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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CCA 200152024: Utility withdraws depreciation method request after tentative adverse view
An electric utility withdrew its request to change how it depreciated right of way easement costs and street lighting assets after IRS counsel indicated a tentative adverse view. Counsel considered…
PLR 200152023: Taxpayer granted time to file dual consolidated loss elections
A taxpayer did not file elections and annual certifications concerning an entity's losses because its tax advisers believed an exception to the dual consolidated loss rules applied. They later…
CCA 200152022: Business found outside Railroad Retirement Tax Act employer status
The Railroad Retirement Board told the IRS that a redacted business was not an employer under the Railroad Retirement Act or the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act. IRS counsel reviewed that…
CCA 200152021: Railroad retirement employer status ended for several businesses
The Railroad Retirement Board advised the IRS that one redacted business ceased to be an employer under the Railroad Retirement Act and Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act on December 31, 1995.…
PLR 200152020: Corporation granted conditional relief for late S election
A corporation's sole shareholder intended it to be an S corporation, and a Form 1120S was filed, but the corporation did not timely file a completed Form 2553 for its first tax year. The IRS found…
PLR 200152019: Late S election allowed from incorporation date
A corporation's shareholders intended S corporation treatment from its incorporation date but did not file the election on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late filing under section…
PLR 200152018: Gift annuity exchange qualifies for deductions but produces capital gain
A donor proposed to transfer his entire lifetime payment interest in a charitable remainder unitrust to the charitable remainder beneficiary in exchange for a lifetime annuity paid from the…
PLR 200152017: Disability benefit cost of living increases may be excluded
A firefighters' retirement fund asked whether cost of living increases paid to firefighters receiving service connected disability benefits were excluded from income. The IRS treated the increases…
CCA 200152016: Removal cost deduction request withdrawn after adverse IRS view
Taxpayers renovating owned and leased buildings asked to change their accounting method so they could deduct labor costs for removing property when incurred. They had instead added those costs to…
PLR 200152015: Late S election allowed for corporation's first tax year
Three shareholders intended their newly formed corporation to be an S corporation from its first tax year, and its articles of incorporation reflected that intent. No Form 2553 was filed for that…
Determination 200152014: Utility denied immediate deduction of coal handling costs
An electric utility asked to change its accounting method so it could deduct coal handling costs when incurred instead of capitalizing them until the coal was burned to produce electricity. The IRS…
Determination 200152013: Coal transportation and handling cost deductions denied
A utility's parent asked to change how the utility accounted for transporting coal to its plants and handling it after delivery. The utility had capitalized those costs and recognized them when the…
Determination 200152012: Utility subsidiary denied coal handling method change
A parent company requested an accounting method change for its electric utility subsidiary's coal handling costs. The subsidiary had capitalized transportation and handling costs until the coal was…
CCA 200152011: Utility withdraws depreciation request after tentative adverse view
An electric utility withdrew a request to change how it depreciated right of way easement costs and street lighting assets after IRS counsel expressed tentative adverse views. Counsel considered the…
PLR 200152010: REIT and subsidiary granted time to resend rejected election form
A real estate investment trust and its wholly owned subsidiary prepared and mailed Form 8875 to elect taxable REIT subsidiary status effective January 1, 2001. The Postal Service returned the form…
PLR 200152009: Late S election allowed for first taxable year
A corporation's president intended S corporation treatment from its first tax year, and the corporation filed a Form 1120S for that year. It did not file Form 2553 on time. The IRS found reasonable…
PLR 200152008: Foreign entity granted time to elect partnership classification
A business entity organized in a foreign country asked for more time to elect partnership classification for U.S. federal tax purposes. The IRS concluded that it met the standards for late…
PLR 200152007: S corporation granted time to elect QSub status for two subsidiaries
An S corporation intended two newly incorporated subsidiaries to be qualified subchapter S subsidiaries from their incorporation date but did not file the elections on time. The IRS found that the…
CCA 200152006: Mexican subsidiaries' production cannot be attributed to U.S. parent for sourcing
A U.S. company supplied components to four Mexican subsidiaries for assembly or production, then sold the finished inventory in the United States. It sought to source part of its sales income…
PLR 200152005: IRS applies tax exempt bond borrowing guidelines to group loans
