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 fewer or different words, check the spelling, or clear the filters to browse everything.
IPO dilution and adviser error permit a retroactive QEF election
A domestic partnership indirectly owned an active foreign corporation through another foreign corporation. An initial public offering diluted the intermediate corporation's ownership below the level…
Partnership may make retroactive QEF election
A domestic partnership owned an interest in a foreign corporation whose only asset was stock in another foreign company. An initial public offering reduced the first corporation's ownership enough…
Partnership receives consent for retroactive QEF election
A domestic partnership owned a foreign corporation whose only asset was stock in another foreign company. An initial public offering reduced the first corporation's ownership below the level needed…
Partnership receives consent for retroactive QEF election
A domestic partnership owned a foreign corporation whose only asset was stock in another foreign company. An initial public offering reduced the first corporation's ownership below the level needed…
Partnership receives consent for retroactive QEF election
A domestic partnership owned a foreign corporation whose only asset was stock in another foreign company. An initial public offering reduced the first corporation's ownership below the level needed…
Retroactive QEF election approved after adviser failures
A U.S. citizen living abroad owned shares of a foreign company that became a passive foreign investment company. Several tax advisers had access to the relevant records but did not tell the taxpayer…
Estate receives 120 days to make the 2010 carryover basis election
The executor of an estate for a decedent who died in 2010 sought additional time to file Form 8939. That form would elect the carryover basis rules of IRC § 1022 instead of the estate tax regime and…
Couple may revoke mistaken election out of installment method
A married couple sold an asset for 30 percent cash and a promissory note payable over 12 years. Their accountant miscalculated the first year's taxable income and reported the entire gain…
Mortgage servicer receives more time to elect safe harbor
A mortgage banking business intended to elect the Revenue Procedure 91-50 safe harbor for determining reasonable compensation under its mortgage servicing contracts. Its accountant omitted the…
REIT subsidiary receives more time to elect servicing safe harbor
A taxable REIT subsidiary intended to elect the Revenue Procedure 91-50 safe harbor for determining reasonable compensation under its mortgage servicing contracts. Its accountant omitted the…
Leveraged forward contract was a swaption with a circular loan
Chief Counsel analyzed a promoted leveraged forward contract that paired a purported loan with matching payments under prepaid derivative contracts. The loan and guaranteed contract payments offset…
Reinsurance acquisition commission must be amortized under IRC § 197
Chief Counsel considered an insurer's purchase of assets from a life reinsurance business together with a retrocession arrangement covering the seller's contracts. The taxpayer treated the…
Fund receives late mark-to-market election relief for PFIC stock
A regulated investment company acquired publicly traded stock in a foreign corporation that became a passive foreign investment company. Its outside tax advisor identified the PFIC but failed to…
Investor may make retroactive QEF election for PFIC shares
A U.S. citizen invested through a foreign company created for key employees to co-invest in an investment banking firm. The investment company owned less than 25 percent of the operating firm and…
Investor may make retroactive QEF election for PFIC shares
A U.S. citizen invested in two successive years through a foreign company created for key employees to co-invest in an investment banking firm. The investment company owned less than 25 percent of…
Investor may make retroactive QEF election for PFIC shares
A U.S. citizen invested through a foreign company created for key employees to co-invest in an investment banking firm. The investment company owned less than 25 percent of the operating firm and…
Failed earn-out milestones fix loss on installment stock sale
A limited liability company converted secured notes into stock and sold its majority interest in a company through a merger. The sale included contingent earn-out payments, so the seller initially…
LED sign systems qualify as outdoor advertising displays
A real estate investment trust planned to install permanent LED advertising signs on its buildings and lease them to unrelated operators. The IRS ruled that the sign structures were outdoor…
Investor may make retroactive QEF election for PFIC stock
A limited partnership bought stock through a broker and reasonably believed the issuer was a domestic corporation because it traded on a U.S. exchange and had U.S. headquarters and assets. It…
Shareholders may make retroactive QEF elections for PFICs
Married U.S. shareholders acquired interests in 14 foreign corporations that were passive foreign investment companies (PFICs). Their accounting firm initially failed to identify the companies as…
