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 200039018: Extra time to elect association classification
A domestic entity classified by default as a partnership intended to elect association status effective on a redacted date, but did not file Form 8832 on time. It requested more time under the…
PLR 200039017: REIT office rents and airport parking concession treatment
A REIT asked how its office tenants' use of a partly related business center operator would affect rents it received from those tenants. The IRS ruled that the operator's separate, independently run…
PLR 200039016: Late S election relief from the start of business
A company's shareholder intended to elect S corporation status when the company began doing business, but the election was not filed on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed deadline…
PLR 200039015: Late S election accepted for the requested taxable year
A corporation was formed on one redacted date, and its shareholder intended S corporation status from a second redacted date. The election was not filed on time. The IRS found reasonable cause and…
PLR 200039014: Extra time for a foreign entity to elect partnership classification
A foreign eligible entity intended to elect partnership classification for U.S. tax purposes from its formation date, but missed the deadline to file Form 8832. It asked for an extension under the…
PLR 200039013: Reasonable cause relief for an S election from formation
A person formed a corporation and intended it to have S corporation status from its formation date, but the election was not filed on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late election and…
PLR 200039012: Ineligible shareholder's temporary ownership does not end S status
Two shareholders transferred their corporation's stock to a shareholder that was ineligible to hold S corporation shares, causing the S election to terminate. After discovering the problem, the…
PLR 200039011: Temporary ineligible shareholder treated as inadvertent S termination
Two shareholders transferred their corporation's shares to an ineligible shareholder, which terminated its S corporation election. The shares were later distributed back to the original…
PLR 200039010: Temporary ineligible shareholder receives inadvertent termination relief
Two shareholders transferred their corporation's shares to an ineligible shareholder, temporarily ending its S election. The shares were later returned to the original shareholders, and the…
PLR 200039009: Inadvertent S termination waived after stock returned to shareholders
A corporation's two shareholders transferred their shares to an ineligible shareholder, which terminated the S election. The shares were later distributed back to the two original shareholders. The…
PLR 200039008: Government deferred compensation plan qualifies under section 457
A local government employer asked whether its deferred compensation plan qualified under § 457. The plan allowed employee and contractor deferrals, limited distributions to specified events, and…
CCA 200039007: Loss carryback reaches a year discharged in bankruptcy
A taxpayer had a net operating loss in a later year and wanted to carry it back to a tax year that could produce a refund. The earlier carryback year had a tax debt discharged in bankruptcy, so the…
TAM 200039006: Payments for family-operated foster home qualify for exclusion
A married couple operated a licensed group foster home and received payments through a sponsoring agency that was not tax exempt. The IRS accepted evidence that the state or counties placed the…
TAM 200039005: Property purchase followed by sale fails like-kind exchange rules
A taxpayer planned a deferred like-kind exchange, but the planned sale of its old property fell through while the seller of the replacement property insisted on closing. The taxpayer funded the…
TAM 200039004: Optional vehicle paperwork fees excluded from luxury tax price
An automobile dealer charged customers optional fees to process title, registration, plate, and lien paperwork. Customers could instead complete and submit the paperwork themselves. The IRS…
PLR 200039003: Separate trust shares retain distinct estate and GST transferors
A taxpayer had created a trust for her own benefit, and her mother later left part of her estate to that trust. The trustees proposed to hold the property from the mother's estate in a separate…
PLR 200039002: Deferred compensation trust leaves participant untaxed until payment
An employer established a nonqualified deferred compensation plan for a key employee and a trust to fund its obligations. The trust's assets remained available to the employer's general creditors if…
PLR 200039001: Pro rata division of inherited trust preserves tax treatment
A trust created under a decedent's will had ambiguous provisions about when grandchildren's shares should be separated. The trustee sought a court construction and proposed dividing the trust's…
CCA 200038059: Support requirement for parents of a kidnapped child
Chief Counsel reconsidered earlier advice about whether parents could claim a dependency exemption for a child kidnapped by a stranger and still missing at year end. It advised that, when no one…
PLR 200038058: Student loan nonprofit keeps exemption after QSFC election
A tax-exempt student loan secondary market organization planned to elect out of qualified scholarship funding corporation status and transfer obligations and supporting assets to a for-profit…
