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 9936051: Pension plan receives conditional funding waiver
The IRS granted a conditional waiver of the minimum funding standard for a defined benefit pension plan's year ending September 30, 1998. The company reported negative net worth and several years of…
PLR 9936050: Conservation scholarships receive advance approval
A private foundation sought advance approval to make scholarships and similar grants to students in conservation or environmental fields. Its trustees proposed selection criteria, restrictions on…
PLR 9936049: Former resident's departure lacked tax avoidance purpose
A former long-term U.S. resident surrendered his green card after moving with his wife to the country where she was born and becoming taxable there on worldwide income. His net worth exceeded the…
PLR 9936048: Revised nuclear decommissioning fund schedule approved
A utility that owned part of a nuclear plant requested a revised schedule of deductible contributions to its decommissioning fund. The IRS found that the utility had a qualifying ownership interest…
PLR 9936047: Revised nuclear decommissioning fund schedule approved
A utility with an ownership interest in a nuclear plant requested a revised schedule of contributions to its decommissioning fund. The IRS found that the utility qualified under section 468A and…
TAM 9936046: Cancer and hospital coverage qualifies under a cafeteria plan
An employer offered supplemental cancer and hospital insurance through a cafeteria plan, with premiums paid by pretax salary reductions. The IRS concluded that the policies and their waiver of…
PLR 9936045: Intercompany royalties treated as foreign trading receipts for a limited purpose
A consolidated group's parent planned to pay royalties to a new domestic subsidiary for the use of intangible property. The parent also earned export income through a foreign sales corporation, and…
CCA 9936044: Timing film participation deductions under section 404
Film and television producers sometimes promise actors and other service providers a share of later receipts or profits. Chief Counsel advised that deferred participation payments for services…
CCA 9936043: Railroad services credited as employee service
Chief Counsel reviewed a Railroad Retirement Board opinion about whether a person's work could be credited as railroad service for benefit entitlement. Based solely on the information submitted, it…
PLR 9936042: Late tax year change application treated as timely
A taxpayer filed Form 1128 late while seeking permission to change its tax year. The application was filed within 90 days of its due date, and the IRS accepted that the delay resulted from an error…
CCA 9936041: Levy may reach vested pension rights before payments begin
Chief Counsel advised on collecting unpaid tax from a taxpayer's pension plan. A federal tax lien attaches to vested pension rights, and the IRS may serve a levy on a present right to future…
PLR 9936040: Active commercial property rents excluded from passive investment income
An S corporation with accumulated earnings and profits rented commercial properties that it developed and managed. Its employees and contractors maintained the properties, marketed space, adapted…
PLR 9936039: Parent permitted to make S corporation and Qsub elections
A corporation acquired two companies that already had S corporation elections, and planned to file a consolidated return with them for a short tax year. It sought permission to elect S corporation…
PLR 9936038: Charitable lead unitrust exempt from section 2702 valuation rule
Two settlors proposed a charitable lead unitrust that would pay a fixed percentage of its annually valued assets to charity for 12 years, then transfer the remainder to a trust for their…
PLR 9936037: Late S corporation election treated as timely if Form 2553 is filed
A company operated as though it were an S corporation but later discovered that its election had not been filed on time. The IRS granted relief under section 1362(b)(5), treating the election as…
PLR 9936036: Surviving spouse's QTIP remainder purchase produces a gift
A surviving spouse held a lifetime income interest in a trust for which the executor had made a qualified terminable interest property election. The spouse proposed to buy the remainder interest,…
PLR 9936035: Reasonable cause relief for a late S corporation election
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 late filing and granted relief…
PLR 9936034: Reasonable cause relief for a late S corporation election
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 late filing and granted relief…
PLR 9936033: Late S corporation election granted reasonable cause relief
A corporation's shareholders wanted S corporation treatment from its incorporation date, but did not file the election on time. The IRS found reasonable cause and granted relief under section…
PLR 9936032: Foreign pension entity classified as a trust
A pension entity organized in another country provided retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to covered employees. Contributions and investment income funded the benefits, which were based…
PLR 9936031: Charitable lead annuity trust receives five favorable rulings
A taxpayer proposed to place stock of an S corporation in an irrevocable trust that would pay a fixed annual amount to charity for 15 years, then hold the remainder for the taxpayer's family. The…
