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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IRS grants advance approval of a private foundation's scholarship procedures under section 4945(g) for a program tracking disadvantaged students from elementary school through college
A private foundation asked the IRS for advance approval of the procedures it will use to award scholarships. Private foundations must get this approval so their grants to individuals are not treated a…
IRS grants advance approval under section 4945(g) of a private foundation's scholarship procedures for a sponsor-based program awarding scholarships to members' children and grandchildren
A private foundation asked the IRS for advance approval of the procedures it will use to award scholarships. Private foundations need this approval so their grants to individuals are not treated as "t…
Restitution is assessable because the Title 18 conspiracy count embraced the Title 26 false-return count (not a Westbrooks case)
Under section 6201(a)(4), the IRS can assess court-ordered criminal restitution for unpaid tax as if it were a tax, but only when the restitution was ordered as an independent part of the sentence rat…
This is a Westbrooks case because the defendant was convicted solely of Title 26 crimes, so the restitution is not assessable
Under section 6201(a)(4), the IRS can assess court-ordered criminal restitution for unpaid tax as if it were a tax, but only when the restitution qualifies (the "Westbrooks" question). This short Chie…
Restitution is assessable because the defendant's Title 26 plea agreement to pay restitution made it an independent part of the sentence (not a Westbrooks case)
Under section 6201(a)(4), the IRS can assess court-ordered criminal restitution for unpaid tax as if it were a tax, but only when the restitution was ordered as an independent part of the sentence rat…
Restitution is assessable because the Title 18 conspiracy count embraced all the Title 26 false-return counts, so it was an independent part of the sentence (not a Westbrooks bar)
Under section 6201(a)(4), the IRS can assess and collect court-ordered criminal restitution for unpaid tax as if it were a tax, but only when the restitution was ordered as an independent part of the …
Issuing a Letter 627 and accepting a return as filed is not an "examination," so the section 7605(b) one-inspection rule does not bar examining the return
Section 7605(b) generally limits the IRS to one inspection of a taxpayer's books for a given year unless it follows special reopening procedures. This short Chief Counsel email advises that issuing a …
The six-year assessment period for omitted subpart F income opens the entire return, but a section 6501(c)(4) extension does not revive an already-expired refund-claim period
This Chief Counsel Advice answers two statute-of-limitations questions for a corporate taxpayer that filed amended returns omitting subpart F income. First, when the six-year assessment period under s…
IRS grants a 9100 extension of time for a consolidated group to make a closing-of-the-books election under Treas. Reg. section 1.382-6(b) after a section 382 ownership change
When a loss corporation undergoes an "ownership change," section 382 limits how much of its pre-change losses it can use against post-change income. Regulations let the corporation elect to "close its…
IRS grants a 9100 extension of time for a consolidated group to make a closing-of-the-books election under Treas. Reg. section 1.382-6(b) after a section 382 ownership change
When a loss corporation undergoes an "ownership change," section 382 limits how much of its pre-change losses it can use against post-change income. Regulations let the corporation elect to "close its…
IRS grants inadvertent-termination relief under section 1362(f) where an eligible trust shareholder never filed the ESBT election, ineffective S election restored
A corporation filed Form 2553 to be taxed as an S corporation, and all of its shares were held by a trust. The trust qualified as an electing small business trust (ESBT), one of the few trust types al…
IRS grants a 9100 extension of time to make a REIT election under section 856(c)(1) after a mailed extension form was lost
A limited partnership that elected to be taxed as a corporation intended to elect to be a real estate investment trust (REIT) by filing Form 1120-REIT for its first tax year. To buy time, its tax firm…
Business stock a public charity receives from a trust under a foundation's assignment will not be treated as excess business holdings under section 4943
This ruling is the companion to a related ruling issued to the private foundation on the same assignment, but here the request is made by the public charity. A private foundation held a residuary (rem…
IRS grants inadvertent-termination relief under section 1362(f) where an LLC operating agreement created a second class of stock and ended the company's S election
A corporation that had elected to be an S corporation later converted to a limited liability company and signed an operating agreement. That agreement contained partnership-style allocation and liquid…
A utility commission's order to flow back excess deferred income taxes without matching rate-base adjustments violates the normalization consistency rule, but the utility avoids sanctions by taking corrective action
Utilities that use accelerated depreciation on public utility property must follow the "normalization" rules, which stop regulators from flowing the resulting tax benefits back to ratepayers faster th…
IRS consents to a corporation's change of its spot rate convention under Treas. Reg. section 1.988-1(d)(3)
A domestic corporation that heads a U.S. consolidated group operates in many foreign currencies and has large amounts of payables and receivables denominated in nonfunctional currencies. To compute fo…
IRS approves continued use of substitute mortality tables for three pension plans
A company asked the IRS to let three defined benefit pension plans continue using substitute mortality tables that had been approved in 2018 for minimum funding calculations under IRC Section 430. One…
IRS approves a private foundation's set-aside for a community facility
A private operating foundation asked the IRS to approve a set-aside for a multi-year facility construction project. The facility's detailed purpose was redacted, but the letter says it would support t…
