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 200134019: Late S corporation election accepted for reasonable cause
A corporation intended to be taxed as an S corporation but discovered that it had not filed its election on time. It represented that it had one shareholder. The IRS found reasonable cause for the…
PLR 200134018: Late S corporation election relief granted
A corporation's shareholder intended it to be an S corporation from a stated effective date, but the election was filed late. The IRS found reasonable cause for the delay and granted relief under §…
PLR 200134017: Fuel credit rulings continue after conversion to LLC
A company asked whether its earlier private letter ruling on § 29 fuel production credits would continue to apply after it converted from a corporation to a limited liability company. It represented…
PLR 200134016: Late S election accepted for corporation with four shareholders
A corporation with four shareholders intended to be an S corporation from its formation but discovered that Form 2553 had not been filed on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed…
PLR 200134015: Extension granted for stock purchase election
An S corporation bought all the stock of a corporation in a seller's consolidated group. The buyer and seller's parent intended to make a joint § 338(h)(10) election, which treats a qualifying stock…
PLR 200134014: Business split between two shareholders qualifies as reorganization
Two related shareholders disagreed about managing a corporation's businesses, and the disagreement disrupted operations. The corporation proposed transferring part of its business assets to a new…
PLR 200134013: Late accounting period application treated as timely
An individual sought to change her tax year end from December 31 to September 30 but filed Form 1128 after its deadline. The application was filed within 90 days after the due date, and the delay…
PLR 200134012: Partitioned trust keeps generation-skipping tax exemption
A trustee proposed dividing a trust into three equal successor trusts, one for each of a deceased income beneficiary's children and their descendants. The original trust was treated as irrevocable…
PLR 200134011: Green card surrender not for tax avoidance
A retired former long-term U.S. resident returned to the country where he was born and surrendered his green card. His net worth exceeded the threshold that could trigger a presumption of tax…
PLR 200134010: Shareholder split-off qualifies as Type D reorganization
Shareholders of a corporation disagreed over management and expansion of its business. To let one shareholder and the other family shareholders operate separately, the corporation proposed…
PLR 200134009: Extension granted for S corporation stock purchase election
A corporate purchaser bought all the stock of an S corporation and intended to join the sellers in making a § 338(h)(10) election, but the election was not filed by its deadline. A tax professional…
CCA 200134008: Benefits liability transfer fails section 351 and yields no deduction
A corporate parent transferred a subsidiary's note to another subsidiary in exchange for preferred stock and the subsidiary's assumption of employee benefit liabilities. The parent then sold the…
TAM 200134007: U.S. interest allocation reduces Canadian income for credit limit
A U.S. consolidated group earned income through Canadian permanent establishments and received dividends from a Canadian corporation. It treated worldwide interest expense as reducing only U.S.…
CCA 200134006: Casualty-damaged housing units lose current credits during repairs
Chief Counsel reviewed informal guidance on casualty damage to low-income housing tax credit properties. It agreed that casualty loss should follow generally accepted tax principles and said up to…
TAM 200134005: Uncollectible interest excluded from bank's accounting adjustment
A bank changed how it accounted for interest on nonperforming loans and calculated an adjustment for interest it had not previously reported. The IRS advised that the adjustment cannot include…
CCA 200134004: Perpetual bank securities treated as equity under former passive-asset rule
A U.S. corporate group used a foreign subsidiary to buy perpetual securities in an unrelated foreign bank. It sought to keep earnings invested in an active business rather than passive assets that…
CCA 200134003: Partners cannot reopen partnership notice deadline in penalty case
Partners disputed negligence and valuation overstatement penalties arising from a partnership tax shelter. Chief Counsel advised that they could not challenge the timeliness of the partnership…
CCA 200134002: Lease stripping transactions lack economic substance
Chief Counsel reviewed a series of lease stripping transactions in which a promoter arranged prepaid lease transactions and later transfers of leasehold positions for preferred stock. The advice…
CCA 200134001: Erroneous retirement contributions do not create employee income
A school district mistakenly directed employee retirement contributions to one qualified plan instead of another plan with different FICA treatment. The IRS advised that employees did not…
PLR 200133051: Excess benefit plan does not disqualify pension plan
A collectively bargained multiemployer pension plan proposed a separate, nonqualified excess benefit plan for benefits limited by § 415. The IRS ruled that creating and funding the excess benefit…
PLR 200133050: Employer may return certain nondeductible pension contributions