PLR 9936030: Factored personal injury payments retain their exclusion
A personal injury settlement gave the claimant monthly payments, and the claimant later sold part of the right to those payments to a factoring company for a lump sum. The IRS ruled that the lump…
PLR 9936029: Court's trust correction does not create taxable power of appointment
A surviving spouse was trustee and beneficiary of a trust whose wording appeared to permit unrestricted payments of principal for the spouse's benefit. A court corrected a drafting error by limiting…
PLR 9936028: Late S election allowed with both shareholders' signatures
A corporation's original shareholder intended to elect S corporation status from its first tax year but did not know Form 2553 had to be filed. The corporation filed an S corporation return, and the…
PLR 9936027: Missed S election treated as timely for requested year
A corporation with two shareholders intended to be an S corporation and operated on that understanding. After the relevant tax year ended, it discovered that its S election had not been filed on…
PLR 9936026: Revised nuclear decommissioning contribution schedule approved
A utility that owned part of a nuclear plant requested a revised schedule of contributions to its decommissioning fund. The public utility commission had approved decommissioning costs for…
PLR 9936025: Revised nuclear decommissioning contribution schedule approved
A utility that owned part of a nuclear plant requested a revised schedule of contributions to its decommissioning fund. The public utility commission had approved decommissioning costs for…
PLR 9936024: Mutual bank conversion receives four favorable subissue rulings
A mutual savings association proposed to convert into a stock bank and reorganize under a mutual holding company, with a later offering of holding company shares. The IRS ruled that the depositors'…
PLR 9936023: Marina and parking rents excluded from passive investment income
A company operated a seasonal marina, parking facilities, and a seaplane base through a subsidiary. It provided security, mooring and reservation services, maintenance, and other services to users…
PLR 9936022: Extra time granted for passive activity interest election
A taxpayer carried forward investment interest expense disallowed before 1987 from an activity later treated as passive. An election under the 1988 transition law could treat qualifying expense as a…
PLR 9936021: Securities partnership may aggregate built-in gains and losses
Two investment funds planned to form a portfolio treated as a partnership, with one fund contributing many securities and the other contributing cash. Partnership tax rules normally require separate…
PLR 9936020: Securities partnership may combine contributed and revaluation gains
Two investment funds planned to form a portfolio treated as a partnership. One would contribute many securities; the other would contribute cash. The IRS allowed the portfolio to combine gains and…
PLR 9936019: Securities partnership may combine contributed and revaluation gains
Two investment funds planned to form a portfolio treated as a partnership. One would contribute many securities; the other would contribute cash. The IRS allowed the portfolio to combine gains and…
PLR 9936018: Security transportation vehicle escapes passenger car depreciation limits
A taxpayer leased a vehicle to his security services company, which used it to transport a client's executives and entertainers. The company used the vehicle exclusively for transportation and…
PLR 9936017: Late S corporation election accepted for reasonable cause
A corporation's shareholders intended to elect S corporation status when the business began, but the election was filed late. The IRS found reasonable cause for the delay and granted relief under…
PLR 9936016: Extension granted for entity classification election
A foreign entity and its sole owner intended to elect treatment as a disregarded entity, but outside tax counsel's mistakes delayed the filing. The IRS found that the requirements for discretionary…
PLR 9936015: Extension granted for foreign entity's partnership election
A foreign entity with two members intended to elect partnership treatment for federal tax purposes, but its outside tax counsel failed to file the election on time. The IRS found that the…
PLR 9936014: Extension granted for entity classification election
A foreign entity and its sole owner intended to elect treatment as a disregarded entity, but outside tax counsel's mistakes delayed the filing. The IRS found that the requirements for discretionary…
PLR 9936013: Extension granted for entity classification election
A foreign entity and its sole owner intended to elect treatment as a disregarded entity, but outside tax counsel's mistakes delayed the filing. The IRS found that the requirements for discretionary…
CCA 9936012: Counsel outlines possible challenges to lease stripping
Chief Counsel discussed ways the IRS might challenge a lease stripping transaction, in which rental income and related deductions were separated among entities. The memorandum considered the step…
CCA 9936011: Hospital partnership payment treated as a disguised sale
