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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Partnership receives more time to attach accounting-method application
A partnership sought an automatic accounting-method change for expenses related to price-protection rebates. Its accounting firm timely sent a copy of Form 3115 to the IRS National Office and…
Film producer receives more time for income-forecast basis elections
A partnership producing motion pictures used the income forecast depreciation method for films placed in service during the year. It intended to elect under section 167(g)(7) to include expected…
Tax-exempt-controlled corporation receives relief for a late section 168 election
A C corporation wholly owned by a tax-exempt parent served as the general partner of a real-estate partnership. It intended to elect under section 168(h)(6)(F)(ii) not to be treated as a tax-exempt…
Property LLC receives late corporate and taxable REIT subsidiary elections
A real estate investment trust indirectly owned an LLC holding one of its properties. After discovering facts about the property that could create risk for REIT status, the taxpayers sought to…
Corporation receives relief to file a late IC-DISC election
A domestic corporation intended to be treated as an interest charge domestic international sales corporation, or IC-DISC, from its formation. Its attorney agreed to prepare Form 4876-A but later…
Taxpayer receives relief for a late success-based fee election statement
A taxpayer paid success-based fees in connection with a corporate acquisition and intended to use the safe harbor in Revenue Procedure 2011-29. Its return treated 70 percent of the fees as currently…
Taxpayer receives relief for a late success-based fee election statement
A taxpayer paid a success-based fee in connection with a corporate acquisition and intended to use the safe harbor in Revenue Procedure 2011-29. Its return treated 70 percent of the fee as a section…
Foreign entity receives late corporate classification election relief
A foreign eligible entity intended to elect association status so it would be taxed as a corporation, but it failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS concluded that the entity met the standards for…
Foreign entity receives late corporate classification election relief
A foreign eligible entity intended to elect association status so it would be taxed as a corporation, but it failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS concluded that the entity met the standards for…
Foreign entity receives late disregarded-entity election relief
A foreign eligible entity intended to elect disregarded-entity status from the date it was organized, but it failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS concluded that the entity met the standards for…
Entity receives late disregarded-entity election relief
An eligible entity intended to elect disregarded-entity status but failed to file Form 8832 on time. It represented that it acted reasonably and in good faith, did not rely on hindsight, and would…
LLC receives late corporate classification and S election relief
A limited liability company intended to be taxed as a corporation and as an S corporation from a specified date, but neither Form 8832 nor Form 2553 was timely filed. The company represented that…
Foreign entity receives late partnership classification election relief
A foreign eligible entity with three U.S. individual owners was classified by default as an association and failed to timely elect partnership status before later merging into another foreign…
Late environmental-remediation elections receive relief
A limited partnership incurred environmental-remediation costs while developing a low-income housing project under a state brownfield program. Its tax preparer capitalized the costs and failed to…
Corporate group gets more time to complete its consolidated-return election
A corporate parent intended to elect consolidated-return treatment for itself and nine subsidiaries, but a valid election was not filed by the return due date. The parent requested discretionary…
Partnership gets 120 days to make a late section 754 election
A limited liability company taxed as a partnership failed to make a section 754 election for the year in which one of its members died. It represented that it had acted reasonably and in good faith…
Married taxpayers get 60 days to recharacterize excess Roth IRA contributions
A married couple made monthly contributions to several Roth IRAs, then learned that their income had exceeded the eligibility limits in multiple years and that one earlier contribution exceeded the…
REIT receives late-election relief for an indirectly owned taxable subsidiary
A real estate investment trust indirectly acquired an interest in a corporation when a tower-company acquisition changed from an asset purchase to a stock purchase. The REIT’s tax professionals were…
Former parent and spun-off subsidiary get 60 days to apportion a section 382 limit
A parent corporation distributed a subsidiary in a tax-free spin-off, after which the subsidiary became the parent of its own consolidated group. The former parent group had a consolidated section…
Taxpayer gets 60 days to attach a success-based-fee safe-harbor election
