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 200202005: Extension for foreign subsidiary classification election
A foreign company treated as a partnership for U.S. tax purposes owned a foreign subsidiary eligible to be treated as disregarded. The subsidiary had not filed Form 8832 in time for the intended…
PLR 200202004: Extension for foreign subsidiary classification election
A foreign company treated as a partnership for U.S. tax purposes owned a foreign subsidiary eligible to be treated as disregarded. The subsidiary had not filed Form 8832 in time for the intended…
PLR 200202003: Extension for foreign subsidiary classification election
A foreign company treated as a partnership for U.S. tax purposes owned a foreign subsidiary eligible to be treated as disregarded. The subsidiary had not filed Form 8832 in time for the intended…
CCA 200202002: Deductions for premiums paid to a related insurer
Two operating subsidiaries paid premiums to an insurer within their corporate group and claimed insurance deductions. Chief Counsel advised that examiners should not rely on the "economic family"…
CCA 200202001: Evidence for changing an invalid marriage filing status
Chief Counsel considered amended returns filed by people who had originally filed jointly but said their marriages were invalid under state law. It advised Service Center staff to review each case…
PLR 200201034: Late S corporation election allowed on timely filing
A corporation's shareholders intended it to be an S corporation from its incorporation date, but Form 2553 was not filed on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late election under section…
PLR 200201032: Tax treatment of a corporate separation
An S corporation planned to distribute all the stock of a subsidiary to its shareholders so the subsidiary could obtain its own credit facility and separate one business from another's liabilities.…
PLR 200201031: Extension to file dual consolidated loss certifications
A taxpayer missed annual certification filings for two fiscal years involving an entity's dual consolidated losses after its accounting firm failed to advise it of the requirement. The taxpayer…
PLR 200201030: Extension to make a section 338 election
A foreign subsidiary acquired all the stock of another corporation, but its U.S. group parent did not file a valid section 338 election by the deadline. The parent requested an extension before the…
PLR 200201029: Expatriation tax avoidance presumption rebutted
A former U.S. long-term resident gave up her permanent resident status and returned to the country where she was born and remained a citizen. Her net worth exceeded the threshold that otherwise…
PLR 200201028: Extension for dual consolidated loss filings
A taxpayer's foreign branch incurred dual consolidated losses in two tax years, but the accounting firm preparing the returns did not file the required certifications and agreements. The taxpayer…
PLR 200201027: Relief for an inadvertent S corporation election termination
A corporation's S election became invalid when stock was transferred to a trust whose beneficiary had not timely made the required QSST election. The IRS concluded that the termination was…
PLR 200201026: Reformed trust qualified for estate tax charitable deduction
A decedent's trust paid income to the decedent's son for life, with the remainder going to charitable trusts. The executor and trustees obtained a court order reforming it into a charitable…
PLR 200201025: Ownership and treaty tests for interest withholding relief
A U.S. subsidiary expected to pay interest to a foreign affiliate and asked about two requirements for withholding relief under an income tax treaty. The foreign affiliate was indirectly owned by…
PLR 200201024: LLC disregarded despite bankruptcy consent member
A corporation owned all of an LLC's economic interests, while another named member held only limited consent rights meant to prevent a bankruptcy filing and certain other major changes. The IRS…
PLR 200201023: Extension to request a real property withholding certificate
A taxpayer missed the deadline to request a withholding certificate in connection with a transfer of stock treated as a U.S. real property interest. Its tax officer submitted an affidavit explaining…
CCA 200201022: Equipment sale and leaseback may be financing
Chief Counsel analyzed a taxpayer's purchase of equipment from an affiliate of a foreign utility and leaseback of that equipment to the utility. The memorandum concluded that the stated facts…
PLR 200201021: Late election for foreign insurer to be treated as domestic
A taxpayer missed the deadline to elect domestic corporation treatment for its subsidiary under § 953(d). Affidavits explained the missed filing, and the taxpayer requested relief before the IRS…
PLR 200201020: Trust correction preserves generation skipping tax exemption
Trustees proposed a court reformation of a trust provision that, as written, could let a daughter appoint trust property to herself despite evidence that the trustors intended only a limited power.…
PLR 200201019: Bank asset transfers treated as reorganizations
A bank holding company combined the operations of two subsidiary banks with a third while selling the two bank charters to unrelated buyers. A banking regulator required a transaction structure that…
PLR 200201018: Late S corporation election treated as timely
A corporation intended to be an S corporation in its first tax year but did not file Form 2553 on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed election under § 1362(b)(5). It agreed to treat…
