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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Late portability election allowed so surviving spouse can use decedent's unused estate-tax exclusion
When someone dies without using all of their federal estate-tax exclusion, the leftover ("deceased spousal unused exclusion," or DSUE) can pass to the surviving spouse, but only if the estate makes…
Extra time granted to elect 10-year write-off of research costs
A corporation that heads a consolidated group of companies wanted to spread its research and experimental (R&E) costs for one tax year as a deduction over 10 years, an option allowed by IRC § 59(e).…
Fund gets more time to file the forms for a deficiency dividend deduction after its accountant missed the filing
Two regulated investment companies (RICs, essentially mutual funds) run by the same management firm combined when one merged into the other in a tax-free reorganization, closing the absorbed fund's…
Fund gets more time to file the forms for a deficiency dividend deduction after its accountant missed the filing
Two regulated investment companies (RICs, essentially mutual funds) run by the same management firm combined when one merged into the other in a tax-free reorganization, closing the absorbed fund's…
S corporation preserved after a trust missed its ESBT election
An S corporation's stock passed through a chain of trusts after its sole shareholder died. While that shareholder was alive, a grantor trust held the shares and qualified as an eligible S…
S corporation preserved after a trust missed its QSST election
An S corporation's stock passed through a chain of trusts after its sole shareholder died. While that shareholder was alive, a grantor trust held the shares and qualified as an eligible S…
S corporation saved after three trusts filed defective QSST elections
An S corporation's shares moved through a series of trusts after its original shareholder died. When that shareholder died, a grantor trust holding the stock stopped qualifying automatically, and…
Estate gets extra time to make a late portability election for the surviving spouse
When one spouse dies without using up the full estate-and-gift tax exclusion, the leftover amount (the "deceased spousal unused exclusion," or DSUE) can be transferred to the surviving spouse, but…
Estate gets more time to steer its GST tax exemption to the grandchild's charitable trust
When a donor died, the residue of her revocable trust was split equally among three charitable remainder annuity trusts (CRATs), one each connected to her son, daughter, and grandson. All three…
S corporation's accidental termination excused after a trust missed its ESBT election deadline
An S corporation had a trust as one of its shareholders. While the trust's original owner was alive, the trust was a grantor trust wholly owned by that person, which made it a permissible S…
High school scholarship procedures approved
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve, in advance, the way it awards a scholarship, so that the payments would not count as "taxable expenditures" that trigger excise tax under section 4945.…
IRS denies 501(c)(6) business-league status to a common-area maintenance association for a development
An association was set up under a development's declaration of easements, covenants, conditions, and restrictions to own and maintain the common areas of one area (Area 4) of the development. Its…
IRS denies 501(c)(6) business-league status to a common-area maintenance association for a development
An association was set up under a development's declaration of easements, covenants, conditions, and restrictions to own and maintain the common areas of one area (Area 3) of the development. Its…
IRS denies 501(c)(6) business-league status to a common-area maintenance association for a development
An association was set up under a development's declaration of easements, covenants, conditions, and restrictions to own and maintain the common areas of one area (Area 2) of the development. Its…
IRS denies 501(c)(6) business-league status to a common-area maintenance association for a development
An association was set up under a development's declaration of easements, covenants, conditions, and restrictions to own and maintain the common areas of one area of the development. Its members are…
IRS denies 501(c)(4) status to an ethnic mutual-aid society that pays members' funeral costs
A mutual-aid society formed by a group of friends of the same ethnic background, all immigrants from one country, applied to be recognized as a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization. Its main…
IRS denies 501(c)(3) status to a high school class fund set up to pay for reunions
A group formed by a high school graduating class's student government committee applied for 501(c)(3) status using the short Form 1023-EZ, claiming an educational purpose. During high school the…
IRS denies 501(c)(12) status to a statewide insurance risk-sharing pool for water companies
An unincorporated association whose members are mutual water companies in one state applied to be recognized as tax-exempt under section 501(c)(12). That section exempts benevolent life insurance…
IRS revokes a cultural membership group's 501(c)(3) status for running only social activities and failing to keep records
A membership-based cultural and social organization had been recognized as a 501(c)(3) charity in 2009. On examination, the IRS found that the group operated almost entirely as a social club for its…
How the section 6700 penalty for promoting abusive tax shelters applies to false statements and gross valuation overstatements
This is internal Chief Counsel advice, written as an email answering a question about case guidance. It explains how the penalty in section 6700 works. That penalty applies to a person who…
An estate too small to require a return gets 120 days to make a late portability election passing the deceased spouse's unused exclusion to the survivor
When someone dies, any unused portion of their federal estate-and-gift-tax exclusion can be passed to a surviving spouse, but only if the estate makes a "portability" election on a timely filed…
