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 9943056: Surviving spouse may transfer estate IRA share to her own IRA
A deceased IRA owner named his estate as beneficiary, and his surviving spouse was the estate's sole personal representative and beneficiary of half the residuary estate. She proposed allocating…
PLR 9943055: Surviving spouse may roll trust-held IRA into her own IRA
A deceased IRA owner named a trust as beneficiary, and his surviving spouse became its trustee. She planned to allocate the IRA to a subtrust from which she could demand all principal, receive the…
PLR 9943054: Spouse may roll over plan payment through trust to her IRA
A deceased participant named a trust as beneficiary of his qualified retirement plan. His surviving spouse was a co-trustee and could remove the other trustee; she also could demand all principal…
PLR 9943053: Equal care for a disqualified resident is not self-dealing
A private foundation planned to operate a six-resident home for adults with developmental disabilities. One resident would be a disqualified person, but the foundation said it would give all…
PLR 9943052: Foundation may transfer all assets without termination tax
A private foundation planned to transfer all its assets to two other private foundations under a settlement and court order, then notify the IRS of its termination. The IRS ruled that the transfer…
PLR 9943051: Health care project qualifies for foundation set-aside
A private foundation planned a two-year study of at-home care for people with chronic lung disease or chest cancer in a medically underserved rural county. It sought to set aside funds across two…
PLR 9943050: Added IRA cost-of-living payments would break equal series
An IRA owner began taking fixed annual payments in 1993 under the substantially equal periodic payment exception to the early distribution tax. The owner asked to add four percent yearly…
PLR 9943049: Joint hospital operation preserves exemption and public charity status
Two hospitals and related charities proposed an integrated health care network under a joint operating company. The agreement gave that company broad control over the hospitals' budgets, services,…
PLR 9943048: Revised funding schedule approved for nuclear plant decommissioning
An electric utility asked the IRS to revise the annual amounts it could pay into a qualified fund for decommissioning a nuclear plant. Two public utility commissions set rates for its electricity,…
PLR 9943047: Former foundation director may bid for business assets
A private foundation planned to sell businesses it had received from its founder's estate. A former director of the foundation, who was also an executive of one business, wanted to bid. He resigned…
PLR 9943046: Partnership may claim credit for synthetic fuel made from coal fines
A partnership sought a federal tax credit for producing solid synthetic fuel from coal fines and selling it to unrelated buyers. The IRS accepted the represented test results showing a significant…
PLR 9943045: Blood bank may move endowment and property to related charities
An exempt blood bank planned to transfer its endowment to one related charity and its real property to another. The related organizations would share directors with the blood bank, which would…
PLR 9943044: Foundation's development investment qualifies as charitable program investment
A private foundation proposed to invest in a business operating in an economically depressed area to create jobs for unemployed and underemployed people. The business agreed to employ a specified…
PLR 9943042: Rollover option does not change investment trust classification
A sponsor proposed a series of investment trusts holding fixed portfolios of common stock. When the first trust ended, investors could take their shares or contribute securities to a new trust after…
PLR 9943041: Nuclear fund transfer and assumed liability deduction approved
A utility holding company planned to sell a nuclear power plant and transfer its subsidiaries' qualified decommissioning funds to the buyer. The buyer would also assume the obligation to…
TAM 9943040: Employer may deduct compensation from canceled share restrictions
A company canceled buyback restrictions on doctors' shares while separating its medical practice from a clinic management business. The cancellation created compensation income for the doctors. The…
PLR 9943039: Commingled investment program does not disqualify retirement plans
A tax-exempt health care group proposed investing assets from two employee retirement plans alongside its other assets through shared portfolios and pools. Each participant would retain an undivided…
PLR 9943038: Family business split-off qualifies as a tax-free reorganization
Two families equally owned a company with two active businesses but disagreed about its direction. The company proposed transferring one business to a new corporation and exchanging all of the new…
CCA 9943037: Tax treatment of Grand Forks disaster recovery loans
After the 1997 flood, Grand Forks made business loans with principal that could be forgiven if borrowers met program conditions. Chief Counsel advised that the expected forgiveness created bond…
PLR 9943036: Mutual bank conversion satisfies specified reorganization tests
A mutual savings bank planned to convert to a stock bank under a mutual holding company, then place the bank under a stock holding company that could sell a minority interest. The IRS ruled on four…
