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 200204045: Expanded VEBA participation preserves exemption and avoids a disqualified benefit
Two voluntary employees' beneficiary associations funded medical and life benefits for employees and retirees of a company that had become part of a larger controlled group. The group planned to…
PLR 200204044: Two successor foundations may receive a private foundation's assets without termination tax
A private foundation planned to transfer all its assets in equal shares to two newly created private foundations with the same purposes. The IRS ruled that the transfer qualifies under section…
PLR 200204043: Municipal pension contributions picked up by employer avoid current income and withholding
A municipality proposed to pay mandatory employee contributions to a pension plan by reducing employees' gross compensation. Employees could not choose to receive the amounts directly. The IRS ruled…
PLR 200204042: Transfer between related private foundations avoids termination and excise taxes
A trustee proposed to transfer all assets of one private foundation to another foundation it also managed, pending state court approval. The IRS ruled that the transfer qualifies under section…
PLR 200204041: Public employer may pick up mandatory pension contributions
A public employer asked whether it could pay the mandatory seven percent pension contributions for its police employees under section 414(h)(2). The IRS ruled that the picked-up amounts would be…
PLR 200204040: Community trust funds qualify as components of a supporting organization
A charity supporting a publicly supported community trust planned to let donors establish separate funds within the supporting charity. The IRS ruled that the charity itself qualifies as a community…
PLR 200204039: Foundation asset transfers approved with narrower tax attribute succession
A private foundation controlled by a father and his three sons proposed to transfer sixty percent of its assets to three private foundations, one led by each son, and later transfer its remaining…
PLR 200204038: Rollover fails when employee dies before the transfer
An employee instructed two retirement plans to transfer part of his accounts directly to an IRA, but he died before the transfer occurred. His son was named as beneficiary of that IRA and asked…
PLR 200204037: Historic site restoration grant qualifies as a set-aside
A private foundation planned a $500,000 matching grant to a public charity renovating a historic site. It would set aside the money and pay installments as construction costs arose, while requiring…
PLR 200204036: Late section 338(h)(10) election receives limited filing extension
A corporation bought all the stock of an S corporation, and the buyer and sellers intended to elect section 338(h)(10) treatment but missed the filing deadline. The IRS found that they acted…
PLR 200204035: Trust's complete stock redemption receives exchange treatment
A trust proposed to sell all its preferred stock back to the issuing corporation, then distribute the trust property to its beneficiary. The IRS ruled that the redemption completely terminates the…
PLR 200204034: Corporate separation and related reorganizations receive favorable rulings
A publicly traded holding company planned to place several businesses in a controlled corporation and distribute its stock to shareholders, separating those businesses from its remaining operations.…
PLR 200204033: Parent receives more time to make a section 338 stock purchase election
A parent corporation intended to elect under section 338(g) after acquiring a foreign target and interests in its affiliates, but missed the election deadline. The IRS found that the parent had…
PLR 200204032: Hydroelectric agency qualifies as a state political subdivision
A state-created agency planned to buy and operate hydroelectric facilities serving municipal utilities and electric cooperatives. It asked whether it qualified as a political subdivision under…
PLR 200204031: Foreign company gets 60 days to file a corporate classification election
A foreign unlimited liability company with one owner intended to elect corporate tax classification from its formation date but inadvertently missed the filing. The IRS found that the requirements…
PLR 200204030: Modified coal fuel process qualifies for section 29 credit
An owner and a partnership operated facilities that made synthetic fuel from coal and proposed changes to the binder used in production. Relying on the submitted testing and representations, the IRS…
PLR 200204029: REIT receives more time to elect built-in gain treatment
A real estate investment trust received appreciated property from a corporate parent and missed the deadline to elect treatment under section 1374 for the built-in gain. It sought extra time to make…
PLR 200204028: S corporation gets 60 days to file subsidiary elections
An S corporation intended to elect qualified subchapter S subsidiary status for two directly owned companies and 38 subsidiaries but inadvertently missed the filings. The IRS found that the…
PLR 200204027: Missed trust elections receive inadvertent S corporation termination relief
A shareholder transferred S corporation stock to three trusts for minor children, but the qualified subchapter S trust elections were not filed. The IRS concluded that the transfers terminated the…
PLR 200204026: Corporate group may revoke alternative research credit election
