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.
No determinations match these filters
Try fewer or different words, check the spelling, or clear the filters to browse everything.
CCA 200018025: IRS error calls for correcting interest on refunded overpayment
A corporation asked the IRS to apply part of an estimated tax overpayment to an earlier year's additional tax, but the IRS refunded the full overpayment. Chief Counsel advised that deficiency…
PLR 200018024: Late S election granted from corporation's start date
A corporation's shareholders intended S status from the incorporation date, but the election was not filed on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for missing the deadline and granted relief under…
PLR 200018023: Late S election recognized from requested effective date
A corporation's shareholders intended S corporation treatment from a specified date after incorporation, but the election was not filed on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late filing…
PLR 200018022: Internal bank restructuring avoids housing credit recapture
A bank holding company planned to combine several community development subsidiaries that held interests in partnerships owning low income housing projects. The restructuring would keep the…
PLR 200018021: Trust beneficiary lacks ownership for home sale exclusion
A taxpayer had lived in a residence for 18 years before moving to assisted living, but a trust created by the taxpayer's mother held title to the home. The taxpayer was an income beneficiary and had…
CCA 200018020: Stock fragmentation needs factual review; QTIP trust appears eligible
A decedent placed blocks of company stock into two lifetime trusts and a testamentary trust, with minority discounts used in transfer tax valuation. Chief Counsel advised that whether the blocks…
CCA 200018019: Consolidated subsidiary stock loss computation addressed
Chief Counsel gave supplemental advice about a consolidated group's sale of subsidiary stock at a claimed loss. Before the sale, the subsidiary had distributed an asset and recognized deferred gain,…
CCA 200018018: Securities exemption made farming partnership ineligible for cash accounting
A farming partnership used the cash method of accounting and obtained state exemptions from securities registration for offerings of its partnership interests. Chief Counsel advised that the…
CCA 200018017: Accounting changes for a bank's bad debts and interest
A bank had claimed bad debt deductions for loans the examination team believed did not qualify under its regulatory conformity election, and it had stopped accruing interest on those loans. Chief…
TAM 200018016: Airport deicing vehicles exempt from truck retail excise tax
A seller asked whether its airplane deicing vehicles were subject to the 12 percent retail excise tax on certain truck chassis and bodies. The vehicles carried deicing fluid and equipment at…
CCA 200018015: Sharing third party tax information in a lease stripping audit
An IRS examination team wanted information from other taxpayers' audits while reviewing a subsidiary's lease stripping transaction. Chief Counsel advised that the team could obtain information…
CCA 200018014: Interest dates when overpayments are credited to later taxes
A taxpayer elected to apply overpayments shown on its returns to the next year's tax, and the IRS later determined deficiencies for the earlier years. Chief Counsel advised that interest on a…
CCA 200018013: Donee liability for unpaid gift tax during donor's court case
The IRS had asserted additional gift tax against a deceased donor's estate, which challenged the deficiency in Tax Court. Counsel advised that a recipient of the gifts could be personally liable…
PLR 200018012: Securities partnership may combine contributed and revaluation gains
A securities partnership formed for a mutual fund master and feeder structure planned to receive investment assets with built-in gains and losses. It asked to combine those amounts with gains and…
PLR 200018011: Securities partnership may combine contributed and revaluation gains
A securities partnership formed for a mutual fund master and feeder structure planned to receive investment assets with built-in gains and losses. It asked to combine those amounts with gains and…
PLR 200018010: Securities partnership may combine contributed and revaluation gains
A securities partnership formed for a mutual fund master and feeder structure planned to receive investment assets with built-in gains and losses. It asked to combine those amounts with gains and…
PLR 200018009: Securities partnership may combine contributed and revaluation gains
A securities partnership formed for a mutual fund master and feeder structure planned to receive investment assets with built-in gains and losses. It asked to combine those amounts with gains and…
PLR 200018008: Securities partnership may combine contributed and revaluation gains
A securities partnership formed for a mutual fund master and feeder structure planned to receive investment assets with built-in gains and losses. It asked to combine those amounts with gains and…
PLR 200018007: Securities partnership may combine contributed and revaluation gains
A securities partnership formed for a mutual fund master and feeder structure planned to receive investment assets with built-in gains and losses. It asked to combine those amounts with gains and…
PLR 200018006: Securities partnership may combine contributed and revaluation gains