The IRS reviewed a defined benefit pension plan's request to return employer contributions made for a plan year. It ruled that contributions up to $49,756 could be treated as disallowed, to the…
PLR 200133049: Superseding ruling permits return of pension contributions
The IRS issued a superseding ruling for a defined benefit pension plan and considered whether employer contributions could be returned under Rev. Proc. 90-49. It ruled that contributions totaling no…
PLR 200133048: Private foundation may transfer all assets to a related foundation
A private foundation planned to transfer all of its assets to another private foundation with the same charitable purposes and the same board of directors. The IRS ruled that the transfer qualified…
PLR 200133047: Multiemployer benefit trust fails the welfare fund exception
A trust serving about 200 employers asked the IRS to treat its death and severance benefit arrangements as a single welfare benefit plan eligible for the ten or more employer exception under §…
PLR 200133046: Former resident rebuts presumption of tax motivated expatriation
A former long-term U.S. resident asked whether surrendering his green card had a principal purpose of avoiding U.S. income, estate, or gift taxes. He had returned to his birth country to manage a…
CCA 200133045: Interest depends on whether returned offer funds are tax payments or deposits
Chief Counsel addressed when the IRS owes interest on money returned in connection with an offer in compromise. An installment agreement payment made after the IRS accepts an offer is a tax…
CCA 200133044: Formal installments do not apply to a lien surviving bankruptcy discharge
Chief Counsel considered how the IRS could collect the value of property that a debtor exempted from a bankruptcy estate when a federal tax lien survived discharge of the underlying tax debt. The…
CCA 200133043: Field Specialists team managers may sign assessment period extensions
Chief Counsel reviewed whether an IRS Financial Products Field Specialists team manager had authority to sign a taxpayer's consent extending the period for assessing tax. IRS reorganization had…
CCA 200133042: Select special deposit cases by collection prospects and repeated nonpayment
Chief Counsel reviewed local guidance for using the IRS Trust Fund Compliance Initiative against businesses that repeatedly fail to pay employment taxes. The initiative can require monthly returns…
CCA 200133041: Corporate employees need proper authority to receive tax information
Chief Counsel explained when IRS agents examining a corporation may disclose its returns or tax information to officers and employees. Certain high level officers may receive the information under §…
CCA 200133040: IRS may seek future home sale proceeds in a tax compromise
Chief Counsel considered an offer in compromise from an elderly couple whose home had enough equity to pay their tax debt, but whose seizure would cause economic hardship. The IRS asked whether it…
PLR 200133039: Former resident's departure lacked a principal tax avoidance purpose
A former long-term U.S. resident surrendered her green card after she and her retired husband returned to her birth country. Her net worth exceeded the threshold that could trigger a presumption of…
PLR 200133038: LLC receives more time to elect disregarded entity status
A corporation formed an LLC that initially elected to be taxed as a corporation. The LLC later intended to elect treatment as an entity disregarded from its owner, but it did not file Form 8832 on…
PLR 200133037: City payment for gas line relocation qualifies as capital contribution
A city planned a bus transfer facility and required a gas utility to move a transmission line away from the site for public safety. The city agreed to pay the utility for the relocation. The utility…
PLR 200133036: Payment to move power lines qualifies as capital contribution
A county required an added traffic lane near a new building to improve safety and traffic flow. An electric utility had to move its power lines underground so the lane could be built, and the…
PLR 200133035: Proposed acquisition does not enter spin-off plan analysis
A company planned to distribute its subsidiary's stock and had received an earlier ruling on that spin-off. After announcing the spin-off, the company suffered severe financial losses and began…
PLR 200133034: Business division spin-off qualifies for tax-free treatment
An S corporation planned to move a long-running division into a new corporation and distribute the new company's stock to its shareholders. It said separate ownership would let two key employees buy…
PLR 200133033: Parent gets more time to file stock purchase election
A corporate group bought a foreign target and intended to make a § 338(g) election for that acquisition and deemed acquisitions of the target's affiliates. The election was not filed on time, so the…
PLR 200133032: Parent receives extension for late section 338 election
A corporate group bought all the stock of a foreign corporation and intended to make a § 338(g) election for that purchase. The parent missed the election deadline and requested more time. The IRS…
PLR 200133031: Company receives relief for late S corporation and subsidiary elections
A company intended to be an S corporation from its first tax year and to treat a wholly owned subsidiary as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary. It missed both election filings and requested relief.…
