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.
No determinations match these filters
Try a different search term or clear the filters.
IRS permits converted partnership's late Section 754 election
A general partnership converted to an LLC while remaining a partnership for federal tax purposes. After a partner died, the company timely filed its return but inadvertently failed to include a valid …
IRS gives limited partnership more time for Section 754 election
A limited partnership timely filed its return for the year a partner died but inadvertently omitted a valid Section 754 election. The partnership represented that it acted reasonably and in good faith…
Market-rate solar partnerships avoid utility normalization rules
A regulated utility planned to acquire solar projects, place them in tax-equity partnerships, and have those partnerships sell electricity directly into wholesale markets. The partnerships would recei…
IRS grants late corporate classification and S election
A domestic LLC intended to be an S corporation from a specified effective date but failed to file Form 2553 properly and on time. It nevertheless filed returns consistently with S corporation treatmen…
IRS grants foreign entity late disregarded classification
A foreign eligible entity intended to be disregarded as separate from its owner for federal tax purposes but inadvertently missed the Form 8832 deadline. It represented that it acted reasonably and in…
IRS grants domestic entity late corporate classification election
A domestic single-owner eligible entity wanted to be classified as an association taxable as a corporation rather than use its default disregarded-entity status. It failed to file Form 8832 by the dea…
IRS accepts late branch-profits-tax assessment consent
A foreign corporation indirectly participated in a U.S. trade or business through a partnership, then its U.S. business assets were sold and its shareholder adopted an irrevocable liquidation resoluti…
IRS denies exemption to freemium research-software organization
An organization developed and distributed a web-based research-management platform under a freemium model, with professional users paying for expanded storage, projects, participants, security, suppor…
IRS denies exemption to open-source cryptocurrency software project
An organization proposed to develop, maintain, and distribute free open-source software for digital currency, support volunteer developers, operate a free digital library, work with schools, and spons…
IRS denies exemption for community rodeo organization
An organization already exempt under Section 501(c)(4) sought recognition under Section 501(c)(3). Its primary activity was planning, funding, and conducting a community rodeo, with most revenue comin…
DOJ report identifies punitive part of False Claims Act settlement
Chief Counsel addressed how the pre-TCJA version of Section 162(f) applies when a False Claims Act settlement does not specify the federal tax treatment of the payment. Single damages are compensatory…
Defaulting purchaser forfeits entire payment at IRS sale
Chief Counsel considered a deferred-payment IRS property sale in which the purchaser defaulted and the area director declared the sale void. The question was whether the IRS could return part of the p…
Partnership-related adjustments enter imputed underpayment computation
Chief Counsel addressed the interaction between the BBA centralized partnership audit rules and self-employment tax. It advised that every adjustment to a partnership-related item enters the imputed u…
Reprisal concern does not alone permit unannounced third-party summons
Chief Counsel considered whether the IRS could contact or summon a former employee without notifying the taxpayer when the former employee feared reprisal. Section 7602(c)(3) permits the IRS to make t…
Foreign-corporation reporting penalty may apply separately to each spouse
Chief Counsel considered Section 6038 penalties when one spouse is treated as constructively owning a foreign corporation through the other spouse. The IRS may assess the penalty separately against ea…
Appraiser interview is not required before Section 6695A assessment
Chief Counsel considered whether an IRS penalty examiner must send a particular letter or information document request, or interview the appraiser, before assessing the Section 6695A penalty. It found…
COVID relief does not extend offer deadline outside relief window
Chief Counsel considered whether COVID-19 deadline relief extended a 24-month period for the IRS to accept an offer in compromise described in the email as an OIC-DALT. Notice 2020-23, its predecessor…
Written designation controls voluntary payroll tax payment
Chief Counsel explained when a taxpayer may direct how a payroll tax payment is applied. A taxpayer may designate a voluntary payment only through specific written instructions made when the payment i…
Specific Social Security levy may outlast collection period
Chief Counsel explained what happens to levies when the collection statute expiration date, or CSED, passes. A continuous wage levy under Section 6331(e) must be released at the end of the CSED even i…
IRS accepts late taxable REIT subsidiary election
