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 200151008: Late notarization accepted for ESOP stock sale election
Shareholders sold company stock to its employee stock ownership plan and bought securities they intended to use as qualified replacement property under § 1042. They failed to notarize the purchase…
PLR 200151007: 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…
PLR 200151006: 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…
PLR 200151005: 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…
CCA 200151004: Sampling failed to support a depreciation method change
A utility sought an automatic accounting method change to move assets into shorter depreciation classes and claim a negative § 481(a) adjustment. Chief Counsel advised that the utility did not…
CCA 200151003: Crop seller's unpaid note did not establish constructive receipt
A cash method crop producer had long left amounts owed by a related crop marketer unpaid. The marketer later issued a promissory note secured by its assets. Chief Counsel advised that the known…
CCA 200151002: Business became a railroad employer in September 2000
The Railroad Retirement Board told the IRS that a business became an employer under the Railroad Retirement Act and Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act on September 28, 2000. After reviewing the…
PLR 200151001: Bond authority granted time to file carryforward election
A state bond issuing authority received an allocation of unused private activity bond volume cap but missed the deadline to file Form 8328 to carry it forward. Its general counsel had mistakenly…
PLR 200150025: Late S corporation election accepted from incorporation
A newly incorporated company's shareholders intended S corporation treatment from its incorporation date, but the election was not filed on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late filing…
PLR 200150024: Late S corporation election accepted from incorporation
A corporation's shareholders intended S corporation treatment from its incorporation date, but the election was not filed on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late filing and granted…
PLR 200150023: Shareholder split-off qualified as a tax-free reorganization
Two equal shareholders of an S corporation disagreed about managing its businesses. The company proposed to move some business assets into a new subsidiary, then give all of that subsidiary's stock…
PLR 200150022: Missing S election allowed for first taxable year
A corporation intended to be an S corporation from its first taxable year and filed S corporation returns, but never filed Form 2553. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missing election. It…
PLR 200150021: Late S election allowed for first taxable year
A corporation intended S corporation treatment from its first taxable year, but no timely completed Form 2553 was filed. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late election. It ruled that the…
PLR 200150020: Joint trust power and disclaimer avoided transfer taxes
Two children of a deceased trust creator jointly held a power to close the class of potential grandchild beneficiaries. The IRS ruled that the power was not a general power of appointment because…
PLR 200150019: Five-life charitable unitrust met two stated tests
A settlor created a trust that would make unitrust payments to successive groups of individual beneficiaries and leave the remainder to charity. Because payments could span five measuring lives, the…
PLR 200150018: Reasonable errors waived for life insurance policies
A life insurer found that some policies failed the federal definition of life insurance because they exceeded guideline premium limits. Four failures arose from clerical or programming mistakes…
PLR 200150017: Missed trust election treated as inadvertent S termination
An S corporation shareholder died, and the shares later passed from the estate to a trust. The trust beneficiary did not file the election needed for the trust to be an eligible qualified subchapter…
PLR 200150016: Trust reformation preserved generation skipping tax exemption
A trust that had become irrevocable before the 1985 cutoff for generation skipping transfer tax exemption was reformed by a state court. The change required distributions of the greater of annual…
PLR 200150015: Sole shareholder granted late S election relief
The sole shareholder of a new corporation intended S corporation treatment and believed the election had been filed on time. Form 2553 had not been filed timely. The IRS ruled that the election…
PLR 200150014: Insurer received waiver for excess policy premiums
A life insurer found that premiums on several types of policies exceeded the guideline limits required for federal life insurance treatment. The failures arose from sales illustrations, missed…
PLR 200150013: Actively managed property rents excluded from passive income
An S corporation owned a qualified S subsidiary that held rental property. The parent, using an on-site office and contractors, maintained the buildings and grounds and handled property management.…
CCA 200150012: Stock-linked payments were not deductible interest
A company issued instruments that made quarterly payments and paid an amount at maturity tied to another company's stock, which the issuer also owned. The issuer treated part of each instrument as…
