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 200010026: Late S corporation election granted reasonable cause relief
A corporation's shareholders intended to elect S corporation status from the date it was incorporated, but the election was filed late. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed deadline under…
PLR 200010025: Late S corporation election treated as timely if filed within 60 days
A corporation and its shareholders intended S corporation status for the corporation's first taxable year, but did not file Form 2553 on time. They had filed returns treating it as a C corporation…
PLR 200010024: Reasonable cause relief for a missed S election
A corporation's sole shareholder intended S corporation treatment from the company's first taxable year. The shareholder did not know Form 2553 was required and relied on the corporation's…
PLR 200010023: Uneven distribution timing did not end S corporation status
An S corporation made distributions to its shareholders at different times and in different amounts, then made remedial distributions. It asked whether the original distributions had ended its S…
PLR 200010022: Parent S corporation receives two subsidiaries through QSUB elections
The owners of two S corporations planned to transfer their shares to a third S corporation, which would elect qualified subchapter S subsidiary (QSUB) status for both acquired companies. The IRS…
CCA 200010021: Overseas IRS representatives could accept individual returns and tax payments
Chief Counsel considered whether U.S. citizens living abroad and nonresident aliens could file individual income tax returns with IRS representatives at U.S. embassies. Although the form…
PLR 200010020: Variable contract funds may use money market funds under look-through rules
Funds available through variable insurance contracts proposed to invest some of their cash in money market funds. For section 817 diversification testing, the IRS ruled that each insurance…
PLR 200010019: Daughter's disclaimer and trust reformation support charitable deduction
A decedent's trust paid income to his daughter and permitted distributions of principal for her support, with the remainder going to charity. The daughter proposed to disclaim her right to…
CCA 200010018: Plant growing facility did not qualify as bond-financed manufacturing
A company used tax-exempt bond proceeds to build greenhouses and cold storage for growing and shipping garden plants. It argued that its technology-intensive growing process made the site a…
TAM 200010017: Only part of repayment in loss-sale arrangement was deductible
An Alaska Native corporation had entered an arrangement allowing another corporation to use some of its tax losses. After an IRS adjustment reduced the losses available, money held in a trust was…
CCA 200010016: IRS sought more facts on malpractice insurer's unpaid loss reserves
A medical malpractice insurer reported unpaid loss reserves above its outside actuary's final estimate, citing qualitative risk factors. IRS examiners proposed reserves lower than both the reported…
PLR 200010015: Employee equity plan did not alter an older shareholder agreement
A family-owned corporation had a shareholder agreement made before section 2703's effective date. The IRS ruled that a prior stock redemption and family transfers had not substantially modified the…
CCA 200010014: Revolving credit facility fees must be spread over loan term
A corporation borrowed the full amounts available under two revolving credit agreements and paid facility fees every quarter. It deducted a full year's fees when paid, arguing that each payment…
PLR 200010013: Vacation ranch and two trusts qualify under personal residence trust rules
A married couple owned a ranch used only as a vacation residence and proposed to put each spouse's share into a separate irrevocable trust. Each spouse would retain rent-free use for a fixed term,…
CCA 200010012: Vegetable processing appeared to qualify as manufacturing for bond rules
A facility cleaned, lightly cooked, froze, sorted, and packaged freshly harvested vegetables, using equipment and a building financed with tax-exempt bonds. Chief Counsel advised that this…
TAM 200010011: Grantor includes trust debt in amount realized at trust termination
A taxpayer placed closely held company stock in grantor retained annuity trusts, which borrowed money to make the taxpayer's annuity payments. When the trusts ended, their stock and unpaid loans…
TAM 200010010: GRAT debt counted when stock passed to remainder trusts
A taxpayer funded grantor retained annuity trusts with company stock. The trusts borrowed from another trust to pay the taxpayer's annuities, then transferred the stock and unpaid debt to remainder…
CCA 200010009: LIFO component costing omitted production efficiency gains
A manufacturer used a last-in, first-out inventory method that tracked raw materials, labor, and overhead as separate cost components. Chief Counsel advised that its particular method did not…
PLR 200010008: Late S election relief after attorney missed filing
Four shareholders intended their new corporation to be an S corporation from its first taxable year and relied on an attorney to file the election. The attorney did not timely file Form 2553,…
PLR 200010007: Reserve mobilization insurance benefits were not excluded combat pay
A reservist who served in a qualified hazardous duty area received benefits from a premium-funded program intended to replace civilian income during involuntary mobilization. She asked whether the…
