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 200115021: Late S corporation election after business began
A corporation's sole shareholder intended it to be an S corporation when business activity began, and its tax return was filed on Form 1120S. The corporation had missed the election deadline. The…
PLR 200115020: S corporation relief for missing trust elections
Three trusts held shares when a corporation elected S status, but two had not filed electing small business trust elections and the third had not filed a qualified subchapter S trust election. The…
CCA 200115019: IRS claim to surplus foreclosure proceeds by escrow demand
Chief Counsel considered how the IRS could claim surplus funds held by a trustee after a California foreclosure sale when the property had a federal tax lien. It advised that the IRS could submit an…
PLR 200115018: Late S corporation election after attorney failed to file
A corporation intended to be an S corporation from its incorporation date, and its board adopted a resolution showing that intent. It relied on an attorney to file the election, but the attorney did…
PLR 200115017: Late S corporation election treated as timely
A corporation with one shareholder intended to be an S corporation from its incorporation date but missed the election deadline. The IRS ruled under section 1362(b)(5) that the election would be…
PLR 200115016: Reorganization of two municipal bond funds
Two municipal bond funds planned for one to transfer its assets and liabilities to the other in exchange for voting stock, distribute that stock to shareholders, and dissolve. On the stated facts…
CCA 200115015: Original issue discount on a note issued with stock
Chief Counsel considered an investment bank's claimed original issue discount deduction tied to a subordinated note issued in a transaction that also involved stock. It found the submitted account…
PLR 200115014: Tax treatment of police and firefighter disability and survivor benefits
A benefits administrator asked how amended state laws affected the tax treatment of disability and survivor payments for police officers, firefighters, and their families. The IRS ruled that…
PLR 200115013: Late S election caused by adviser miscommunication
A corporation's sole shareholder intended S corporation status for a stated tax year and relied on an attorney and accountant to file Form 2553. A miscommunication between them caused the form to be…
PLR 200115012: Late S election caused by adviser miscommunication
A corporation's sole shareholder intended S corporation status for a stated tax year and relied on an attorney and accountant to file Form 2553. A miscommunication between them caused the form to be…
PLR 200115011: Late S election after C corporation filings
A corporation intended S status but filed as a C corporation after missing its first election deadline. It later missed a second election after its directors resolved to elect S status, due to…
PLR 200115010: Investment funds' asset transfer qualifies as a Type C reorganization
Two regulated investment companies planned to combine by having one transfer substantially all its assets to the other in exchange for voting stock and assumption of its liabilities. The…
CCA 200115009: Corporate officer may testify while representing the corporation in Tax Court
A corporation appeared in Tax Court through an officer who was not a lawyer, and the officer also testified at trial. Chief Counsel advised that the officer could serve as both representative and…
PLR 200115008: Extension to file a consolidated group's allowed loss statement
A consolidated group sold a subsidiary's stock and deducted a loss, but failed to attach the required statement of allowed loss to its timely return. The IRS found that the parent had relied on a…
PLR 200115007: Late S corporation election effective from incorporation
A corporation's sole shareholder wanted S corporation treatment from the corporation's incorporation date, but the election was not filed on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed…
PLR 200115006: Revised nuclear decommissioning fund contribution schedule
A utility that owned an interest in a nuclear plant asked for a revised schedule of deductible contributions to its decommissioning fund. One of two utility commissions had reduced the…
PLR 200115005: Late S corporation election accepted from incorporation
A corporation intended to elect S corporation status from its incorporation date but missed the filing deadline. The IRS found reasonable cause for the delay and granted relief under IRC §…
PLR 200115004: Late S election effective on the requested date
A corporation's shareholder intended the corporation to have S status from a specified date, but it did not file the S election on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed deadline and…
TAM 200115003: Real estate investor acquired an ownership interest, not a loan claim
A corporate group arranged for an unrelated investor to acquire an interest in a property through a co-ownership arrangement. The IRS advised that the transaction had economic substance and was a…
TAM 200115002: Standards for insurers' unpaid loss reserves
A group of property and casualty insurers disputed IRS adjustments to estimated unpaid losses, including asbestos and environmental claims. Chief Counsel advised that estimates must be based on loss…
PLR 200115001: Proposed merger does not undo prior split-off ruling
