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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Late "portability" election allowed so a surviving spouse can use a deceased spouse's unused estate-tax exclusion
When someone dies without using up their federal estate-tax exclusion, the unused part (the DSUE amount) can pass to the surviving spouse, but only if the estate makes a "portability" election on a…
Judicial modification of a pre-1985 grandfathered trust does not cost it GST-tax-exempt status
A trust created before September 25, 1985 is "grandfathered" from the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax, but that protection can be lost if the trust is changed in the wrong way. Here the…
Late "portability" election allowed so a surviving spouse can use a deceased spouse's unused estate-tax exclusion
When someone dies without using up their federal estate-tax exclusion, the unused part (the DSUE amount) can pass to the surviving spouse, but only if the estate makes a "portability" election on a…
IRS lets a taxpayer revoke and re-make its section 59(e) elections after a rare natural event caused it to miss drilling and mining costs
An affiliated group of corporations asked the IRS for two things: permission to revoke its existing tax elections under section 59(e) and extra time to make fresh ones. Section 59(e) lets a taxpayer…
IRS grants late-election relief to file a forgotten Rev. Proc. 2011-29 success-based-fee safe-harbor statement
When a company is bought or sold, it often pays advisers "success-based" fees that are owed only if the deal closes. Tax rules presume those fees must be capitalized rather than deducted, but…
Buyer and sellers get more time to make a late section 338(h)(10) election to treat an S corporation stock purchase as an asset sale
When a corporation buys the stock of an S corporation in a qualified stock purchase, the buyer and the selling shareholders can jointly elect under section 338(h)(10) to treat the deal as if the…
A taxable rural telephone cooperative's cellular-network income is patronage-sourced income
A rural telephone cooperative that is now taxable (it once qualified for exemption under section 501(c)(12) but stopped meeting the 85%-member-income test) asked the IRS how to classify the income…
Tax-free "Reverse Morris Trust" separation and merger under sections 355 and 368(a)(1)(D) (19 rulings)
A publicly traded parent corporation asked the IRS to bless a tax-free "Reverse Morris Trust" transaction, in which it separates one of its businesses and combines it with an unrelated public…
Bond issuer gets more time to file the carryforward election for unused private-activity-bond volume cap
States and their agencies get a yearly cap on how much tax-exempt private activity bonds they can issue. If an issuer does not use all of its allocation, it can "carry forward" the unused amount for…
IRS approves a private foundation's college scholarship program under section 4945(g)(1)
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve, in advance, the way it hands out college scholarships. This approval matters because a private foundation that makes grants to individuals for study…
IRS denies 501(c)(3) status to a performing-arts nonprofit that failed the organizational test
A newly incorporated nonprofit focused on creating performances that explore the human experience and inspiring young artists applied for recognition as a tax-exempt charity using the short Form…
Late "portability" election allowed so a surviving spouse can use a deceased spouse's unused estate-tax exclusion
When someone dies without using up their federal estate-tax exclusion, the unused part (the DSUE amount) can pass to the surviving spouse, but only if the estate makes a "portability" election on a…
Company gets more time to make the identification needed to integrate convertible notes with a hedge under Reg. § 1.1275-6
A corporation issued convertible notes and, at the same time, bought call options on its own stock to hedge the notes' conversion feature. Treasury Regulation § 1.1275-6 lets a taxpayer treat a…
Company gets more time to make the identification needed to integrate convertible notes with a hedge under Reg. § 1.1275-6
A corporation issued convertible notes and, at the same time, bought call options on its own stock to hedge the notes' conversion feature. Treasury Regulation § 1.1275-6 lets a taxpayer treat a…
Fund gets more time to self-certify as a Qualified Opportunity Fund after its preparer omitted Form 8996
To be a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF), an entity must self-certify each year by attaching Form 8996 to a timely filed return. Here an LLC taxed as a partnership was set up specifically to be a…
Real estate investor gets more time to elect to treat all rental properties as one activity under section 469(c)(7)
Rental real estate is normally treated as a passive activity, but a qualifying taxpayer in a real property business can elect under section 469(c)(7) to treat all of their rental real estate…
Estate gets more time to make a missed QTIP marital-deduction election after the preparer put the property on the wrong schedule
When a person dies, property left in trust for a surviving spouse can qualify for the unlimited estate-tax marital deduction only if the estate makes a "QTIP" election under section 2056(b)(7) on…
Sale of a nuclear power plant: transfer of its qualified decommissioning fund is tax-free, and the seller's assumed cleanup liability counts toward amount realized
A regulated utility group sold a nuclear power plant to a nuclear-decommissioning company in a deal treated as an asset sale. The plant came with a qualified nuclear decommissioning reserve fund, a…
Sale of a nuclear power plant: transfer of its qualified decommissioning fund is tax-free, and the seller's assumed cleanup liability counts toward amount realized
A regulated utility group sold a nuclear power plant to a nuclear-decommissioning company in a deal treated as an asset sale. The plant came with a qualified nuclear decommissioning reserve fund, a…
IRS denies extra time to file late Forms 3115 for an unauthorized accounting-method change