After a reverse acquisition, a corporate group was treated as having made the acquired corporation's election to use the alternative incremental research credit. It asked the IRS to let it revoke…
PLR 200204025: Foreign company gets time to elect disregarded entity status
A foreign limited company owned by a domestic S corporation intended to elect treatment as an entity disregarded from its owner but missed the filing deadline. A foreign eligible entity whose…
PLR 200204024: Foreign company gets time to elect partnership classification
A foreign company owned by U.S. citizens intended to elect partnership classification from its formation date but inadvertently missed the election. The IRS found that the regulatory requirements…
PLR 200204023: Partnership contribution qualifies for 1997 transition rule
Several trusts agreed to contribute jointly held assets to a partnership, but court proceedings delayed the actual contribution until after June 8, 1997. A 1997 law had extended from five to seven…
PLR 200204022: Trust disclaimers support charitable and marital estate tax deductions
A couple had funded a charitable remainder unitrust, and one spouse died while the surviving spouse and their two children held successive payment interests. The trustees planned to split the trust…
PLR 200204021: Disability benefits excluded when employer-paid premiums are taxed as wages
An employer planned to keep paying employees' long-term disability insurance premiums but include those premium amounts in each employee's taxable wages. It also planned a one-time payment to offset…
PLR 200204020: REIT receives extension for built-in gain election
A real estate investment trust received appreciated property from a corporate parent and missed the regulatory deadline to elect section 1374 treatment for the built-in gain. The IRS found that the…
PLR 200204019: Foreign company may file a late partnership classification election
A foreign limited liability company intended to be classified as a partnership for U.S. tax purposes from the date it was formed, but missed the Form 8832 filing deadline. Its members had limited…
PLR 200204018: Partnership assets covered by pre-1997 binding contract
Trusts agreed to contribute jointly held assets to a partnership, but litigation and administrative steps delayed the contribution until after June 8, 1997. A 1997 law extended the period in which…
PLR 200204017: Pre-1997 contract protects later partnership asset distribution
Trusts entered a partnership agreement requiring them to contribute a fixed group of jointly held assets. Litigation delayed the contribution until after June 8, 1997, when a law extended the period…
PLR 200204016: Pre-1997 contract protects later partnership asset distribution
Trusts entered a partnership agreement requiring them to contribute a fixed group of jointly held assets. Litigation delayed the contribution until after June 8, 1997, when a law extended the period…
PLR 200204015: Pre-1997 contract protects later partnership asset distribution
Trusts entered a partnership agreement requiring them to contribute a fixed group of jointly held assets. Litigation delayed the contribution until after June 8, 1997, when a law extended the period…
CCA 200204014: Later-year overpayments do not suspend interest on earlier deficiencies
A taxpayer applied two years' reported overpayments to estimated taxes for the following years; the IRS later determined deficiencies for those original years. Chief Counsel advised that deficiency…
PLR 200204013: Pre-1997 contract protects later partnership asset distribution
Trusts entered a partnership agreement requiring them to contribute a fixed group of jointly held assets. Litigation delayed the contribution until after June 8, 1997, when a law extended the period…
PLR 200204012: Late S corporation election allowed from incorporation date
A corporation's shareholders intended S corporation status from the date of incorporation, but the election was not filed on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late filing under section…
PLR 200204011: Transfer between S corporation and subsidiary is disregarded
An S corporation owned one subsidiary, which in turn owned another; the parent had made qualified subchapter S subsidiary elections for both. It planned to have the first subsidiary distribute the…
PLR 200204010: S corporation election treated as timely after late filing
A corporation intended S corporation treatment when it began operations but failed to file Form 2553 on time. It and its shareholder had filed returns consistent with S corporation treatment. The…
PLR 200204009: Late S election may take effect from incorporation
A corporation with two shareholders 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…
CCA 200204008: Higher utility bills alone do not qualify for the research credit
A taxpayer claimed research credit expenses based on the difference between utility costs per square foot in its research and other buildings. Chief Counsel advised that ordinary building utilities…
PLR 200204007: Tax treatment of public employee disability and survivor benefits varies
A state employee plan asked whether disability payments and related survivor benefits were excluded from recipients' income as workers' compensation. The IRS ruled that benefits requiring proof of a…
PLR 200204006: Partnership basis adjustment does not reset housing credit service date
A partnership planned to buy and rehabilitate an apartment development and hoped to claim low-income housing tax credits. Before the sale, interests in the current owner partnership had changed…