A taxpayer paid success-based fees in an asset acquisition and reported them using Revenue Procedure 2011-29’s safe harbor, deducting 70 percent and capitalizing 30 percent. Its timely electronic…
Taxpayer receives 45 days to file a success-fee safe-harbor statement
A consolidated group acquired a target corporation in a covered stock transaction, and the target paid a success-based advisory fee. The group's timely return treated 70 percent of the fee as…
Foreign stock purchaser receives more time for a section 338 election
A U.S. parent corporation's controlled foreign corporation acquired all the stock of an unrelated foreign target for cash. The parent intended to make a section 338(g) election, and the relevant…
Oil and gas company receives more time for an IDC amortization election
An onshore oil and gas company intended to elect under section 59(e) to deduct its intangible drilling and development costs ratably over sixty months. It failed to make the election by the original…
Tax-exempt controlled entity receives late-election relief
A corporation wholly owned by a tax-exempt entity was a tax-exempt controlled entity and served as the general partner of a partnership holding real property. It intended to elect under section…
Corporation receives 60 days for a tax-exempt controlled entity election
A corporation partly owned and controlled by a tax-exempt shareholder was a tax-exempt controlled entity and served as the general partner of a partnership holding real property. It intended to…
Indirectly controlled corporation receives late-election relief
A corporation indirectly controlled through a parent by a tax-exempt organization was a tax-exempt controlled entity and served as the general partner of a partnership holding real property. It…
Wholly owned corporation receives late-election relief
A corporation wholly owned by a tax-exempt entity was a tax-exempt controlled entity and served as the general partner of a partnership. It intended to elect under section 168(h)(6)(F)(ii) not to be…
Tax-exempt parent's subsidiary receives late-election relief
A corporation wholly owned by a tax-exempt parent was a tax-exempt controlled entity and served as the general partner of a partnership holding real property. It intended to elect under section…
Trustees receive 120 days to correct GST exemption allocations
Two decedents created irrevocable trusts for their son, daughter, and descendants and also made gifts to separate trusts for grandchildren. Their accountants incorrectly allocated…
Foreign entity receives 120 days for a disregarded-entity election
A foreign eligible entity wanted to be treated as disregarded from its single owner for federal tax purposes but failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS found that the entity satisfied the…
Consolidated group receives 60 days for an ADS election
An affiliated corporate group had net operating losses that were about to expire and decided to elect the alternative depreciation system for all tangible depreciable property placed in service…
Partnership receives 120 days for a late section 754 election
A partnership intended to make a section 754 election after a partner died and the partnership interest passed to the partner's estate. The partnership omitted the formal election statement, but its…
Reporting errors justify late Roth IRA recharacterization
A retiree intended to place the pretax portion of a retirement-plan distribution in a traditional IRA and the after-tax portion in a Roth IRA. Successive plan recordkeepers overstated her after-tax…
LLC receives late corporate and S elections
A single-member LLC intended to be treated as an S corporation from a specified date, but timely filed neither Form 8832 nor Form 2553. The LLC represented that it acted reasonably and in good…
Estate receives 45 days to make late debt election
A deceased taxpayer had owned an interest in a partnership whose commercial-property debt was reduced. The partnership and its adviser intended the partners to elect the qualified real property…
Partner receives 45 days to make late debt election
An individual partner held an interest in a partnership whose commercial-property debt was reduced. The partnership and its adviser intended the partners to elect the qualified real property…
Partner receives 45 days to make late debt election
An individual partner held an interest in a partnership whose commercial-property debt was reduced. The partnership and its adviser intended the partners to elect the qualified real property…
Partner receives 45 days to make late debt election
An individual partner held an interest in a partnership whose commercial-property debt was reduced. The partnership and its adviser intended the partners to elect the qualified real property…
Trust receives 45 days to make late debt election
A trust partner held an interest in a partnership whose commercial-property debt was reduced. The partnership and its adviser intended the partners to elect the qualified real property business…
Grantor trust receives 45 days to make late debt election
A grantor trust held an interest in a partnership whose commercial-property debt was reduced, with the grantor reporting the trust's tax items. The partnership and its adviser intended the partners…