An S corporation that runs a production company switched from the cash method to an accrual method of accounting without filing the two Forms 3115 needed to obtain the Commissioner's consent, and it…
S corporation status saved after an invalid election and transfers to an ineligible shareholder are ruled inadvertent under section 1362(f)
A State LLC elected to be taxed as an S corporation but never obtained all of the shareholder consents required for a valid election, so the election was ineffective from the start. Later, interests…
Late "portability" election allowed so a surviving spouse can use a deceased spouse's unused estate-tax exclusion
When someone dies without using up their federal estate-tax exclusion, the unused part (the DSUE amount) can pass to the surviving spouse, but only if the estate makes a "portability" election on a…
Tax-free spin-off: a public company's multi-step internal separation and distribution of a business to its shareholders qualifies under sections 355 and 368
A publicly traded parent company (called Distributing) wanted to separate one of its businesses from the rest of its worldwide group and spin it off to its shareholders. To get there it ran a series…
Late "portability" election allowed so a surviving spouse can use a deceased spouse's unused estate-tax exclusion
When someone dies without using up their federal estate-tax exclusion, the unused part (the DSUE amount) can pass to the surviving spouse, but only if the estate makes a "portability" election on a…
Late "eligible acquisition transaction" election allowed so a partnership can recognize its full section 481(a) adjustment in the sale year
A health-care LLC taxed as a partnership sold part of its business and, by contract, changed from the cash method to an accrual method of accounting and agreed to recognize its entire section 481(a)…
Late "portability" election allowed so a widow(er) can use a deceased spouse's unused estate-tax exclusion
When someone dies without using up their federal estate-tax exclusion, the unused part (the DSUE amount) can pass to the surviving spouse, but only if the estate makes a "portability" election on a…
Herbal-supplement maker denied 501(c)(3) status under the commerciality doctrine
An organization that manufactures and sells an oral herbal supplement (and educates the public about the supplement's claimed health benefits) applied for 501(c)(3) charity status, and the IRS…
Soccer-referee association denied 501(c)(10) fraternal-society status for lacking a lodge system and fraternal activities
An organization that supplies certified referees to officiate youth and school soccer matches applied to be recognized as a tax-exempt domestic fraternal society under section 501(c)(10), and the…
Corporation granted more time to make a late success-based-fee safe-harbor election
A corporation got more time to make a "success-based fee" safe-harbor election after its preparer left the required statement off the return. When a company pays fees that are contingent on closing…
Estate granted more time to make a late portability election for a surviving spouse
An estate whose value did not require it to file a federal estate tax return missed the deadline to make a "portability" election, and the IRS granted it more time. Portability lets a surviving…
Estate granted more time to make a late portability election for a surviving spouse
An estate whose value did not require it to file a federal estate tax return missed the deadline to make a "portability" election, and the IRS granted it more time. Portability lets a surviving…
Partnership granted more time to make a late section 754 basis-adjustment election
A limited partnership got more time to make a section 754 election after its tax preparer inadvertently missed the deadline. A section 754 election lets a partnership adjust the tax basis of its…
Estate granted more time to make a late portability election for a surviving spouse
An estate whose value did not require it to file a federal estate tax return missed the deadline to make a "portability" election, and the IRS granted it more time. Portability lets a surviving…
IRS pre-approves a private foundation's artist- and scholar-residency grant program
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve, in advance, the procedures it uses to award grants to individuals. This step matters because a private foundation's grants to individuals for travel or…
IRS revokes a family private foundation run from the founders' home for inurement and self-dealing
The IRS revoked the tax-exempt status of a private foundation, effective January 1, 2016, after an audit found the foundation was operated for the private benefit of the married couple who ran it…
State chapter of a professional association denied 501(c)(3) status for serving members rather than exclusively educational purposes
A state chapter of a national professional association applied for 501(c)(3) charity status using the streamlined Form 1023-EZ, and the IRS denied it. The chapter serves professionals in a…
Veterans' organization denied 501(c)(3) status because a civic center for social events is a substantial nonexempt purpose
An organization already recognized as a tax-exempt veterans' group under section 501(c)(19) applied to also be recognized as a charity under section 501(c)(3), and the IRS denied it. The denial…
IRS revokes exemption for a fee-based building-code inspection organization
The IRS revoked the Section 501(c)(3) status of an organization that succeeded a for-profit building-code inspection and consulting business. The organization contracted with municipalities,…
Land and water-rights broker for a mining town denied 501(c)(6) business-league status
The IRS denied section 501(c)(6) business-league status to a nonprofit set up to help a community recover from the closure of a major local employer by facilitating transfers of that company's land…
Social club loses 501(c)(7) status after living on investment income from selling its clubhouse
The IRS revoked a men's social club's section 501(c)(7) exemption because too much of its income came from outside its membership. A tax-exempt social club may receive at most 35 percent of its…