A nonprofit hospital contributed assets to a new limited liability company, while a corporate partner contributed cash to fund a facilities expansion. The company then paid the hospital to adjust…
PLR 9936010: Trust reformation qualifies charitable interests for estate tax deduction
An estate proposed to reform a trust that paid income to charities for ten years and later divided its assets between charities and individuals. The existing charitable lead interest did not qualify…
CCA 9936009: Counsel examines arbitrage and rebate risks in pooled school bonds
School districts issued bonds through a statewide pooled financing program, then invested proceeds in a guaranteed investment contract while funds awaited use. Chief Counsel advised that the…
PLR 9936008: Released merger letter states parachute payment questions without an answer
Two corporations merged, and the surviving corporation assumed employment agreements promising payments and benefits to certain executives of the other company. The requester asked whether the…
CCA 9936007: Lease income may be reallocated to contributing corporation
A U.S. corporation contributed leveraged leases to a partnership after taking the leases' depreciation deductions. The partnership allocated most of the later taxable lease income, which came with…
CCA 9936006: Counsel weighs substance and stock basis in subsidiary asset sale
A parent company had its subsidiary sell unwanted assets to it before selling the subsidiary's stock to an unrelated buyer. Chief Counsel reconsidered whether the asset sale could be treated in…
PLR 9936005: Late tax year change application treated as timely
A taxpayer filed Form 1128 late to request a change in its tax year, attributing the delay to an error or misunderstanding. The form arrived within 90 days of its due date. The IRS found that the…
PLR 9936004: Limited appointment preserves estate and generation skipping tax treatment
A beneficiary of an older trust proposed to use a limited power of appointment in his will to place his share in a new family trust. The power could not benefit him, his estate, or his creditors,…
CCA 9936003: Worker classification procedure for business using trusts and an LLC
A business owner moved operations into trusts and then an LLC while reclassifying workers from employees to independent contractors. Chief Counsel advised that section 7436 generally required a…
CCA 9936002: Most claimed liabilities fail special ten year loss carryback
A taxpayer sought the ten-year carryback for losses tied to taxes, lawsuits, workers' compensation, and related expenses. Chief Counsel advised that most of the claimed costs did not qualify as…
TAM 9936001: Subsidiary's earlier overpayments may offset consolidated tax debt
A corporation had tax overpayments from years before it joined a consolidated group. The group still owed tax for a later year when that corporation filed as a member. The IRS advised that the…
PLR 9935076: Pension liability transfer creates neither income nor asset reversion
A company proposed to move benefit liabilities for its union employees from a multiemployer pension plan into its overfunded single employer plan. The transfer would also eliminate its potential…
PLR 9935075: Partnership may make late election out of installment reporting
A partnership sold its business assets for cash, property, and installment obligations. It intended to report the full gain in the sale year, but its accountant missed the deadline to extend the…
PLR 9935074: Expatriation found to lack a principal tax avoidance purpose
A U.S. citizen living with his family in another country planned to renounce his citizenship so he could become a citizen there and participate in local politics. His net worth exceeded the…
PLR 9935073: Securities settlement restores losses in 401(k) accounts
A company retirement plan received cash and warrants from a securities lawsuit settlement for participants whose plan investments in company stock had lost value. The company proposed to place the…
PLR 9935072: Former resident's move home had no principal tax avoidance purpose
A former long-term U.S. resident gave up permanent resident status after retiring and moving to his country of birth, where his family lived. His estate's executor requested a ruling because his net…
PLR 9935071: Office tenants' telecommunications fees qualify as REIT rent
A real estate investment trust planned to offer telecommunications services to tenants in its office buildings through independent providers or a partnership. It asked whether income connected with…
PLR 9935070: IRS declines to rule on proposed corporate reorganization
A company and three subsidiaries requested rulings about a proposed corporate reorganization and the subsidiaries' later elections to become S corporations. The IRS letter says it declined to rule…
PLR 9935069: IRS declines to rule on proposed corporate reorganization
A company and three subsidiaries requested rulings about a proposed corporate reorganization and the subsidiaries' later elections to become S corporations. The IRS letter says it declined to rule…
PLR 9935068: Affiliated financial companies may pool eligible loans for loss allocation
After a merger, a financial group asked how to allocate and apportion losses on certain foreign loans under Notice 89-58. The IRS ruled that the group could include its banks and qualifying…
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.