A corporate group financed customer purchases, including transactions that produced tax exempt obligations, while group members also borrowed from outside lenders and from each other. It asked how…
PLR 200152004: Corporate minutes support relief for late S election
A corporation's president said it was intended to be an S corporation from inception, and its corporate minutes included a resolution to make the election. The corporation did not file Form 2553 on…
PLR 200152003: Merger year executives found outside compensation deduction limit
A public company's stock was acquired, and the company merged into a subsidiary of the buyer, ending its separate tax year. The buyer represented that neither company would report the target's…
CCA 200152002: Two note transactions produced no capital gain
A holding company with expiring capital losses reported gains from exchanging one promissory note and receiving payment on three others. The notes and lease rights were acquired through two sets of…
CCA 200152001: Missing original refund check did not earn more interest
A taxpayer requested a direct deposit refund, but the IRS mailed a check that the taxpayer said never arrived. The IRS later issued a replacement check. Chief Counsel advised that the taxpayer was…
PLR 200151044: Business split between shareholder groups qualified for tax-free treatment
Two shareholder groups disagreed over how to run a company's business. The company proposed transferring part of that business to a new subsidiary, then giving the subsidiary's stock to one…
PLR 200151043: Shareholder dispute led to a tax-free division of a business
Shareholders who disagreed over management proposed separating their company's active business. The company would transfer some assets to a new subsidiary and distribute all of the subsidiary's…
PLR 200151042: Two stock classes divided in a tax-free business split
Shareholders who disagreed over management proposed separating their company's active business, which had voting and nonvoting stock. The company would transfer some assets to a new subsidiary and…
PLR 200151041: Late tax year change application treated as timely
A taxpayer wanted to change from a June 30 tax year to a calendar year but filed Form 1128 after its deadline. The taxpayer said an error or misunderstanding caused the delay, and it filed within 90…
PLR 200151040: Two-stage business separation qualified for reorganization treatment
A corporate group proposed separating one business through an internal distribution and a later public distribution after selling a minority stake in an initial public offering. The group said the…
PLR 200151039: LLC received more time to elect corporate tax status
An LLC wanted to be taxed as a corporation as it prepared for a public stock offering, but it missed the deadline to file Form 8832. It requested relief to make the entity classification election…
PLR 200151038: Annuity death benefits could be paid over a beneficiary's life expectancy
Two life insurers asked about payment options for beneficiaries of nonqualified deferred annuities when an owner died before payments began. The IRS ruled that paying the entire balance by a life…
PLR 200151037: Late tax year change application treated as timely
A taxpayer wanted to change from a September 30 tax year to a calendar year but filed Form 1128 after its deadline. The taxpayer said an error or misunderstanding caused the delay, and it filed…
PLR 200151036: Late S corporation election received effective date relief
A newly incorporated company intended to elect S corporation status from its incorporation date, but its shareholders missed the filing deadline. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late election…
IRS determination 200151035: Coal transportation and handling costs had to be capitalized
A utility asked to change its accounting method so it could deduct coal transportation and handling costs when incurred instead of when the coal was used to generate electricity. The IRS denied the…
PLR 200151034: Parent received more time to file subsidiary stock loss statements
A consolidated group sold two subsidiaries and deducted losses on the stock sales. Its parent failed to attach the required statements of allowed loss to the return. The IRS found that the parent…
PLR 200151033: Utility financing ruling survived regulatory and merger changes
A utility had an earlier ruling that a financing order and proceeds of notes issued through a special purpose entity would not create gross income for it, and that the notes would be its…
PLR 200151032: Preferred stock defect received inadvertent S election relief
A company had both common and preferred stock when it elected S corporation status, although S corporations generally cannot have more than one class of stock. Its sole shareholder said the second…
PLR 200151031: Late tax year change application treated as timely
A taxpayer wanted to change from a August 31 tax year to a calendar year but filed Form 1128 after its deadline. The taxpayer said an error or misunderstanding caused the delay, and it filed within…
PLR 200151030: Late S corporation election received effective date relief
A newly incorporated company intended to elect S corporation status from its incorporation date, but its shareholders missed the filing deadline. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late election…
PLR 200151029: Late S corporation election received effective date relief
A newly incorporated company intended to elect S corporation status from its incorporation date, but its shareholders missed the filing deadline. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late election…