Corporation may make retroactive QEF elections for five PFICs
A U.S. corporation indirectly owned interests in five foreign corporations through a partnership. Its internal tax department failed to identify the foreign corporations as passive foreign…
Estate receives more time to file Form 8939 for 2010 decedent
The executrix of an estate for a decedent who died in 2010 relied on a tax professional for advice about Form 8939. The form, which elects the modified carryover basis rules of IRC § 1022 and…
Medical emergency supports late Form 8939 relief
An executor suffered a medical emergency, was hospitalized before the Form 8939 deadline, and did not return to work until after that deadline. The executor later filed the form to elect the…
RIC receives more time for PFIC mark-to-market election
A regulated investment company purchased publicly traded shares of a passive foreign investment company. An accounting firm identified the PFIC, but the adviser preparing the fund’s tax return…
Retroactive qualified electing fund election approved
A U.S. taxpayer invested through a foreign employee co-investment company whose only asset was a minority interest in an active financial-services business. Because the investment company owned less…
Late qualified electing fund election receives consent
A U.S. employee invested in a foreign co-investment company that held a minority interest in an active investment-banking firm. Because the investment company owned less than 25 percent of the firm,…
Division of a grandfathered trust preserves GST status and tax attributes
A grandfathered trust proposed to divide into three trusts, one for each child and that child's descendants, and to modify the trustee provisions. The IRS ruled that the division and modifications…
Estate gets late 2010 carryover-basis election relief
The executor of an estate for a decedent who died in 2010 retained an accountant for estate-tax advice but filed Form 8939 after its deadline. The executor sought to refile the form to elect out of…
Estate denied late carryover-basis election after unproven mailing
An executor said an accounting firm timely mailed Form 8939 by regular mail to elect the modified carryover-basis rules for a 2010 decedent's estate. The IRS had no record of receiving the form, and…
Partnership gets retroactive QEF election for foreign investment
A partnership invested in a foreign corporation that had been a passive foreign investment company, but its tax director and several outside advisers did not identify the PFIC issue or discuss a…
Partnership receives retroactive QEF election consent
A partnership held stock in a foreign corporation that had been a passive foreign investment company, but its internal tax director and outside advisers did not identify the PFIC status or explain…
Retroactive QEF election allowed after adviser oversight
A partnership invested in a foreign corporation that was a passive foreign investment company, but its former tax director and several outside firms did not advise it about a qualified electing fund…
Pharmacy seller may revoke installment method opt-out
An S corporation sold its pharmacy assets for immediate cash and a 15-year promissory note. On its return for the sale year, it reported the full gain and thereby elected out of installment method…
Eligible replacement property may be rematched in like-kind exchange program
A taxpayer operated a high-volume equipment like-kind exchange program using an automated first-in-first-out method to match replacement property with relinquished property. Examination determined…
Pro rata trust divisions preserve GST status and tax attributes
Two irrevocable trusts created before September 25, 1985, held assets for four children and their descendants. The trustee proposed dividing each trust pro rata into four successor trusts so…
Pharmaceutical support company is a qualified trade or business
Shareholders asked whether a company that helped pharmaceutical clients commercialize experimental drugs was disqualified from § 1202 because its work was close to the health field. The company…
Missed statements do not defeat section 1042 election
A shareholder sold closely held company stock to the company's employee stock ownership plan and intended to defer the gain under § 1042 by purchasing qualified replacement property. One accounting…
Late original issue discount elections receive filing relief
A corporate group and its bank subsidiary treated interest on credit card receivables acquired in 2009 and 2010 as original issue discount but failed to attach the required annual election…
S corporation received retroactive QEF election relief
An S corporation invested in a publicly traded foreign corporation that was a passive foreign investment company, but two qualified tax firms failed to identify the PFIC status or advise the…
Charitable trust received retroactive QEF election relief
A domestic charitable trust invested in a publicly traded foreign corporation that was a passive foreign investment company, but its qualified tax firm failed to identify the PFIC status or advise…
Charitable trust received retroactive QEF election after repeated adviser failures