Tax-exempt controlled entity receives late section 168 election relief
A corporation indirectly controlled by a section 501(c)(4) organization was a tax-exempt controlled entity and served as general partner of a partnership holding real property. It intended to elect…
Tax-exempt controlled entity receives late section 168 election relief
A corporation indirectly controlled by a section 501(c)(4) organization was a tax-exempt controlled entity and served as general partner of a partnership holding real property. It intended to elect…
Tax-exempt controlled entity receives late section 168 election relief
A corporation indirectly controlled by a section 501(c)(4) organization was a tax-exempt controlled entity and served as general partner of a partnership holding real property. It intended to elect…
Corporation receives 60 days to make late section 168 election
A corporation wholly owned through tax-exempt section 501(c)(4) organizations was a tax-exempt controlled entity and served as general partner of a real-estate partnership. The partnership agreement…
Partnership receives 120 days to make late section 754 election
A limited liability company treated as a partnership intended to make an IRC § 754 election after one owner transferred an interest to another person. The partnership inadvertently omitted the…
Four partnerships receive extra time for LIFO elections
A holding company had used the last-in, first-out inventory method for itself and four disregarded subsidiaries. When profits interests vested, the subsidiaries became partnerships and began filing…
Late foreign earned income exclusion election allowed
A U.S. citizen worked for a company at several locations in a foreign country. The taxpayer did not timely file Form 2555 or Form 2555-EZ to elect the foreign earned income exclusion under IRC §…
Late tax-exempt controlled entity election allowed
A C corporation was majority owned through an organization exempt under IRC § 501(c)(4), making the corporation a tax-exempt controlled entity for depreciation purposes. As the general partner of a…
Closed tax year does not bar late controlled-entity election
A C corporation majority owned by an organization exempt under IRC § 501(c)(4) was a tax-exempt controlled entity for depreciation purposes. As the general partner of a real-estate partnership, it…
Foreign entity receives late disregarded-status election
A foreign entity was formed through an acquisition and merger and converted into a limited entity owned within a U.S. consolidated group. It intended to be treated as disregarded from a specified…
Late S termination-year allocation election allowed
An S corporation revoked its election during a tax year, dividing that year into an S short year and a C short year. It intended to elect under IRC § 1362(e)(3) not to use the default daily pro rata…
Foreign parent entity receives late disregarded-status election
A foreign entity was formed within a corporate chain ultimately owned by the parent of a U.S. consolidated group. The entity and two related foreign entities intended to be treated as disregarded…
Foreign acquisition entity receives late disregarded-status election
A foreign entity was formed to acquire another business within a corporate chain ultimately owned by the parent of a U.S. consolidated group. It and two related foreign entities intended to be…
Late Forms 3115 allowed after missed return extension
A consolidated group's subsidiary changed two LIFO inventory submethods and one capitalization method under IRC § 263A. The parent intended to extend its consolidated return but failed to file Form…
Consolidated group may make late intercompany regulation election
A consolidated group had deferred gains from two stockless mergers completed before the 1995 intercompany transaction regulations took effect. It failed to make the transition election that would…
Entity receives late disregarded-status election
An eligible entity intended to be treated as disregarded for federal tax purposes from a specified date but did not file Form 8832. It requested discretionary relief under the regulations governing…
New parent group may make late consolidated return election
A corporation acquired the former common parent of a consolidated group through a subsidiary, terminating the former group and bringing its members into a new parent group. The new group failed to…
Late Roth IRA recharacterization relief granted after reporting errors
An employee made both pre-tax and after-tax contributions to an employer plan. Two recordkeepers overstated the after-tax amount on successive Forms 1099-R, causing part of the employee's pre-tax…
Fraud-hidden Roth IRA loss supports late recharacterization
An IRA owner converted a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA and then invested part of the Roth account through an adviser in commodity-pool investments. The investment manager allegedly issued false…
Tax-exempt controlled entity receives late-election relief
A corporation controlled by a tax-exempt organization intended to elect out of treatment as a tax-exempt controlled entity under IRC § 168(h)(6)(F)(ii), but its return preparer did not attach 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.