IRS approves a set-aside for university research equipment grants
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve a multi-year set-aside for grants to U.S. universities. The grants would help selected laboratories purchase and install specialized equipment for emergin…
Professional networking group denied Section 501(c)(3) status
A membership organization sought recognition as a Section 501(c)(3) charity for activities that included professional networking events, promoting other nonprofits, and connecting professionals with v…
International travel-tour organization denied Section 501(c)(3) status
An organization sought Section 501(c)(3) status for international travel tours intended to advance a set of global sustainability goals and connect travelers with local nonprofit organizations. The to…
Habilitation program denied exemption for political activity and private benefit
An organization sought Section 501(c)(3) status for programs intended to improve health, wealth, and happiness, including a home for poor and distressed people. Residents of the home would be recruite…
Member bereavement fund denied Section 501(c)(3) status
A membership organization sought Section 501(c)(3) status for a bereavement fund. Members paid an enrollment fee and later contributions, and benefits were paid when a member or one of up to five name…
Off-road motorcycle club denied Section 501(c)(3) status
An off-road motorcycle club sought recognition as a Section 501(c)(3) organization. Its principal activities were two annual motorcycle competitions for adults and youth, along with a post-season awar…
Tourism trade association denied Section 501(c)(3) exemption
A trade association promoting tourism to and within a country applied for recognition as a Section 501(c)(3) charity. Its members included governments, tourism agencies, airlines, hotels, cruise lines…
S corporation cannot change its tax year merely to accelerate a refund
Chief Counsel considered whether an S corporation could recover an overpaid federal tax deposit sooner by changing its accounting period. Because the corporation already used a December 31 year-end, S…
Missing notice of a preexisting use may defeat a conservation deduction
Chief Counsel considered how a preexisting use of property affects a deduction for a qualified conservation contribution. The advice distinguished the requirement that property be used exclusively for…
Section 6511 limits refunds of interest wrongly collected on restitution
Chief Counsel revisited whether Section 6511 applies when the IRS incorrectly assesses and collects Section 6601 interest on a restitution-based assessment. Even if the IRS should not have imposed the…
Restitution is assessable because the Title 18 conspiracy count includes the conduct of all three Title 26 false-return counts and is due immediately (not a Westbrooks case)
Under section 6201(a)(4), the IRS can assess court-ordered criminal restitution for a Title 26 tax as if it were a tax, but only when it was imposed as an independent part of the sentence rather than …
Restitution is assessable because it is attributable to both the Title 18 conspiracy count and the Title 26 false-return count for the same year (not a Westbrooks case)
Under section 6201(a)(4), the IRS can assess court-ordered criminal restitution for a Title 26 tax as if it were a tax, but only when it was imposed as an independent part of the sentence rather than …
Restitution is assessable because, despite some ambiguity, it was listed under Criminal Monetary Penalties and intended as an independent part of the sentence (not a Westbrooks case)
Under section 6201(a)(4), the IRS can assess court-ordered criminal restitution for a Title 26 tax as if it were a tax, but only when it was imposed as an independent part of the sentence rather than …
This is a Westbrooks case because the Title 26 conduct is separate from the Title 18 conduct and the government represented restitution could only be a condition of supervised release
Under section 6201(a)(4), the IRS can assess court-ordered criminal restitution for a Title 26 tax as if it were a tax, but only when it was imposed as an independent part of the sentence rather than …
Restitution is subject to the Westbrooks limitation because the court of appeals' mandate says it is due only during the period of supervised release
Under section 6201(a)(4), the IRS can assess court-ordered criminal restitution for a Title 26 tax as if it were a tax, but when restitution is imposed only as a condition of supervised release it can…
The restitution for the Title 26 (section 7206(1)) counts is subject to Westbrooks, but the larger amount for the 18 U.S.C. 287 counts is not
Under section 6201(a)(4), the IRS can assess court-ordered criminal restitution for a Title 26 tax as if it were a tax, but restitution ordered solely for Title 26 offenses is limited to the supervise…
Restitution for a conspiracy to file false returns and generate fraudulent refunds is traceable to a Title 26 tax and must be assessed under section 6201(a)(4)
Under section 6201(a)(4), the IRS must assess court-ordered criminal restitution that is traceable to a Title 26 tax as if it were a tax. This short Chief Counsel email advises that the restitution he…
Restitution is assessable because the sentencing transcript shows it was imposed independently, but the government must wait until non-government victims are paid
Under section 6201(a)(4), the IRS can assess court-ordered criminal restitution for a Title 26 tax as if it were a tax, but only when it was imposed as an independent part of the sentence rather than …
The entire restitution is assessable because the Title 18 conspiracy count includes all the conduct in the Title 26 false-return count (not a Westbrooks case)
Under section 6201(a)(4), the IRS can assess court-ordered criminal restitution for a Title 26 tax as if it were a tax, but only when it was ordered as an independent part of the sentence rather than …
Only the restitution tied to the tax-related Title 18 crime is assessable at any time; the Title 26-only portion is subject to the Westbrooks limitation
Under section 6201(a)(4), the IRS can assess court-ordered criminal restitution for a Title 26 tax as if it were a tax, but restitution ordered solely for Title 26 offenses can be assessed and collect…
Restitution is assessable because the Title 18 counts embrace the single Title 26 count and it was not imposed solely as a condition of supervised release (not a Westbrooks case)
