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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CCA 200113031: A terminated tax compromise cannot be reinstated
Taxpayers defaulted on an accepted offer in compromise after failing to pay a later tax liability. Appeals sent a termination letter, while a revenue officer working the delinquency separately…
200113030: IRS release pulled for an inspection delay
The official IRS PDF for this release number is a one-page notice marked “PULLED (Inspection Delay).” It contains no taxpayer facts, legal question, analysis, or tax outcome. This entry records the…
CCA 200113029: When the IRS may disclose a tax lien payoff amount
Chief Counsel advised IRS staff on requests from title companies, mortgage lenders, and other third parties for a taxpayer's lien payoff amount. For a filed federal tax lien, section 6103(k)(2)…
CCA 200113028: Earned income credit bans and penalties for frozen refunds
IRS Chief Counsel addressed how to handle fraudulent or reckless claims for the earned income tax credit (EITC). A final determination of fraud can trigger a ten-year bar on claiming the credit,…
CCA 200113027: Postpetition taxes in Chapter 13 are not administrative expenses
IRS counsel advised how to claim federal income taxes that become payable after a debtor files a Chapter 13 bankruptcy case. It concluded those taxes are owed by the debtor, not incurred by a…
CCA 200113026: Signed substitute returns and bankruptcy discharge
IRS counsel considered whether tax based on an IRS-prepared substitute return is excepted from a debtor's bankruptcy discharge because no return was filed. When the taxpayer signs Form 870 or Form…
CCA 200113025: Investor restitution assets formed a qualified settlement fund
IRS Chief Counsel considered assets seized after a securities promotion dispute and held for restitution to investors, first by an office and then by a court-appointed receiver. It concluded that…
CCA 200113024: Employment tax status of local public officials
IRS Chief Counsel analyzed whether several elected or appointed local officials were employees for federal employment tax purposes. It said income tax withholding expressly covers elected state and…
PLR 200113023: Late accounting period application treated as timely
Taxpayers filed Form 1128 late to request a change in their federal income tax year. They said the delay resulted from an error or misunderstanding and filed within 90 days of the deadline. The IRS…
PLR 200113022: Planned annuity withdrawals qualify for the periodic payment exception
A taxpayer under age 59½ planned monthly withdrawals from a variable annuity bought with personal savings. The taxpayer proposed to calculate the annual withdrawal using a life expectancy…
PLR 200113021: Partnership's late tax year application treated as timely
A newly formed partnership filed Form 1128 late to request approval of a taxable year. The partnership said the delay arose from an error or misunderstanding and filed within 90 days of the due…
PLR 200113020: Training fellowships are grants rather than wages
A tax-exempt educational organization paid stipends, travel assistance, professional fees, and housing to participants in its fellowship training programs. The IRS ruled that the awards were…
PLR 200113019: Regulated business separation qualifies as a Type D reorganization
A regulated subsidiary planned to separate one of its businesses after government rules required competitive operations to be split from regulated operations. It would transfer the business assets…
PLR 200113018: Extra time to elect subsidiary S corporation status
An S corporation intended three wholly owned subsidiaries to be qualified subchapter S subsidiaries from their formation dates, but missed the election filings. The IRS found the requirements for…
PLR 200113017: Closing a loss-making division leaves earlier spin-off rulings intact
A corporation had received rulings about a tax-free separation under section 355. After the transaction, one division of its subsidiary began suffering unexpected losses. The subsidiary proposed to…
CCA 200113016: Circular lease payments undermine claimed tax deductions
Chief Counsel examined a property lease and sublease financed by loans and Treasury securities. It concluded that the lease, the purported property sale, and their circular payments had no…
PLR 200113015: Tax treatment of investment funds in a master-feeder structure
Several investment funds planned to contribute securities and cash to two series of a trust, with each series investing as a separate partnership. The IRS ruled that qualifying feeder funds could…
PLR 200113014: Tax treatment of investment funds in a master-feeder structure
Feeder Fund 4 and related investment funds planned to contribute securities and cash to two series of a trust, with each series investing as a separate partnership. The IRS ruled that qualifying…
PLR 200113013: Tax treatment of investment funds in a master-feeder structure
Feeder Fund 2 and related investment funds planned to contribute securities and cash to two series of a trust, with each series investing as a separate partnership. The IRS ruled that qualifying…
PLR 200113012: Tax treatment of investment funds in a master-feeder structure
An investment trust and its feeder funds planned to contribute securities and cash to two series of a trust, with each series investing as a separate partnership. The IRS ruled that qualifying…