Investment advisory fees pulled from an annuity's cash value are not an "amount received" by the owner under section 72(e)
A life insurance company wanted to offer three kinds of deferred annuity contracts (variable, fixed-indexed, and hybrid) designed to be managed with the help of an investment adviser. The owner…
Investment advisory fees pulled from an annuity's cash value are not an "amount received" by the owner under section 72(e)
A life insurance company wanted to offer three kinds of deferred annuity contracts (variable, fixed-indexed, and hybrid) designed to be managed with the help of an investment adviser. The owner…
An S corporation gets 120 days to make late check-the-box elections for five foreign subsidiaries
An S corporation owned five foreign entities and wanted to set how each is classified for U.S. tax purposes. Under the "check-the-box" rules, an eligible entity picks its classification by filing…
A foreign entity gets 120 days to file a late check-the-box election to be taxed as a partnership
A business entity formed under foreign law wanted to be treated as a partnership for U.S. tax purposes. Under the "check-the-box" rules, an eligible entity can choose its classification by filing…
A foreign entity gets 120 days to file a late check-the-box election to be treated as a disregarded entity
A business entity formed under foreign law wanted to be treated as a disregarded entity for U.S. tax purposes, meaning it would not be treated as separate from its single owner. Under the…
A foreign entity gets 120 days to file a late check-the-box election to be treated as a disregarded entity
A business entity formed under foreign law wanted to be treated as a disregarded entity for U.S. tax purposes, meaning it would not be treated as separate from its single owner. Under the…
A foreign entity gets 120 days to file a late check-the-box election to be taxed as a partnership
A business entity formed under foreign law wanted to be treated as a partnership for U.S. tax purposes. Under the "check-the-box" rules, an eligible entity can choose its classification by filing…
A foreign entity gets 120 days to file a late check-the-box election to be taxed as a partnership
A business entity formed under foreign law wanted to be treated as a partnership for U.S. tax purposes. Under the "check-the-box" rules, an eligible entity can choose its classification by filing…
Investment advisory fees paid out of an annuity's cash value are not a taxable distribution to the owner
A life insurance company wanted to offer deferred annuity contracts designed to be managed with the help of an investment adviser. The owner would authorize the company to pull the adviser's fees…
Investment advisory fees paid out of an annuity's cash value are not a taxable distribution to the owner
A life insurance company wanted to offer deferred annuity contracts designed to be managed with the help of an investment adviser. The owner would authorize the company to pull the adviser's fees…
An estate too small to require a return gets 120 days to make a late portability election passing the deceased spouse's unused exclusion to the survivor
When someone dies, any unused portion of their federal estate-and-gift-tax exclusion can be passed to a surviving spouse, but only if the estate makes a "portability" election on a timely filed…
An estate too small to require a return gets 120 days to make a late portability election passing the deceased spouse's unused exclusion to the survivor
When someone dies, any unused portion of their federal estate-and-gift-tax exclusion can be passed to a surviving spouse, but only if the estate makes a "portability" election on a timely filed…
A parent company gets 75 days to file a late election waiving the net-operating-loss carryback into its former consolidated group
A group of companies left one consolidated tax group (their former parent's) and began filing their own consolidated return under a new common parent. When a corporation that carries net operating…
IRS denies 501(c)(3) status to an adult volleyball club that mainly runs a recreational league
A club applied for recognition as a 501(c)(3) charity using the short Form 1023-EZ. Its stated purpose was to promote volleyball in its region by fielding teams, running local and regional leagues,…
The surviving company in a merger is the default agent that must sign consents extending the time to assess tax for a terminated consolidated group
When a group of related corporations files a single consolidated tax return, one entity, the "agent for the group," handles all dealings with the IRS for that year, including signing Form 872, the…
A public company's plan to split off one business into a new company through an IPO and exchange offer qualifies as a tax-free divisive reorganization
A publicly traded parent company wanted to separate one of its business lines into a standalone public company. To do it, the parent formed a new subsidiary ("Controlled"), contributed that business…
An estate too small to require a return gets 120 days to make a late portability election passing the deceased spouse's unused exclusion to the survivor
When someone dies, any unused portion of their federal estate-and-gift-tax exclusion can be passed to a surviving spouse, but only if the estate makes a "portability" election on a timely filed…
An S corporation gets 120 days to file the late QSub elections it forgot for two subsidiaries
An S corporation owned two lower-tier subsidiaries and intended to treat both as qualified subchapter S subsidiaries (QSubs). A QSub election makes a wholly owned subsidiary invisible for tax…
A private foundation gets 60 days to make late elections its preparer forgot, treating grants from another foundation as distributions out of corpus
A private foundation regularly received grants from another private foundation under agreements that required it to pass the money along and to make a specific tax election each year. That election,…
An S corporation election that failed for a missing ESBT election, a partnership shareholder, and no shareholder consents gets inadvertent-termination relief
