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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CCA 200011025: Qualified liability treatment in disguised sale depends on tracing debt proceeds
Chief Counsel analyzed commercial paper liabilities assumed by a partnership after partners contributed stock in lower tier companies. The taxpayer conceded a disguised sale but argued the…
PLR 200011024: Former QSSSub may elect S status without five year wait
An S corporation planned to distribute the stock of its wholly owned qualified subchapter S subsidiary to its shareholders before a sale of the parent. That distribution would end the subsidiary's…
CCA 200011023: Estate tax need not be paid before an heir claims the section 691(c) deduction
A taxpayer inherited the right to receive annuity payments and reported them as income in respect of a decedent. The estate included the annuity's value on its estate tax return but had not yet paid…
PLR 200011022: Partnership received more time to elect corporate tax classification
An entity formed as a state corporation converted into a state limited partnership but intended to continue being taxed as a C corporation. It missed the deadline to file Form 8832 for corporate tax…
CCA 200011021: Missing cost sharing statement defeats qualified arrangement treatment
A U.S. corporation and a controlled foreign company had a technology cost sharing agreement, but the U.S. corporation did not attach the required cost sharing statement to its income tax return or…
PLR 200011020: Former citizen rebutted tax avoidance presumption, but purpose remained open
A woman born a U.S. citizen also held citizenship in her father's birth country and later relinquished her U.S. citizenship. Her net worth exceeded the threshold for a presumption that expatriation…
PLR 200011019: Late S election allowed after filing misunderstanding
A corporation and its shareholders intended S corporation status from its first tax year, as recorded in directors' meeting minutes. They relied on an attorney to prepare and file Form 2553, but a…
PLR 200011018: LLC received more time to elect corporate tax classification
A corporate group formed a single member LLC while separating two businesses and intended to treat the LLC as a corporation for federal tax purposes. The person delegated to handle the election did…
PLR 200011017: Business spin off for acquisition financing qualifies as reorganization
A corporate group planned to separate a subsidiary business so that the subsidiary could borrow to fund acquisitions. The parent would transfer assets to that company and distribute its shares pro…
PLR 200011016: Retirement stock redemption qualifies as complete termination with attribution waiver
A woman retiring from a family owned corporation planned to have it redeem all her shares for cash, while her husband and children kept theirs. The IRS held that earlier family stock gifts lacked a…
PLR 200011015: Late S election allowed from incorporation date
A corporation's shareholders wanted S corporation treatment from its incorporation date, but the election was not filed on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the delay under section…
CCA 200011014: Counsel advised holding taxpayers to loan treatment in closed years
This Field Service Advice supplemented an earlier memo about corporate distributions described by the taxpayers as loans. Counsel said the IRS likely could have argued that similarly patterned…
PLR 200011013: Late S election relief and deemed dividend to preserve S status
A corporation missed its intended S election date and later had three consecutive years with passive investment income above 25 percent of gross receipts. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late…
PLR 200011012: Charitable lead annuity trust gift and estate tax rulings
A taxpayer proposed to fund a charitable lead trust that would pay a fixed annual amount to qualified charities for up to 30 years, with the remainder going to the taxpayer's children. The IRS ruled…
CCA 200011011: Puerto Rico affiliate cannot automatically retain foreign location savings
A Puerto Rico manufacturing affiliate used a foreign affiliate to perform some production work in a lower cost country. It argued that the savings from that work belonged to the Puerto Rico…
PLR 200011010: Business separation qualifies as a corporate reorganization
A corporate group proposed to separate a business opened to competition from a business that would remain regulated. One subsidiary would transfer the competitive business to a new corporation and…
TAM 200011009: Pond maintenance nets are not taxable fishing landing nets
An importer sold poles, loose nets, and assembled nets marketed for cleaning residential ponds and pools. The IRS advised that none were taxable fishing landing nets under the sporting goods excise…
TAM 200011008: Insurance paid to adult children did not qualify under divorce settlement rule
A divorce agreement required a person to maintain life insurance for a former spouse or their adult children. The insured later named the adult children as beneficiaries, and they received the…
PLR 200011007: Consolidated group may change intercompany accounting method
A consolidated corporate group had reported intercompany sales as if its members were separate companies, without obtaining IRS consent. It requested permission to use the consolidated return rules…
CCA 200011006: Loan restructuring warrants and later stock exchanges
A corporation issued stock warrants while restructuring debt, later discharged part of that debt for stock and cash, and exchanged stock for some warrants. Chief Counsel advised that warrants given…