A securities partnership formed for a mutual fund master and feeder structure planned to receive investment assets with built-in gains and losses. It asked to combine those amounts with gains and…
CCA 200018005: Levy hearing notice during bankruptcy stay was void
The IRS sent a notice of intent to levy and a right to a collection hearing after the taxpayer filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Chief Counsel advised that the notice was an attempt to collect a…
CCA 200018004: Life insurer stock purchase treated as assumption reinsurance
A buyer acquired life insurance companies' stock and elected under section 338(h)(10) to treat the purchase as an asset sale for tax purposes. Chief Counsel advised that the deemed purchase of the…
CCA 200018003: Insurer may count later losses on acquired policies
An insurer acquired another insurer in a merger and later saw unexpectedly high losses on the acquired reinsurance business. Assuming the merger was taxable, Chief Counsel advised that the acquiring…
CCA 200018002: Reversing a mistaken tax abatement after assessment deadline
A service center asked when it could undo a tax abatement after the assessment deadline had passed. Chief Counsel advised that reversal was allowed only for an inadvertent clerical or ministerial…
CCA 200018001: Mandatory employee plan contribution belongs in ACP test
Counsel reviewed a retirement plan requiring a one percent basic contribution from employees. It agreed that the amount was a mandatory employee contribution, so it belonged in the actual…
PLR 200017054: Government pension contributions picked up by employer avoid current income tax
A political subdivision agreed by ordinance to pay mandatory employee contributions to a retirement plan in place of its employees. Employees could not choose to receive the amounts as cash. The IRS…
PLR 200017053: Charter school staff may join a governmental retirement plan
A state retirement system asked whether employees of charter schools formed under a new state law could participate in its governmental retirement plan. For retirement benefits, that law deemed the…
PLR 200017052: Federally assisted housing project receives ten year rule waiver
A partnership planned to buy and rehabilitate an existing low income housing project financed with a federally insured mortgage. The building had been placed in service less than ten years before…
PLR 200017051: Family limited partnership received contributed assets and life insurance policies
A family group asked how forming a family limited partnership and transferring life insurance policies to it would affect federal income and estate taxes. Trust 3, H, and W contributed assets to the…
PLR 200017050: Corporation received 60 days to make a late S election
A corporation intended to elect S corporation status from its first taxable year, but its tax preparer failed to prepare Form 2553 and the election was not filed. The IRS found reasonable cause for…
PLR 200017049: Corporation received 60 days to make a late S election
A corporation intended to be an S corporation from its first taxable year, but the attorney believed that the accountant was responsible for filing Form 2553. The corporation filed Form 1120S and…
PLR 200017048: Partnership could become a corporate employer for stock plan purposes
A company owned 99 percent of a partnership and wanted the partnership’s employees to participate in the company’s employee stock purchase plan. The company planned to elect to classify the…
PLR 200017047: Taxpayer received an extension to make a LIFO inventory election
A parent asked for relief on behalf of its subsidiary, which had acquired inventory in a transaction represented as a section 351 transfer. The subsidiary used the LIFO inventory method for tax and…
Technical Assistance 200017045: Treaty sourcing cannot raise flight attendants' U.S. withholding
The IRS advised an air transport industry specialist about wages paid by U.S. carriers to nonresident alien flight attendants based in Japan. The U.S.–Japan tax treaty would source all pay for…
CCA 200017044: Timely levy return decisions may be processed after nine months
Chief Counsel reviewed proposed advice about an IRS levy payment that exceeded a taxpayer's later reported tax liability. Under section 6343(d), the IRS may return levied money within nine months of…
Technical Assistance 200017043: U.S.–Japan treaty does not reduce flight attendants' FICA tax
The IRS advised on FICA taxes for Japan-resident flight attendants working on an American aircraft for a U.S. carrier. It concluded that the employee portion of FICA is a federal income tax covered…
CCA 200017042: Cash pension service credit settlements are FICA wages
The IRS considered employers' cash settlements of employee claims for additional credit under a qualified pension plan for service before 1984. The payments went directly to employees in place of…
CCA 200017041: Staffing firms face separate FICA and FUTA wage bases if they employ workers
Chief Counsel addressed FICA and FUTA refund claims filed by staffing firms that had restarted annual wage bases when workers moved from clients to the firms. If a firm is a common law employer or…
CCA 200017040: North Carolina flood relocation grants excluded from income
North Carolina planned supplemental payments to help Hurricane Floyd survivors buy comparable homes outside the 100 year flood plain after a federal program bought their damaged homes. Chief Counsel…
IRS Bulletin 200017039: Litigation case digest and four Chief Counsel memoranda