TAM 200010006: Alaska Native Fund distributions did not trigger dividend reporting
An Alaska Native regional corporation distributed funds to its shareholders, and an examiner asked why it had not filed dividend information returns. Assuming the payments came from the Alaska…
CCA 200010005: IRS could not reinstate assessment after substantive abatement
A service center processed a duplicate amended return while the same return was under audit and abated part of an earlier assessment. Chief Counsel considered whether the IRS could undo that…
TAM 200010004: Interest allocated to receivables avoided investment interest limit
A business organized as a partnership had assumed debt and needed to allocate related interest expense among its assets. It argued that its customer receivables and bank deposits were both business…
CCA 200010003: Preferred stock treatment under loss carryover ownership rules remained fact dependent
A loss corporation issued convertible preferred stock in a year when its ownership changed. The IRS was asked whether the preferred shares counted as stock when applying the section 382(h)(8) rule…
CCA 200010002: Publisher's royalty accrual had to subtract expected book returns
A publisher's author contracts calculated royalties on book sales less actual returns and a reasonable reserve for expected returns. For tax purposes, the publisher accrued royalties without…
CCA 200010001: Civil tax use of wiretap evidence raised derivative-use rules
A revenue agent used information from a criminal wiretap to calculate unreported income in civil tax cases. Chief Counsel analyzed when evidence about conduct outside the original wiretap…
PLR 200009068: Foundation may transfer half its assets as an endowment grant
A private foundation proposed transferring half its assets to another private foundation as a capital endowment grant. The IRS ruled that the transfer would not affect either foundation's tax…
PLR 200009067: Nonprofit's 403(b) plan and contribution exclusions approved
A tax exempt employer asked whether its amended retirement plan met section 403(b) and whether contributions to participant accounts could be excluded from income. The IRS ruled that the plan's form…
PLR 200009066: Temporary child annuities excluded from basis recovery table
A public retirement system asked how retirees with several kinds of survivor beneficiaries should recover their after-tax contributions from pension payments. The IRS ruled that a temporary annuity…
PLR 200009065: Direct plan transfer preserves basis and government plan status
A state instrumentality administered a governmental defined benefit plan that would transfer certain excess employee contributions and related earnings directly to another retirement plan under new…
PLR 200009064: Church plan status recognized after administrator change
A nonprofit associated with a church asked whether its employee retirement plan qualified as a church plan dating back to 1974. The IRS found that the nonprofit's employees were deemed church…
PLR 200009063: Asset transfer between controlled private foundations
A private operating foundation proposed transferring all its assets and liabilities, including grant obligations, to a private foundation controlled by the same people. The IRS ruled that the…
PLR 200009062: Police pension contributions picked up by employer
A government employer proposed paying mandatory contributions to its police officers' pension plan by reducing their cash pay and sending the amounts to the plan. Employees could make a one-time,…
PLR 200009061: Group trust interest survives pension plan division
A company was separating an automotive parts business and dividing pension plans for employees of that business. It proposed transferring the new plans' beneficial interest in a group investment…
PLR 200009060: Donor subfunds determine foundation distribution carryovers
A private foundation planned to transfer all its assets to three private foundations controlled by family members who also controlled the transferor. It kept donor subfund accounts showing whose…
PLR 200009059: Art gifts qualify as private foundation distributions
A private foundation planned to give an art collection to a public art institution in installments. The institution had already displayed the collection on indefinite loan. The IRS ruled that each…
PLR 200009058: Charitable trust qualifies under section 4947
Two donors created a trust to support education and medical and health science through gifts to tax exempt organizations. They expected to contribute during their lives and through their estates.…
PLR 200009057: Entity receives more time to elect corporate tax treatment
A single-owner entity intended from its formation to be taxed as a corporation. Its legal representative failed to advise it that an affirmative classification election was required. Under the…
PLR 200009056: Funds may revoke capital gain distribution elections
Two regulated investment companies had elected to use their calendar tax year, rather than the period ending October 31, to calculate capital gain net income for required distributions under section…
PLR 200009055: Foundation may transfer assets to two other foundations
A private foundation proposed to transfer all its assets to two other private foundations. The IRS ruled that the transfer falls under section 507(b)(2), so the recipients inherit the transferor's…