A corporation tried to elect S corporation status but the election was invalid from the start for three reasons. Its shares were held by a trust and a partnership, both ineligible S corporation…
Third companion ruling on a family private foundation moving at least 80% of its assets, including a large bequest, to two related foundations tax-free
This is the third of three companion letters (control numbers PLR-116647-21, PLR-116648-21, and PLR-116649-21) issued the same day on a single transaction. A family-run grant-making private…
Companion ruling letting a family private foundation move at least 80% of its assets, including a large bequest, to two related foundations without termination or excise taxes
This ruling is a companion to PLR 202231006, issued the same day on the same transaction (the two letters carry consecutive control numbers, PLR-116648-21 and PLR-116647-21). A family-run…
A family private foundation can move at least 80% of its assets, including a large bequest, to two related family foundations without termination or excise taxes
A family-run grant-making private foundation expected to receive a large bequest from a deceased donor. It planned to transfer at least 80 percent of its assets, including that bequest, to two other…
Family foundation cleared to move most of its assets, including a large bequest, to two related foundations without triggering private-foundation excise taxes
A family controls three private foundations: an existing family foundation, a company foundation, and a newly created foundation. The family foundation expects a large bequest from a donor who died…
Supplemental spin-off ruling treats a bank debt-for-equity exchange, with a price "true-up," as tax-free under section 361
A corporation ("Distributing") had already received a private letter ruling that a planned separation of a subsidiary ("Controlled") would be a tax-free spin-off under sections 355 and 368. This…
Corporation granted 60 more days to make a late success-based-fee safe-harbor election its preparer omitted
A corporation acquired another company through a merger and paid its advisor a fee that was contingent on the deal closing, a "success-based fee." Under Rev. Proc. 2011-29, a taxpayer can elect a…
Parent corporation granted 75 more days to make a late election to file a consolidated return
A parent corporation that headed an affiliated group of companies missed the deadline to elect to file a single consolidated federal income tax return (with itself as the common parent) for one tax…
Partnership granted 60 more days to file the missing duplicate "Ogden copy" of its accounting-method-change application
A partnership wanted to change a depreciation-related accounting method using the IRS's automatic-consent procedures. To do that it files a Form 3115 (Application for Change in Accounting Method) in…
IRS pre-approves a foundation's grant program for illustrators and picture-book writers
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve, in advance, the procedures it uses to award educational grants to individuals. This step matters because a private foundation's grants to individuals…
IRS pre-approves a foundation's scholarship and issue-analysis grant programs
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve, in advance, two sets of procedures: one for awarding scholarships under section 4945(g)(1) and one for awarding educational grants to individuals under…
IRS revokes a dormant nonprofit's 501(c)(3) status for years of inactivity
The IRS revoked a nonprofit's recognition as a tax-exempt charity under section 501(c)(3). The organization had been incorporated to run educational and cultural programs, but an examination found…
IRS revokes a nonprofit's 501(c)(3) status after it failed to produce records for an audit
The IRS revoked a nonprofit's recognition as a tax-exempt charity under section 501(c)(3) because it did not cooperate with an examination. The organization had been recognized as a charity after…
IRS revokes a social club's 501(c)(7) exemption because it had no members and lived on rentals to the public
The IRS revoked a nonprofit's recognition as a tax-exempt social club under section 501(c)(7). The organization had started life as a 501(c)(2) title-holding company that simply owned a building;…
IRS denies 501(c)(4) status to a homeowners' group that maintains one private road for its own members
The IRS denied recognition as a tax-exempt social welfare organization under section 501(c)(4) to a group of homeowners formed as a mutual benefit corporation. Their sole purpose was to maintain and…
IRS revokes a 501(c)(7) club's exemption where it had no members and lived entirely on investment income
The IRS revoked an organization's recognition as a tax-exempt social club under section 501(c)(7). The group had been an alumni-support fund: it held the cash value of a former chapter house in an…
IRS denies 501(c)(3) status to a disc golf club because its recreational purpose is substantial
The IRS denied recognition as a tax-exempt charity under section 501(c)(3) to an organization that promotes disc golf in its local area. The group applied on Form 1023-EZ, claiming charitable and…
IRS finds a title-holding "social club" that runs public bingo does not qualify under 501(c)(7)
The IRS determined that an organization did not qualify as a tax-exempt social club under section 501(c)(7) for the years examined. The group had never filed an exemption application; it…
IRS revokes a charity's 501(c)(3) status after it sold its assets but never formally dissolved
The IRS revoked an organization's recognition as a tax-exempt charity under section 501(c)(3). The group had wound down its affairs: it sold all of its property, collected the sale proceeds in…
Each third-party contact notice must list the tax period, or a summons for that period may not be enforceable
This is an email of Chief Counsel Advice answering a revenue agent's question about third-party contact notices and summons enforcement. Before the IRS contacts someone other than the taxpayer (a…
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.