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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Retained appointment powers prevented a completed gift
A grantor created an irrevocable domestic trust for the grantor and family members, retaining consent, support-limited, and testamentary appointment powers while a family committee held joint…
Trust committee distributions avoided member gift tax
A grantor created an irrevocable domestic trust for the grantor and family members, retaining consent, support-limited, and testamentary appointment powers while a family committee held joint…
Possession resident treated as nonresident noncitizen for transfer taxes
A taxpayer was born abroad to parents who were not U.S. citizens and later moved to a U.S. possession, where he became a permanent resident and then a naturalized U.S. citizen. The IRS found that he…
Estate gets 120 days to make late portability election
A decedent's estate was below the filing threshold for a mandatory federal estate tax return but did not timely file Form 706 to elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount.…
Estate gets 120 days to make late QTIP election
A decedent's will funded a marital trust that paid all net income to the surviving spouse at least quarterly and permitted principal distributions for the spouse's health, maintenance, or support.…
Estate gets 120 days to make late portability election
A decedent's estate was below the filing threshold for a mandatory federal estate tax return but did not timely file Form 706 to elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount.…
Estate received 120 days to make a portability election
A decedent’s estate was not otherwise required to file an estate tax return, but it needed Form 706 to elect portability of the deceased spouse’s unused exclusion amount for the surviving spouse.…
Court reformation preserved limited powers and GST allocation
A grantor created three irrevocable trusts for grandchildren, but drafting errors gave beneficiaries powers broad enough to risk estate inclusion and gift tax on lapsing withdrawal rights. A state…
Court reformation preserved limited powers and GST allocation
A grantor created three irrevocable trusts for grandchildren, but drafting errors gave beneficiaries powers broad enough to risk estate inclusion and gift tax on lapsing withdrawal rights. A state…
Court reformation preserved limited powers and GST allocation
A grantor created three irrevocable trusts for grandchildren, but drafting errors gave beneficiaries powers broad enough to risk estate inclusion and gift tax on lapsing withdrawal rights. A state…
Insurance-trustee structure avoided incidents of ownership
An irrevocable trust beneficiary also served as trustee, creating a risk that any policy on the beneficiary’s life would be included in the beneficiary’s estate because the original trust granted…
Insurance-trustee structure avoided incidents of ownership
An irrevocable trust beneficiary also served as trustee, creating a risk that any policy on the beneficiary’s life would be included in the beneficiary’s estate because the original trust granted…
120-day extension granted to make a § 2032A special-use farm valuation election
When someone dies owning farmland, the estate can elect under Internal Revenue Code § 2032A to value that land at its farm-use value rather than its (usually higher) fair market value, which can cut…
Charitable trust contributions remained incomplete gifts and avoided split-interest trust rules
A settlor created an irrevocable trust for individuals and a foundation while retaining consent and limited appointment powers. The IRS ruled that the initial contribution was an incomplete gift and…
Trust transfer remained an incomplete gift and committee powers caused no estate inclusion
A grantor created an irrevocable domestic trust for the grantor and other lifetime beneficiaries. The grantor retained powers to direct distributions, while a committee could act with the grantor's…
Trust transfer remained an incomplete gift and committee powers caused no estate inclusion
A grantor created an irrevocable domestic trust for the grantor and other lifetime beneficiaries. The grantor retained powers to direct distributions, while a committee could act with the grantor's…
Trust transfer remained an incomplete gift and committee powers caused no estate inclusion
A grantor created an irrevocable domestic trust for the grantor and other lifetime beneficiaries. The grantor retained powers to direct distributions, while a committee could act with the grantor's…
Trust transfer remained an incomplete gift and committee powers caused no estate inclusion
A grantor created an irrevocable domestic trust for the grantor and other lifetime beneficiaries. The grantor retained powers to direct distributions, while a committee could act with the grantor's…
Trust transfer remained an incomplete gift and committee powers caused no estate inclusion
A grantor created an irrevocable domestic trust for the grantor and other lifetime beneficiaries. The grantor retained powers to direct distributions, while a committee could act with the grantor's…
Estate received time for QTIP and reverse QTIP elections
An estate intended to obtain the marital deduction for a trust benefiting the surviving spouse, but its attorney reported all trust assets as jointly owned property and made no QTIP election. The…
Estate gets 120 days to make a QTIP election for a newly discovered asset
A decedent's will gave the surviving spouse a lifetime usufruct over the remaining estate property. The executor timely filed Form 706 but did not make a qualified terminable interest property…