A corporate group had obtained a ruling for a proposed split-off, then planned a separate merger before completing the split-off. The group asked whether the merger changed the earlier ruling or…
CCA 200114046: Tax treatment of Cerro Grande Fire assistance payments
Chief Counsel addressed federal assistance and insurance payments following the Cerro Grande Fire. It advised that homeowners need not include FEMA reimbursements for qualifying flood insurance…
CCA 200114045: Cerro Grande Fire living expense relief generally excluded from income
Chief Counsel clarified the treatment of temporary living expense payments to people displaced by the Cerro Grande Fire. It advised that the IRS generally should not require income inclusion for…
CCA 200114044: Living expense payments after the Cerro Grande Fire
Chief Counsel considered payments for living expenses after people lost use of their homes in the Cerro Grande Fire. It advised that insured individuals could exclude insurance payments under IRC §…
CCA 200114034: Bankruptcy system flags penalties for review and dates estimated tax penalties correctly
Chief Counsel reviewed how the IRS Automated Discharge System handles tax penalties in bankruptcy cases. For debtors with earlier bankruptcy filings, the system flags penalties for manual review…
CCA 200114033: Interest suspension applies to frivolous returns treated as valid
Chief Counsel answered two service center questions about notice and interest suspension under IRC § 6404(g). If the IRS treats an otherwise frivolous document as a valid and timely return, it must…
PLR 200114032: Extra time to file dual consolidated loss agreements
A taxpayer deducted an entity's losses on consolidated U.S. returns but did not file the agreements and annual certifications required for dual consolidated losses. Its tax department and advisers…
PLR 200114031: Late election to be taxed as a corporation
A domestic entity planned to elect treatment as an association taxable as a corporation but did not file the election. It asked the IRS for extra time under the regulatory election relief rules.…
PLR 200114030: Commercial rents are not passive investment income for S corporation test
A corporation planning to elect S status owned several commercial rental properties and asked whether its rents counted as passive investment income under IRC § 1362. Its staff performed substantial…
PLR 200114029: State administrative dissolution does not end S corporation status
A corporation elected S status, then learned that its state had administratively dissolved it for failing to file an annual report. It had continued to operate and file S corporation returns while…
PLR 200114028: Foreign entity receives more time to elect partnership treatment
A foreign business entity with two owners intended to elect partnership classification for U.S. tax purposes from a specified date. Its director and attorney overlooked the Form 8832 election…
PLR 200114027: Research credit uses regular calculation after corporate acquisition
A taxpayer acquired a controlling interest in a foreign corporation whose subsidiaries included U.S. research credit claimants. The taxpayer and the group members it held on the acquisition date had…
PLR 200114026: Corrected grandchild trusts qualify for zero GST inclusion ratio
A donor created separate trusts for four grandchildren and sought to correct language that limited each grandchild's power to direct the trust property at death. A state court found a drafting error…
PLR 200114025: Extra time for a section 338(g) election on acquired subsidiary
A corporate parent acquired a foreign target and its subsidiary, filed a section 338(g) election for the parent target, but missed the election for the subsidiary. The IRS found that the taxpayer…
PLR 200114024: Managed commercial property rents avoid S corporation passive income test
A commercial real estate company planning to elect S status asked whether rent from its properties would count as passive investment income. The properties required close oversight because of…
PLR 200114023: Late S election recognized from intended effective date
A corporation's shareholders intended S corporation status from a specified date, but the election was not filed on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the delay under IRC § 1362(b)(5). It…
PLR 200114022: Late qualified S subsidiary election after stock acquisition
An S corporation acquired all the stock of another corporation and intended to treat the acquired company as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary from the acquisition date. It inadvertently missed…
PLR 200114021: Relief for corporation's missed S election deadline
A corporation's shareholders wanted S corporation treatment from a specified date, but the required election was not filed on time. The IRS concluded that the corporation had reasonable cause for…
PLR 200114020: Missed S election deadline relieved from incorporation date
A newly incorporated company intended to be taxed as an S corporation from its incorporation date but failed to file the election on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the failure and granted…
PLR 200114019: Sole shareholder's late S election gets relief
A corporation's sole shareholder wanted S corporation treatment from its incorporation date, but no election was filed on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed election and granted…
PLR 200114018: Late S election effective for intended tax year
