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 200021034: Ethanol partnership may qualify for small producer credit
A partnership leased a plant to make ethanol from corn and asked how the small ethanol producer credit would apply. The IRS ruled that its production could qualify for the IRC § 40 credit if the…
PLR 200021033: Late S election accepted for corporation's first tax year
A corporation's sole shareholder said an S election form had been sent to the corporation's accountant, but the IRS had no record of a timely filing for its first tax year. The corporation and…
PLR 200021032: Two mergers treated as direct asset acquisition if integrated
A corporation used a subsidiary to acquire a target through a merger, then merged the target into itself. It asked how the completed two-step transaction would be treated for federal income tax…
PLR 200021031: Late S election allowed after missing Form 2553
A corporation's president believed an S election had been filed for its first tax year, and the corporation filed an S corporation return. The service center had no record of receiving Form 2553.…
PLR 200021030: Shareholder split-off qualifies as a reorganization
Two equal shareholders disputed how their corporation should operate. The corporation proposed moving some business assets to a new subsidiary, then giving all the subsidiary's stock to one…
PLR 200021029: Buyer receives 30 days to file late section 338 elections
A corporation bought a foreign target and an interest in its affiliate, intending to make IRC § 338 elections for the target and deemed affiliate acquisition. The elections were not filed by their…
PLR 200021028: Consented S election revocation was not inadvertent
A corporation asked the IRS to treat the termination of its S corporation election as inadvertent under IRC § 1362(f). The election had been revoked by letter, and the corporation's sole shareholder…
PLR 200021027: S election treated as timely if form filed within 60 days
A corporation with one shareholder said it had intended to be an S corporation since incorporation and had operated that way, but later found that its election had not been filed on time. The IRS…
PLR 200021026: Corporation gets 60 days to make late S election
A corporation decided at incorporation that it would elect S corporation status, but Form 2553 was not filed on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late filing and granted relief under IRC…
PLR 200021025: Late S election relief tied to 60-day filing
A corporation intended to elect S corporation status effective from its incorporation date, but Form 2553 was not filed on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed election under IRC §…
PLR 200021024: Former citizen rebuts tax-avoidance presumption, but purpose remains open
A former U.S. citizen sought a ruling that her renunciation did not have a principal purpose of avoiding U.S. taxes. Her net worth exceeded the statutory threshold, but she qualified to request…
PLR 200021023: Parent gets more time for subsidiary's QSub election
An S corporation formed a wholly owned subsidiary and intended to elect qualified subchapter S subsidiary (QSub) treatment from its formation date, but missed the filing deadline. The IRS granted an…
PLR 200021022: Family business split-off qualifies as a reorganization
A family-owned corporation proposed forming a subsidiary and giving all its stock to one shareholder in exchange for that shareholder's stock in the original company. The plan aimed to separate…
PLR 200021021: Estate receives extension for alternate valuation election
An estate filed its federal estate tax return on time but omitted the IRC § 2032 alternate valuation election. The executor later submitted supplemental Form 706 information and checked the election…
PLR 200021020: Charitable lead trust qualifies for annuity gift deduction
A taxpayer proposed a charitable lead trust that would pay a fixed annual amount to qualified charities before distributing the remainder to the taxpayer's children. The IRS ruled that the…
PLR 200021019: Investment fund asset transfer qualifies as a reorganization
A closed-end investment fund proposed transferring substantially all its assets and liabilities to another fund in exchange for the acquiring fund's stock, then distributing that stock and…
PLR 200021018: Municipal bond fund transfer qualifies as a reorganization
A closed-end fund investing in municipal obligations proposed transferring substantially all its assets and liabilities to another fund for the acquiring fund's voting stock, then distributing that…
PLR 200021017: Four-shareholder corporation gets late S election relief
A corporation with four shareholders said it intended to be an S corporation from incorporation and had operated on that basis. After its first tax year, it learned that its S election had not been…
PLR 200021016: Sale of housing subsidiaries does not trigger credit recapture
A company sold subsidiaries that held direct or indirect interests in low-income housing projects and had posted bonds tied to housing credits. Some project partnerships also terminated for tax…
PLR 200021015: Late S election accepted for requested tax year
A corporation with one shareholder said it had intended to be an S corporation since incorporation and had operated on that basis. After the tax year identified in the letter, it discovered that its…