PLR 200133030: Proposed asset buyer and sellers are not related under section 1239
An LLC owned equally by a husband and wife planned to buy a sand extraction business and related real estate from a corporation and family members connected to the husband's brother. It asked…
PLR 200133029: Insurer receives more time to elect alternative tax
An insurer's accounting firm prepared an exempt organization return after concluding that the insurer qualified under § 501(c)(15). The firm had incorrectly reduced net written premiums by unearned…
CCA 200133028: Tax compromise does not automatically release separate mortgage
A taxpayer gave the IRS a mortgage on a new home under a collateral agreement after the IRS discharged a tax lien on a home she sold. She later offered to compromise her tax debts on the condition…
PLR 200133027: Former resident rebuts expatriation tax presumption
A former long-term U.S. resident returned to his birth country and surrendered his green card. His net worth exceeded the threshold that triggered a presumption that avoiding U.S. tax was a…
PLR 200133026: Former resident establishes no principal expatriation tax avoidance purpose
A former long-term U.S. resident relinquished his permanent resident status and asked whether avoiding U.S. taxes was a principal purpose of that decision. His net worth exceeded the threshold that…
PLR 200133025: Company receives relief for missing S corporation election
A newly incorporated company intended to be an S corporation from its first tax year but did not file Form 2553. It filed an S corporation return, and its shareholders filed returns consistent with…
PLR 200133024: Former resident avoids expatriation tax presumption
A long-term U.S. resident surrendered her permanent resident status and requested a ruling that avoiding U.S. taxes was not a principal purpose. Her net worth exceeded the threshold that could…
PLR 200133023: Former resident avoids expatriation tax presumption
A former long-term U.S. resident surrendered his permanent resident status and sought a ruling that he did not leave principally to avoid U.S. taxes. His net worth exceeded the threshold that could…
PLR 200133022: Former resident establishes no expatriation tax avoidance purpose
A former U.S. permanent resident asked whether giving up her residency had a principal purpose of avoiding U.S. taxes. Her net worth exceeded the threshold for a presumption of tax avoidance. She…
PLR 200133021: Former resident establishes no expatriation tax avoidance purpose
A former U.S. permanent resident requested a ruling that giving up his residency did not have a principal purpose of avoiding U.S. taxes. His net worth exceeded the threshold for a presumption of…
PLR 200133020: Mutual insurer may revoke its section 831(b) election
A small mutual insurer had elected to be taxed only on investment income under § 831(b). After merging with another insurer, it expanded its geographic area, increased policy limits, retained more…
PLR 200133019: Active rental income does not count as passive investment income
A corporation planning to elect S corporation status owned or managed numerous rental properties through its group. Its personnel negotiated leases, responded to tenants, maintained common areas,…
PLR 200133018: Foreign company gets more time to elect disregarded status
A foreign company with one owner intended to elect treatment as an entity disregarded from its owner for federal tax purposes, effective when it was formed. It failed to file the entity…
CCA 200133017: Related-party stock loss lacked economic substance
A corporate group moved notes and risk-management obligations among subsidiaries, then sold preferred stock in one subsidiary to employees and reported a capital loss. The group said the arrangement…
PLR 200133016: Brothers may split their stores through a tax-free reorganization
Two brothers owned an S corporation that operated stores, but disputes were affecting its operations. The corporation proposed separating one store into a subsidiary and distributing that…
PLR 200133015: Estate gets 30 days to make missed QTIP election
A decedent's will established a trust for the surviving spouse and directed the executor to make elections needed for the estate tax marital deduction. The estate's attorney prepared the estate tax…
CCA 200133014: Shareholder-approved options qualify as performance-based pay
A corporation conditionally granted stock options to an executive before shareholders approved an increase in the shares available under its incentive plan. The plan did not state a per-employee…
CCA 200133013: Intercompany receivables treated as equity for currency loss claim
A U.S. parent supplied inventory on credit to a wholly owned foreign subsidiary that had cash flow problems. The receivables were later converted into the subsidiary's stock, and the group claimed…
PLR 200133012: Late request to change tax year treated as timely
A taxpayer wanted to change its tax year from one ending July 31 to one ending September 30. Its Form 1128 application was late because of a misunderstanding, but it was filed within 90 days of the…
PLR 200133011: Public company may spin off a business and adjust employee options
A widely held corporation planned to separate one business from its corporate group. It had contributed that business to a subsidiary, completed a public offering of part of the subsidiary's stock,…
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.