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 200029020: Wrongful death settlement excluded from estate income
An estate received an insurance settlement after the decedent died from injuries sustained in an automobile accident. The executor asked whether the settlement was taxable income to the estate. The…
PLR 200029019: Late accounting period application treated as timely
A taxpayer asked to change its taxable year but filed Form 1128 after the deadline because of an error or misunderstanding. It submitted the form within 90 days of the deadline and sought relief…
PLR 200029018: Homeowner cannot deduct interest on association loan
A homeowners association borrowed to demolish and rebuild a condemned common element. It planned to use special assessments from members to service the loan. A homeowner asked whether the loan…
PLR 200029017: Landfill gas from qualifying facility addition earns fuel credit
A company collected and sold landfill gas from a facility first placed in service before 1993. It later added equipment under a binding contract made before 1997, with the addition placed in service…
PLR 200029016: Late S corporation election accepted for first tax year
A corporation intended to elect S corporation status from its first tax year. A shareholder relied on the corporation's attorney to file Form 2553, but the IRS had no record of a timely filing. The…
PLR 200029015: Research credit election revocation allowed
A taxpayer had elected the alternative incremental research credit under section 41(c)(4). It asked to revoke that election for a later tax year. The IRS consented to the revocation, allowing the…
PLR 200029014: Late election to reattribute subsidiary losses allowed
A consolidated group sold a subsidiary with net operating losses, and the seller and buyer missed the election deadline to reattribute certain losses to the former parent. During an IRS examination,…
CCA 200029013: Restructured stock option became a purchase contract
Chief Counsel advised district counsel on a company's claimed compensation deduction after executives bought its shares. An earlier option had offered a discounted purchase price, but a…
PLR 200029012: Late life insurance consolidated return election allowed
Two affiliated insurance companies filed separate short-period returns after an acquisition. The IRS later reclassified one as a life insurance company, but the companies had missed the deadline to…
TAM 200029011: Joint production cost method revoked prospectively
A manufacturer used a joint production cost method that affected inventory costs and the commission earned by its foreign sales corporation. The IRS had previously consented to the method. In this…
CCA 200029010: Concede sibling companies' captive insurance premium deductions
Chief Counsel advised Appeals on whether operating subsidiaries could deduct premiums paid to a captive insurer owned by their corporate parent. Examination had disallowed the deductions, treating…
CCA 200029009: Send compromise offers to Appeals during collection review
District counsel asked how Collection should handle an offer in compromise submitted while Appeals was reviewing a collection action, or after Appeals issued a determination but retained…
CCA 200029008: EIC preparer audits can seek records without first issuing a summons
An IRS program manager asked Chief Counsel how to obtain records during earned income credit due diligence audits of tax return preparers, whether preparers could withhold them as privileged, and…
CCA 200029007: Recent penalty and interest payments kept a refund claim timely
A service center asked whether an amended-return refund claim filed more than three years after the original return was timely when the taxpayer had recently paid penalties and interest. Chief…
PLR 200029006: Variable annuity funds received different diversification treatment
A life insurer asked how investments through lower-tier funds would affect diversification testing for its variable annuity sub-accounts. The IRS ruled that each sub-account could look through its…
CCA 200029005: Bankruptcy and lien advice is largely redacted
Chief Counsel pre-reviewed a district counsel memorandum involving debtors in a bankruptcy case. The visible facts say the debtors filed individual income tax returns without payment shortly before…
CCA 200029004: Put worker-classification settlement terms in a closing agreement
A taxpayer and Appeals settled a worker-classification case, including the resulting employment tax liability. District Counsel asked whether the tax amount and other settlement terms could appear…
CCA 200029002: Nontrust tax payments may be recoverable in bankruptcy
Two corporations made payments toward employment tax liabilities shortly before entering Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The IRS applied an undesignated payment and a bank levy to nontrust fund taxes, and the…
CCA 200029001: Settlement back pay was subject to FICA and FUTA when paid
An employer sought refunds of FICA and FUTA taxes paid on the non-interest portion of a settlement with former employees over reduced pay and benefits. Chief Counsel advised that those payments were…
PLR 200027028: Failed negotiations do not allow early release of exchange funds
A qualified intermediary wanted to amend its standard like-kind exchange and trust agreements so owners could receive unused funds before the exchange period ended if good-faith negotiations for…
PLR 200028043: Foundation's CSFA scholarship grants received advance approval
