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 200126042: Government pension service credit payments receive partial pick-up relief
A government retirement system proposed to let employees buy additional service credit through irrevocable payroll deductions. The IRS ruled that contributions made after the employer adopted the…
PLR 200126041: Sons cannot inherit their father's IRA as designated beneficiaries
An IRA owner named his wife as his beneficiary, but she died before him. He did not name a replacement. After his death, his sons asked the IRS to treat them as designated beneficiaries because they…
PLR 200126040: Couple receives six months to reverse ineligible Roth IRA conversions
A married couple converted traditional IRAs to Roth IRAs for 1998 after receiving or misunderstanding advice that they could do so with income below $150,000. Their adjusted gross income exceeded…
PLR 200126039: Eldest child may use her life expectancy for inherited IRA distributions
An IRA owner named her three children as equal beneficiaries before her required beginning date. She died after that date, and the IRA was divided into separate inherited IRAs for the children. The…
PLR 200126038: Executor cannot complete IRA rollovers after surviving spouse dies
A man left two IRAs to his estate and named his wife as beneficiary of five others. After the wife died, their daughter, acting as executor of both estates, tried to roll IRA proceeds into an IRA…
PLR 200126037: Disability permits changes to early IRA payment schedule
A physician began taking substantially equal payments from his IRA before age 59½ after a kidney condition forced him to leave medical practice. He asked whether changing that payment schedule would…
PLR 200126036: Executor cannot name herself beneficiary of a deceased spouse's IRA
After both parents died, their daughter, as executor, opened an IRA in her deceased mother's name and named herself its beneficiary. She asked the IRS to recognize that designation and allow…
PLR 200126035: Hospital may receive surplus welfare plan assets without retroactive tax cost
A tax exempt hospital planned to fund benefits for the few remaining participants in its employee welfare association, then return the surplus assets to the hospital and terminate the association.…
PLR 200126034: Welfare association may return surplus assets to hospital sponsor
A tax exempt employee welfare association planned to fund a new plan for its few remaining participants, return its surplus assets to its hospital sponsor, and dissolve. The IRS ruled that this…
PLR 200126033: Cat care program preserves foundation exemption and supports grants
A private operating foundation that ran an entrepreneurship education program proposed adding a cat care and adoption center. It also planned supervised grants for veterinary and animal technician…
TAM 200126032: State university receives the full interest rate on employment tax refunds
A state university received employment tax refunds exceeding $10,000 for each of several quarters. The IRS had paid interest at the lower rate for large corporate overpayments, and the university…
CCA 200126031: Fuel excise tax claims in a bankruptcy case
The IRS considered fuel excise tax claims against a debtor in Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The debtor held previously taxed gasoline blendstock but had not registered with the IRS as required by section…
CCA 200126030: Later issued Social Security number can support an earlier earned income credit claim
A taxpayer otherwise qualified for the earned income credit but did not have a qualifying Social Security number during the tax year. The taxpayer received one after becoming a permanent resident.…
PLR 200126029: Late S corporation election treated as timely if filed within 60 days
A corporation intended to be an S corporation from its first tax year but failed to make the election on time. It filed an S corporation return, and its shareholders filed returns consistent with…
PLR 200126028: Shareholder split qualifies as a tax free corporate reorganization
Shareholders of an S corporation disagreed over management and proposed dividing the business. The company would transfer part of its assets to a new corporation, then give that corporation's stock…
PLR 200126027: Partnership receives 60 days to make a late basis adjustment election
A partnership filed its return without a section 754 election after a partner died. The partnership represented that it acted in good faith, was not relying on hindsight, and that relief would not…
PLR 200126026: Seasonal home and land qualify as a personal residence for trust rules
A taxpayer planned to place a seasonal home in a trust intended to qualify as a qualified personal residence trust. The property included a house, storage buildings, and land comparable to nearby…
PLR 200126025: Extension granted for a late section 338(h)(10) election
A corporate purchaser and seller intended to make a joint section 338(h)(10) election after a stock acquisition, but the election was not filed by its deadline. The IRS found that they acted…
PLR 200126024: Former resident rebuts presumption of tax avoidance on expatriation
A former long term U.S. resident sought to return to the country of birth after family obligations that had kept the person in the United States ended. The person sought a ruling under the…
PLR 200126023: Purchaser and seller receive time to correct a late section 338 election