PLR 200021014: S corporation gets 45 days for late debt-income election
An S corporation sought more time to elect the IRC § 108(c) treatment for income it attributed to discharge of real property business debt. Its return preparer had misunderstood that the election…
CCA 200021013: Ski resort land clearing and road surfacing have different tax treatment
Chief Counsel advised on a ski resort operator's claimed depreciation for mountain roads, trails, and slopes on federal land it used under permits. The memo concluded that clearing and grading costs…
PLR 200021012: Monthly investment elections can satisfy deferred compensation FICA rule
A company let selected officers defer compensation and choose investment options used to calculate monthly earnings on their account balances. For FICA purposes, the IRS ruled that the plan's choice…
CCA 200021011: Acquired subsidiary's old losses cannot offset parent's income
A parent corporation acquired a company with net operating losses from years when that company filed separately. After transferring the acquired company's operating assets to itself, the parent…
CCA 200021010: Weekend filing rule did not save late refund claim
A couple mailed a late income tax return claiming a refund on April 15 of a later year, and the IRS received it on April 17. Their withholding was deemed paid three years and two days before the IRS…
PLR 200021009: Pro rata marital trust division preserves tax treatment
The trustees proposed dividing a marital trust created under a decedent's will into three trusts holding 36 percent, 32 percent, and 32 percent of each original asset. The spouse's income and…
TAM 200021008: Stock restriction cancellation creates compensation deduction
Doctors who owned a professional services company had book-value buyback restrictions removed from their shares during a restructuring and sale of the company's clinic-management business. The IRS…
PLR 200021007: Five-way trust partition avoids gain and gift tax
A court ordered an existing family trust divided into five separate trusts, with provisions preserving the beneficiaries' income shares and ultimate distribution rights. The IRS ruled that the…
CCA 200021006: Copper mine needs no added ACE adjustment for depletion
Chief Counsel considered a copper mine placed in service before 1990 that used percentage depletion for regular tax purposes. The company asked whether its alternative minimum tax calculation also…
CCA 200021005: Profit-dependent trademark note is equity, not debt
A U.S. subsidiary gave its foreign parent a note for trademarks. The note carried no interest or maturity date and required payments only from the subsidiary's future profits. Chief Counsel…
CCA 200021003: Blue Cross deduction requires claims or cost-plus expenses
A Blue Cross or Blue Shield organization included claims and administrative expenses reported on its insurance annual statement in its special deduction under IRC § 833. Chief Counsel advised that…
PLR 200021002: Demutualization stock trust treated as a trust for tax purposes
A mutual life insurer planned to convert to a stock company and place holding-company shares in a trust for eligible policyholders. The IRS ruled that the trust would be treated as a trust, with…
CCA 200021001: State school plan fails FICA retirement system exception
Chief Counsel examined a state school employee retirement plan to decide whether its members' services were excluded from employment for FICA purposes under IRC § 3121(b)(7). The minimum benefit…
PLR 200020063: Proposed IRA payments qualify for early withdrawal exception
An IRA owner proposed annual withdrawals before age 59½ using an annuity factor based on the UP-1984 mortality table and 120 percent of the applicable federal long-term rate. The owner would…
PLR 200020062: Charity's 403(b) custodial plan qualifies in form
A tax-exempt employer asked whether its employee custodial account plan, including three types of basic employer contributions, met the requirements for a 403(b) arrangement. The IRS ruled that the…
PLR 200020061: University dining employer's plans are governmental plans
A university dining organization asked whether it was an agency or instrumentality of its state, making two employee retirement plans governmental plans under IRC § 414(d). The university controlled…
PLR 200020060: Foundation's split-dollar insurance benefits require reasonable pay
A private foundation proposed a split-dollar life insurance policy as part of its president's compensation. The foundation and president would pay their respective premiums directly to the insurer,…
PLR 200020059: Cancer research set-aside qualifies as a distribution
A private foundation planned to set aside funds for a specific cancer research project and pay them over several years. It explained that staged funding better fit the project's development than an…
PLR 200020058: Foundation asset transfer avoids termination tax
A private foundation planned to transfer half its assets equally to four private foundations associated with its trustees. It would continue its own charitable work after the transfer. The IRS ruled…
PLR 200020057: Student loan corporation retains charitable exemption after restructuring
A nonprofit student loan corporation elected under IRC § 150(d)(3) to transfer its student loan assets to a for-profit subsidiary and broaden its educational work. It planned to offer student aid,…