A private foundation asked for advance approval of a scholarship program administered by Citizens' Scholarship Foundation of America (CSFA). The foundation would fund awards, while CSFA would handle…
PLR 200028042: Governmental 401(k) plan could extend to related public employers
A state proposed to extend an existing governmental 401(k) plan to employees of local school districts, political subdivisions, and other state-created entities participating in its defined benefit…
PLR 200028041: Required distributions from IRAs inherited by two daughters
A man died after his required beginning date, leaving five IRAs equally to his two daughters. The daughters proposed transferring their shares of four IRAs into separate inherited IRAs held in their…
PLR 200028040: Older daughter's distributions from inherited IRAs
A man died after his required beginning date and left five IRAs equally to his two daughters. The older daughter sought to transfer her share of four IRAs into separate IRAs maintained in her…
PLR 200028039: Black lung trust may pay benefits across a merged coal group
After a merger, the parent of a coal mining group asked whether one company's black lung trust could pay black lung claims for workers across the group. It also proposed using excess trust assets…
PLR 200028038: Foundation terminates by transferring assets to a community trust
A private operating foundation proposed transferring all its assets to a community trust that had been publicly supported for more than 60 months. Its representative could recommend grant…
PLR 200028037: Foundation may set aside funds for a marine science facility
A private foundation had pledged funds toward a marine science facility with classrooms, research space, and a marine mammal rehabilitation center. It set aside its remaining share of the pledge…
CCA 200028036: Time limits for returning levy proceeds and refunding overpayments
A service center asked whether it could refund levy proceeds that exceeded a taxpayer's liability after more than nine months had passed. Chief Counsel explained that returning levied money under…
CCA 200028035: Jury fees do not count as earned income for the EIC
Chief Counsel considered whether payments for jury service count as earned income for the Earned Income Credit. It concluded that jurors are not employees and that jury service is a civic duty…
CCA 200028034: Later Social Security number permits an amended EIC claim
Chief Counsel considered Earned Income Credit claims denied because a taxpayer, spouse, or qualifying child lacked a Social Security number meeting section 32(m). It advised that obtaining a…
CCA 200028033: Signed Form 1040 with zeroes generally starts limitations periods
Chief Counsel considered a Form 1040 with zeroes on every line, signed without changes to its attestation statement. It advised treating that form generally as a return for the assessment and refund…
CCA 200028032: Estate EINs for interest paid on abandoned property
A state treasurer asked for estate Employer Identification Numbers when paying interest on abandoned property claimed for deceased owners. Chief Counsel advised that the state properly requests an…
CCA 200028031: Chapter 13 orders directing future tax refunds to trustees
An Ohio bankruptcy court issued orders directing the IRS to send Chapter 13 debtors' future tax refunds to the trustee, including in cases where the IRS was not a creditor. Chief Counsel examined…
CCA 200028030: Late Form 1120-F and foreign corporation deductions
Chief Counsel advised that a foreign corporation engaged in a U.S. trade or business must generally file Form 1120-F, even when it believes it has no effectively connected income or is exempt under…
CCA 200028029: Claim of right treatment for an oil and gas royalty settlement
An oil and gas lessee settled a dispute over royalties it had underpaid a lessor. Chief Counsel advised that the royalty portion of the payment may qualify for the special tax computation under…
CCA 200028028: Search warrant request lacked evidence of willful tax evasion
Chief Counsel reviewed a resubmitted request for a search warrant in a criminal tax investigation. It declined to authorize referral of the request to the Department of Justice because the evidence…
PLR 200028027: Tax treatment of a foreign corporate merger after a stock acquisition
A foreign corporation acquired another foreign corporation's stock through tender offers and a buyout, then proposed to merge the target into itself. The IRS ruled that neither corporation would…
PLR 200028026: Inadvertent S corporation termination after missed trust elections
An S corporation's stock was transferred to several trusts, but the trusts' beneficiaries did not timely make the elections needed for qualified subchapter S trusts. The IRS found that the missing…
PLR 200028025: Former resident rebuts expatriation tax avoidance presumption
A former long-term U.S. resident gave up her permanent resident status while her net worth exceeded the threshold that triggered a presumption of tax avoidance under section 877. She remained a tax…
PLR 200028024: More time to elect asset sale treatment for a foreign stock purchase
A corporate group missed the deadline to make a section 338(g) election for its acquisition of a foreign target and its foreign subsidiaries. The IRS found that the group acted reasonably and in…
PLR 200028023: Former resident rebuts expatriation tax avoidance presumption
