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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Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election for unused estate tax exclusion
An estate that was not otherwise required to file Form 706 missed the deadline to elect portability of the decedent's unused estate tax exclusion to the surviving spouse. The estate requested discreti…
Estate receives 120 days to make late QTIP elections for three marital trusts
A decedent's trust directed property into three marital trusts intended to qualify for the estate tax marital deduction. The executor hired an attorney to prepare Form 706, but the attorney omitted on…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election for unused estate tax exclusion
An estate that was not otherwise required to file Form 706 did not timely elect portability of the decedent's unused estate tax exclusion to the surviving spouse. The estate asked the IRS for discreti…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election for unused estate tax exclusion
An estate that was not otherwise required to file Form 706 failed to timely elect portability of the decedent's unused estate tax exclusion to the surviving spouse. The estate requested an extension u…
Taxpayer receives 120 days to elect out of automatic GST exemption allocations for three years
A taxpayer made transfers over three years to an irrevocable trust primarily benefiting the taxpayer's spouse. The taxpayer's longtime return preparer incorrectly advised that no gift tax returns were…
Spouses receive 120 days to elect out of automatic GST allocations for four GRAT transfers
A husband created and funded four grantor retained annuity trusts whose remainder interests passed to continuing trusts with generation-skipping transfer tax potential. The couple's accountant and tru…
Donor's estate and spouse receive 120 days to allocate GST exemption to a charitable remainder trust
A donor created a charitable remainder unitrust that paid a lifetime unitrust amount to a grandchild and then passed the remainder to charity. The donor and spouse elected to split the gift, but their…
Division of grandfathered trust preserves GST exemption and avoids transfer-tax and income-tax consequences
A trust created under a settlor's will before September 25, 1985 proposed dividing one child's share into two equal trusts, one associated with each of that child's children. The new trusts would have…
Pro-rata division into separate family trusts preserves income-tax attributes and GST exemption
Two grantors created a trust for their children and allocated enough generation-skipping transfer tax exemption to give it an inclusion ratio of zero. As the family grew and beneficiaries' financial n…
Representatives receive 120 days to elect portability after the surviving spouse's death
A decedent died leaving a surviving spouse, but the decedent's estate did not file Form 706 or elect portability of the unused estate tax exclusion. The surviving spouse later died, and the spouse's c…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election for unused estate tax exclusion
An estate that was not otherwise required to file Form 706 missed the deadline to elect portability of the decedent's unused estate tax exclusion to the surviving spouse. It requested discretionary re…
IRS approves a private foundation's procedures for university scholarship programs
A private foundation affiliated with an exempt banking organization requested advance approval for two scholarship programs offered through several universities. Eligible applicants included employees…
Meeting-space organization denied fraternal exemption because it lacked a lodge system and fraternal activities
An organization formed to support a local recovery community applied for exemption as a domestic fraternal society under Section 501(c)(10). It provided rent-free meeting space, paid utilities and pro…
Charity's sale and restricted grant of subsidiary stock avoid UBTI and excess-benefit treatment
A public charity proposed separating one charitable program into a newly formed nonprofit organization that it controlled as sole member. It would transfer program assets and stock of a wholly owned f…
Foreign tax credit refund cannot preserve deductions for the same taxes in closed years
A corporation timely changed several years from deducting foreign taxes to claiming foreign tax credits under the special ten-year refund period. The change created deficiencies in earlier years whose…
Purchaser receives 75 days to file late Section 338 elections for foreign targets
A U.S. corporation acquired all the stock of a foreign target and treated the target's foreign affiliates as deemed acquired. The purchaser intended to make Section 338(g) elections so the stock acqui…
S corporation parties receive 75 days to file a late Section 336(e) election statement
A purchaser acquired all the stock of an S corporation from its shareholders in a transaction represented to be a qualified stock disposition. The parties intended to make a Section 336(e) election so…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late QTIP election for a marital trust
A joint living trust divided at the decedent's death into a survivor's trust, an exemption trust, and a marital trust. The marital trust required all net income to be paid to the surviving spouse and …
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election for unused estate tax exclusion
An estate that was not otherwise required to file Form 706 failed to timely elect portability of the decedent's unused estate tax exclusion to the surviving spouse. It requested an extension under Tre…
