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 9947030: Trust may adopt a functional currency other than the dollar
A trust planning to elect real estate investment trust status expected to invest through an operating partnership abroad. Its transactions and records would use a foreign currency. The IRS ruled…
CCA 9947029: Report condemnation proceeds and interest separately
A state highway department paid landowners for condemned real property and added interest when payment followed the taking. It reported the entire payment on Form 1099-S. Chief Counsel advised that…
CCA 9947028: Allocate an athlete's endorsement signing payment by contract rights and services
A nonresident athlete received a lump sum payment when an athletic products company entered into a multiyear endorsement contract with a corporation that held the athlete's endorsement and service…
CCA 9947027: Product promotion generally falls outside a treaty's entertainers article
A nonresident model and actor was paid under an agreement to promote a company's products and license the use of their identity and performances. Chief Counsel considered whether the treaty article…
CCA 9947026: Reservation depreciation for mobile assets requires limited off-reservation use
District counsel asked when trucks and other mobile assets qualify for the shorter depreciation periods for Indian reservation property. Chief Counsel advised that each asset must be used more than…
PLR 9947025: S corporation election survives an IRA shareholder error
A corporation intended to elect S corporation status but discovered that an individual retirement account held some of its shares. An IRA was not an eligible S corporation shareholder, so the…
PLR 9947024: Subsidiary spin-off to enable key employee ownership qualifies for tax-free treatment
A corporation planned to distribute all the stock of its operating subsidiary to its existing shareholders. This would let a key employee receive a substantial ownership interest in the parent…
PLR 9947023: Late small foreign sales corporation election gets extra time
A parent formed a foreign corporation intending to elect small foreign sales corporation status, but its Form 8279 was not filed on time. The parent believed the form and instructions were misplaced…
PLR 9947022: Charitable lead trust annuities and a family disclaimer qualify under stated conditions
A will proposed two charitable lead trusts that would pay annuities to a private foundation, with remaining assets passing to family members. The second trust could receive property after the…
PLR 9947021: Late accounting period change application treated as timely
A taxpayer filed Form 1128 to request a change in its accounting period after the filing deadline. The letter says the delay resulted from an error or misunderstanding and that the form was filed…
PLR 9947020: Two business separations qualify as reorganizations and stock distributions
An S corporation planned to separate two business lines into new corporations. One separation was intended to resolve shareholder and management conflicts; the other was intended to help the…
PLR 9947019: Real estate business split resolves a shareholder deadlock
Two owners of an active rental real estate business disagreed about management and development decisions. Their corporation proposed moving some properties into a new corporation and giving all of…
PLR 9947018: Late Form 1128 receives filing deadline relief
A taxpayer filed Form 1128 after the deadline to request a change in its accounting period. The IRS said an error or misunderstanding caused the late filing, which occurred within 90 days of the due…
PLR 9947017: Late Form 1128 receives filing deadline relief
A taxpayer filed Form 1128 after the deadline to request a change in its accounting period. The IRS said an error or misunderstanding caused the late filing, which occurred within 90 days of the due…
PLR 9947016: Late Form 1128 receives filing deadline relief
A taxpayer filed Form 1128 after the deadline to request a change in its accounting period. The IRS said an error or misunderstanding caused the late filing, which occurred within 90 days of the due…
PLR 9947015: Late Form 1128 receives filing deadline relief
A taxpayer filed Form 1128 after the deadline to request a change in its accounting period. The IRS said an error or misunderstanding caused the late filing, which occurred within 90 days of the due…
PLR 9947014: Purchaser and sellers receive more time for a section 338(h)(10) election
A purchaser and the sellers of an S corporation intended to make a joint § 338(h)(10) election for a stock acquisition. The sellers signed the election form at closing, but the parties later learned…
PLR 9947013: Taxpayer gets time to correct dual consolidated loss filings
A taxpayer filed elections and annual certifications related to dual consolidated losses from foreign entities. The filings named the domestic owners instead of the foreign loss entities, omitted an…
PLR 9947012: S corporation receives more time to elect QSub treatment for a subsidiary
An S corporation intended its wholly owned subsidiary to be treated as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary. Its advisers prepared and filed an S corporation election for the subsidiary instead of…
CCA 9947011: Foreign reincorporation and later oil interest transfer raise gain and loss recapture issues
A domestic oil and gas subsidiary reincorporated abroad, then its foreign successor transferred part of its exploration interests to an unrelated foreign company. Chief Counsel advised that the…
