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 200103080: Approval of employee child scholarship grants
A foundation asked the IRS to approve a program funding scholarships for children of an employer's employees. A public charity would administer a national academic competition and use committees…
PLR 200103079: Foundation asset distribution before voluntary termination
A private foundation planned to distribute all its assets to 238 domestic charities, including 25 private foundations, after a merger involving its principal financial supporters. The IRS ruled that…
PLR 200103078: IRA withdrawals as substantially equal periodic payments
An IRA owner aged 55 proposed taking level annual withdrawals from two of five IRAs. The payment would be calculated by amortizing the two accounts' combined balance over a 28.6 year life expectancy…
PLR 200103077: Conditional minimum funding waiver for a pension plan
An employer sought relief from the 1999 minimum funding requirement for its money purchase pension plan after its controlled group suffered substantial losses and a decline in working capital. The…
PLR 200103076: Art collection transfer before foundation termination
An operating private foundation planned to donate a substantial portion of its art collection to a public charity museum, sell the rest, and transfer its remaining assets equally to two private…
PLR 200103075: Government employer pickup of pension contributions
A local government employer resolved to pay mandatory employee contributions to a retirement plan, covering three percent of contributions in 2000 and four and one half percent beginning in 2001.…
CCA 200103074: Who reviews an offer during a collection due process case
Chief Counsel clarified which IRS office should evaluate an offer in compromise when a taxpayer has requested a collection due process hearing. A Revenue Officer may keep working toward a resolution…
CCA 200103073: Standard deduction and alternative minimum tax income
Chief Counsel addressed whether a taxpayer who chose the standard deduction for regular income tax could instead use itemized deductions to calculate alternative minimum taxable income. It concluded…
CCA 200103072: Nonresident alien agent may sign a Form 1040NR
Chief Counsel considered whether a nonresident alien may sign another nonresident alien's Form 1040NR as an authorized agent. It concluded that section 6012 and its regulations do not bar this,…
Other 200103071: Collection, Bankruptcy and Summonses Bulletin 482
This Chief Counsel bulletin gathers collection and bankruptcy guidance, case reports, and two advice memoranda. It announces a change to Form 668-H for liens securing the section 2057 family owned…
CCA 200103070: Which employer may claim the tip tax credit for leased restaurant staff
Chief Counsel addressed who may claim the section 45B credit when a restaurant obtains tipped employees through a leasing company. The credit belongs to the employer liable for the employer share of…
CCA 200103069: Reporting group travel cash payments on Form 8300
Chief Counsel advised how a travel agent should complete Form 8300 when a group pays more than $10,000 in cash for a trip. A group name belongs in Part II only when the transaction is on behalf of…
PLR 200103067: Expatriation treated as having a tax avoidance purpose
A former U.S. citizen asked the IRS to rule that avoiding U.S. taxes was not a principal purpose of her renunciation. She had citizenship in another country from birth, remained a citizen and…
PLR 200103066: Extension granted for a late section 338(h)(10) election
A corporate buyer and the seller of an S corporation intended to make a joint section 338(h)(10) election after a stock acquisition, but missed the filing deadline. The IRS found that they acted…
PLR 200103065: Extension granted for a late section 338(h)(10) election
A corporate buyer and the seller of an S corporation intended to make a joint section 338(h)(10) election after a stock acquisition, but missed the filing deadline. The IRS found that they acted…
PLR 200103064: Extension granted for a late section 338(h)(10) election
A corporate buyer and the sellers of an S corporation intended to make a joint section 338(h)(10) election after a stock acquisition, but missed the filing deadline. The IRS found that they acted…
PLR 200103063: Extension granted for a late section 338(h)(10) election
A corporate buyer and the seller of an S corporation intended to make a joint section 338(h)(10) election after a stock acquisition, but missed the filing deadline. The IRS found that they acted…
PLR 200103062: Extension granted for a late section 338(h)(10) election
A corporate buyer and the seller of an S corporation intended to make a joint section 338(h)(10) election after a stock acquisition, but missed the filing deadline. The IRS found that they acted…
PLR 200103061: Arbitration award did not create a second class of S corporation stock
An S corporation asked whether an arbitration award directing its dissolution and distributions to shareholders created a second class of stock. The corporation represented that distributions…
PLR 200103060: Extension granted for a late section 338(h)(10) election
A corporate buyer and the sellers of an S corporation intended to make a joint section 338(h)(10) election after a stock acquisition, but missed the filing deadline. The IRS found that they acted…