PLR 200201017: Court correction preserves son's trust tax exemption
Trustees proposed asking a court to correct a drafting error in a trust that, as written, could let a son appoint trust property to himself. The IRS concluded that, if the court found the trustors…
PLR 200201016: Reasonable cause relief for a late S election
A corporation's sole shareholder intended S corporation treatment from its first tax year, but no completed Form 2553 was filed on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late election under §…
PLR 200201015: Buyer receives oil and gas economic interest and fuel credit
A buyer acquired oil and gas interests while the seller kept limited production payments, a contingent interest in additional reserves, and options to repurchase. The IRS concluded that the buyer…
PLR 200201014: Extension to file consolidated group waiver statement
A subsidiary left and later rejoined its parent's consolidated tax group. The parent included the subsidiary on its return but failed to file the statement required to waive the usual waiting period…
PLR 200201013: Late tax year change application treated as timely
A taxpayer filed Form 1128 after the deadline to request a change in its tax year. The letter says the delay resulted from an error or misunderstanding and that the form was filed within 90 days…
CCA 200201012: Stock basis shift did not support claimed loss
Chief Counsel examined a transaction in which an individual claimed a large stock loss after a foreign corporation acquired bank shares and the bank redeemed them. Counsel concluded that the foreign…
PLR 200201011: Late S corporation election treated as timely made
A corporation asked whether its election to be treated as an S corporation could be accepted after the Form 2553 was filed late. The corporation had acted as though the election were effective,…
CCA 200201010: Form 5213 did not replace the required IRS liability notice
Chief Counsel considered whether a taxpayer's election to postpone a profit motive determination under IRC § 183 affected the suspension of interest under § 6404(g). Counsel concluded that the § 183…
CCA 200201009: Advance payments did not reduce inventory value for interest apportionment
Chief Counsel considered how a related supplier should value inventory when using the tax book value method to apportion interest expense for combined taxable income from export sales. The supplier…
CCA 200201008: Airport maintenance facility qualified for exempt facility bond treatment
Chief Counsel examined whether an aircraft maintenance and engine overhaul facility next to an airport met the requirements for airport exempt facility bond financing. The facility was leased to a…
PLR 200201007: Conservation easement exchange qualified as like-kind real property exchange
A ranch co-owner proposed exchanging a perpetual conservation easement on one ranch for an ownership interest in another ranch that would also carry a conservation easement. The IRS ruled that the…
PLR 200201006: Business split qualified as a tax-free corporate reorganization
Two shareholder groups had disputes that affected a corporation's operations. The corporation transferred part of its business assets to a wholly owned subsidiary and planned to distribute…
PLR 200201005: Entity conversion preserved S corporation ownership of subsidiary assets
An S corporation proposed a series of ownership and entity changes involving a new general partnership, a limited liability company, and a subsidiary that would become a limited partnership under…
PLR 200201004: Mutual insurer merger preserved Blue Cross and Blue Shield status
A mutual Blue Cross and Blue Shield organization planned to merge into an insurance company it had purchased so it could obtain the purchased company's insurance licenses. The purchased company…
PLR 200201003: GST exemption automatically allocated to gifts to grandchildren's trust
A donor and spouse made gifts to a trust for grandchildren and elected to split the gifts for gift tax purposes. The donor did not explicitly allocate generation-skipping transfer (GST) exemption to…
PLR 200201002: Gift splitting triggered automatic GST exemption allocation
A donor and spouse elected to split gifts made to a trust for grandchildren. The donor had not expressly allocated her generation-skipping transfer (GST) exemption to the trust, and she did not file…
PLR 200201001: Settlement fund income excluded as governmental income
A fund established under settlement agreements invested and managed settlement proceeds before distributing them to governmental plaintiffs and other entities represented as eligible for the…
CCA 200152047: Money orders triggered cash reporting; returned currency did not
Chief Counsel considered three sales in which a customer changed or proposed changing the form of payment after cash reporting arose. In the auto sale, fifty $500 money orders used to pay $25,000…
CCA 200152046: Puerto Rico residents' RIC capital gain dividends had Puerto Rican source
Chief Counsel addressed how a U.S. regulated investment company's distributions were sourced for a shareholder who was a bona fide Puerto Rico resident. Ordinary dividends were U.S. source income…
CCA 200152045: Excess employment tax deposit generally awaited quarterly refund process
Chief Counsel addressed an employer's request for an expedited refund after a payroll agent remitted substantially more withheld employment tax than intended. The advice said the excess deposit…