PLR 9943035: Late S corporation election accepted with timely filing
A newly formed corporation intended to elect S corporation status for its first tax year, but its president believed the incorporation attorney would file the election. The company filed an S…
PLR 9943034: Group applies tax-exempt debt rules member by member
An affiliated group financed products and services for government customers through leases represented to be tax-exempt obligations. Its financing subsidiary borrowed from group members and outside…
PLR 9943033: Housing agency may correct building count in credit allocation
A housing partnership completed a low-income rental project with a different number of buildings than its carryover credit allocation listed. The housing agency and partnership had intended a…
PLR 9943032: Merger does not trigger parachute payment rules for acquirer
A public company planned to acquire another public company through a merger and had management agreements that could pay employees because of the deal. Its existing shareholders would retain more…
PLR 9943031: Actively managed rents are not passive investment income
An S corporation with accumulated earnings and profits rented apartments and office space. Its employees and contractors provided maintenance, utilities, janitorial work, safety services, and other…
PLR 9943030: Two business spin-offs receive tax-free treatment
A publicly held corporate group planned to separate two businesses so each could raise equity capital through a public offering. It proposed transfers into new subsidiaries, an internal liquidation,…
PLR 9943029: Late S corporation election allowed if Form 2553 is filed
A corporation with one shareholder intended to be an S corporation from its formation and operated as one, but later learned that its election had not been filed on time. The IRS agreed to treat the…
PLR 9943028: Late S corporation election allowed if Form 2553 is filed
A corporation with two shareholders intended to be an S corporation from its formation and operated as one, but later learned that its election had not been filed on time. The IRS agreed to treat…
PLR 9943027: Late accounting-period application treated as timely
Taxpayers filed Form 1128 late while seeking permission to change their tax year. They attributed the delay to their own error and filed within 90 days of the deadline. The IRS found that they acted…
PLR 9943026: Late S corporation election allowed if Form 2553 is filed
A corporation intended to be an S corporation from its formation and operated as one, but later learned that its election had not been filed on time. The IRS agreed to treat the election as timely…
PLR 9943025: Late accounting-period application treated as timely
Taxpayers filed Form 1128 late while seeking permission to change their tax year. The application was filed within 90 days of its deadline. The IRS found that they acted reasonably and in good faith…
PLR 9943024: Late accounting-period application treated as timely
Taxpayers filed Form 1128 late while seeking permission to change their tax year. The delay arose from an error or misunderstanding, and the form was filed within 90 days of the deadline. The IRS…
PLR 9943023: Late S corporation election allowed if Form 2553 is filed
A corporation with two shareholders intended to be an S corporation from its formation and operated as one, but later learned that its election had not been filed on time. The IRS agreed to treat…
PLR 9943022: Late S corporation election receives requested effective date
A corporation's shareholders intended to elect S corporation status for a specified effective date, but the election was not filed on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the delay and granted…
CCA 9943021: Bankruptcy guidance review finds no conflict
Chief Counsel reviewed prior advice concerning a converted Chapter 7 bankruptcy case. It said its position had not changed and saw no actual conflict between that advice and a new manual provision…
PLR 9943020: Parent receives extension for section 338(g) election
A domestic corporate group bought all the stock of a foreign target but missed the deadline to elect asset purchase treatment under section 338(g). Its parent relied on tax professionals to make the…
PLR 9943019: Late foreign sales corporation election receives extension
A corporation formed abroad missed the deadline to file Form 8279 to elect treatment as a foreign sales corporation or small foreign sales corporation. It had overlooked filing instructions from the…
PLR 9943018: Parent receives extension for multiple section 338 elections
A corporate group missed the deadline for section 338(g) elections after its parent and foreign purchasing subsidiary acquired two foreign targets and their affiliates. The parent had relied on tax…
PLR 9943017: Managed commercial rents excluded from S corporation passive investment income
An S corporation rented out store spaces in a commercial property. Its president made leasing and management decisions, and a property manager maintained the site. The IRS ruled that the rents were…
PLR 9943016: Late S corporation election treated as timely
A corporation's shareholders wanted S corporation treatment beginning when the company was incorporated, but its election was not filed on time. The IRS found reasonable cause for the missed…