PLR 200103059: Extension granted to file a joint section 338(h)(10) election
A corporate group bought all the stock of an S corporation and intended to make a joint section 338(h)(10) election with the seller. The election was not filed by its deadline, although the parties…
PLR 200103058: Late carryforward election allowed for student loan bond volume cap
A public authority received a state allocation of private activity bond volume cap for a student loan program but issued no bonds using it that year. The authority missed the deadline to file Form…
PLR 200103057: Two distributions of subsidiary stock receive tax-free treatment
A corporate group proposed separating one business from its other operations. One U.S. subsidiary would transfer the stock of two operating subsidiaries to a new corporation, then distribute the new…
PLR 200103056: Investment fund asset transfer qualifies as a reorganization
Two closed-end investment companies proposed combining by transferring substantially all of one company's assets and liabilities to the other in exchange for voting shares. The transferring company…
PLR 200103055: State nonprofit conversion does not trigger corporate gain
A taxable corporation owned property used for charitable services and was wholly owned by a federally tax-exempt nonprofit. It proposed converting to a nonprofit corporation under state law to…
PLR 200103054: Delayed stock offering preserves earlier spin-off rulings
A company had spun off a subsidiary to help the subsidiary raise capital through a public stock offering. Earlier IRS rulings relied on a representation that the offering would occur within one year…
PLR 200103053: Extension granted for a late section 338(h)(10) election
A corporate buyer and the seller of an S corporation intended to make a joint section 338(h)(10) election after a stock acquisition, but they missed the filing deadline. The parties had relied on…
PLR 200103052: Bound reinvestment treated as a nontaxable stock distribution
A U.S. parent proposed receiving a payment from one foreign subsidiary, which had become a division of another foreign subsidiary, and was irrevocably bound to use the payment to subscribe for…
CCA 200103051: Counsel rejects a currency loss created by shifting stock basis
A U.S. corporation arranged to buy foreign company stock through a short-lived foreign partnership that also held a small amount of foreign currency. After buying the partnership interests, related…
PLR 200103050: Trust may qualify as an electing small business trust
A trust held stock in a company planning to elect S corporation status and asked whether the trust could qualify as an electing small business trust. Its current beneficiaries were individuals,…
PLR 200103049: Division of an older trust preserves tax treatment
Trustees proposed dividing a trust into two trusts with equal value so they could pursue different investment strategies while preserving the beneficiaries' interests. One new trust would provide…
PLR 200103048: Trust eligible to elect small business trust treatment
A trust held stock in a company that planned to elect S corporation status. The trustees asked whether the trust could qualify as an electing small business trust. The IRS concluded that the trust's…
PLR 200103047: Family trust may make an S corporation trust election
A family trust owned stock in a corporation that intended to become an S corporation. Its trustees asked whether the trust could qualify as an electing small business trust. The IRS concluded that…
PLR 200103046: Family trust qualifies to elect S corporation trust treatment
A family trust owned stock in a corporation that intended to become an S corporation. Its trustees asked whether the trust could qualify as an electing small business trust. The IRS concluded that…
PLR 200103045: Family trust eligible for S corporation trust election
A family trust owned stock in a corporation that intended to become an S corporation. Its trustees asked whether the trust could qualify as an electing small business trust. The IRS concluded that…
PLR 200103044: Family trust may elect S corporation trust treatment
A family trust owned stock in a corporation that intended to become an S corporation. Its trustees asked whether the trust could qualify as an electing small business trust. The IRS concluded that…
PLR 200103043: Family trust eligible for small business trust election
A family trust owned stock in a corporation that intended to become an S corporation. Its trustees asked whether the trust could qualify as an electing small business trust. The IRS concluded that…
PLR 200103042: Family trust may qualify for S corporation election
A family trust owned stock in a corporation that intended to become an S corporation. Its trustees asked whether the trust could qualify as an electing small business trust. The IRS concluded that…
PLR 200103041: Family trust eligible for S corporation trust election
A family trust owned stock in a corporation that intended to become an S corporation. Its trustees asked whether the trust could qualify as an electing small business trust. The IRS concluded that…
PLR 200103040: Family trust meets small business trust requirements
A family trust owned stock in a corporation that intended to become an S corporation. Its trustees asked whether the trust could qualify as an electing small business trust. The IRS concluded that…