PLR 200113011: Tax treatment of investment funds in a master-feeder structure
An investment trust and its feeder funds planned to contribute securities and cash to two series of a trust, with each series investing as a separate partnership. The IRS ruled that qualifying…
PLR 200113010: Tax treatment of investment funds in a master-feeder structure
An investment trust and its feeder funds planned to contribute securities and cash to two series of a trust, with each series investing as a separate partnership. The IRS ruled that qualifying…
PLR 200113009: Retiree benefit trust restructuring and use of older reserves
An employer proposed to separate trust assets for represented and nonrepresented retirees and use excess reserves dating from 1984 to pay retiree health benefits. The IRS ruled that the proposed…
PLR 200113007: Merging family trusts preserves their tax treatment
A family proposed to merge three pairs of irrevocable trusts with the same beneficiaries and substantially similar terms. The IRS concluded that the existing trusts were exempt from…
PLR 200113006: Splitting a family trust preserves specified tax treatment
Two daughters proposed to divide a trust created under their father's will into separate continuation trusts because they differed on investment policy. Each would keep the same income interest and…
CCA 200113005: Motion guidance for related abusive-trust Tax Court cases
Chief Counsel reviewed proposed guidance for IRS attorneys handling related Tax Court cases against individuals and trusts. It advised issuing the guidance and posting sample motions, with…
CCA 200113004: Missing notice copy to a tax representative in collection cases
Chief Counsel considered what happens when the IRS sends a taxpayer a collection hearing notice but fails to copy the taxpayer's authorized representative. The omission violates an administrative…
CCA 200113003: When two heightened tax interest rules can overlap
Chief Counsel addressed the old interest rate for tax-motivated transactions and the later higher rate for large corporate underpayments, both numbered section 6621(c) at different times. It advised…
CCA 200113002: Offsetting a late refund claim with self-employment tax
Chief Counsel considered a taxpayer whose business income, self-employment tax, and earned income credit were first disallowed, then substantiated in a timely refund claim after the assessment…
CCA 200113001: March filing deadline for specified electronic information returns
Chief Counsel explained the electronic filing deadline enacted in section 6071(b) for certain annual information returns required by sections 6041 through 6053. For returns covered by that rule and…
PLR 200112065: Foundation's pledged stock option and charitable tax treatment
A company pledged its foundation an option to buy company stock, with plans for the foundation to sell the option to an unrelated charity. The IRS ruled that the pledge and later exercise by the…
PLR 200112064: Foundation's pledged stock option and charitable tax treatment
A company pledged its foundation an option to buy company stock, with plans for the foundation to sell the option to an unrelated charity. The IRS ruled that the pledge and later exercise by the…
PLR 200112063: Coal and black lung retiree medical benefits qualify for a pension asset transfer
An employer paid medical benefits owed to former employees of a subsidiary under the Coal Act and federal and Illinois black lung laws. It wanted to include those benefits in its retiree medical…
PLR 200112062: Revised nuclear decommissioning fund contribution schedule approved
A utility requested a revised schedule of deductible contributions to a nuclear decommissioning fund for a plant it partly owned. The IRS found that the proposed schedule used the public utility…
PLR 200112061: Late tax-year change application treated as timely
Taxpayers asked the IRS to treat a late Form 1128 application to change their tax year as timely. They represented that they were not using hindsight. The IRS found that they had acted reasonably…
PLR 200112060: Sixty-day extension granted for subsidiary election
An S corporation intended to elect qualified subchapter S subsidiary treatment for its wholly owned subsidiary but missed the filing deadline. The IRS found that the requirements for relief under…
PLR 200112059: Late Form 1128 accepted as timely filed
A taxpayer asked the IRS to accept a late Form 1128 application to change its accounting period. The taxpayer had timely filed its federal income tax return but missed the Form 1128 deadline because…
PLR 200112058: Late S corporation election allowed for first tax year
A corporation's sole shareholder intended to elect S corporation treatment from its first tax year. Its attorney and accountant each thought the other would file Form 2553, so the filing deadline…
PLR 200112057: First-year S corporation election granted late-filing relief
A corporation intended to elect S corporation status for its first tax year, and its shareholders signed an agreement showing that intent. It missed the Form 2553 deadline, although the corporation…
PLR 200112056: Tax book value method approved for interest apportionment
A domestic corporation used fair market values to apportion interest expense among assets. After acquiring another consolidated group that used tax book values, it asked to change its method to tax…
PLR 200112055: Business division qualifies for tax-free reorganization treatment