A purchaser acquired all the stock of a target company from a member of a consolidated group. The purchaser and the selling group's parent intended to make a joint section 338(h)(10) election, but a…
PLR 200126022: Extension for joint election on purchase of S corporation stock
A corporate buyer purchased all the stock of a company represented as an S corporation. The buyer's parent and the sellers intended to make a joint section 338(h)(10) election, but a valid election…
PLR 200126021: Corporation receives relief for a late S election
A corporation with two shareholders intended to be an S corporation from its first tax year. It filed an S corporation return but had not filed Form 2553 on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for…
PLR 200126020: Late S corporation election effective from incorporation
A corporation intended S corporation status from the date it was incorporated, but its election was not filed on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late filing and ruled that the…
CCA 200126019: Return preparer's fraud can keep the assessment period open
A truck driver's preparer claimed diesel fuel credits the preparer knew the driver was not entitled to receive. The IRS planned to disallow the credits without seeking a fraud penalty against the…
CCA 200126018: Securities lawsuit costs from an IPO must be capitalized
A company defended and settled a class action brought by purchasers of its stock after an initial public offering. The buyers alleged that the company had misstated or omitted information connected…
PLR 200126017: Late S election relief requires corrected returns for three years
A corporation's sole shareholder intended S corporation status from incorporation, but Form 2553 was not filed on time. The IRS found reasonable cause and said it would treat the election as timely…
CCA 200126016: Expatriation tax purpose and a later stock transfer to a foreign company
A business owner renounced U.S. citizenship, then transferred domestic company stock to a foreign holding company before a planned public offering. Field Service Advice concluded, on the evidence…
CCA 200126015: Foreign sales corporation commissions precede Puerto Rico profit split
A corporate group claimed both foreign sales corporation benefits and the section 936 Puerto Rico profit split for products made in the United States and Puerto Rico. The group calculated the…
PLR 200126014: Nuclear plant sale transfers decommissioning funds with limits on buyer basis
Several utilities proposed selling a nuclear plant and transferring its decommissioning funds to the buyer, which would assume related liabilities. The IRS exercised its discretion under the section…
PLR 200126013: Partitioned family trusts retain generation skipping tax exemption
Four family trusts descended from a trust established before the generation skipping transfer tax took effect. The trustees proposed dividing each trust into separate trusts for its living…
PLR 200126012: Revised spin off remains a reorganization with some gain recognized
A corporation changed a previously approved plan to distribute stock of a subsidiary after capital market conditions worsened. The revised steps included a contribution, conversion to one class of…
PLR 200126011: Buyer of nuclear plant receives fund transfer rulings with basis limits
A buyer proposed acquiring a nuclear plant from several utilities along with its decommissioning funds and obligations. The IRS ruled that the qualified funds could transfer without disqualification…
TAM 200126010: Government ordered return of leased product qualifies as involuntary conversion
A manufacturer leased a product for its plants, but a government agency later withdrew approval for commercial use and required its return. The manufacturer settled a claim over the loss of its…
CCA 200126009: IRS cannot forgive a future payroll tax liability on hardship grounds
A business asked the IRS to forgive part of payroll taxes it expected to owe over an upcoming six month period. It cited financial hardship after a payroll agency embezzled funds. Chief Counsel…
TAM 200126008: Insurer's payment to state is deductible when paid after demutualization
A health insurer agreed to make a payment to a state treasury as it converted from a mutual insurer to a stock company. The payment resolved state claims tied to the insurer's earlier nonprofit and…
TAM 200126007: Related-party property purchases defeat two like-kind exchanges
A taxpayer sold two real estate interests in separate transactions and used an intermediary to acquire replacement properties from a related company. The related company used proceeds from the…
PLR 200126006: Acting governor may approve state private activity bonds
A state bond authority asked whether an acting governor could provide the public approval required for an issue of private activity bonds. The acting governor was the state senate president, who…
CCA 200126005: Purchased state tax credit can be deductible when applied
The Colorado Department of Revenue asked whether a taxpayer who purchased a transferable Colorado conservation easement credit could deduct the related state tax under section 164. The IRS concluded…
PLR 200126004: Nurse treated as employee for federal employment taxes
A governmental agency asked how a worker who provided nursing services should be classified for federal employment tax purposes. The agency directed and controlled the worker's services and reported…
CCA 200126003: Whether to consider an offer after a Chapter 11 case closes
Area counsel asked whether a final decree closing a debtor's Chapter 11 case allowed the IRS to process an offer to settle tax claims covered by the confirmed plan. The debtor had paid its…