PLR 200204005: New redemption restriction does not tax vested partnership interests
A partnership planned to move an operating business into a corporation, sell a minority stake to the public, and add a below-market redemption right over owners' partnership capital if they stopped…
PLR 200204004: LLC gets more time to elect corporate tax classification
An LLC was formed as two corporations merged into it in sequence. It intended corporate tax classification from the transaction date but missed the Form 8832 filing deadline. The IRS found that the…
TAM 200204003: Credit applied after relief deadline cannot be refunded
A taxpayer had been granted equitable relief from a joint tax liability, but a later year's overpayment was credited against that liability. The taxpayer sought a refund, arguing that the credit…
TAM 200204002: Two structured subsidiary disposals fail nonrecognition rules
A corporate group used two similar merger and stock structures to dispose of subsidiaries while retaining control over cash held through newly formed entities. It claimed the transactions qualified…
CCA 200204001: Merger successor's assessment extensions remain valid despite wrong name
After a corporation merged into a successor, authorized officers signed three Forms 872 extending the assessment period for the predecessor's tax year. The forms used only the predecessor's name…
PLR 200203068: Extension granted for dual consolidated loss filings
A corporation had included dual consolidated losses from two entities on returns for three tax years but missed the related agreement and annual certification filings. Its request described the…
PLR 200203067: Corporation may make a late S election for its first tax year
A corporation's sole shareholder intended S corporation status for its first tax year but missed the Form 2553 deadline. The corporation supplied affidavits supporting that intent. The IRS found…
PLR 200203066: Funds' dividend elections treated as timely despite unsigned extensions
Five investment funds intended to elect under section 855(a) for dividends declared before their return deadline. They mailed requests to extend their return filing deadlines, but the IRS rejected…
PLR 200203065: Revised nuclear decommissioning fund payment schedule approved
An electric utility with an ownership interest in a nuclear plant asked the IRS to revise the annual ruling amounts for its decommissioning fund. The IRS found that the proposed schedule used the…
PLR 200203064: Revised nuclear decommissioning fund payment schedule approved
An electric utility with an ownership interest in a nuclear plant asked the IRS to revise the annual ruling amounts for its decommissioning fund. The IRS found that the proposed schedule used the…
PLR 200203063: Corporation may make a late S election for its first tax year
A corporation's sole shareholder intended S corporation status for its first tax year but missed the Form 2553 deadline. The company filed an S corporation return, and its directors' meeting minutes…
PLR 200203062: Revised nuclear decommissioning fund payment schedule approved
An electric utility with an ownership interest in a nuclear plant asked the IRS to revise the annual ruling amounts for its decommissioning fund. The IRS found that the proposed schedule used the…
CCA 200203061: Corporate payments of shareholder's divorce debt are distributions
A divorce decree required a shareholder and his S corporation to pay his former spouse for her marital rights connected to his corporate stock. Chief Counsel advised that the former spouse did not…
PLR 200203060: Late accounting period change application treated as timely
A taxpayer asked to change its tax year from September 30 to March 31 but could not prove that its Form 1128 was filed on time. The application was filed within 90 days of the due date. The IRS…
PLR 200203059: Extension granted for consolidated return election
A parent corporation and its subsidiaries missed the deadline to elect to file a consolidated federal income tax return. The IRS found that they had relied on qualified tax professionals who failed…
PLR 200203058: Integrated merger steps treated as direct acquisitions
A publicly traded domestic corporation planned to integrate five target corporations after earlier reverse triangular mergers, along with related domestic and foreign subsidiary restructurings. The…
PLR 200203057: S election treated as effective despite IRA shareholder
A corporation sought relief after discovering that an individual retirement account (IRA) held some of its shares when its S corporation election was meant to take effect. An IRA was not an eligible…
PLR 200203056: Extension to file a section 338(h)(10) election
A purchaser acquired all the stock of an S corporation from its shareholders but missed the deadline for a joint section 338(h)(10) election. The election would treat the stock purchase as a deemed…
PLR 200203055: Late S election accepted for corporation's first day
A corporation's shareholder intended to elect S corporation status starting on the corporation's incorporation date, but the election was filed late. Section 1362(b)(5) permits relief for a late S…
PLR 200203054: Late S election treated as effective on incorporation
A corporation's shareholders intended S corporation treatment to begin on the incorporation date, but the corporation did not file its election on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed…
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.