A real estate investment trust and an indirectly owned subsidiary intended the subsidiary to be a taxable REIT subsidiary effective when its corporate tax classification began. They missed the Form 88…
Partnership receives 120 days to make late Section 754 election
A limited liability company taxed as a partnership timely filed its return for a year in which partnership interests were transferred. It inadvertently omitted the Section 754 election that would adju…
Partnership receives conditional late Section 754 election relief
A limited partnership intended to make a Section 754 election but inadvertently omitted it from its timely filed return. It represented that it acted reasonably and in good faith and that relief would…
Corporation receives 60 days for late success-fee safe-harbor election
A corporation incurred success-based transaction fees when its parent was acquired and the corporation moved into the acquirer's consolidated group. Its tax adviser prepared two short-period consolida…
Utility deducts shared environmental mitigation payment
A utility paid its agreed share of another entity's cost to acquire water used solely to mitigate groundwater drawdown caused by a jointly developed generating facility. The IRS found the payment ordi…
IRS denies exemption to gated RV tailgating park
A member-owned recreational-vehicle park used primarily for tailgating sought exemption as a social-welfare organization under Section 501(c)(4). Members paid assessments to maintain fenced common are…
IRS approves pension plan substitute mortality tables
A single-employer defined benefit pension plan asked to use plan-specific substitute mortality tables for its funding calculations under Section 430. The IRS approved substitute tables for male and fe…
Partnership receives retroactive QEF election for PFIC stock
A domestic partnership received stock in a foreign corporation that was a passive foreign investment company, or PFIC. Two successive tax professionals were unaware of the corporation's PFIC status an…
IRS accepts late taxable REIT subsidiary election
A real estate investment trust and an indirectly owned subsidiary intended the subsidiary to be a taxable REIT subsidiary from its formation date. They missed the Form 8875 deadline because the sponso…
Foreign entity receives late partnership-classification election
A foreign limited liability company formed as a joint venture intended to be treated as a foreign partnership for U.S. tax purposes. Because both members had limited liability, the default classificat…
Merged corporation receives late success-fee safe-harbor election
A corporation merged into a related company and needed to file a final short-period return. It intended to extend that return but failed to file Form 7004 before the deadline, so the return could no l…
S corporation receives late QSub election relief
An S corporation acquired all the stock of a domestic subsidiary and intended to treat it as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary from the acquisition date. It inadvertently failed to file Form 8869 on…
Individual receives retroactive QEF election for family PFIC
An individual owned stock in a foreign family corporation that was a passive foreign investment company, or PFIC. Two successive tax professionals were unaware of the corporation's PFIC status and did…
Five-year regulated restructuring follows one reorganization plan
A multinational corporate group planned to move a regulated foreign business and its branches into another foreign affiliate. The steps included ownership contributions, establishing and authorizing n…
IRS approves grants to silent-film accompanists
A private foundation proposed grants to qualified musicians who would provide live accompaniment for public presentations of restored silent films. A committee of at least three people would select mu…
IRS approves charitable-leadership fellowship procedures
A private foundation proposed fellowships for promising leaders and innovators to pursue specific charitable objectives, with an initial focus on historically disenfranchised communities. Applicants w…
IRS approves scholarship and individual-achievement grants
A private foundation proposed two types of grants supporting a cultural shift toward equality, partnership, and a caring society. Section 4945(g)(1) scholarships would help financially needy undergrad…
IRS approves international civic-leadership fellowships
A private foundation supported a year-long fellowship placing recent college graduates with mission-oriented organizations in three countries. Fellows would work full time, receive stipends, attend tr…
IRS approves three scientific grant programs
A private foundation proposed three grant programs supporting research and education in two scientific fields. One program would fund student research projects based on scientific merit and insight. A…
IRS revokes exemption for a tuition-fundraising organization
The IRS revoked a charity's Section 501(c)(3) status after finding that its concession-stand fundraising primarily benefited participating families. Members worked at concession stands, accumulated sh…
IRS denies Section 501(c)(3) status to an anime convention
An organization already exempt under Section 501(c)(4) applied for recognition under Section 501(c)(3). Its main activity was an annual anime and pop-culture convention featuring panels and cultural t…