CCA 200152044: Partnership assessment could support an employment tax claim against a general partner
Chief Counsel considered whether the IRS needed to make a separate assessment against a general partner who entered bankruptcy before asserting a claim for employment taxes assessed against the…
CCA 200152043: A missed levy hearing cannot be reopened in a later lien hearing
Chief Counsel considered whether a taxpayer who missed the 30-day deadline to request a Collection Due Process hearing about a proposed levy could challenge that levy later during a hearing about a…
CCA 200152042: A parent’s access to a minor’s tax information depends on authority to receive it
Chief Counsel addressed when the IRS could discuss a minor child’s tax liability and rejected offer in compromise with a parent. The advice said a parent could receive the child’s return information…
PLR 200152041: Late FSC election and small FSC revocation received 30-day relief
A corporation that had elected small foreign sales corporation (FSC) status sought more time to revoke that election and file a new FSC election. The corporation and a trust company each believed…
CCA 200152040: Business classified as a railroad employer effective February 20, 2001
The Railroad Retirement Board told the IRS that a redacted business became an employer under the Railroad Retirement Act and the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act effective February 20, 2001.…
PLR 200152039: Late dual consolidated loss agreements and certifications allowed
A taxpayer asked for more time to file agreements and annual certifications connected with dual consolidated losses for several entities and tax years. A tax department employee had inadvertently…
PLR 200152038: Late election allowed for Canadian retirement plan earnings
A United States resident had two Canadian Registered Retirement Savings Plans established before becoming a U.S. resident. The taxpayer filed U.S. returns without electing under Revenue Procedure…
PLR 200152037: Subsidiary stock distribution qualified for nonrecognition rulings
A domestic corporation proposed distributing its majority interest in an operating subsidiary to its foreign parent. The parent would then transfer the subsidiary stock to another foreign affiliate,…
PLR 200152036: Late section 338(h)(10) election allowed with filing conditions
An S corporation's subsidiary bought all the stock of another S corporation, and the buyer's parent and sellers intended to make a joint § 338(h)(10) election. They missed the filing deadline after…
PLR 200152035: Rural telephone cooperative’s stock sale proceeds were patronage income
A taxable rural telephone cooperative helped build a cellular network so it could serve its members and protect rural wireline service. Its subsidiary's interest in that venture later became stock…
PLR 200152034: Corporate buyer and sellers granted late section 338(h)(10) election relief
A corporate buyer acquired all the stock of an S corporation from its shareholders and intended to make a joint § 338(h)(10) election with the sellers. The election was missed even though the…
PLR 200152033: Group granted time to complete consolidated return election
A corporate parent and its subsidiaries intended to elect consolidated federal income tax return filing for a specified year but missed the election deadline. The group later filed a consolidated…
PLR 200152032: Consent dividend elections could be increased for later years
A corporation's subsidiary had timely elected consent dividends intended to eliminate its undistributed personal holding company income. An IRS examination of earlier years increased that income…
PLR 200152031: Buyer and individual seller granted late section 338(h)(10) election relief
A corporate buyer purchased all the stock of an S corporation from an individual seller. The parties intended to make a joint § 338(h)(10) election but did not file a valid election on time. The IRS…
PLR 200152029: Partnership granted more time to file section 338(g) elections for two foreign subsidiaries
A domestic limited liability company asked for more time to file section 338(g) elections for two foreign subsidiaries acquired through its ownership structure. The elections were late, and the IRS…
PLR 200152028: Merger survivor must use constant yield to amortize bond premium
A corporation that held mortgage backed bonds at a premium merged with another corporation that used a different accounting method for bond premium. The surviving corporation had used a straight…
CCA 200152027: IRS closes maturity issue for county notes and accepts debt service fund
A county issued tax and revenue anticipation notes with a term of about 15 months. IRS counsel advised that Notice 2001-49 called for closing the examination issues concerning whether those notes…
PLR 200152026: Marital trust division recognized for GST tax purposes
A trust for a surviving spouse was divided into three portions after the estate made a partial qualified terminable interest property election and allocated generation skipping transfer tax…
PLR 200152025: Developer granted more time to request alternative cost method
A real estate developer sold a few model home lots but missed the deadline to request the alternative cost method for common improvements under Revenue Procedure 92-29. It believed the election was…
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.