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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PLR 1232011: IRS rules on built-in loss limits after a REIT election is revoked
A corporation elected REIT status, causing certain wholly owned affiliates to become qualified REIT subsidiaries. After the corporation revoked its REIT election, those subsidiaries were treated as…
PLR 1226004: IRS treats certain foreign-income inclusions as qualifying REIT income
A publicly traded real estate investment trust asked whether certain income inclusions from controlled foreign corporations and passive foreign investment companies would count as qualifying income…
PLR 1225009: IRS approves REIT treatment for hotel rent managed by an eligible independent contractor
A REIT affiliate asked about a planned structure for leasing and operating a hotel through a taxable REIT subsidiary and a hotel lessee. The IRS concluded that the hotel manager would qualify as an…
PLR 1225008: IRS approves REIT treatment for a hotel lease and management structure
A REIT affiliate asked whether a proposed structure for owning, leasing, and operating a hotel would satisfy the REIT income rules. The IRS concluded that the hotel manager would be an eligible…
PLR 1222028: IRS treats late REIT elections as timely made
The IRS granted two companies an extension of time to make elections under section 856(c) to be treated as real estate investment trusts for a specified tax year. The companies discovered that the…
IRS grants a company more time to elect REIT treatment
The IRS granted a company a 60-day extension to make an election under IRC § 856(c) to be treated as a real estate investment trust for a specified tax year. The company intended to make the…
PLR 1216031: REIT distribution qualifies for the dividends paid deduction
A publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) issued common and convertible stock while declaring a quarterly distribution. The transaction included a payment intended to adjust for the…
PLR 1214009: REIT rents remain qualifying despite a TRS investment in a facility manager
The IRS considered whether a real estate investment trust's rents from health care facilities would remain rents from real property when its taxable REIT subsidiary invested in the parent of an…
PLR 1214002: IRS grants late taxable REIT subsidiary election relief
The IRS considered a REIT and its wholly owned subsidiary's request for more time to elect taxable REIT subsidiary status. The company's accountant mistakenly believed the election could be filed…
PLR 1210021: Late taxable REIT subsidiary election granted a reasonable extension
The IRS granted a REIT and its wholly owned subsidiary an extension of time to make a joint election treating the subsidiary as a taxable REIT subsidiary. The companies intended the election to take…
PLR 1208014: IRS approves a REIT subsidiary's hotel management structure
The IRS ruled that a taxable REIT subsidiary would not be treated as directly or indirectly operating or managing a lodging facility. The subsidiary held a minority interest in a partnership that…
PLR 1208012: IRS grants more time for four companies to elect REIT status
The IRS granted four companies an extension of time to elect REIT status under IRC § 856(c). The companies had been treated as qualified REIT subsidiaries on their parent’s returns even after…
PLR 1208007: IRS treats fully secured property participation rights as REIT assets
The IRS ruled that a residential real estate participation transaction would qualify as a real estate asset for REIT purposes to the extent it was fully secured by real property. Under the…
PLR 1206015: Income from wholly owned foreign subsidiaries qualifies for RIC income testing
Two regulated investment companies planned to invest in wholly owned foreign subsidiaries that would hold commodity-linked derivatives and fixed-income securities. The subsidiaries could generate…
PLR 1206001: Rental and license income qualifies as REIT rents
The IRS ruled that a proposed real estate investment trust could treat three categories of income as rents from real property. Rent paid by a taxable REIT subsidiary for specially designed property…
PLR 1205004: IRS approves multi-class REIT shares with class-specific fees
The IRS ruled that a public non-traded real estate investment trust could issue two new classes of common stock with different distribution and advisory-fee allocations. The class-specific fees…
PLR 1204006: IRS rules on REIT treatment of sign structures, rents, and event rights
The IRS ruled on a proposed real estate investment trust structure involving office and retail property, advertising signs, sponsorship and media rights, and related partnerships. It concluded that…
PLR 1151013: IRS treats surface-use payments as REIT rents
The IRS ruled that payments made under a surface-use agreement for mining activity qualify as rents from real property for the REIT gross-income tests under IRC § 856(c)(2) and (3). The taxpayer…
PLR 1150022: IRS allowed a late taxable REIT subsidiary election
The IRS granted a REIT and its subsidiary extra time to elect to treat the subsidiary as a taxable REIT subsidiary. The election was missed because the company relied on tax professionals and…
IRS approves easements and cell-tower rents as REIT assets and income
The IRS ruled that a taxpayer's perpetual and long-term easements for wireless communication sites would qualify as interests in real property and real estate assets for REIT purposes. The taxpayer…