A family-owned corporation proposed dividing one business between two locations so its two managing shareholders could run their operations independently. It would transfer one location's assets to…
PLR 200112054: Extension granted for closing-of-the-books election
A consolidated group missed the deadline to elect the closing-of-the-books method for allocating income and losses around a claimed ownership change. The group said it had relied on tax…
PLR 200112053: Late S election treated as effective on incorporation date
A corporation's shareholders intended S corporation treatment from the date it was incorporated, but the election was not filed on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed deadline under…
PLR 200112052: Franchise business division receives reorganization treatment
An S corporation operated franchises in two trade areas. Its shareholders proposed transferring the franchises in one area to a new corporation, distributing that corporation's stock to themselves,…
PLR 200112051: Extension granted for low-income housing set-aside election
A taxpayer failed to make a proper section 42(g)(1) set-aside election for a low-income housing project. That election specifies which income and occupancy test the project will use for the housing…
PLR 200112050: Trust retains generation-skipping tax exemption after trustee renunciation
Trustees of a trust created before September 25, 1985, proposed giving up their power to distribute remaining property to governmental entities if no individual beneficiaries survived. A court had…
PLR 200112049: Trustee renunciation preserves trust's GST tax exemption
Trustees of a trust for a settlor's child proposed renouncing their authority to distribute remaining trust property to governmental entities if no individual beneficiaries survived. The trust was…
PLR 200112048: Grandchild trust retains GST exemption after trustee renunciation
Trustees of a trust created before September 25, 1985, proposed giving up their power to distribute remaining property to governmental entities if no individual beneficiaries survived. A court had…
PLR 200112047: Grandchild trust retains GST exemption after trustee renunciation
Trustees of a trust created before September 25, 1985, proposed giving up their power to distribute remaining property to governmental entities if no individual beneficiaries survived. A court had…
PLR 200112046: Trustee renunciation preserves trust's GST tax exemption
Trustees of a trust for a settlor's child proposed renouncing their authority to distribute remaining trust property to governmental entities if no individual beneficiaries survived. The trust was…
PLR 200112045: Late S corporation election allowed for first tax year
A corporation's founding shareholders intended S corporation treatment for its first tax year. They relied on an attorney and accountant to file Form 2553, but a miscommunication left the election…
PLR 200112044: Grandchild trust retains GST exemption after trustee renunciation
Trustees of a trust created before September 25, 1985, proposed giving up their power to distribute remaining property to governmental entities if no individual beneficiaries survived. A court had…
PLR 200112043: Trustee renunciation preserves trust's GST tax exemption
Trustees of a trust for a settlor's child proposed renouncing their authority to distribute remaining trust property to governmental entities if no individual beneficiaries survived. The trust was…
PLR 200112042: Trustee renunciation preserves trust's GST tax exemption
Trustees of a trust for a settlor's child proposed renouncing their authority to distribute remaining trust property to governmental entities if no individual beneficiaries survived. The trust was…
PLR 200112041: Trustee renunciation preserves trust's GST tax exemption
Trustees of a trust for a settlor's child proposed renouncing their authority to distribute remaining trust property to governmental entities if no individual beneficiaries survived. The trust was…
PLR 200112040: Trustee renunciation preserves trust's GST tax exemption
Trustees of a trust for a settlor's child proposed renouncing their authority to distribute remaining trust property to governmental entities if no individual beneficiaries survived. The trust was…
PLR 200112039: Late S corporation election effective from incorporation
A corporation intended to elect S corporation treatment from its incorporation date but did not file the election on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed deadline under section…
PLR 200112038: Trust settlement and appointment avoid specified income, gift, and GST taxes
Beneficiaries of three family trusts reached a settlement over how trust property would be divided when the trusts ended. A granddaughter also planned to use a limited power of appointment to place…
PLR 200112037: Trustee renunciation preserves trust's GST tax exemption
Trustees of a trust for a settlor's child proposed renouncing their authority to distribute remaining trust property to governmental entities if no individual beneficiaries survived. The trust was…
PLR 200112036: Trustee renunciation preserves trust's GST tax exemption
Trustees of a trust for a settlor's child proposed renouncing their authority to distribute remaining trust property to governmental entities if no individual beneficiaries survived. The trust was…
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.