CCA 9947010: Monthly average test for a manufacturer installment sale exception is valid
A manufacturer selling through dealers challenged a temporary regulation governing an exception to the former installment sale proportionate disallowance rule. The dispute concerned how to measure…
CCA 9947009: Treaty may exempt survivor benefits after loss of U.S. citizenship
A former U.S. citizen living in Germany received U.S. government survivor benefits after renouncing her citizenship. She claimed the payments received after renunciation were exempt from U.S. income…
CCA 9947008: Insurer's salvage deduction depends on treatment of coordination of benefits amounts
A health insurer claimed a special deduction available to insurers that had already taken estimated salvage recoveries into account before a 1990 law change. It treated amounts expected from…
TAM 9947007: Fraud judgment is deductible only when paid
An accrual method taxpayer claimed a deduction for a court judgment entered against him in a dispute over oil royalty interests, although he had not paid it. The taxpayer argued that the liability…
CCA 9947006: Foreign currency trading losses and expenses need contract and activity facts
A taxpayer sought to reclassify foreign currency trading losses as ordinary losses and trading expenses as business expenses, which could support a later refund. Chief Counsel said the record lacked…
CCA 9947005: Restaurant employer applies meal deduction limit to employee reimbursement
Employees of a company that operated restaurants entertained business clients at those restaurants, paid the bills, and received reimbursement under an accountable plan. The company and examiners…
CCA 9947004: Separated spouse cannot claim franchise loss solely through community property
A husband and wife acquired a franchise while married, then separated; the wife later managed the business. The husband claimed half of a later year's franchise loss based on community property…
CCA 9947003: Employment tax refunds differ for severance, stock options, and phantom stock
An employer sought FICA and FUTA refunds by treating payments under its severance, stock option, and performance unit plans as nonqualified deferred compensation taxed at an earlier time. Chief…
CCA 9947002: Welfare fund contribution raises collective bargaining exception question
An S corporation contributed to a welfare benefit fund and claimed a deduction that flowed through to its owner. The memorandum considered whether the fund qualified for the exception to § 419A…
PLR 9947001: Partnership owners may exchange interests for REIT stock under section 351
Owners of an entity holding real estate partnership interests planned to exchange their interests for stock in a newly formed real estate investment trust through a merger structure. The IRS treated…
PLR 9946038: Late QSub election receives a 60-day filing extension
An S corporation acquired a subsidiary and intended to elect qualified subchapter S subsidiary status effective on the acquisition date. The election was not filed on time. The IRS found that the…
PLR 9946037: Assisted living facility supports charity's exemption without unrelated business income
A tax exempt organization that operated a nursing facility planned to add assisted living, Alzheimer care, and adult day care services for older people. It said the new facility would meet…
PLR 9946036: Blood service reorganization preserves exemption and public charity status
A parent organization in a blood service system planned to transfer its clinical service programs to a new affiliate and focus on administration and support for other affiliates. It also planned to…
PLR 9946035: Revised nuclear decommissioning fund contribution schedule approved
An electric utility that owned an interest in a nuclear plant requested a revised annual contribution schedule for its nuclear decommissioning fund. It used decommissioning cost and return…
PLR 9946034: Revised nuclear decommissioning fund contribution schedule approved
An electric utility that owned an interest in a nuclear plant requested a revised annual contribution schedule for its nuclear decommissioning fund. It used decommissioning cost and return…
PLR 9946033: Active leasing receipts excluded from S corporation passive investment income
An S corporation with accumulated earnings and profits asked whether income from real estate management, aircraft leasing, and aircraft sales through two subsidiaries would count as passive…
PLR 9946032: Court clarification preserves older trust's GST tax exemption
The trustees of a trust created before the federal generation skipping transfer tax rules took effect sought a ruling after a court clarified who could inherit through the grantor's son. The court…
PLR 9946031: Court clarification preserves three trusts' GST tax exemption
The trustees of three older trusts sought a ruling after a court clarified which descendants could benefit from the trusts. The court said the daughter’s descendants would share by representation…
PLR 9946030: Court clarification preserves three trusts' GST tax exemption
The trustees of three older trusts sought a ruling after a court clarified which descendants of a daughter could benefit from the trusts. The court said her descendants would share by representation…
PLR 9946029: Relief restores S corporation treatment after ineligible owner joins
An S corporation converted to a state law limited partnership and elected to remain classified as a corporation for federal tax purposes. Another corporation contributed cash for an interest, making…