Grantor receives 120 days to elect out of automatic GST allocations to a GRAT
A grantor created and funded a grantor retained annuity trust for the grantor's spouse and two children. The trust had generation-skipping transfer tax potential, and its estate tax inclusion period l…
Spouses receive 120 days to elect out of automatic GST allocations for four GRAT transfers
A husband created four grantor retained annuity trusts whose remainder interests passed to continuing trusts with generation-skipping transfer tax potential. The couple's accountant and trusts-and-est…
Donor's estate and spouse receive 120 days to allocate GST exemption to a charitable remainder trust
A donor created a charitable remainder unitrust that paid a lifetime unitrust amount to a grandchild and then passed the remainder to charity. The donor and spouse elected to split the gift, but their…
Early pro-rata trust division preserves income-tax attributes and GST exemption
Two grantors created a trust for their descendants and allocated enough generation-skipping transfer tax exemption to give it an inclusion ratio of zero. After one grantor died and family members deve…
Foreign entity receives 120 days to elect partnership classification on Form 8832
A foreign entity with multiple limited-liability owners intended to be treated as a partnership for U.S. federal tax purposes from its formation date. Because all owners had limited liability, the def…
Fiber-optic capacity payments qualify as REIT rents from real property
A corporation intending to elect REIT status leased capacity in permanently affixed fiber-optic and coaxial cables, conduit, and distributed antenna systems under six types of long-term agreements. Te…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election for unused estate tax exclusion
An estate that was not otherwise required to file Form 706 missed the deadline to elect portability of the decedent's unused estate tax exclusion to the surviving spouse. It requested discretionary re…
Entity receives 120 days for a late classification election, but the ruling states conflicting classifications
A domestic limited liability company intended to elect association status taxable as a corporation from its initial effective date. It later filed Form 8832 with a later effective date and then filed …
IRS approves a county-based scholarship program for graduating students
A private foundation requested advance approval for a scholarship program encouraging county high school graduates, including home-schooled students, to pursue university, college, vocational, or tech…
IRS approves an employer-related scholarship program administered by an independent charity
A private foundation proposed funding an employer-related scholarship program through an independent public charity for dependent children of qualifying employees worldwide. The charity would verify e…
A drug-fee reimbursement is not automatically excluded from a controlled-group member's income
A U.S. distributor paid the federal branded prescription drug fee for its controlled group and was fully reimbursed by foreign group members that manufactured the drugs and owned the related intellect…
S corporation parties receive extra time to file a Section 336(e) election statement
A purchaser acquired all the stock of an S corporation from its shareholders in a transaction represented to be a qualified stock disposition. The parties intended to make a Section 336(e) election so…
Foreign entity receives 120 days to make a late disregarded-entity election
A foreign entity with one owner intended to be treated as disregarded for U.S. federal tax purposes from the date it incorporated, but it did not timely file Form 8832. Its owner consistently reported…
IRS approves tax-free treatment for an S corporation business spin-off
An S corporation separated one business from another by forming a controlled subsidiary, making a qualified subchapter S subsidiary election, contributing partnership interests to the subsidiary, and …
IRS approves tax-free treatment for two corporate split-offs
A corporation proposed separating parts of its businesses into two new controlled corporations so different shareholder groups could manage them without interference from one another. After preliminar…
Affiliated group receives 60 days to elect out of bonus depreciation
An affiliated corporate group intended to elect out of the Section 168(k) additional first-year depreciation deduction for every class of qualified property it placed in service during a taxable year.…
Corporation receives 60 days to make a late success-based fee safe-harbor election
A corporation paid a success-based advisory fee when it acquired the remaining stock of two target companies. It deducted the full fee on its return without making the Revenue Procedure 2011-29 safe-h…
Fiber optic capacity payments qualify as REIT rents from real property
A company intending to elect REIT status leased capacity on permanently affixed fiber optic and coaxial cable systems under six kinds of agreements. Tenants paid fixed amounts for dedicated capacity, …
Foreign entity receives 120 days to file a late disregarded-entity election
A foreign limited company eligible to choose its U.S. federal tax classification inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time to be treated as a disregarded entity from its intended date. It represe…
IRS denies exemption to a tourism group promoting local businesses
An organization sought Section 501(c)(3) status for activities intended to attract visitors to a geographic area through brochures, social media, marketing campaigns, events, signage, business assista…
