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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IRS denies 501(c)(3) status to a group funding cannabis and psychedelic research because it promotes federally illegal activity
A nonprofit corporation applied for 501(c)(3) status to promote the medical and mental-health benefits of cannabis and psychedelic plants (psilocybin, peyote, ayahuasca, ibogaine), to fund research…
IRS denies 501(c)(3) status to a sports-and-arts club operated for substantial recreational and social purposes
An organization applied for 501(c)(3) charitable status using the streamlined Form 1023-EZ, describing its mission as promoting sports and arts, running training and coaching programs, and…
IRS grants an estate 120 extra days to make a late portability election for the deceased spouse's unused exclusion
When someone dies, their estate can make a "portability" election under IRC § 2010(c)(5)(A) so the surviving spouse can use the deceased spouse's unused estate-tax exclusion (the DSUE amount). That…
IRS grants an estate 120 extra days to make a late portability election for the deceased spouse's unused exclusion
When someone dies, their estate can make a "portability" election under IRC § 2010(c)(5)(A) so the surviving spouse can use the deceased spouse's unused estate-tax exclusion (the DSUE amount). That…
A granddaughter's testamentary power of appointment is limited, not general, so the grandfathered trust stays GST-exempt and out of her estate
A family trust traces back to a settlor who died before September 25, 1985, which makes the trust "grandfathered" and generally exempt from the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax. Over two…
IRS grants 45 more days to make a late Qualified Opportunity Fund self-certification after the accountant left Form 8996 off the return
A limited liability company taxed as a partnership was formed to invest in a qualified opportunity zone and intended to self-certify as a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF) under IRC § 1400Z-2(d). To…
Investment advisory fees deducted from an annuity's cash value are not an "amount received" by the owner under § 72(e)
A life insurance company planned to offer deferred annuity contracts designed to be managed with the help of the owner's own investment adviser, who allocates the contract's cash value among the…
IRS grants an estate 120 extra days to make a late portability election for the deceased spouse's unused exclusion
When someone dies, their estate can make a "portability" election under IRC § 2010(c)(5)(A) so the surviving spouse can use the deceased spouse's unused estate-tax exclusion (the DSUE amount). That…
IRS grants an estate 120 extra days to make a late portability election for the deceased spouse's unused exclusion
When someone dies, their estate can make a "portability" election under IRC § 2010(c)(5)(A) so the surviving spouse can use the deceased spouse's unused estate-tax exclusion (the DSUE amount). That…
IRS grants a private foundation advance approval of its scholarship procedures for vocational-training students (§ 4945(g)(1))
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve, in advance, the way it will run a scholarship program. This step matters because IRC § 4945 taxes a private foundation's "taxable expenditures," and a…
IRS revokes a 501(c)(7) social club's exemption for taking too much oil-and-gas royalty (non-member) income
A tax-exempt social club under IRC § 501(c)(7) leased part of its property to an exploration company and, for years, collected substantial oil-and-gas royalty income on a monthly basis. Section…
IRS revokes a social club's § 501(c)(7) status because investment income exceeded the 35% limit and it stopped operating
A membership social club had been recognized as tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(7), which covers clubs operated substantially for the pleasure and recreation of their members. A social club can take…
IRS revokes a self-declared 501(c)(3)'s exemption for funneling contractor donations into cash grants to individual homeowners (private benefit)
An organization that called itself a nonprofit public benefit corporation obtained streamlined 501(c)(3) recognition in 2016 by filing Form 1023-EZ and attesting that it was organized and operated…
IRS revokes a public charity's § 501(c)(3) status after it ignored an audit into suspected inurement and improper fundraising
A public charity recognized as tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) (it had been approved as a 509(a)(1)/170(b)(1)(A)(vi) public charity through a streamlined Form 1023-EZ application) was selected…
IRS disqualifies a self-declared § 501(c)(4) social welfare group that ran a for-profit business and benefited its president
An organization had treated itself as a tax-exempt social welfare group under Section 501(c)(4), which allows exemption for civic leagues operated exclusively to promote social welfare (the common…
IRS revokes a charity's § 501(c)(3) status for failing to produce records for an audit
A small charity that had been recognized as tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) (it had applied using the streamlined Form 1023-EZ) was picked for a routine audit. The IRS mailed a series of…
For an interest-abatement overpayment with no refund claim filed, the 2-year look-back runs from the date the IRS allows the refund, not from how long processing took
This internal Chief Counsel email addresses how the refund "look-back" limitation works in an interest-abatement case, and whether the time the IRS takes to decide the abatement affects how much can…
The Section 6511(c)(2) refund look-back reaches back to the first assessment-extension agreement, not just the most recent one
This is an internal Chief Counsel email answering a procedural question about refund claims. When a taxpayer and the IRS agree to extend the time to assess tax (a Section 6501(c)(4) agreement),…