TAM 200011005: Grantor includes trust debt in amount realized at termination
A taxpayer put closely held stock in grantor retained annuity trusts. The trusts borrowed money to make annuity payments, then transferred the stock and unpaid debt to remainder trusts when they…
CCA 200011004: Rail car sale and leaseback lacked ownership substance
A taxpayer claimed tax benefits from buying rail cars and leasing them back to the seller through a leveraged lease. Chief Counsel advised that the transaction likely lacked economic substance and…
CCA 200011003: Shareholder withdrawals were dividends when received
Two closely held corporations transferred cash to their controlling shareholder and recorded the withdrawals as loans. Chief Counsel advised that the transfers were constructive dividends in the…
CCA 200011002: Housing cooperative's short tax year and loss carryovers
A housing cooperative changed from a calendar tax year to a year ending January 31 after a prepaid commercial rent payment made it fail the cooperative income test for a short period. Chief Counsel…
CCA 200011001: Guarantees need factual review in stock transfer
A corporation exchanged subsidiary stock for preferred stock in a new company as part of a divestiture and was released from guarantees of related debt. Chief Counsel advised that the participating…
PLR 200010061: Short-term redemption borrowing does not create debt-financed income
A bank asked whether temporary borrowing by an exempt collective investment trust to pay participants redeeming their units would produce unrelated debt-financed income. The trust proposed a…
PLR 200010060: IRS rules on an ESOP distribution right for a new class of stock
A company proposed that its employee stock ownership plan buy a new class of stock that lacked the voting and dividend rights needed to qualify as employer securities under IRC § 409(l). The company…
PLR 200010059: IRS recognizes a nursing home's retirement plan as a church plan
A nonprofit nursing home asked whether its retirement plan qualified as a church plan under IRC § 414(e). The home was operated under a religious congregation, and the IRS found that it and related…
PLR 200010058: Hospital sale can permit 401(k) account distributions
A health care company sold four hospitals to an unrelated buyer through related entities. Employees of the sold hospitals generally continued doing the same work for the buyer, and the company…
PLR 200010057: Private foundation transfer to a related foundation avoids termination tax
A private foundation asked to transfer all its assets to another private foundation controlled by the same family so the foundations could be consolidated. The IRS ruled that the transfer qualified…
PLR 200010056: Foreign charity grants qualify under a foundation's program
A private foundation proposed to expand its grant program to smaller foreign charities. It would seek an equivalency affidavit where available and otherwise exercise expenditure responsibility,…
PLR 200010055: Disclaimed IRA share may be paid to family trust over spouse's life expectancy
After an IRA owner's death, his surviving spouse disclaimed part of the account, causing that share to pass to a family trust under the beneficiary designation. The spouse was the oldest potential…
PLR 200010054: Surviving spouse's partial IRA rollover to the same account is permitted
A surviving spouse withdrew assets from her deceased spouse's IRA and redeposited part of the money into the same account within 60 days. The IRS ruled that she was the distributee and that the IRA…
PLR 200010053: Conditional waiver of a pension plan's 100 percent funding excise tax
A company with accumulated funding deficiencies for its defined benefit pension plan sought relief from funding penalties. It withdrew its request to waive the minimum funding standard after the IRS…
PLR 200010052: Foundation grant for a college venture capital fund qualifies as charitable spending
A private foundation planned to fund part of a college's research and business incubator program, including a venture capital fund for loans and equity investments in early stage businesses. The…
PLR 200010051: Missed trust elections treated as inadvertent S corporation termination
An S corporation's sole shareholder transferred shares to four trusts intended to be qualified subchapter S trusts, but the required trust elections were not filed on time. The corporation later…
PLR 200010050: Currency investment funds may select a non-dollar functional currency
Three domestic investment trusts planned to invest mainly in interest-bearing instruments denominated in euros, pounds sterling, and Japanese yen, respectively. Each fund was represented to be a…
PLR 200010049: Late S corporation election accepted for reasonable cause
A corporation's two shareholders wanted S corporation treatment beginning on the date the company was incorporated, but the company did not file its election on time. The IRS found reasonable cause…
PLR 200010048: One options account must be marked to market; second account left unresolved
An options dealer recorded equity option trades in two accounts based on whether its employee traded on the exchange floor or an outside broker handled the trade. The company asked the IRS to…
PLR 200010047: IRS approves revised nuclear decommissioning fund schedule
A utility requested a revised schedule of ruling amounts for payments to its nuclear decommissioning fund after the date when its plant would leave its cost of service changed. Two commissions set…
