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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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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.…
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…
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…
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…
S corporation receives relief after stock passed to an ineligible trust
Two shareholders transferred S corporation stock to a trust they intended to qualify as an eligible shareholder. The trust instrument did not cause the trust to be treated as wholly owned by them…
Fishing-reel designer is not the manufacturer for excise-tax purposes
A company designed and marketed fishing reels, owned the relevant patents and know-how, and paid for specialized tooling used by an unrelated domestic fabricator. The fabricator supplied the raw…
Related natural-gas retailer does not taint producer's independent status
A consolidated energy group included a natural-gas producer, a marketer, and a related company that sold natural gas at retail. The producer sold most of its gas to the marketer, which combined…
Holding company may count subsidiary's historic receipts for worthless-stock test
A U.S. subsidiary organized foreign companies to develop and commercialize a product, then contributed them to a foreign holding company. The product failed, monetizing its intellectual property…
Three late QSST elections do not terminate S corporation status
After a shareholder died, one stock-holding trust divided into three trusts, two of which required qualified subchapter S trust elections, and a separate trust also later required a QSST election.…
LGBTQ social and recreational group denied Section 501(c)(3) exemption
An organization sought Section 501(c)(3) status for activities serving adult LGBTQ participants around a redacted activity. It held networking, safety education, fundraising, pride, and other…
Private foundation's need-based scholarship procedures receive advance approval
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve procedures for scholarships serving financially needy graduates of high schools in a specified county and state. The program would award approximately a…
Different deadlines apply to audited and pass-through partnership push-out statements
Chief Counsel advised on the deadlines for furnishing push-out statements under the centralized partnership audit rules. An audited partnership must furnish its statements within 60 days after the…
Statutory overpayment-interest limits apply in the savings-bond context
Chief Counsel addressed interest in connection with the purchase of U.S. Series I savings bonds through Form 8888. The brief email states that, in the bond context, the listed provisions of Section…
IRS cannot waive matching funds for Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands tax clinics
Chief Counsel considered whether the Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic Program Office could waive matching-fund requirements for grant recipients in Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands. Section…
Retained stock and delayed debt exchanges preserve corporate separation treatment
A publicly traded corporation proposed separating one of its three businesses into a newly formed controlled corporation. It would contribute the business to the controlled corporation, distribute…
Twelve missed trust elections do not end S corporation status
An S corporation's shares passed to ten trusts whose beneficiaries did not timely make qualified subchapter S trust elections and two trusts whose trustees did not timely make electing small…
Bankruptcy tort-claim trust qualifies as a settlement fund and permits a current deduction
A corporate group faced more than a redacted number of disputed product-related tort claims and placed a redacted cash amount into a bankruptcy-court-approved trust to resolve them. The court…
Foreign entity receives 120 days to file a late disregarded-entity election
A foreign eligible entity was classified by default as an association taxable as a corporation. Its owners did not file Form 8832 because they did not know an election was required, while the…
Foreign entity receives 120 days to file a late partnership election
A foreign eligible entity was classified by default as an association taxable as a corporation. Its owners did not file Form 8832 because they did not know an election was required, while its…
S corporation's business separation qualifies as a tax-free reorganization
An S corporation proposed separating one business from another by forming a controlled corporation, electing qualified subchapter S subsidiary status, contributing a disregarded subsidiary and an…
DMT sacrament organization denied exemption and church status
An organization sought Section 501(c)(3) exemption and church classification for a spiritual community whose primary activity was conducting paid weekend ceremonies using a redacted plant sacrament…
Foundation receives advance approval for scholarship and individual grant programs
A private foundation sought advance approval for scholarship procedures under Section 4945(g)(1) and other individual grant procedures under Section 4945(g)(3). Its scholarships would support…
Food and beverage industry service network denied Section 501(c)(3) exemption
A limited liability company sought Section 501(c)(3) exemption after operating for several years with a profit-making purpose and attempting, without evidence of a state filing, to convert to…
Horse-show association denied Section 501(c)(3) exemption
An association organized competitions for a particular horse breed, including its main annual reining event, and funded itself through memberships, donations, sponsorships, advertising, and entry…
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.