PLR 1147015: IRS treats senior independent living facilities as qualified health care property
A real estate investment trust asked whether its unlicensed senior independent living facilities qualified as qualified health care property under IRC § 856(e)(6)(D). The facilities offered…
PLR 1146012: IRS grants extra time for a REIT election filed with an improperly signed return
The IRS granted a trust an extension of time to make a regulatory election to be treated as a real estate investment trust. The trust's Form 1120-REIT had been signed and filed by an officer of its…
REIT settlement proceeds excluded from the gross-income tests
The IRS considered whether a real estate investment trust's share of settlement proceeds from a partnership's mezzanine-loan lawsuit would count against the REIT gross-income tests. The settlement…
PLR 1144022: IRS grants more time to make taxable REIT subsidiary elections
The IRS granted a company and two subsidiaries 60 days to make elections treating the subsidiaries as taxable REIT subsidiaries of the company, effective as of a specified merger date. Before the…
PLR 1144016: IRS allows a TRS to own a condo-hotel without disqualification
The taxpayer, a REIT, asked whether its taxable REIT subsidiary could acquire and hold a condo-hotel without being treated as directly or indirectly operating or managing a lodging facility. The…
PLR 1144007: IRS grants late election relief for a taxable REIT subsidiary
A REIT and its subsidiary asked for more time to file Form 8875, the joint election to treat the subsidiary as a taxable REIT subsidiary. The election was missed after the responsible officer left…
PLR 1144004: IRS grants late election relief for post-October capital losses
A regulated investment company asked for more time to elect to defer all or part of its post-October capital losses when computing taxable income and net capital gain. Its accounting firm had…
CCA 1143018: Chief Counsel revises advice on charitable deductions, REMIC income, and NOLs
The Office of Chief Counsel reconsidered how excess inclusion income from a REMIC residual interest affects a corporation's charitable-contribution limitation and net operating loss. It concluded…
PLR 1143011: IRS approves REIT treatment for billboard structures and related rents
A real estate investment trust asked whether permanent steel billboard structures were real estate assets and whether related rental income would qualify as rents from real property. The IRS ruled…
PLR 1140012: Fund's late RIC and spillover-dividend elections treated as timely
A regulated investment fund asked for relief after its administrator failed to timely mail an automatic filing extension application. Because the application was late, the fund's return did not…
PLR 1139005: IRS approved a REIT's proposed hotel leasing and management structure
The IRS addressed a real estate investment trust's proposed restructuring of the ownership, leasing, and management of a hotel. The hotel would be leased to a taxable REIT subsidiary, while an…
PLR 1137004: IRS excludes interest rate swap income from a REIT's gross income tests
A real estate investment trust asked how income from an interest rate swap would count under the 95-percent and 75-percent gross income tests. The swap was used to manage interest-rate risk…
PLR 1135002: IRS approves a REIT's two-class stock structure and related fees
A proposed real estate investment trust asked whether issuing retail and institutional classes of common stock with different distribution fees would create preferential dividends, affect its REIT…
PLR 1135001: IRS treats income and gain from commodity-linked notes as qualifying RIC income
A regulated investment company asked whether income and gain from two commodity-linked notes would count as qualifying income under the RIC gross-income test. The notes were described as hybrid…
PLR 1134014: CFC subpart F income qualifies as RIC income
A regulated investment company planned to invest through a wholly owned foreign subsidiary that would hold commodity-related investments and other securities. The fund asked whether its share of the…
PLR 1132008: Subpart F income from a wholly owned CFC is qualifying RIC income
The IRS ruled that subpart F income attributed to a regulated investment company from its investment in a wholly owned controlled foreign corporation would constitute qualifying income under section…
PLR 1131001: IRS approved qualifying-income treatment for commodity-linked notes and foreign-subsidiary income
An investment company seeking regulated investment company treatment planned to invest in commodity-linked notes and a wholly owned foreign subsidiary. It asked whether income from the notes and the…
PLR 1129034: IRS grants more time to make a taxable REIT subsidiary election
A REIT and a related company asked for more time to elect to treat the company as the REIT's taxable REIT subsidiary. An employee of the firm preparing Form 8875 mistakenly listed the partnership…
PLR 1129031: REIT investments and property sales do not disqualify stated activities
A publicly held REIT asked whether certain property sales and investments involving property operators and management companies would affect its REIT income and its taxable REIT subsidiary…
PLR 1129007: Communication towers and related income qualify for specified REIT tests
A communications infrastructure company asked how its towers, rooftop sites, related intangibles, tenant services, and foreign-subsidiary inclusions would be treated if it elected REIT status. The…