IRS denies exemption to a farmers market serving vendors' private interests
An organization operated a weekly farmers market, charged seasonal and daily vendor fees, promoted participating vendors, and offered discounted fees to veteran farmers. It also described future educa…
IRS denies exemption to a family-controlled golf training organization
An organization formed by a founder and the founder's family proposed a golf training, recreation, entertainment, and business-development complex. It planned to charge standard industry fees, offer i…
IRS denies exemption to a group-purchasing and wellness trust
A trust was formed to receive health-insurance rebates, stabilize group health-plan premiums, fund wellness incentives, administer wellness programs, and procure products and services through group-pu…
IRS grants extra time for Section 338(g) and QSub elections
An LLC taxed as an S corporation acquired all the stock of a target in a qualified stock purchase. It intended to make a Section 338(g) election for the acquisition and a qualified subchapter S subsid…
IRS grants foreign purchaser more time for Section 338(g) elections
A foreign purchaser acquired all the stock of a foreign target, with deemed acquisitions of several foreign target affiliates. The purchaser represented that the transaction was a qualified stock purc…
IRS permits foreign entity to change its tax classification early
A foreign entity had previously received relief to elect disregarded-entity status and later wanted to be taxed as a corporation before the usual 60-month waiting period ended. It asked the IRS for co…
IRS grants foreign entity more time to elect partnership status
A foreign entity with owners having limited liability intended to be treated as a partnership for federal tax purposes from its formation date. It failed to file Form 8832 on time because of inadverte…
IRS splits preferred instrument treatment under Section 382
A publicly traded corporation issued a preferred instrument and another instrument to finance part of a stock acquisition. The preferred instrument carried cumulative fixed dividends, a liquidation ri…
Market-priced solar sales are not public utility property
A regulated utility planned to invest with a tax-equity investor in a partnership that would acquire a solar facility and sell its power to the utility. A federal regulator would approve the affiliate…
IRS grants foreign entity late disregarded-entity election
A foreign eligible entity intended to be classified as a disregarded entity when its federal tax classification first became relevant. It did not file Form 8832 by the deadline and requested discretio…
IRS allows late disregarded-entity election after inadvertent filing failure
A foreign limited company intended to be treated as a disregarded entity for federal tax purposes but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. It represented that the request did not involve hi…
IRS grants foreign company late disregarded-entity election
A foreign limited company intended to elect disregarded-entity treatment for federal tax purposes but inadvertently missed the Form 8832 deadline. It represented that it acted reasonably and in good f…
IRS treats four subsidiaries as joining consolidated returns
A parent corporation included all income, deductions, assets, and liabilities of four wholly owned subsidiaries in its federal returns but did not properly identify the subsidiaries, attach Forms 851 …
IRS denies social-welfare exemption to a condominium association
A condominium association maintained and controlled common property for unit owners, whose membership was automatic and tied to ownership. The building was fenced against public access, and the associ…
Improvement carveouts invalidate conservation easement deductions
The Chief Counsel advised that a conservation easement deed fails Section 170(h) when its extinguishment clause subtracts the value of post-donation improvements, or appreciation attributable to those…
IRS grants more time for Section 336(e) election statement
A partnership acquired all the stock of an S corporation from its shareholders in a transaction represented to be a qualified stock disposition. The parties intended to make a Section 336(e) election,…
IRS grants late affiliated-group election for personal service corporations
A medical-services group restructured under a new corporate parent and continued using the cash method based on qualified personal service corporation treatment. The parent intended to elect under Sec…
IRS grants foreign entity late disregarded-entity election
A foreign parent transferred ownership of a foreign entity through a restructuring that ultimately placed the entity under a newly formed U.S. corporation. On the relevant date, the entity was a forei…
IRS grants foreign entity late partnership election
A foreign eligible entity became owned by two foreign entities with limited liability before its ownership was transferred directly and indirectly under a newly formed U.S. corporation. Its default fe…
IRS grants partnership late Section 754 election
A partnership failed to make a timely Section 754 election for the year in which a partner died. It represented that the failure was inadvertent, that it acted reasonably and in good faith, and that r…
IRS grants converted LLC late Section 754 election
A general partnership converted into an LLC that continued to be treated as a partnership for federal tax purposes. After a partner died, the company timely filed its return but inadvertently omitted …
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.