PLR 9943015: Inadvertent S corporation termination relieved after trust ownership
An S corporation's election terminated when a trust that inherited its shares ceased to qualify as an eligible shareholder. The IRS found the termination inadvertent and allowed the corporation to…
PLR 9943014: Late S corporation election effective from incorporation
A corporation's shareholders intended to elect S corporation status from its incorporation date, but the election was filed late. The IRS found reasonable cause and granted relief under section…
PLR 9943013: Five-year wait waived for qualified S subsidiary elections
An S corporation acquired two corporations that owned five qualified subchapter S subsidiaries. The parent filed elections for the two acquired corporations and sought permission to elect qualified…
PLR 9943012: Late S election allowed after filing misunderstanding
Two shareholders intended their new corporation to be an S corporation in its first tax year. A misunderstanding between the corporation's attorney and its manager left Form 2553 unfiled, although…
PLR 9943011: Late S corporation election granted its intended effective date
A corporation's shareholder intended S corporation status to begin on a specified date, but the election was filed late. The IRS found reasonable cause and allowed the company to be recognized as an…
PLR 9943010: Managed-property rents excluded from passive investment income
An S corporation leased and managed several properties, using staff and contractors to maintain buildings, utilities, grounds, and tenant spaces. The IRS ruled that its rents from those properties…
PLR 9943009: Late S election effective from incorporation
A corporation's sole shareholder wanted S corporation treatment from the date of incorporation, but the election was not filed on time. The corporation later changed its name. The IRS found…
PLR 9943008: Unfunded executive deferral taxed when vesting occurs
A tax-exempt employer proposed an unfunded deferred compensation plan for its chief executive. The IRS classified it as an ineligible section 457 plan because deferrals could exceed the…
TAM 9943007: Related partnership liability shifts netted as one transaction
A partnership contributed mortgaged properties to an umbrella real estate partnership and distributed the resulting interests to its partners. Related borrowing and refinancing changed the partners'…
TAM 9943006: Connected partnership liability changes treated as one transaction
A real estate partnership transferred mortgaged properties to an umbrella partnership and distributed the resulting interests to its partners. The transfer and related borrowing could decrease and…
TAM 9943005: Related partnership liability shifts netted together
A partnership contributed mortgaged properties to an umbrella real estate partnership and distributed the resulting interests to its partners. Related borrowing changed the partners' shares of…
CCA 9943004: Advice on enforcing an IRS summons
A district counsel asked whether the Department of Justice should petition to enforce an administrative summons served on a taxpayer. The publicly released memorandum states the question, but the…
TAM 9943003: Valuing a fractional interest in estate real property
A decedent owned undivided interests in several tracts of real property. The estate's appraisal applied discounts to those fractional interests, and the IRS was asked whether any discount had to be…
PLR 9943002: Variable structured settlement payments and annuity security
A personal injury claimant would receive scheduled settlement payments funded by an annuity. Some payments would vary under a fixed formula tied to an investment index or portfolio, and the claimant…
CCA 9943001: Forged signatures on joint returns require review
An IRS service center automatically rejected spouses' claims that their signatures on joint returns were forged. Chief Counsel advised that section 6064 makes a signature presumptively authentic,…
PLR 9942055: No withholding on a foreign creditor's bankruptcy payment
A bankrupt U.S. company owed a foreign supplier for goods bought on short credit terms and under trade acceptances. Its reorganization plan would pay part of the supplier's claim, including amounts…
PLR 9942054: Conditional pension minimum funding waiver
The IRS granted a conditional waiver of the minimum funding standard for a defined benefit pension plan's year ending July 31, 1997. The sponsor had losses, negative working capital, and…
PLR 9942053: Hospital pension plans qualify as church plans
A hospital associated with a group of churches maintained two defined benefit pension plans for its employees. The IRS found that the hospital shared common religious bonds with the churches through…
PLR 9942052: Surviving spouse may transfer inherited IRA through a trust
A deceased IRA owner named a trust as the IRA beneficiary. His surviving spouse was the trust's sole trustee, could allocate the IRA to a marital trust, and could demand that trust's principal. The…
PLR 9942051: College pension plan gains church-plan status from inception
A church-affiliated college asked whether its retirement plan qualified as a church plan under section 414(e). The IRS found that the college's religious order, governance, and church directory…
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.