Under section 6201(a)(4), the IRS can assess court-ordered criminal restitution for a Title 26 tax as if it were a tax, but only when the restitution was ordered as an independent part of the sentence…
Restitution is assessable because it was ordered for a Title 26 crime under a plea agreement and extends beyond supervised release (not a Westbrooks case)
Under section 6201(a)(4), the IRS can assess court-ordered criminal restitution for a Title 26 tax as if it were a tax, but only when the restitution was ordered as an independent part of the sentence…
Restitution is assessable because it was ordered under a Title 26 plea agreement (not a Westbrooks case)
Under section 6201(a)(4), the IRS can assess court-ordered criminal restitution for a Title 26 tax as if it were a tax, but only when the restitution was ordered as an independent part of the sentence…
A former consolidated-group member may deduct only its allocable share of interest paid on a prior-year group tax deficiency, not the entire interest payment
This Chief Counsel email conveys internal analysis concluding that a taxpayer should be challenged on its deduction of the entire interest payment made on a consolidated group's tax deficiency for a p…
No innocent-spouse equitable relief is available for years where a closing agreement left no deficiency, understatement, or unpaid tax, only penalties and interest
Section 6015(f) can give a spouse who filed a joint return equitable relief from joint tax liability, but only in certain circumstances. This short Chief Counsel email advises that for two of the year…
Section 304 does not apply to acquisition with less than 50 percent shareholder overlap
A corporate parent used a wholly owned subsidiary to acquire all the stock of a foreign target in exchange for parent stock and cash. Because several institutional investors owned shares in both the p…
Opportunity fund receives 45 days to make a late self-certification election
A limited liability company taxed as a partnership was formed to invest in and rehabilitate qualified opportunity zone property and intended to operate as a qualified opportunity fund. Its tax adviser…
IRS grants a 9100 extension of time for an S corporation to elect QSub treatment for its subsidiary after it missed filing Form 8869
An S corporation that owned all the stock of a subsidiary intended to treat that subsidiary as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary (QSub), which makes the subsidiary disregarded so its assets and inco…
IRS grants inadvertent-termination relief under section 1362(f) where an LLC's operating agreement created a second class of stock and voided its S election
A two-owner limited liability company that had been treated as a partnership later elected to be taxed as an S corporation. Its operating agreement, however, contained partnership-style allocation and…
Utility normalization excludes cost of removal but includes salvage value
A regulated electric utility asked how the tax-rate reduction in the 2017 tax law affected its accumulated deferred taxes and the average rate assumption method used to return excess deferred taxes to…
Vintage racing club denied Section 501(c)(3) exemption
A vintage racing car club applied for recognition as a Section 501(c)(3) organization and said it fostered amateur sports competition. The club organized races for members, set vehicle construction an…
Commodity hedge gains follow the source of the underlying inventory
A corporate group bought and sold physical inventory in the United States and abroad and used commodity futures and options to manage price risk associated with that inventory. The derivatives qualifi…
S corporation receives relief for two late ESBT elections
Two trusts became shareholders of an S corporation but did not timely elect electing small business trust status, making them ineligible shareholders and terminating the corporation's S election. The …
Market-rate solar facility is not public utility property
A regulated utility planned to invest in a partnership that would own a solar electric generating facility and sell most of its output to the utility under a wholesale power purchase agreement. The pa…
Housing issuer receives 60 days to make a late mortgage-credit election
A state-authorized housing issuer wanted to convert unused private-activity bond volume cap into authority for a mortgage credit certificate program. It had timely carried forward the volume cap for q…
Late Form 8996 is treated as timely for opportunity fund status
A limited liability company taxed as a partnership was formed to invest in qualified opportunity zone property through a single operating business. Its manager sought legal and tax assistance but did …
Trust may split two inherited IRAs among three children without current tax
A decedent died after his required beginning date, leaving his own IRA and an IRA he had inherited from an older sibling to a revocable trust that became irrevocable at death. The trust divided its re…
Late QSST election relief preserves S corporation and QSub status
A corporation elected S status and elected to treat its wholly owned subsidiary as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary. On the effective date, a trust owned parent-company shares and met the substanti…
Foundation receives five more years to dispose of inherited company stock
A private foundation inherited a large minority stake in a complex, closely held company from its creator through a trust, leaving the foundation with excess business holdings under Section 4943. Duri…
Affiliated group receives 75 days to make a late consolidated-return election
A domestic parent and its affiliated corporations failed to timely elect to file a consolidated federal income tax return by filing the consolidated return by its due date. The assessment periods rema…
Loss corporation receives 75 days for a late closing-of-the-books election
A loss corporation experienced a Section 382 ownership change but missed the deadline to elect to close its books on the change date. Without that election, the regulations generally allocate change-y…
Foreign entity receives 120 days for a late disregarded-entity election
A foreign eligible entity intended to be treated as disregarded from its owner for federal tax purposes but failed to timely file Form 8832. The IRS found that the entity satisfied the discretionary l…
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.