Treasury-rate formula preserves a qualified structured settlement
A structured-settlement company assumed an insurer's obligation to make deferred payments for a minor's physical-injury claim and bought an annuity to fund those payments. The settlement called for mo…
IRS allows a timely revocation of a Section 83(b) election
A service provider made a Section 83(b) election for restricted employer stock and later asked the IRS for permission to revoke it. Such an election generally cannot be revoked without IRS consent, an…
IRS grants extra time for a QSub election
An S corporation acquired all the stock of a subsidiary and intended to treat it as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary, or QSub, from the acquisition date. It failed to file Form 8869 on time because…
IRS grants extra time for a QSub election
An S corporation acquired all the stock of a subsidiary and intended to treat it as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary, or QSub, from the acquisition date. It failed to file Form 8869 on time because…
IRS grants extra time for a QSub election
An S corporation acquired all the stock of a subsidiary and intended to treat it as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary, or QSub, from the acquisition date. It failed to file Form 8869 on time because…
IRS grants extra time for a QSub election
An S corporation acquired all the stock of a subsidiary and intended to treat it as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary, or QSub, from the acquisition date. It failed to file Form 8869 on time because…
IRS grants extra time for a QSub election
An S corporation acquired all the stock of a subsidiary and intended to treat it as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary, or QSub, from the acquisition date. It failed to file Form 8869 on time because…
IRS grants extra time for a QSub election
An S corporation acquired all the stock of a subsidiary and intended to treat it as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary, or QSub, from the acquisition date. It failed to file Form 8869 on time because…
IRS grants extra time for a QSub election
An S corporation acquired all the stock of a subsidiary and intended to treat it as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary, or QSub, from the acquisition date. It failed to file Form 8869 on time because…
IRS grants extra time for a QSub election
An S corporation acquired all the stock of a subsidiary and intended to treat it as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary, or QSub, from the acquisition date. It failed to file Form 8869 on time because…
IRS grants extra time for a QSub election
An S corporation acquired all the stock of a subsidiary and intended to treat it as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary, or QSub, from the acquisition date. It failed to file Form 8869 on time because…
IRS grants extra time for a QSub election
An S corporation acquired all the stock of a subsidiary and intended to treat it as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary, or QSub, from the acquisition date. It failed to file Form 8869 on time because…
IRS grants extra time for a QSub election
An S corporation acquired all the stock of a subsidiary and intended to treat it as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary, or QSub, from the acquisition date. It failed to file Form 8869 on time because…
IRS grants extra time for a QSub election
An S corporation acquired all the stock of a subsidiary and intended to treat it as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary, or QSub, from the acquisition date. It failed to file Form 8869 on time because…
IRS grants extra time for a QSub election
An S corporation acquired all the stock of a subsidiary and intended to treat it as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary, or QSub, from the acquisition date. It failed to file Form 8869 on time because…
IRS grants extra time for a QSub election
An S corporation acquired all the stock of a subsidiary and intended to treat it as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary, or QSub, from the acquisition date. It failed to file Form 8869 on time because…
IRS grants extra time for a QSub election
An S corporation acquired all the stock of a subsidiary and intended to treat it as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary, or QSub, from the acquisition date. It failed to file Form 8869 on time because…
IRS grants extra time for a QSub election
An S corporation acquired all the stock of a subsidiary and intended to treat it as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary, or QSub, from the acquisition date. It failed to file Form 8869 on time because…
IRS grants extra time for a QSub election
An S corporation acquired all the stock of a subsidiary and intended to treat it as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary, or QSub, from the acquisition date. It failed to file Form 8869 on time because…
IRS grants extra time for a QSub election
An S corporation acquired all the stock of a subsidiary and intended to treat it as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary, or QSub, from the acquisition date. It failed to file Form 8869 on time because…
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.