A corporation's shareholders wanted it taxed as an S corporation from inception, but it missed the election deadline for the intended tax year. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late filing and…
PLR 200114017: Business trust gets more time for corporate classification election
A domestic business trust intended to elect treatment as an association taxable as a corporation from its organization date, but it missed the Form 8832 filing deadline. The trust requested relief…
PLR 200114016: Revised contribution schedule for a nuclear decommissioning fund
A utility with a partial ownership interest in a nuclear plant asked the IRS to revise its schedule of permitted decommissioning fund contributions. One of two utility commissions had reduced the…
PLR 200114015: Utility receives a revised nuclear decommissioning fund schedule
A utility that partly owned a nuclear plant sought a revised schedule for payments to its decommissioning fund. One utility commission had reduced the plant's decommissioning costs allowed in the…
PLR 200114014: Revised nuclear plant decommissioning fund payment schedule
A utility that directly owned part of a nuclear plant sought a revised schedule of contributions to its decommissioning fund. Its utility commission had set the decommissioning cost and annual…
PLR 200114013: Revised decommissioning fund schedule after ratemaking change
A utility with an ownership interest in a nuclear plant requested a revised schedule for contributions to its decommissioning fund. One of the two utility commissions overseeing its rates had…
PLR 200114012: City and authority bonds count as separate issues
A city and a related public authority planned bond sales within 15 days under a common financing plan. They asked whether the bonds still counted as separate issues for federal tax purposes. The IRS…
PLR 200114011: Revised schedule for utility's nuclear decommissioning fund
A utility sought a revised contribution schedule for its nuclear plant decommissioning fund after one of two utility commissions reduced the costs included in the utility's rates. The IRS reviewed…
PLR 200114010: Missing S election relieved after reliance on attorney
A corporation's shareholders intended S status from the start of its first tax year and relied on an attorney to prepare the election, but Form 2553 was never filed. The corporation nevertheless…
PLR 200114009: S status restored after stock issued to ineligible owners
An S corporation issued shares to three corporations and two partnerships, none of which could be S corporation shareholders. The IRS determined that S status ended when the first ineligible…
CCA 200114008: Residual cellular sales commissions are current expenses
A wireless service provider asked whether three customer acquisition costs had to be capitalized rather than deducted currently. Chief Counsel advised that residual commissions paid to outside sales…
PLR 200114007: Late S election requires both spouses' consents
Stock in a corporation was held through a trust in which a married couple had a community property interest. One spouse signed the intended S election, the other did not, and the form was also not…
CCA 200114006: Employment tax assessments against disregarded LLC's owner are valid
A single-member LLC filed employment tax returns under its own name and identification number, and the IRS assessed the unpaid taxes using those details. Chief Counsel advised that the assessments…
PLR 200114005: Active rental business qualifies for estate tax installments, with exclusions
A decedent had actively managed and repaired 82 rental units across 20 properties, and the estate asked whether the holdings were a closely held business for estate tax installment payments. The IRS…
PLR 200114004: Early preferred distributions remain qualified payments
Members of a family owned an LLC that promised annual preferred distributions at a fixed rate. Its agreement allowed the manager to pay some of those distributions early after a real estate…
PLR 200114003: Former resident avoids expatriation tax presumption
A longtime U.S. resident gave up her permanent resident status and returned to the country where she was born and held citizenship. Her net worth exceeded the threshold that normally triggered a…
PLR 200114002: Tax treatment of insurer demutualization and group realignment
A mutual life insurer planned to become a stock company owned by a new public holding company, then move subsidiaries among group members to separate its businesses. The IRS treated the conversion…
CCA 200114001: When employers must report employee stock transfers
Chief Counsel answered a revenue agent's questions about the reporting rule for stock acquired through incentive stock options and employee stock purchase plans. Under IRC § 6039, an employer must…
PLR 200113033: Oldest beneficiary's life expectancy governs inherited annuity payments
An owner of § 403(b) annuity contracts named his former spouse and five children as beneficiaries before his required beginning date. During his life, he calculated required minimum distributions…
PLR 200113032: Oldest beneficiary's life expectancy governs inherited annuity payments
An owner of § 403(b) annuity contracts named his former spouse and five children as beneficiaries before his required beginning date. During his life, he calculated required minimum distributions…
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.