TAM 200020056: Export document certification supports business league exemption
A membership organization promoted ties between American businesses and another country. Most of its revenue came from certifying export documents required by that country, and it allocated part of…
CCA 200020055: When temporary assignments permit deductible travel expenses
Chief Counsel explained how an employer should treat travel reimbursements when an employee's assignment away from the employee's tax home changes. Reimbursements qualify for exclusion under an…
PLR 200020054: Late foreign sales corporation election granted
A taxpayer and its accounting firm each assumed the other had filed Form 8279 to elect foreign sales corporation status. The taxpayer had filed its 1998 FSC return, but the IRS had no record of the…
PLR 200020053: Extension granted for dual consolidated loss filings
A corporate group had used dual consolidated losses from three U.S. subsidiaries that operated as foreign branches. Its internal tax department gave incorrect advice about required certifications…
PLR 200020052: Extra time granted to perfect an allowed loss statement
A consolidated group sold stock of a subsidiary and sought to limit the resulting basis reduction by filing an allowed loss statement under Treas. Reg. § 1.1502-20(c)(3). Its original return…
PLR 200020051: Fund's late dividend election treated as timely
A regulated investment company regularly elected under IRC § 855(a) to treat certain dividends paid after year end as paid during the preceding tax year. Its adviser failed to file the return…
PLR 200020050: German insurer's premiums qualify for treaty excise tax relief
A German property and casualty insurer asked whether premiums on U.S. insurance and reinsurance risks qualified for relief from the federal insurance excise tax under the U.S.-Germany income tax…
PLR 200020049: Former resident rebuts expatriation tax avoidance presumption
A former long-term U.S. resident gave up his green card and sought a ruling that avoiding U.S. taxes was not one of his principal purposes. His net worth exceeded the threshold that would otherwise…
PLR 200020048: Insurer demutualization qualifies as a recapitalization
A foreign mutual life insurer planned to convert to a stock company and form a holding company. Eligible policyholders would exchange their ownership rights for stock, cash, or credits to their…
PLR 200020047: Former resident rebuts expatriation tax avoidance presumption
A former long-term U.S. resident surrendered her green card after her husband died and she returned to the country where she was born. Her net worth exceeded the threshold for a presumption of tax…
PLR 200020046: Utility transition bond financing produces no immediate income
An electric utility planned to finance costs arising from deregulation by issuing bonds through a special purpose entity it would own. State law authorized customer transition charges and allowed…
PLR 200020045: Utility transition bond proceeds produce no immediate income
An electric utility proposed to finance regulatory costs tied to deregulation with customer transition charges and bonds issued by a limited liability company it would own. The utility would…
PLR 200020044: Late Section 338(h)(10) elections granted 30 day extension
A buyer and seller intended to make joint IRC § 338(h)(10) elections for the purchase of a subsidiary and a deemed purchase of its affiliate, but valid election forms were not filed on time. They…
PLR 200020043: Transition bonds treated as utility debt without immediate income
An electric utility planned to recover costs related to deregulation through customer transition charges. It would transfer collection rights to a limited liability company it owned, which would…
PLR 200020042: Late S corporation election treated as timely if filed within 60 days
A corporation's sole shareholder intended S corporation status from its first tax year but believed that filing articles of incorporation was enough. The corporation never filed Form 2553, although…
PLR 200020041: Late elections allowed for two acquired S corporations
A corporate purchaser acquired two S corporations from individual sellers and intended to make joint IRC § 338(h)(10) elections. The parties filed returns as though the elections were made, but…
PLR 200020040: Late entity classification election granted 60 days
A newly formed entity intended from its start to be taxed as a corporation but did not file Form 8832 on time. The IRS concluded that it met the good faith and no prejudice standards for…
PLR 200020039: Late Section 338(h)(10) election allowed for S corporation purchase
A corporation purchased an S corporation from its shareholder for cash and a note. The buyer and seller intended a joint IRC § 338(h)(10) election but did not file a valid Form 8023 by the deadline.…
PLR 200020038: Missed trust election causes inadvertent S corporation termination
An S corporation's stock was held by a trust whose creator died. When the trust continued for another beneficiary, that beneficiary and tax advisers missed the election to treat it as a qualified…
PLR 200020037: Late S corporation election effective from incorporation
A corporation with ten shareholders intended to be an S corporation from its incorporation and operated on that basis. After its first tax year ended, it discovered that the S election had not been…
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.