QDOT trustees get 120 days to report the surviving spouse's citizenship
A decedent's estate claimed the marital deduction for property passing to a qualified domestic trust because the surviving spouse was not a U.S. citizen. The spouse later became a citizen after…
Estate gets 120 days to make a late portability election
A decedent left a surviving spouse and an unused portion of the federal estate and gift tax exclusion. The estate represented that it was not otherwise required to file Form 706 because of the gross…
IRS grants an estate extra time to make a late portability election
When one spouse dies without using all of their federal estate and gift tax exemption, the surviving spouse can inherit the leftover amount (the "deceased spousal unused exclusion," or DSUE) through…
IRS grants an estate extra time to make a late portability election
When one spouse dies without using all of their federal estate and gift tax exemption, the surviving spouse can inherit the leftover amount (the "deceased spousal unused exclusion," or DSUE) through…
Married couple's community-property trust is a non-grantor trust and their contributions are incomplete gifts
A married couple in a community property state set up an irrevocable trust for themselves, their children, two other individuals, and charities. Distributions are controlled by a "Power of…
Married couple's community-property trust is a non-grantor trust and their contributions are incomplete gifts
A married couple in a community property state set up an irrevocable trust for themselves, their children, two other individuals, and charities. Distributions are controlled by a "Power of…
IRS grants an estate extra time to make a late portability election
When a married person dies without using up their full federal estate-tax exclusion, the unused portion (the deceased spousal unused exclusion, or DSUE, amount) can be passed to the surviving spouse…
Estate gets extra time to split a QTIP trust and make a reverse QTIP election
A decedent's estate timely made a QTIP election for a trust benefiting the surviving spouse. The estate's law firm did not advise that the trust should be severed into GST-exempt and GST-nonexempt…
Estate gets a late QTIP election and zero GST inclusion ratios for two trusts
A decedent had created trusts that, at death, provided for a marital-deduction trust, a credit shelter trust, and a trust for the decedent's mother. The estate's accountant failed to make the…
Estate gets a late QTIP election and zero GST inclusion ratios for two trusts
A decedent had created trusts that, at death, provided for a marital-deduction trust, a credit shelter trust, and a trust for the decedent's mother. The estate's accountant failed to make the…
Community-property trust gets incomplete-gift, power, and basis rulings with an income-tax caveat
A married couple in a community-property state created an irrevocable trust for themselves, family members, and friends, with distributions controlled through retained powers and a nonfiduciary…
Community-property trust gets incomplete-gift, power, and basis rulings with an income-tax caveat
A married couple in a community-property state created an irrevocable trust for themselves, family members, and friends, with distributions controlled through retained powers and a nonfiduciary…
Community-property trust gets incomplete-gift, power, and basis rulings with an income-tax caveat
A married couple in a community-property state created an irrevocable trust for themselves, family members, and friends, with distributions controlled through retained powers and a nonfiduciary…
Community-property trust gets incomplete-gift, power, and basis rulings with an income-tax caveat
A married couple in a community-property state created an irrevocable trust for themselves, family members, and friends, with distributions controlled through retained powers and a nonfiduciary…
Community-property trust gets incomplete-gift, power, and basis rulings with an income-tax caveat
A married couple in a community-property state created an irrevocable trust for themselves, family members, and friends, with distributions controlled through retained powers and a nonfiduciary…
Community-property trust gets incomplete-gift, power, and basis rulings with an income-tax caveat
A married couple in a community-property state created an irrevocable trust for themselves, family members, and friends, with distributions controlled through retained powers and a nonfiduciary…
IRS blesses a court reformation fixing a trust's Crummey-power drafting error, finding no gift or estate tax fallout
A grandfather set up an irrevocable trust for his grandchildren, using the common "Crummey" technique of giving each grandchild a short-lived right to withdraw new contributions so the gifts qualify…
Two charitable remainder unitrusts with a flexible charity-designation power qualify under § 664
An individual planned to create two charitable remainder unitrusts (CRUTs), a type of trust that pays a fixed percentage to the donor (and here, in one trust, a surviving spouse) each year and…
Adding a way to appoint an independent trustee will not trigger gift, estate, or GST tax
An old irrevocable family trust gave certain sensitive powers (including the power to narrow or cancel a beneficiary's future control over where trust assets go) only to a trustee who was not also a…
Reformation of a trust's Crummey withdrawal error avoids general powers of appointment; 120-day extension to allocate GST exemption
A settlor set up an irrevocable trust for his descendants, wanting the trust assets to stay out of his children's estates and to use up his and his spouse's generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax…