Charity for disabled children's therapies revoked for stonewalling an audit and aiding the founder's family
The IRS revoked a small charity's section 501(c)(3) exemption after it repeatedly failed to respond to an audit and produce financial records. The organization had obtained exemption through the…
Charity revoked for running real-estate "bargain sales" instead of education, with inurement to its founder
The IRS revoked a nonprofit's section 501(c)(3) exemption after an examination found it was not operated for charitable or educational purposes. The organization claimed its primary activity was…
Social club loses 501(c)(7) exemption for too much nonmember income
The IRS revoked the section 501(c)(7) exemption of a social club that runs a clubhouse, swimming pool, and tennis courts, because too much of its income came from nonmembers. A tax-exempt social…
Adult recreational sports club denied 501(c)(3) exemption
The IRS denied section 501(c)(3) status to a recreational sports group made up of former players of a particular sport who gather about once a week to play. The denial became final because the group…
Veterans' post loses 501(c)(19) exemption for having too few veteran members
The IRS revoked the tax exemption of a veterans' post that had been recognized as a section 501(c)(19) organization under a national group ruling. To qualify under 501(c)(19), at least 75 percent of…
Open-source software worker cooperative denied 501(c)(3) exemption
The IRS denied section 501(c)(3) status to a nonprofit worker cooperative whose main activity is developing and distributing open-source software and related educational materials. The denial became…
Title-holding company loses its 501(c)(2) exemption for leasing property and running a bar
The IRS revoked a corporation's tax exemption as a section 501(c)(2) title-holding company. To qualify under 501(c)(2), an organization must be organized and operated exclusively to hold title to…
Partnership granted extra time to file the duplicate copy of its Form 3115 for a depreciation accounting-method change
To change an accounting method under the automatic-consent procedures, a taxpayer must file Form 3115 twice: attach the original to the timely filed tax return, and separately file a duplicate copy…
A drug-distribution pharmacy is a "qualified trade or business" for the small business stock gain exclusion, not a health-services business
Section 1202 lets investors exclude much or all of their gain when they sell "qualified small business stock" held more than five years, but only if the company is engaged in a "qualified trade or…
Buyer and sellers of an S corporation get extra time to make a late Section 338(h)(10) election treating the stock purchase as an asset sale
A § 338(h)(10) election lets the buyer and sellers of a corporation jointly treat a stock purchase as if the target had sold all its assets and liquidated, which often gives the buyer a stepped-up…
Foreign entity granted extra time to make a late check-the-box election to be a disregarded entity
Under the "check-the-box" rules, a single-owner eligible entity can file Form 8832 to elect to be disregarded (treated as part of its owner) instead of being taxed as a corporation. Here a foreign…
S corporation's election preserved after an interest was transferred to an ineligible shareholder, because the termination was inadvertent
An S corporation loses its status if an ineligible shareholder ends up owning stock. Here a company's ownership interests were transferred to a person who was an ineligible shareholder (a…
State pandemic funds applied to customers' overdue utility bills are tax-free disaster relief, so the utilities need not file information returns
During a presidentially declared emergency, a state set up a fund and gave money to regulated electric and gas utilities to wipe out overdue balances (arrearages) on the accounts of eligible, mostly…
Late portability election granted so a surviving spouse's estate can use the first decedent's unused estate tax exclusion
Portability lets a surviving spouse add their late spouse's unused estate tax exclusion (the DSUE amount) to their own, but only if the deceased spouse's estate makes the election on a timely filed…
Notices of deficiency can be sent to a Form 8821 designee, and a firm (not just a named individual) can be the designee
Form 8821 (Tax Information Authorization) lets a taxpayer authorize a third party to inspect and receive their confidential tax information. This Chief Counsel advice, written as an email answering…
Married couple allowed to make a retroactive QEF election for a foreign fund their tax preparers failed to flag as a PFIC
U.S. investors in a passive foreign investment company (PFIC) face punitive tax rules unless they elect to treat the company as a "qualified electing fund" (QEF), which is normally due with the tax…
Late portability election granted so a surviving spouse can use the decedent's unused estate tax exclusion
Portability lets a surviving spouse add their late spouse's unused estate tax exclusion (the DSUE amount) to their own, but only if the deceased spouse's estate makes the election on a timely filed…
A REIT's accounting-method-change income adjustment is not counted against its 95%/75% income tests
To qualify as a real estate investment trust (REIT), a company must earn most of its income from real-estate sources: at least 95% and 75% of gross income must come from the qualifying categories…
Late portability election granted so a surviving spouse can use the decedent's unused estate tax exclusion
Portability lets a surviving spouse add their late spouse's unused estate tax exclusion (the DSUE amount) to their own, but only if the deceased spouse's estate makes the election on a timely filed…
Late portability election granted so a surviving spouse can use the decedent's unused estate tax exclusion
Portability lets a surviving spouse add their late spouse's unused estate tax exclusion (the DSUE amount) to their own, but only if the deceased spouse's estate makes the election on a timely filed…
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.