120-day extension for an estate to make a late portability election
When someone dies without using all of their federal estate-tax exemption, the surviving spouse can inherit the unused portion (the "deceased spousal unused exclusion," or DSUE) through a…
120-day extension for an estate to make a late portability election
When someone dies without using all of their federal estate-tax exemption, the surviving spouse can inherit the unused portion (the "deceased spousal unused exclusion," or DSUE) through a…
75-day extension to file a late Section 336(e) election statement for an S-corporation stock sale
Buyers acquired all the stock of an S corporation and wanted the deal treated as an asset purchase for tax purposes, which a Section 336(e) election allows for a "qualified stock disposition." That…
120-day extension for an estate to make a late portability election
When someone dies without using all of their federal estate-tax exemption, the surviving spouse can inherit the unused portion (the "deceased spousal unused exclusion," or DSUE) through a…
120-day extension for an estate to make a late portability election
When someone dies without using all of their federal estate-tax exemption, the surviving spouse can inherit the unused portion (the "deceased spousal unused exclusion," or DSUE) through a…
120-day extension for an estate to make a late portability election
When someone dies without using all of their federal estate-tax exemption, the surviving spouse can inherit the unused portion (the "deceased spousal unused exclusion," or DSUE) through a…
120-day extension for an estate to make a late portability election
When someone dies without using all of their federal estate-tax exemption, the surviving spouse can inherit the unused portion (the "deceased spousal unused exclusion," or DSUE) through a…
120-day extension for an LLC to make a late Section 754 basis-adjustment election
A state LLC taxed as a partnership had two new members buy interests in the same year and meant to make a Section 754 election, which lets the partnership adjust the tax basis of its assets when…
Court-ordered reformation of six GST-exempt trusts to fix scrivener's errors triggers no income, gift, estate, or GST tax
A grantor set up an irrevocable trust for his six children and later, through the trustee, split it into six near-identical child-specific trusts. Because the grantor and his spouse had allocated…
Court-ordered reformation of six GST-exempt trusts to fix scrivener's errors triggers no income, gift, estate, or GST tax
A grantor set up an irrevocable trust for his six children and later, through the trustee, split it into six near-identical child-specific trusts. Because the grantor and his spouse had allocated…
Court-ordered reformation of six GST-exempt trusts to fix scrivener's errors triggers no income, gift, estate, or GST tax
A grantor set up an irrevocable trust for his six children and later, through the trustee, split it into six near-identical child-specific trusts. Because the grantor and his spouse had allocated…
Court-ordered reformation of six GST-exempt trusts to fix scrivener's errors triggers no income, gift, estate, or GST tax
A grantor set up an irrevocable trust for his six children and later, through the trustee, split it into six near-identical child-specific trusts. Because the grantor and his spouse had allocated…
Court-ordered reformation of six GST-exempt trusts to fix scrivener's errors triggers no income, gift, estate, or GST tax
A grantor set up an irrevocable trust for his six children and later, through the trustee, split it into six near-identical child-specific trusts. Because the grantor and his spouse had allocated…
Court-ordered reformation of six GST-exempt trusts to fix scrivener's errors triggers no income, gift, estate, or GST tax
A grantor set up an irrevocable trust for his six children and later, through the trustee, split it into six near-identical child-specific trusts. Because the grantor and his spouse had allocated…
IRS denies § 501(c)(7) social-club status to a food buying club
A group that runs a food buying club applied to be recognized as a tax-exempt social club under Section 501(c)(7), and the IRS said no. Section 501(c)(7) is for clubs organized for pleasure and…
IRS rules a merger of three GST-exempt trusts keeps them exempt from generation-skipping tax
A married couple set up three irrevocable trusts for their descendants and allocated enough generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax exemption to each so that all three are fully GST-exempt (an…
IRS grants an estate 120 days to make a late portability election
When someone dies without using all of their federal estate-and-gift tax exclusion, a "portability" election lets the surviving spouse pick up the unused amount (the DSUE), but only if the deceased…
IRS grants late relief to file § 336(e) election statements for two S corporation stock sales
A buyer acquired the stock of two S corporations, and the parties wanted to treat those stock purchases as asset purchases for tax purposes, which a Section 336(e) election allows for a "qualified…
IRS grants late relief to self-certify as a qualified opportunity fund
An LLC taxed as a partnership was set up to invest in a qualified opportunity zone, a program that offers capital gains tax benefits for investing in designated low-income areas. To qualify, the…
IRS grants a late § 168(h)(6)(F)(ii) election to avoid tax-exempt-use depreciation on affordable housing
A taxable corporation wholly owned by a Section 501(c)(3) charity invests, through partnerships, in affordable housing for low-income tenants. Because a tax-exempt parent controls it, the…
IRS grants an estate 120 days to make a late portability election
When someone dies without using all of their federal estate-and-gift tax exclusion, a "portability" election lets the surviving spouse pick up the unused amount (the DSUE), but only if the deceased…