PLR 200103039: Late S corporation election accepted for formation date
A newly formed corporation intended to be an S corporation from its incorporation date but did not file its S election on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late filing and granted relief…
PLR 200103038: Stock recapitalization does not substantially modify transfer restrictions
A family owned S corporation proposed adding nonvoting common stock and distributing it to shareholders while keeping its existing voting stock. The corporation's bylaws and buy-sell agreement…
PLR 200103037: Planned subsidiary spin-off receives tax-free treatment
A publicly traded company planned to distribute the stock of a subsidiary to its shareholders after the subsidiary sold some stock to the public. The subsidiary needed capital for its business, and…
PLR 200103036: Late S corporation election treated as timely
A corporation with one shareholder intended to be an S corporation from its incorporation date, but discovered its election had not been filed on time. It asked the IRS to treat the election as…
PLR 200103035: Late S election allowed for intended tax year
A corporation with one shareholder intended to be taxed as an S corporation beginning on a redacted date but discovered that it had missed the election deadline. It asked the IRS to treat its…
PLR 200103034: IRS resolves subissues in membership corporation restructuring
A state-law nonprofit membership corporation that paid federal corporate income tax proposed merging into a newly formed for-profit membership corporation, then placing the new corporation under a…
PLR 200103033: Apartment telecommunication service fees qualify as REIT rents
A real estate investment trust that owned apartment properties planned to arrange telecommunication services for tenants through independent providers. It asked whether income from those services…
PLR 200103032: Single-owner investment LLC disregarded for federal tax
A state tuition savings program used a trust fund to hold participant accounts and planned to invest through a limited liability company. The company temporarily had an outside investment manager as…
CCA 200103031: Deemed asset sale affects seller's deemed-paid foreign taxes
A corporate seller withdrew a ruling request about section 338(g) elections for foreign subsidiaries in a stock sale. Chief Counsel nevertheless advised the IRS field office on how those elections…
PLR 200103030: Late S corporation election accepted for formation date
A newly formed corporation intended to be an S corporation from its incorporation date but did not file its S election on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late filing and granted relief…
PLR 200103029: Late S corporation election accepted for requested date
A corporation's shareholder intended the company to be an S corporation from a redacted effective date, but the election was filed late. The IRS found reasonable cause for the delay and granted…
PLR 200103028: Late S election allowed for intended tax year
A corporation with three shareholders intended to be taxed as an S corporation beginning on a redacted date but discovered that it had missed the election deadline. It asked the IRS to treat its…
CCA 200103027: IRS may credit an early-return overpayment before the filing deadline
A taxpayer filed an income tax return before its April deadline, showing an overpayment from withholding and estimated payments. The IRS credited that amount against an older unpaid tax liability…
CCA 200103026: Counsel advises foreclosure of tax lien on 401(k) interest
Chief Counsel considered collection of taxes from a taxpayer's vested interest in a 401(k) plan after a bankruptcy discharge. A pre-bankruptcy federal tax lien remained enforceable against the plan…
PLR 200103025: Late S corporation election allowed from intended date
A corporation's shareholders intended S corporation treatment from a redacted effective date but did not file the election on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late filing and granted…
CCA 200103024: Stock option compensation belongs in cost sharing pool
A U.S. company and a foreign affiliate shared research and development costs under an agreement for new technology. The U.S. company excluded compensation paid through employee stock options from…
PLR 200103023: Missed S election deadline excused after adviser miscommunication
Two shareholders intended their newly formed company to elect S corporation status from its first tax year. They relied on an attorney and an accountant to file Form 2553, but a miscommunication…
PLR 200103022: S status preserved after temporary partnership conversion
An S corporation converted to a state limited partnership and admitted a corporation as a nominal general partner. After learning that either step might terminate its S election, it removed the…
PLR 200103021: Late S corporation and subsidiary elections allowed
A corporation intended to elect S status and to treat three wholly owned companies as qualified subchapter S subsidiaries from the same effective date. None of the elections were filed. The IRS…
PLR 200103020: Late S election accepted from incorporation date
A corporation with two shareholders intended S corporation treatment from its incorporation date but missed the election deadline. The IRS granted relief under section 1362(b)(5), treating 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.