenses for FSC commissions and foreign source income
The advice addresses a domestic corporation's research and development expenses, a cost sharing arrangement with a foreign subsidiary, and commissions paid to a foreign sales corporation. It…
CCA 200207011: Underwriting fees for related financing must be capitalized
The advice considers underwriting fees paid by a borrower to an agent in connection with an initial financing arrangement and a later replacement arrangement. The IRS concludes that the fee…
CCA 200207010: Solid hazardous waste facility qualifies for exempt facility bond treatment
The advice considers a bond financed facility that transports, treats, and stores solid hazardous waste from the manufacturer's facilities. The IRS concludes that the facility is not a qualified…
PLR 200207009: Synthetic fuel production lines may be relocated without a new placed in service date
A partnership producing synthetic fuel from coal requested confirmation of prior rulings after ownership, chemical process, and facility location changes. The IRS confirmed that the partnership…
PLR 200207008: Late S corporation election may be treated as timely for reasonable cause
A corporation's shareholders intended for it to be an S corporation from its first taxable year, but the corporation did not timely file Form 2553. The IRS concluded that the corporation established…
CCA 200207007: The grantor's return starts the statute of limitations for a grantor trust
The advice considers which tax return starts the three year assessment period for a grantor trust. Because the grantor is treated as the owner and the trust's Form 1041 contains only a statement of…
CCA 200207006: Acquired in-process software research costs must be capitalized
A software company allocated part of the purchase prices for acquired businesses to software it called in-process research and development. The IRS concluded that those amounts must be capitalized…
PLR 200207005: Paperless incentive stock option exercise does not modify the option
A company proposed allowing employees to exercise stock options through an online process using shares they already owned as payment. Employees would attest to ownership of those shares, and 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.