A domestic charitable trust invested in a foreign passive investment company, but two successive trustees and a later tax firm all failed to identify the PFIC status or advise the trust about a…
Charitable trust received retroactive QEF election relief
A domestic charitable trust invested in a publicly traded foreign corporation that was a passive foreign investment company, but its qualified tax firm failed to identify the PFIC status or advise…
Individual received retroactive QEF election relief
A U.S. individual invested in a publicly traded foreign corporation that was a passive foreign investment company, but his qualified tax firm failed to identify the PFIC status or advise him about a…
Individual received retroactive QEF election relief
A U.S. individual invested in a publicly traded foreign corporation that was a passive foreign investment company, but his qualified tax firm failed to identify the PFIC status or advise him about a…
Taxpayer received retroactive QEF election relief
A U.S. citizen acquired direct and indirect interests in a foreign passive foreign investment company while he was a minor. His parents and later the taxpayer relied on qualified tax firms that…
Taxpayer received retroactive QEF election relief
A U.S. citizen acquired direct and indirect interests in a Canadian passive foreign investment company while he was a minor. His parents and later the taxpayer relied on qualified tax firms that…
Married taxpayers received retroactive QEF election relief
A married U.S. couple acquired direct and indirect interests in a foreign passive foreign investment company. They relied on two qualified tax firms that failed to identify the PFIC or advise them…
Noteholder consent payments received debt-modification rulings
A public corporation planned a spin-off and considered paying holders of contingent-payment debentures for consent to amend a successor covenant and avoid litigation. The IRS ruled that the cash…
Taxpayer received consent for a retroactive QEF election
A domestic limited liability company owned an interest in a publicly traded foreign corporation that was a passive foreign investment company. Its qualified tax adviser failed to identify the…
Taxpayer received consent for a retroactive QEF election
A U.S. limited liability company owned an interest in a publicly traded foreign corporation that was a passive foreign investment company. Its qualified tax adviser failed to identify the…
Taxpayer received consent for a retroactive QEF election
A U.S. citizen owned an interest in a publicly traded foreign corporation that was a passive foreign investment company. The taxpayer's qualified tax adviser failed to identify the corporation's…
Taxpayer received consent for a retroactive QEF election and closing agreement
A U.S. citizen owned shares in a publicly traded foreign corporation that was a passive foreign investment company. Two qualified tax firms had failed to identify the PFIC status or advise the…
Taxpayer received consent for a retroactive QEF election and closing agreement
A U.S. citizen acquired shares in a publicly traded foreign corporation that was a passive foreign investment company and later transferred all the shares to a domestic limited liability company. A…
Dividing and partly terminating a QTIP marital trust produced defined gift, estate, and income tax results
Trustees proposed dividing a QTIP marital trust into three pro rata trusts, converting one to a state-law total return unitrust, and terminating another for the deceased spouse's children. The IRS…
Multistep foreign restructuring received tax-free reorganization and distribution rulings
A corporate group proposed moving two businesses into a newly formed foreign controlled corporation, passing that corporation's stock through seven tiers of related companies, and then liquidating…
Investors received consent to make a retroactive QEF election
U.S. taxpayers owned shares of a foreign corporation that was a passive foreign investment company. They gave their longtime tax preparer the relevant information and mentioned the shares, but the…
Shareholder received consent to make a retroactive QEF election
A U.S. individual bought shares of a foreign corporation over several years and later sold them. The individual's longtime accountant knew about the shares but did not identify the corporation as a…
Three foreign-subsidiary distributions received nonrecognition treatment
A U.S. public-company group proposed a multinational restructuring that moved two foreign controlled corporations through several levels of its ownership chain. The plan included three actual or…
Estate received more time to elect the 2010 carryover-basis regime
The executor of an estate for a person who died in 2010 hired a tax professional for estate-tax advice, including whether Form 8939 was required. The executor later sought relief to elect out of the…
Investors received consent for retroactive QEF elections
Taxpayers held shares of a foreign corporation over several years and relied on an accountant for their U.S. tax and filing obligations. After the corporation warned that it was likely a passive…
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.