PLR 200038057: ESOP distributions retain lump sum and NUA treatment after rollovers
An executive who participated in an employer's profit-sharing plan and ESOP planned to distribute employer stock and other plan assets, with some assets transferred directly to an IRA. The IRS ruled…
PLR 200038056: Employer-related scholarship procedures receive advance approval
A private foundation asked for advance approval of scholarship procedures for grants to children of an employer's employees. The proposed program used an independent selection process, required…
PLR 200038055: Governmental pension plan contributions and Option E lump sums
Administrators of a governmental defined benefit plan for police employees asked about a program that let some employees accrue benefits under Option E while continuing to work. The IRS ruled that…
PLR 200038054: Retiree VEBAs may combine without losing exemption
Two voluntary employees' beneficiary associations funded retiree health and life benefits for related employers. One association served a shrinking group after its sponsoring employer sold its…
PLR 200038053: Foundation re-granting procedures meet expenditure responsibility rules
A foundation planned to give grants to organizations that would then make grants to individuals for travel, study, or similar purposes. Its direct grant procedures had already been approved in a…
PLR 200038052: Employer stock distribution retains lump sum treatment after IRA rollover
An employee planned to retire and receive the vested balance from a qualified plan that included a profit-sharing portion and an employee stock ownership plan. The employee would transfer non-stock…
PLR 200038051: Employer may restore missed plan earnings as a deductible settlement payment
Former employees received retirement plan distributions without investment earnings for the period between valuation and payment. After a federal agency found that the practice violated ERISA, the…
PLR 200038050: Retiree may roll over plan assets and contribute employer stock to a charitable unitrust
A retiree planned to take a single distribution from an employer's qualified plan, roll part of it into an IRA, and receive the remaining employer stock directly. The retiree also planned to…
PLR 200038049: School restructuring preserves exemption and avoids unrelated business income
A tax-exempt organization operated a tuition-free school for students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. It planned to transfer that school's operations to a newly formed affiliate, remain…
PLR 200038048: Expanded foster youth scholarship procedures approved
A private operating foundation already had approval to offer college scholarships to young people from its foster care program. It asked to expand eligibility to people who had passed through other…
CCA 200038047: IRS may use summoned tax software to test return adjustments
An IRS technical advisor asked whether examiners could use a commercial tax program's executable code after obtaining it during an audit. The proposed uses included testing changes to a taxpayer's…
CCA 200038046: Disaster relief changes 1996 refund claim deadlines
IRS staff asked when taxpayers affected by the 1997 disaster in parts of North Dakota and Minnesota could claim refunds of 1996 estimated or withheld income tax. Chief Counsel advised that a claim…
CCA 200038045: Employment tax rules for misclassified corporate officers
An IRS employment tax office asked Chief Counsel how several worker classification rules apply to corporate officers. The advice says a corporation may qualify for section 530 relief under the…
CCA 200038044: Forgiven scholarship service penalty creates debt discharge income
An IRS service center asked about Form 1099-C reports for penalties arising from breached Indian Health Scholarship Program contracts. A recipient who did not complete the required service owed…
CCA 200038043: Separate tax shelter penalty reviews and appeal rights
An IRS district counsel asked how to examine an organizer that had failed to register multiple tax shelters. Chief Counsel recommended separate section 6707 and 6708 penalty examinations for each…
CCA 200038042: Prisoners may receive EINs for legitimate tax filing needs
An IRS service center asked whether it could deny employer identification numbers (EINs) to prisoners. Chief Counsel advised that imprisonment alone is not a reason to refuse an EIN. A prisoner who…
CCA 200038041: Taxi rental cash receipts may require Form 8300
An IRS district asked about cash paid by drivers to rent taxis or taxi medallions, often in small daily amounts. Chief Counsel advised that fleet owners and management companies may have to file…
IRS bulletin 200038040: July 2000 collection and bankruptcy developments
This is the July 2000 issue of the IRS Chief Counsel's Collection, Bankruptcy and Summonses Bulletin, rather than a ruling on one request. It opens with a discussion of a Sixth Circuit decision…
PLR 200038039: Two mergers treated as a direct asset acquisition if integrated
A corporation bought a target through a merger of its acquisition subsidiary into the target, then proposed merging the target into itself. The IRS ruled on a limited subissue: if the two mergers…
PLR 200038038: Late S corporation election accepted if signed form is filed
A corporation's original shareholders intended S corporation treatment from its formation date, but the election was not filed on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the delay and granted…