PLR 200009054: Foundation merger transfers tax attributes to successor
A private foundation planned to merge into another foundation controlled by the same people and transfer all its assets. The IRS ruled that the merger is a section 507(b)(2) transfer. The recipient…
PLR 200009053: Foundation grant procedures receive advance approval
A private foundation sought advance approval of procedures for scholarships and other grants to individuals. It planned to consider academic performance, recommendations, applications, and the…
PLR 200045014: Corporation receives relief for late S election
A corporation's shareholders wanted S corporation status from the date it began conducting business, but the election was not filed on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the delay and ruled…
PLR 9952095: Land conservation purchases qualify for foundation set-aside
A private foundation planned to reserve income to buy two parcels of land for environmental conservation. It represented that the money would be spent on the project within 60 months and that…
PLR 9952094: VEBA may use excess assets for related employees' benefits
An employer's tax-exempt welfare benefit trust had more assets than needed for expected retiree obligations. The employer wanted to use trust assets for qualifying, collectively bargained benefits…
PLR 9952093: Early charitable annuity payment avoids three excise tax issues
A charitable lead annuity trust proposed paying its private foundation beneficiary the entire remaining annuity amount early, without discount, before distributing the remainder to the trust…
PLR 9952092: Endowment grants to three private foundations approved
A private foundation proposed cash and securities grants for endowment or other capital purposes to three other private foundations. Together, the grants were less than 25 percent of its net assets,…
PLR 9952091: Extra time granted for consent dividend election
A corporation failed to file the forms for consent dividend elections for two tax years after its advisers overlooked the election and the corporation's personal holding company status. The omission…
PLR 9952090: Foundation termination tax abatement requires statutory procedures
A private foundation had asked the IRS to remove a condition from an earlier ruling about abating the tax on termination of private foundation status. The IRS had amended that ruling but now…
PLR 9952089: Later foreign subsidiary dividends avoid debt-financed income
Two partnerships with tax-exempt limited partners had borrowed to invest in foreign real estate entities and a separate beneficial interest. They proposed repaying those borrowings before receiving…
PLR 9952088: Shared nonprofit administration preserves exemption
A new parent organization coordinated four related tax-exempt nonprofits and provided shared administrative services to them. The nonprofits planned to share funds, assets, services, and personnel,…
PLR 9952087: Health system restructuring preserves exemption and avoids UBIT
A tax-exempt health system planned to put its medical practice and two affiliated organizations under a new parent. The parent would coordinate planning, budgets, fundraising, and other system…
PLR 9952086: Foreign subsidiary dividends avoid unrelated business income for trust
A charitable remainder unitrust planned to fund a wholly owned foreign corporation that would invest in a U.S. partnership using debt to buy securities. The trust itself would incur no debt to fund…
PLR 9952085: Golf club initiation fees and course assessments receive capital treatment
A nonexempt golf club asked how to treat three types of member payments. The IRS ruled that incoming Regular members' initiation fees were received in exchange for an equity interest under §…
PLR 9952084: REIT property activities and joint venture income qualify as rents
A real estate investment trust asked whether property management, tenant services, capital improvements, and joint venture fees would qualify as rents from real property. The IRS ruled that the…
PLR 9952083: Hospital authority income excluded and contributions deductible
A county hospital authority and four nonprofit corporations it controlled asked whether their income was excluded from federal gross income. The IRS ruled that their healthcare operations served an…
PLR 9952082: Poisoned crops partly qualify for involuntary conversion relief
A grower asked whether damage caused by applying a product to its perennial plants qualified as an involuntary conversion under § 1033. The IRS concluded that the plants and fields were destroyed…
PLR 9952081: Gas property buyer holds economic interest and receives fuel credits
A buyer of gas producing properties asked who held the economic interest in the properties and who could claim the § 29 fuel production credit. The IRS ruled that the buyer held the entire economic…
PLR 9952080: Physical injury damages excluded but judgment interest taxable
A worker injured in a logging accident and his spouse asked whether their jury awards were taxable. The IRS ruled that damages for the worker's lost wages, unpaid medical bills, and pain and…
PLR 9952079: Late stock purchase election receives 30-day extension
A corporate buyer and the individual sellers of an S corporation missed the deadline to jointly file a § 338(h)(10) election for a stock purchase. They had reported the transaction as though the…
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.