CCA 200010046: Missing attachments can affect refund and interest treatment
Chief Counsel advised a service center on individual returns missing required schedules and a deceased taxpayer's return signed by a personal representative. An otherwise complete return missing a…
PLR 200010045: IRS denies late Form 3115 filing relief
A corporation sought extra time to file Form 3115 to adopt an accounting method for advance payments for services. It said a prior accountant had not told it that the form was required for the…
PLR 200010044: IRS grants conditional relief for a late S election
A corporation's sole shareholder intended it to be an S corporation for a particular tax year but did not know that a federal Form 2553 was required. The corporation filed an S corporation return…
PLR 200010043: IRS grants conditional relief for an S election
A corporation said it intended to be an S corporation from its first tax year, and its board minutes and later tax returns reflected that intent. The IRS service center reported that it did not have…
PLR 200010042: IRS extends deadline for foreign sales corporation election
A taxpayer requested more time to file Form 8279 to elect treatment as a foreign sales corporation. A manager at its accounting firm believed the form had been sent to the taxpayer's parent for…
PLR 200010041: Puerto Rico business may use economic activity credit, subject to late election relief
A corporation acquired the assets of Puerto Rico businesses from an existing possession tax credit claimant after corporate spin-offs. The IRS ruled that the acquiring corporation could use the…
PLR 200010040: Puerto Rico business may use economic activity credit, subject to late election relief
A corporation acquired the assets of Puerto Rico businesses from an existing possession tax credit claimant after corporate spin-offs. The IRS ruled that the acquiring corporation could use the…
PLR 200010039: IRS rules on two proposed qualified S subsidiaries
Shareholders of two S corporations proposed transferring their shares to a new S corporation, which would elect to treat both companies as qualified Subchapter S subsidiaries. The IRS ruled that the…
PLR 200010038: Active commercial property rents excluded from S corporation passive investment income
An S corporation that leased commercial properties asked whether its rental receipts counted as passive investment income under section 1362. It described tenant services and property work performed…
PLR 200010037: IRS rules on partition of an irrevocable family trust
Trustees proposed dividing a trust created in 1969 into three family trusts, one primarily for each of the donor's children, with an agreement governing stock voting and transfers. Based on the…
PLR 200010036: Charitable lead trust rulings leave grantor status open
A couple proposed funding a 15-year charitable lead annuity trust with marketable securities. The IRS ruled that the funding would be a completed gift, the charity's annuity would qualify for a gift…
PLR 200010035: IRS allows court-approved changes to a charitable remainder annuity trust
Two donors proposed changing their charitable remainder annuity trust so excess income and some principal could be paid to its charitable remainder beneficiary before the trust ended, while…
PLR 200010034: IRS grants conditional relief for an invalid S election
A corporation elected S status while two shareholders were nonresident aliens, making the election ineffective. The IRS agreed to treat it as an S corporation from the election date if the election…
PLR 200010033: Research training stipends are not wages, but living expense awards remain taxable
A teaching hospital paid stipends to research fellows in programs focused on training rather than services for the hospital. The IRS ruled that the stipends were not compensation for services and…
CCA 200010032: Counsel advises that distributed affiliate notes lacked debt substance
Field Service Advice addressed a corporation's distribution of notes issued by its subsidiaries up a related corporate chain. The taxpayer argued that a court decision would treat the distribution…
PLR 200010031: IRS addresses one issue in a two-step corporate merger
A company first acquired a target through a subsidiary merger and then proposed merging the surviving target into the parent. The IRS ruled that, if the two steps formed an integrated plan and both…
PLR 200010030: IRS grants relief for a late first-year S election
A corporation's shareholders intended S corporation status from the company's first tax year, but the election was not filed on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late filing and said it…
PLR 200010029: IRS grants relief for a late first-year S election
A corporation's shareholders intended S corporation status from the company's first tax year, but the election was not filed on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the late filing and said it…
PLR 200010028: IRS rules on foreign insurer spin-off and branch tax treatment
A foreign insurance group proposed separating its foreign and U.S. businesses through a series of stock transfers and distributions. Treating a specified group of steps as a single transaction, the…
CCA 200010027: IRS may adjust a supplier's FSC commission deduction while its assessment period is open
A U.S. exporter paid commissions to its wholly owned foreign sales corporation (FSC) and deducted them. Examiners asked whether they could adjust the exporter's deduction after the FSC's assessment…
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.