IRS grants late relief for a book-conformity capitalization election after a missed COVID-era extension
A corporate parent that files a consolidated return wanted to make the election under Treas. Reg. Section 1.263(a)-3(n), which lets a business capitalize for tax purposes any repair and maintenance…
IRS grants a partnership 120 days to make a late § 754 election tied to an intended transfer
An LLC taxed as a partnership meant to make a Section 754 election when two members transferred part of their interests in a multi-step deal, and the deal documents said the parties intended that…
IRS grants late relief for a de minimis safe harbor election after a missed COVID-era extension
A corporate parent that files a consolidated return wanted to make the de minimis safe harbor election under Treas. Reg. Section 1.263(a)-1(f), which lets a business deduct rather than capitalize…
IRS grants a consolidated group late relief to file a Form 3115 after a missed COVID-era extension
A corporate parent that files a consolidated return wanted to change its accounting method under Section 451(b) by attaching Form 3115 to a timely filed return under the automatic-change procedures…
IRS grants 60 more days to file a late Form 3115 for a foreign subsidiary's accounting-method change
A consolidated group's parent wanted to change the functional currency of a controlled foreign corporation's foreign business unit, an accounting-method change made by attaching Form 3115 to a…
IRS treats an ineffective QSub election as inadvertent and validates it
An S corporation tried to treat a subsidiary as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary (a QSub, which is ignored as a separate corporation for tax purposes), but the election was ineffective because…
IRS treats an LLC's back-to-back second-class-of-stock terminations as inadvertent
An LLC that had elected to be taxed as an S corporation lost its S status because a series of operating agreements gave its members different rights to distributions and liquidation proceeds, which…
IRS treats an S corporation's second-class-of-stock termination as inadvertent
An S corporation accidentally blew its S election by creating a second class of stock, then asked the IRS to forgive the slip. To keep S status, a corporation may have only one class of stock,…
IRS grants a partnership 120 days to make a late § 754 basis-adjustment election
A partnership missed a Section 754 election and asked the IRS for permission to make it late. A Section 754 election lets a partnership adjust the tax basis of its property when a partner dies or a…
IRS approves a foundation's post-doctoral fellowship grant procedures under § 4945(g)(3)
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve, in advance, the procedures for a post-doctoral research fellowship program it will run. Private foundations normally owe an excise tax on grants to…
IRS approves a foundation's educational grant procedures under § 4945(g)(3)
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve, in advance, the procedures for an educational grant program it will run. Private foundations normally owe an excise tax on grants to individuals for…
IRS approves a foundation's merit-based scholarship procedures under § 4945(g)(1)
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve, in advance, the procedures it will use to award scholarships. Private foundations normally owe an excise tax on grants to individuals for study, but…
IRS approves a foundation's employer-related scholarship procedures
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve, in advance, the procedures for an employer-related scholarship program it will run. Private foundations normally owe an excise tax on grants to…
IRS approves a foundation's procedures for sabbatical and summer research grants to scholars
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve, in advance, how it will award research grants to individuals. Private foundations normally owe an excise tax on grants to individuals for study or…
IRS denies § 501(c)(6) business-league status to an angel-investor network
An invitation-only angel-investor network applied to be recognized as a tax-exempt business league under Section 501(c)(6), and the IRS said no. The group recruits accredited investors as members,…
IRS denies § 501(c)(3) status to a commercial design business
A one-person organization applied for recognition as a charity under Section 501(c)(3), and the IRS said no. Its main activity was creating designs for clients' homes for a per-client fee (based on…
IRS denies § 501(c)(4) status to a group running an IRC 105-plan loan and "Social Security solvency" scheme
An organization applied to be recognized as a tax-exempt social welfare organization under Section 501(c)(4), and the IRS said no. The group had a two-part plan. First, it would lend money to…
120-day extension for a partnership to make a late § 754 basis-adjustment election
A limited partnership wanted to make a § 754 election, which lets a partnership adjust the tax basis of its property when a partnership interest changes hands (here, when the sole beneficiary of a…
120-day extension to make a late estate-tax portability election
An estate wanted to transfer a deceased spouse's unused estate-tax exclusion (the DSUE amount) to the surviving spouse through a "portability" election, which is made on a timely filed estate tax…
120-day extension to make a late estate-tax portability election
An estate wanted to transfer a deceased spouse's unused estate-tax exclusion (the DSUE amount) to the surviving spouse through a "portability" election, which is made on a timely filed estate tax…
120-day extension for an LLC to file a late Form 8832 electing corporate (association) status
A single-member limited liability company wanted to be taxed as an association (that is, a corporation) for federal tax purposes as of a chosen effective date. Under the "check-the-box" rules, it…
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.