Reformation of a trust's Crummey withdrawal error avoids general powers of appointment; 120-day extension to allocate GST exemption
A settlor set up an irrevocable trust for his descendants, wanting the trust assets to stay out of his children's estates and to use up his and his spouse's generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax…
Reformation of a trust's Crummey withdrawal error avoids general powers of appointment; 120-day extension to allocate GST exemption
A settlor set up an irrevocable trust for his descendants, wanting the trust assets to stay out of his children's estates and to use up his and his spouse's generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax…
Reformation of a trust's Crummey withdrawal error avoids general powers of appointment; 120-day extension to allocate GST exemption
A settlor set up an irrevocable trust for his descendants, wanting the trust assets to stay out of his children's estates and to use up his and his spouse's generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax…
Estate gets extra time to split a marital trust into QTIP and non-QTIP shares and fix its generation-skipping tax planning
When a spouse dies, property left in trust for the surviving spouse can qualify for the unlimited estate-tax marital deduction if the executor makes a "QTIP" election under § 2056(b)(7). Where only…
Community-property incomplete-gift non-grantor trust gets six favorable rulings
A married couple in a community-property state set up an "incomplete-gift non-grantor" trust (often called an ING or, in community-property form, a CING) funded with their community property. The…
Community-property incomplete-gift non-grantor trust gets six favorable rulings
A married couple in a community-property state set up an "incomplete-gift non-grantor" trust (often called an ING or, in community-property form, a CING) funded with their community property. The…
Community-property incomplete-gift non-grantor trust gets six favorable rulings
A married couple in a community-property state set up an "incomplete-gift non-grantor" trust (often called an ING or, in community-property form, a CING) funded with their community property. The…
Community-property incomplete-gift non-grantor trust gets six favorable rulings
A married couple in a community-property state set up an "incomplete-gift non-grantor" trust (often called an ING or, in community-property form, a CING) funded with their community property. The…
Community-property incomplete-gift non-grantor trust gets six favorable rulings
A married couple in a community-property state set up an "incomplete-gift non-grantor" trust (often called an ING or, in community-property form, a CING) funded with their community property. The…
Community-property incomplete-gift non-grantor trust gets six favorable rulings
A married couple in a community-property state set up an "incomplete-gift non-grantor" trust (often called an ING or, in community-property form, a CING) funded with their community property. The…
Court fix of a botched Crummey clause carries no estate, gift, or GST tax
A grandfather set up an irrevocable trust split into three shares, one for each grandchild, meant to keep the trust assets out of the grandchildren's taxable estates and to use up his and his wife's…
Court fix of a botched Crummey clause carries no estate, gift, or GST tax
A grandfather set up an irrevocable trust split into three shares, one for each grandchild, meant to keep the trust assets out of the grandchildren's taxable estates and to use up his and his wife's…
Court fix of a botched Crummey clause carries no estate, gift, or GST tax
A grandfather set up an irrevocable trust split into three shares, one for each grandchild, meant to keep the trust assets out of the grandchildren's taxable estates and to use up his and his wife's…
Court fix of a botched Crummey clause carries no estate, gift, or GST tax
A grandfather set up an irrevocable trust split into three shares, one for each grandchild, meant to keep the trust assets out of the grandchildren's taxable estates and to use up his and his wife's…
Court fix of a botched Crummey clause carries no estate, gift, or GST tax
A grandfather set up an irrevocable trust split into three shares, one for each grandchild, meant to keep the trust assets out of the grandchildren's taxable estates and to use up his and his wife's…
Incomplete-gift non-grantor trust: contributions are incomplete gifts, and distribution-committee members hold no general power of appointment
A person (the Grantor) set up an irrevocable trust for a family class (parents, siblings, a niece and nephew, future issue, and another trust), with a "Distribution Committee" of relatives that…
Says a pending QTIP extension request is relevant to an estate refund claim
An IRS office was considering an estate's refund claim while the taxpayer sought a private letter ruling for more time to sever a trust and make a qualified terminable interest property election.…
Approves QTIP trust division and charitable renunciation
A surviving spouse proposed dividing a qualified terminable interest property trust into two separate trusts with identical terms, then renouncing all interests in one trust so its assets would pass…
Grants time to divide a trust and make a QTIP election
A decedent's revocable trust became irrevocable at death and held the residuary estate, including a retirement account, for the surviving spouse during life with the remainder going to charities.…
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.