CCA 200150011: Railroad lease transaction lacked economic substance
A taxpayer's affiliate entered a long headlease of railroad equipment and leased it back, financing much of the advance rent with loans supported by matching deposits. Chief Counsel advised that the…
CCA 200150010: Invalid assessment did not establish zero tax liability
Chief Counsel clarified earlier advice about an assessment made during a bankruptcy case. It had concluded that the current assessment for a tax year was invalid and that an appeals officer should…
PLR 200150009: Corporate restructuring preserved carryovers and built-in gains tax
A corporate group proposed moving foreign sales corporation stock to a subsidiary, placing several corporations under a new S corporation, and electing qualified subchapter S subsidiary status for…
CCA 200150008: Receivables marked to market for one year, not the next
A consolidated group's subsidiary sold product receivables to an affiliated company that claimed mark to market losses. Chief Counsel advised that, for the earlier tax year, the affiliate had to…
CCA 200150007: Erroneously released tax lien could be reinstated
A debtor received a bankruptcy discharge, but federal tax liens remained attached to property she owned before the bankruptcy. Some lien notices later released themselves in error during a…
CCA 200150006: Business became a railroad employer in December 2000
The Railroad Retirement Board told the IRS that a business became an employer under the Railroad Retirement Act and Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act on December 31, 2000. After reviewing the…
CCA 200150005: Business became a railroad employer in November 2000
The Railroad Retirement Board told the IRS that a business became an employer under the Railroad Retirement Act and Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act on November 28, 2000. After reviewing the…
CCA 200150004: Vehicle engine fuel did not qualify for off-highway refund
An equipment lessor asked whether a device measuring diesel fuel consumed by a highway vehicle during business use on private property supported a fuel tax refund. The IRS declined to issue a letter…
TAM 200150003: Two trust beneficiaries fall two generations below the transferor
A decedent left separate trusts for three daughters of his father's stepchild. The IRS was asked how to assign two of the daughters to a generation for generation-skipping transfer tax purposes.…
PLR 200150002: Company may make a late S corporation election
A company and its shareholders intended it to be an S corporation from its incorporation date, but they did not file Form 2553 for that effective date. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late…
CCA 200150001: Counsel analyzes a claimed stock loss from lease stripping transactions
Chief Counsel advised field attorneys about a corporation's claimed capital loss on stock acquired through a series of transactions involving lease stripping and a purported § 351 exchange. It…
CCA 200149034: Welfare agency agents use their own EIN on employment tax forms
State and local welfare agencies can act as employment tax agents for recipients who employ workers providing services in their homes. Chief Counsel advised how an authorized agent under § 3504…
CCA 200149033: Counsel addresses estate tax liens on business personal property
Chief Counsel answered collection questions about a special estate tax lien securing possible recapture of the § 2057 deduction for a family-owned business interest. A notice covering personal…
CCA 200149032: A late return does not restart the collection period after assessment
Chief Counsel addressed a taxpayer who did not file an income tax return, after which the IRS prepared a substitute return and assessed a deficiency. The taxpayer later filed a return showing less…
PLR 200149031: Irish reinsurer qualifies for treaty relief from insurance excise tax
An Irish reinsurer asked for a ruling and closing agreement concerning the federal excise tax on premiums for reinsurance of U.S. risks. Its shares were owned by a Canadian company whose principal…
PLR 200149030: School system employees may exclude qualified tuition benefits
A religious corporation operated a school system through its own activities, a controlled subsidiary, and affiliated parish corporations. The IRS concluded that the school system was an educational…
PLR 200149029: Late S corporation election may take effect from incorporation
A corporation's sole shareholder intended S corporation treatment from the date of incorporation and believed an election had been made, but Form 2553 was filed late. The IRS ruled under §…
CCA 200149028: Counsel rejects two interest claims after tax adjustments
A corporation disputed interest calculations after tax abatements, carrybacks, and later deficiencies changed its account balances. Chief Counsel concluded that the corporation was not entitled to…
PLR 200149027: Possible S corporation termination from conversion was inadvertent
An S corporation converted to a state law limited partnership and elected corporate tax treatment. The conversion might have created a second class of stock, which would terminate its S election.…