TAM 200126002: Multipurpose semitrailer bodies subject to retail excise tax
A manufacturer sold semitrailer bodies with a moving floor that could unload many kinds of bulk cargo, including agricultural products. An earlier IRS letter had treated the bodies as exempt from…
CCA 200126001: Buyout company may be disregarded while its debt remains
In a leveraged buyout, a newly formed corporation borrowed money to buy a target company's stock and then immediately merged into the target. The target assumed the borrowing. Chief Counsel advised…
PLR 200125096: Planned hospitality house site avoids debt-financed property treatment
A tax-exempt organization acquired property next to its hospitality house for families of hospital patients. It planned to demolish existing structures and build a new facility for its exempt work…
PLR 200125095: Church-affiliated college health plan qualifies as a church plan
A nonprofit college with church ties asked whether its employee health plan was a church plan under IRC § 414(e). The college described its relationship with the church and a church association, and…
PLR 200125094: City may replace its 401(k) plans, but affiliate coverage goes unanswered
A city asked whether it could replace three previously adopted 401(k) arrangements with one plan and extend that plan to employees of several related governmental entities. The IRS concluded that…
PLR 200125093: Foundation merger carries tax attributes without termination tax
Two private foundations with overlapping leadership planned to merge, leaving one foundation as the survivor. The IRS ruled that the transfer of all the other foundation's assets was a merger…
PLR 200125092: Merging foundation avoids termination and expenditure taxes
A private foundation planned to merge into another foundation with overlapping leadership, transferring all its assets and liabilities to the survivor. The IRS ruled that the transfer qualified…
PLR 200125091: Unequal shareholder distributions did not end S election
An S corporation made larger distributions to one shareholder than to others after relying on its accountant's advice. Its governing documents gave every share the same rights to distributions and…
PLR 200125090: Partnership elections allow S subsidiary and ESOP treatment
An S corporation owned several qualified subchapter S subsidiaries that formed state-law limited partnerships. It wanted those partnerships to operate businesses with employees who could join its…
PLR 200125089: Active rents and oil partnership receipts avoid S corporation passive income rule
An S corporation with accumulated earnings and profits leased and managed a property using employees, contractors, and substantial services. It also planned to invest in publicly traded partnerships…
PLR 200125088: Foreign bank's interest allocation after closing its U.S. branch
A foreign bank surrendered its U.S. banking license during a taxable year but continued a U.S. advisory business through a disregarded company. It asked how to allocate interest expense against…
PLR 200125087: Dividing older trusts preserves generation-skipping tax exemption
Trustees proposed to divide four trusts created under a will into separate trusts for the decedent's living grandchildren. Each new trust would receive a proportional share of its predecessor's…
PLR 200125086: Grandchildren's trust partitions keep GST exemption
Trustees wanted to split four trusts under a decedent's will into separate trusts for each living grandchild, with a way to create equal shares for afterborn children. Each new trust would receive a…
PLR 200125085: Separate grandchild trusts retain GST tax exemption
The trustees proposed to partition four trusts into separate trusts for the decedent's living grandchildren, allowing for equal shares if more children were born or adopted later. The new trusts…
PLR 200125084: Extra time granted for a section 338(h)(10) election
A foreign corporate purchaser and the sellers missed the deadline to elect deemed asset sale treatment for one acquired S corporation. The purchaser and sellers said they had relied on tax…
PLR 200125083: Later stock recapitalization leaves spin-off rulings intact
A company had created two classes of voting stock before a spin-off so its parent could meet the section 355 control requirement. The companies later sought to combine the classes because one class…
PLR 200125082: Dividing four family trusts preserves GST tax exemption
Trustees proposed to divide four trusts into separate trusts for each living grandchild to allow different investment strategies. Each new trust would receive a proportional share of the assets and…
PLR 200125081: Late S corporation election allowed for missed Form 2553
A corporation's two shareholders thought their state filings had secured S corporation status and did not file Form 2553 with the IRS on time. The corporation and shareholders had consistently filed…
PLR 200125080: Nuclear plant sale receives mixed decommissioning tax rulings
Several utilities planned to sell a nuclear plant and transfer their decommissioning funds to the buyer. The IRS allowed the sellers' qualified funds to transfer without losing their qualified…
PLR 200125079: Grandchildren's trust divisions preserve GST exemption
Trustees proposed to partition four family trusts into separate trusts for each living grandchild, while preserving shares for any children born or adopted later. The new trusts would remain…
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.