PLR 200038037: Family business split-off qualifies for tax-free treatment
Two brothers owned a company operating a business in two locations and disagreed over its management. The company transferred one location's assets to a subsidiary and proposed giving that…
PLR 200038036: Late S election allowed after attorney missed filing
A business owner intended S corporation treatment when incorporating, but the attorney handling the incorporation did not file Form 2553. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed election under…
PLR 200038035: Estate gets time to split QTIP trust and elect GST treatment
An estate had made a marital deduction election for a trust but missed a reverse QTIP election and had not arranged to divide the trust for generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax purposes. It…
PLR 200038034: Family company split-off receives tax-free treatment
Shareholders in an extended family disagreed over how to run their company. The company planned to transfer part of its business assets to a new subsidiary and give that subsidiary's shares to one…
PLR 200038033: S status continues after stock briefly held by ineligible owner
Two shareholders transferred their S corporation stock to an ineligible owner, causing the S election to terminate. After discovering the problem, the stock was returned to the original…
PLR 200038032: Late bond volume cap carryforward election accepted
A state housing finance agency obtained an allocation of private activity bond volume cap for multifamily housing and elected under state procedures to carry unused cap forward. Staff turnover led…
PLR 200038031: S status continues after stock briefly held by ineligible owner
Two shareholders transferred their S corporation stock to an ineligible owner, causing the S election to terminate. After discovering the problem, the stock was returned to the original…
PLR 200038030: S status continues after stock briefly held by ineligible owner
Two shareholders transferred their S corporation stock to an ineligible owner, causing the S election to terminate. After discovering the problem, the stock was returned to the original…
PLR 200038029: S status continues after stock briefly held by ineligible owner
Two shareholders transferred their S corporation stock to an ineligible owner, causing the S election to terminate. After discovering the problem, the stock was returned to the original…
PLR 200038028: Late S election granted from first business day
A corporation's shareholder intended S corporation treatment from the day the business began, but the election was not filed on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the delay and granted relief…
PLR 200038027: Late S election relief requires timely form and amended returns
A corporation's shareholders intended S corporation treatment from its incorporation date, but no election was filed on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the delay and allowed the election to…
PLR 200038026: Late S election granted from first business day
A corporation's shareholder intended S corporation treatment from the day the business began, but the election was not filed on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the delay and granted relief…
PLR 200038025: Threatened condemnation converts power purchase agreement
An independent power producer ended and replaced a long-term electricity purchase agreement after a utility threatened to condemn its generating facility if negotiations failed. The IRS ruled that…
PLR 200038024: S status continues after stock briefly held by ineligible owner
Two shareholders transferred their S corporation stock to an ineligible owner, causing the S election to terminate. After discovering the problem, the stock was returned to the original…
PLR 200038023: Late S election relief after IRS finds no filed form
A corporation's president prepared Form 2553 and gave it to the company's accountant, but the IRS had no record of receiving a timely S election. The corporation had filed its first return as an S…
PLR 200038022: Partnership gets 30 days to make section 754 election
A partnership filed its return without making a section 754 basis adjustment election after a partner died. The IRS concluded that the requirements for relief under the election extension…
PLR 200038021: S election relief ends when shareholder count exceeds limit
A corporation had issued stock to several shareholders ineligible for S corporation ownership, including retirement accounts, partnerships, and corporations. The IRS held that the first such…
PLR 200038020: Partnership receives more time to elect basis adjustments
A partnership filed its tax return without making a section 754 election after a partner died. That election can adjust the basis of partnership property when a partnership interest transfers. The…
PLR 200038019: Partnership receives more time to elect basis adjustments
A partnership filed its tax return without making a section 754 election after a partner died. That election can adjust the basis of partnership property when a partnership interest transfers. The…
PLR 200038018: Partnership receives more time to elect basis adjustments
A partnership filed its tax return without making a section 754 election after a partner died. That election can adjust the basis of partnership property when a partnership interest transfers. 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.