A former long-term U.S. resident gave up his permanent resident status while his net worth exceeded the threshold that triggered a presumption of tax avoidance under section 877. He remained a tax…
CCA 200028022: More facts needed on enhanced oil recovery credit costs
An oil producer claimed the section 43 credit for costs of generating steam and buying, injecting, and recycling carbon dioxide in enhanced oil recovery projects. Chief Counsel said it lacked enough…
PLR 200028021: Estate's late return makes QTIP elections effective, with automatic GST allocation
An executor filed the estate's first and only estate tax return after its due date, electing marital deduction treatment for a trust and reverse QTIP treatment for one subtrust. The IRS ruled that…
PLR 200028020: Family disclaimers of estate and trust interests qualify under section 2518
After a decedent's death, the surviving spouse, children, grandchildren, and nieces disclaimed specified estate or trust interests, including rights that might otherwise return to them under state…
CCA 200028019: Partnership debt was not discharged in the reported tax year
A real estate partnership reported cancellation of indebtedness income after settling with a lender and selling its property. Chief Counsel advised that the partners remained personally liable on…
PLR 200028018: Service contract issuers qualify as insurers for federal tax purposes
Two affiliates of a product manufacturer planned to issue contracts covering customers' repair costs after mechanical breakdowns. The affiliates would reimburse repair facilities but would not…
PLR 200028017: Late S corporation election receives reasonable cause relief
A corporation's shareholder intended S corporation status from the date the business began, but the election was not filed on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the delay and granted relief…
PLR 200028016: Late S corporation election receives reasonable cause relief
A corporation's shareholders intended S corporation status from its incorporation date, but the election was not filed on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the delay and granted relief under…
PLR 200028015: Late S corporation election receives reasonable cause relief
A corporation's shareholder intended S corporation status from the date the business began, but the election was not filed on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the delay and granted relief…
PLR 200028014: Separate service affiliates do not taint a REIT's rental income
A trust planning to elect real estate investment trust status owned medical office and outpatient properties through partnerships. Two separate companies would provide property services and…
PLR 200028013: Successive transfers to controlled corporations receive nonrecognition treatment
Following an earlier corporate combination, a new parent proposed to transfer subsidiary stock and operating assets to one controlled corporation, which would transfer much of that property to…
PLR 200028012: Late reverse QTIP election and unused GST exemption allocation
An estate's timely return omitted a marital subtrust from its generation-skipping transfer tax schedule and allocated the entire exemption to another trust. The IRS granted 30 days to make a reverse…
PLR 200028011: New holding company succeeds as consolidated group's parent
Shareholders of a consolidated group's parent planned to exchange their stock for shares of a new holding company. The old parent would then distribute cash and subsidiary stock to the new parent.…
PLR 200028010: Late accounting period change application treated as timely
Taxpayers filed Form 1128 to request a change in their tax year after the filing deadline. The form was less than 90 days late, and the IRS found that the delay resulted from an error or…
PLR 200028009: Possessions corporation may change to profit split method
A possessions corporation had elected the cost sharing method under section 936 for income from a manufactured product. Its parent later expanded licensing of the product's brand, and the taxpayer…
PLR 200028008: Trustee substitution creates no estate inclusion or gift, income tax question declined
A trust's corporate co-trustee planned to resign, and a beneficiary's child would take its place. The IRS concluded that the trustee's power to distribute principal for the beneficiary's care,…
PLR 200028007: Revised home health care benefits remain tax favored
A tax exempt multiemployer welfare plan revised its home health care benefit to cover medical care related to illness or injury, including specified hospice and long-term care services. The IRS said…
CCA 200028006: Political activity payments are not deductible as officeholder business expenses
Chief Counsel considered whether a public officeholder could deduct payments under section 162 as expenses of holding office. Much of the factual discussion in the released memo is redacted. The…
PLR 200028005: Nonprofit system mergers do not cause section 382 ownership changes
Several tax exempt organizations combined their operations and membership structures. They controlled for-profit corporations, some of which had net operating loss carryovers. The IRS ruled that the…
CCA 200028004: Basis allocation and worthless common stock after a cash merger
Chief Counsel examined how a parent should divide its basis between the preferred and common stock of a foreign subsidiary after capital contributions and a later cash merger. It favored…
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.