PLR 200149026: Company receives conditional relief for late S election
A company's sole shareholder intended S corporation treatment for its first tax year, and correspondence with its accountant supported that intent. The company did not file Form 2553 on time. The…
CCA 200149025: Business became a Railroad Retirement Tax Act employer
The Railroad Retirement Board told the IRS that a redacted business became an employer under the Railroad Retirement Act and Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act on January 3, 2001. Chief Counsel…
CCA 200149024: Business remains a Railroad Retirement Tax Act employer
A redacted business asked the Railroad Retirement Board to reconsider whether it remained an employer under the Railroad Retirement Act and Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act. The Board gave its…
CCA 200149023: U.S. subsidiary was not a dual resident corporation
A U.S. corporation's losses reduced the taxable income of its parent in a foreign country under permission from that country's tax authorities. Chief Counsel considered whether that made the U.S.…
CCA 200149022: Business ceased Railroad Retirement Tax Act employer status
The Railroad Retirement Board told the IRS that a redacted business ceased being an employer under the Railroad Retirement Act and Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act effective January 22, 1999.…
PLR 200149021: Parent receives more time to elect dual consolidated loss relief
A parent corporation included a subsidiary's losses in its U.S. consolidated returns but did not file the election and agreement for relief under the dual consolidated loss rules. Its officers and…
PLR 200149020: Planned stock redemption leaves prior distribution rulings intact
Taxpayers requested a supplemental ruling about a planned redemption of shares in a controlled company following a transaction covered by an earlier IRS ruling. The company would redeem all shares…
CCA 200149019: Counsel analyzes assigned licensing income and FSC commissions
A U.S. corporation purported to contribute rights to licensing fees to a partnership, which then reported the income and deductions for foreign sales corporation commissions. Chief Counsel advised…
PLR 200149018: Late S corporation election receives first-year relief
A company with one shareholder intended to be an S corporation from the start of a specified tax year but discovered that it had not filed its election on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for…
CCA 200149017: Inventory basis uses spot exchange rate after transfer pricing review
A U.S. subsidiary bought inventory from its foreign parent under a pricing arrangement tied to historical exchange rates. Chief Counsel advised that § 482 applies to those controlled purchases and…
PLR 200149016: Separate trust accounts support deductible charitable annuities
A settlor proposed two gifts to a trust that would make specified annual payments to a charitable institution and later benefit the settlor's descendants. Each gift would be held, invested, and…
PLR 200149015: Disclaimer can send an estate share to a family foundation
A decedent's child proposed to disclaim most of a share of the residuary estate, causing that share to pass to a family foundation. The child was also a foundation trustee, so the foundation planned…
CCA 200149014: IRS should release a frozen tentative carryback refund
A corporation sought a tentative refund after carrying back a net operating loss. An examiner later proposed disallowing much of the loss, and the IRS froze the refund while the dispute went to…
PLR 200149013: Bankruptcy settlement trust qualifies as a taxable settlement fund
A reorganized manufacturer transferred stock, cash, insurance proceeds, and other rights to a court supervised trust that would pay product liability claims. The IRS ruled that the trust was a…
PLR 200149012: IRS revokes an earlier communications excise tax ruling
The IRS revoked a 1985 letter ruling about whether certain communications services were exempt from the excise tax imposed by § 4251 under § 4253(f). The revocation took effect October 1, 2001. This…
CCA 200149011: Federal tax lien follows funds deposited with a state court
The IRS had assessed unpaid employment taxes against a contractor involved in an asbestos cleanup dispute. Money connected to the dispute was deposited with a state court and then with a bank, which…
CCA 200149010: Executor may request innocent spouse relief for a deceased spouse
An executor filed a request for relief from joint tax liability on behalf of a deceased spouse. The liabilities arose from adjustments to joint returns filed with the spouse's late husband. Chief…
CCA 200149009: Health insurer deduction is calculated for each group member
A consolidated group contained two organizations eligible for the deduction under § 833 and other companies. Chief Counsel advised that each eligible organization must calculate its own deduction…
CCA 200149008: Bankruptcy plan misstates consolidated loss reduction
Chief Counsel reviewed the tax discussion in a debtor's proposed Chapter 11 reorganization plan. The disclosure statement proposed reducing each debtor's tax attributes separately after excluded…
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.