PLR 9946028: Relief restores S corporation treatment after ineligible owner joins
A company that had elected S corporation status converted to a state law limited partnership and elected corporate classification for federal tax purposes. Another corporation contributed cash for…
PLR 9946027: Late S corporation election accepted after attorney failed to file
A corporation intended to elect S corporation status, but its attorney failed to prepare or file Form 2553 for the first year it had business activity. The corporation and its shareholders…
PLR 9946026: Late S corporation election accepted after filing omission
A corporation's board consent and employer identification number application showed that its sole shareholder intended S corporation status for the company's first taxable year. The shareholder said…
PLR 9946025: Late S corporation election accepted after lawyer missed filing
A corporation's sole shareholder intended S corporation status from its first taxable year. The company's board minutes recorded that intent, and the shareholder told the accountant that a lawyer…
PLR 9946024: Lost S election form accepted after repeated filing notices
Two shareholders said they signed an S corporation election after incorporating and believed their accountant had filed it. The company and shareholders filed returns as if the election were…
PLR 9946023: S election accepted when IRS had no record of filing
A corporation intended S corporation status from its first taxable year and instructed its incorporating attorney to file Form 2553. The attorney said the form was filed on time, but the IRS service…
PLR 9946022: Late S election accepted after attorney failed to file
A corporation intended to elect S corporation status for its first taxable year, but its attorney failed to prepare and file Form 2553. Its current sole shareholder was a trust. The IRS found…
PLR 9946021: Trustee succession change preserves trust's GST tax exemption
A trustee asked whether a trust established before September 25, 1985, remained exempt from generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax after a court-approved change to its successor trustee rules. The…
PLR 9946020: German insurer's US premiums exempt from insurance excise tax
A German property and casualty insurer asked whether premiums it received for United States insurance or reinsurance risks were exempt from the federal insurance excise tax. It represented that its…
PLR 9946019: Citizenship renunciation lacked a principal tax avoidance purpose
A former US citizen who had lived abroad since birth asked whether her renunciation of citizenship had a principal purpose of avoiding US taxes. Her net worth exceeded the threshold that could…
PLR 9946018: Corporate separation qualifies as Type D reorganization
A publicly traded holding company proposed separating two businesses so one could establish an employee stock ownership plan tied to its own performance. The plan included a subsidiary liquidation,…
PLR 9946017: Late accounting period application treated as timely
Taxpayers filed Form 1128 late after a mailing error and asked the IRS to treat their application to change accounting periods as timely. They filed within 90 days of the due date. The IRS found…
PLR 9946016: Late Form 1128 accepted for accounting period request
Taxpayers asked the IRS to treat a late Form 1128 application to change accounting periods as timely. Their own error caused the delay, but they filed within 90 days of the due date. The IRS found…
PLR 9946015: Late S election accepted after accountant omitted filing
A corporation intended to be an S corporation from its incorporation, but its accountant failed to file Form 2553 for its first taxable year. The corporation and its sole shareholder nevertheless…
PLR 9946014: Inadvertent S election termination relieved after subsidiary acquisition
An S corporation acquired all the stock of another corporation and later liquidated that subsidiary. Under the rules applicable to the transaction, the acquisition terminated its S election, a…
PLR 9946013: Extra time granted for joint section 338 election
A purchaser and seller intended to elect under § 338(h)(10) after a stock acquisition but failed to file a valid Form 8023 by the deadline. They had relied on tax professionals to handle the…
PLR 9946012: Steam drive and microemulsion methods qualify for oil recovery credit
An operator added steam drive injection and microemulsion flooding to an existing enhanced oil recovery project and asked whether those methods qualified for the § 43 credit. The IRS found that both…
PLR 9946011: Split off of family business includes taxable notes for two shareholders
A family owned corporate group proposed separating one business from its other operations to resolve disputes over management and strategy. Four shareholders would exchange their shares in the…
CCA 9946010: Successor corporation may sign group waivers and closing agreements
A field office asked which corporation should sign tax assessment waivers and closing agreements for a consolidated group after successive mergers and reverse acquisitions. Chief Counsel advised…
PLR 9946009: Business split between former spouses qualifies as reorganization
Two former spouses who owned and managed a corporation wanted to separate its operations because their disagreements were disrupting the business. The corporation proposed transferring one state's…
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.