PLR 200151028: Late S corporation election received effective date relief
A newly incorporated company intended to elect S corporation status from its incorporation date, but its shareholders missed the filing deadline. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late election…
PLR 200151027: Late election for a September tax year treated as timely
An affiliated group became subject to the required tax year rules for personal service corporations and wanted a September 30 tax year instead of the required calendar year. It engaged a tax…
PLR 200151026: Late S corporation election received effective date relief
A company missed the deadline for its intended S corporation election. The facts section says its shareholders wanted the election effective on D2, while the conclusion grants treatment effective on…
PLR 200151025: Late S corporation election received effective date relief
A newly incorporated company intended to elect S corporation status from its incorporation date, but its shareholders missed the filing deadline. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late election…
PLR 200151024: Late S corporation election received effective date relief
A newly incorporated company intended to elect S corporation status from its incorporation date, but its shareholders missed the filing deadline. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late election…
PLR 200151023: Late S corporation election received effective date relief
A newly incorporated company intended to elect S corporation status from its incorporation date, but its shareholders missed the filing deadline. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late election…
PLR 200151022: Late S corporation election received effective date relief
A newly incorporated company intended to elect S corporation status from its incorporation date, but its shareholders missed the filing deadline. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late election…
PLR 200151021: Late S corporation election received effective date relief
A company’s sole shareholder intended to elect S corporation status from the incorporation date, but Form 2553 was not filed on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late election under…
PLR 200151020: Late S corporation election received effective date relief
A newly incorporated company intended to elect S corporation status from its incorporation date, but its shareholders missed the filing deadline. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late election…
CCA 200151019: Separate industries barred a combined FSC product line
A domestic company used a foreign sales corporation to sell both manufactured products and unprocessed raw materials abroad. It wanted to combine the two product lines when calculating the foreign…
Other 200151018: Utility denied immediate deductions for coal and oil costs
An electric utility asked to deduct coal and oil transportation and handling costs in the year it incurred them, instead of capitalizing those costs until the fuel was consumed. It also proposed an…
PLR 200151017: Merger did not prevent a like-kind exchange
Several subsidiaries sold business assets through a qualified intermediary and identified replacement property for a like-kind exchange. One subsidiary then merged into another before the…
CCA 200151016: Railroad employer status changed for three businesses
The Railroad Retirement Board advised the IRS that one business became a railroad employer on March 3, 2001, while two others ceased to be railroad employers on March 2, 2001. After reviewing the…
PLR 200151015: Arts district qualified as a political subdivision for gifts
A local cultural arts district sought confirmation that donors could treat gifts to it as contributions to a governmental unit. The district was created under state law to build and operate a public…
PLR 200151014: Cleanup reimbursements received as agent excluded from income
A company buying a business would collect government payments for environmental cleanup costs incurred by the seller. The seller retained the cleanup obligation, and the buyer had to pass those…
PLR 200151013: Modified coal fuel line retained section 29 credit treatment
A partnership making synthetic fuel from coal asked the IRS to confirm earlier § 29 credit rulings after a merger, a sale of membership interests, and changes to one production line. The changed…
PLR 200151012: Buyer retained synthetic fuel credit after line changes
A purchaser of an interest in a coal synthetic fuel partnership asked the IRS to confirm earlier § 29 credit rulings after a merger, an ownership transfer, and changes to one production line. The…
TAM 200151011: IRS reversed prior stripped coupon ownership conclusion
The IRS reconsidered an earlier technical advice memorandum about a taxpayer's Program B. The earlier advice had concluded that the taxpayer became the owner of stripped coupons under § 1286(e)(2),…
PLR 200151010: Late notarization did not defeat ESOP stock sale election
A shareholder sold company stock to its employee stock ownership plan and bought replacement securities to defer the gain under § 1042. He misunderstood a procedural rule and did not notarize a…
PLR 200151009: Partnership granted more time to elect corporate status
A partnership intended to be taxed as a corporation from a redacted effective date but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832. It asked for more time to make the entity classification election. 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.