This February 2000 General Litigation Bulletin collects summaries of court decisions and four Chief Counsel memoranda, rather than one taxpayer ruling. The case digest opens with a decision about…
CCA 200017038: Processing look back interest on long term contracts
A service center asked how to handle Form 8697, which computes look back interest for long term contracts under section 460. Chief Counsel advised that a form reporting interest owed to the…
PLR 200017037: Three investment funds may combine in a tax free reorganization
Three regulated investment funds proposed to transfer their assets and liabilities to a fourth fund in exchange for its voting common and preferred shares, then distribute those shares to their…
PLR 200017036: Former resident's green card surrender lacked tax avoidance purpose
A worker moved to the United States for an employer assignment, obtained a green card, and later returned to the worker's birth country and surrendered the card. Because the worker's net worth…
PLR 200017035: Planned stock buybacks did not change prior spin off ruling
A corporation had received an earlier ruling that distributions of two subsidiaries' shares to its stockholders qualified under section 355. It then planned to repurchase some of its own shares…
PLR 200017034: Stock exchange for employee plan shares qualifies as recapitalization
A corporation planned to offer a new class of common stock in exchange for existing common shares, then have its employee stock ownership plan buy the new shares from those who accepted. The IRS…
PLR 200017033: Two funds receive more time for dividend elections
Two regulated investment funds filed returns late after attempted changes to their tax year ends proved invalid and the person responsible for filing departed. Their returns included section 855(a)…
PLR 200017032: Parent may distribute controlled company's shares tax free
A publicly traded parent wanted to separate two businesses by distributing its shares in a controlled company to the parent's shareholders. The IRS ruled that a cash dividend from the controlled…
PLR 200017031: Late S corporation election allowed after filing omission
A newly incorporated company and its shareholders intended S corporation status for its first tax year, but their attorney did not tell them to file Form 2553 and did not file it. The IRS found…
PLR 200017030: Ineligible shareholder caused inadvertent S election termination
A corporation's stock certificate was reissued from an individual to another S corporation, which was not an eligible shareholder for the tax years at issue. That ended the first corporation's S…
PLR 200017029: Late S corporation election accepted for first tax year
A one shareholder company intended to be an S corporation from incorporation and operated on that basis, but later discovered its election had not been filed on time. The IRS ruled that its section…
PLR 200017028: Late S corporation election accepted for first tax year
A one shareholder company intended to be an S corporation from incorporation and operated on that basis, but later discovered its election had not been filed on time. The IRS ruled that its section…
PLR 200017027: Late S corporation election accepted for intended tax year
A one shareholder company intended to be an S corporation since incorporation and operated on that basis, but later discovered its election had not been filed on time. The IRS ruled that its section…
PLR 200017026: Conditional extension for one stock purchase election
A buyer and seller intended to elect under section 338(h)(10) to treat a stock acquisition of one target as an asset purchase, but their tax professionals did not file the election on time. The IRS…
PLR 200017025: Late S corporation election accepted for first tax year
A company with two shareholders intended to be an S corporation from incorporation and operated on that basis, but later discovered its election had not been filed on time. The IRS ruled that its…
PLR 200017024: Former resident rebuts expatriation tax avoidance presumption
A former long term U.S. resident returned a green card after becoming a tax resident of the person's birth country. The former resident's net worth exceeded the threshold that normally creates a…
PLR 200017023: Auction sale to ineligible trust did not end S status permanently
A shareholder's stock in an S corporation was sold at public auction to a trust that could not be an eligible S shareholder. The company discovered the problem later and redeemed the trust's shares.…
PLR 200017022: Fund receives time to make dividend election after late return
A regulated investment fund's adviser held its prepared return while waiting for dividends needed for a section 855 election, but a new filing workflow failed to track the return and it was filed…
PLR 200017021: Feeder funds may count partnership assets and income proportionately
Investment feeder funds planned to invest most of their assets in a master fund treated as a partnership. They asked whether each feeder could count a proportional share of the master fund's…
PLR 200017020: Two funds receive extensions for dividend elections
Two regulated investment funds missed their return deadline after an administrator misplaced their prepared extension requests. They later filed returns containing section 855(a) elections for…
PLR 200017019: Business unit spin off and related employee benefits rulings
A public company planned to transfer one business unit to a new corporation and distribute that corporation's shares to its shareholders. The IRS ruled that the contribution and distribution formed…
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.