PLR 1129002: Subpart F income from a commodity-investing subsidiary qualifies for RIC income testing
A regulated investment company planned to form and wholly own a foreign subsidiary that would invest primarily in commodities futures and related derivative instruments. The fund expected the…
PLR 1128022: IRS treats a fund's subpart F income as qualifying RIC income
The IRS ruled that subpart F income earned by a regulated investment company through its wholly owned foreign subsidiary would be qualifying income under IRC § 851(b)(2). The fund intended to invest…
PLR 1125013: Senior housing communities qualified as health care properties for REIT rules
The IRS ruled that the taxpayer’s mixed-use senior housing communities qualified as qualified health care properties under IRC § 856(e)(6)(D)(i). The taxpayer could therefore lease the properties to…
CCA 1124023: Who may file a partnership-level AAR for a REMIC
Chief Counsel Advice addressed who may file an Administrative Adjustment Request for a TEFRA partnership involving a REMIC. The advice states that only a properly designated tax matters partner may…
PLR 1124001: IRS grants relief for late taxable REIT subsidiary elections
The IRS granted several REIT-related companies and a subsidiary an extension of time to make elections treating the subsidiary as a taxable REIT subsidiary. The elections were not timely filed…
PLR 1123005: IRS treats timber carbon-offset income as qualifying REIT income
A timberland real estate investment trust asked how income from selling carbon dioxide offset credits tied to standing timber should be treated for the REIT gross income tests. The IRS concluded…
PLR 1123003: IRS treats government carbon units as qualifying REIT assets and income
An international forestry company asked how government-issued carbon emission units connected to its timberland should be treated for REIT purposes. The IRS concluded that the units were real estate…
PLR 1122016: REIT eminent-domain proceeds excluded from specified qualification tests
The IRS ruled on how an amount awarded to a publicly traded REIT for property taken by eminent domain would be treated under the REIT qualification tests. The ruling holds that the claim, consisting…
PLR 1122014: Tax-lien loan interest qualifies for REIT income tests
The IRS ruled that interest earned by a prospective REIT from tax loans can qualify for the REIT income tests when the loans are secured by real property. The loans fund property-tax payments, and…
PLR 1122012: RIC's CFC subpart F income qualifies under the gross-income test
The IRS ruled that subpart F income attributed to a regulated investment company from its wholly owned controlled foreign corporation would count as qualifying income under IRC § 851(b)(2). The…
PLR 1120017: a RIC's CFC subpart F income qualifies under the gross-income test
The IRS ruled that subpart F income attributed to a regulated investment company's wholly owned controlled foreign corporation qualifies as income from the fund's business of investing in the…
PLR 1119025: REIT may allocate certain fees and expenses by share class without causing preferential dividends
A real estate investment trust asked whether allocating certain class-specific expenses and a performance-based advisory fee between two classes of shares would cause dividends paid to either class…
PLR 1119021: regulated investment company may make a late dividends-paid election
A regulated investment company asked for more time to make an election under IRC § 855(a) concerning dividends treated as distributed in an earlier taxable year. Its tax preparer prepared, but did…
PLR 1119001: IRS treated specified foreign inclusions as REIT qualifying income
A real estate investment trust owned foreign subsidiaries that generated Subpart F income, § 956 inclusions from pledging foreign subsidiary assets to secure debt used to acquire real estate, and…
PLR 1118015: IRS disregards a REIT's proportionate partnership loan income in specified REIT tests
The IRS considered a public corporation that elected to be treated as a real estate investment trust and conducted most of its business through a partnership. The corporation planned to borrow…
PLR 1118001: IRS grants more time for taxable REIT subsidiary elections
The IRS considered two real estate investment trusts and their jointly owned subsidiary, which was intended to be treated as a taxable REIT subsidiary of both REITs. The parties filed one Form 8875…
PLR 1116014: IRS treated certain CFC income as qualifying RIC income
The IRS considered three regulated investment companies that planned to invest in wholly owned foreign subsidiaries. The subsidiaries were expected to earn income from commodities and related…
REIT uses its proportionate partnership income in its gross-income tests
The IRS ruled for a real estate investment trust that planned to invest in commercial real estate through partnerships and wholly owned subsidiaries. For purposes of the REIT gross-income tests, the…
PLR 1113026: IRS grants extra time for a taxable REIT subsidiary election
A real estate investment trust and an indirectly owned subsidiary intended to elect taxable REIT subsidiary status under IRC § 856(l), but the election was not timely filed. The taxpayers…
PLR 1113018: CFC subpart F inclusions treated as qualifying income
The IRS ruled that certain income inclusions from controlled foreign corporations would count as qualifying income for a publicly traded partnership relying on the qualifying-income exception. The…
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.