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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IRS treats an animal-care bequest as an unusual grant
A publicly supported animal-welfare charity was named as a trust beneficiary for annual grants supporting medical care and adoption of uncared-for animals. Litigation delayed the payments, leaving a…
IRS approves a renewable local scholarship program
A private foundation proposed scholarships for students from specified counties attending universities, colleges, or vocational and technical schools, with larger awards for agricultural studies.…
IRS approves need-based scholarships for blind students
A private foundation proposed scholarships for legally blind, financially needy U.S. residents pursuing undergraduate or graduate degrees at selected private colleges. A program coordinator would…
IRS approves architecture and preservation scholarships
A private foundation proposed annual scholarships for high school seniors in an architecture mentoring program and undergraduates studying architecture, historic preservation, or urban design.…
IRS denies social-welfare status to a member death-benefit group
A membership organization collected registration fees, annual dues, and monthly funeral contributions to pay death benefits to members' beneficiaries. Membership depended on age, health, an…
IRS denies exemption to a health-research and software organization
A nonprofit organization developed health-care software, conducted research projects for pharmaceutical companies, and created educational content. Its formation document did not limit its purposes…
IRS denies business-league status to a commercial property owners association
An association of commercial property owners maintained common areas, handled architectural controls, and assessed members for property taxes, insurance, lawn care, debris removal, drainage…
Insolvent-bank immunity does not stop interest or estimated-tax additions
An insolvent bank entered FDIC receivership and qualified for Section 7507(a) immunity from assessment, collection, and payment of income tax while funds were needed to pay depositors. The IRS…
IRS grants late IC-DISC election relief
A domestic corporation was formed to operate as an interest charge domestic international sales corporation, or IC-DISC, and immediately conducted its affairs as though the election were effective.…
IRS grants late QSub election relief
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…
IRS grants late QSub election relief
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…
IRS grants late QSub election relief
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…
IRS grants late QSub election relief
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…
IRS grants late QSub election relief
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…
IRS grants late QSub election relief
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…
IRS grants late QSub election relief
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…
IRS grants late QSub election relief
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…
IRS grants late QSub election relief
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…
IRS grants late QSub election relief
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…
IRS grants late QSub election relief
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…
IRS grants late QSub election relief
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…
IRS grants late QSub election relief
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…
IRS grants late QSub election relief
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…
IRS grants late QSub election relief
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…
IRS approves a multi-step corporate separation with three tax-free distributions
A publicly traded parent proposed a 63-step restructuring to separate three business lines from two retained business lines. The plan included internal liquidations, asset and subsidiary transfers,…
IRS excuses an S corporation's ineligible partnership shareholder
An S corporation sold an ownership interest to an LLC that was treated as a partnership for federal tax purposes. Because a partnership cannot be an S corporation shareholder, the sale terminated…
IRS preserves life-insurance exclusion in intragroup policy transfers
A corporate parent owned life-insurance policies on employees and former employees, most with built-in gain. It proposed contributing the policies through three tiers of wholly owned subsidiaries in…
IRS grants 45 days to file a missed LIFO election
An S corporation intended to adopt the last-in-first-out inventory method for newly acquired inventory and relied on its accounting firm to file Form 970. The firm did not prepare or file the form,…
Rehired retirees do not create a cash-or-deferred arrangement
A governmental defined-benefit plan permitted certain retirees to return for one-year teaching contracts as special employees while continuing to receive retirement benefits. These rehired retirees…
IRS denies exemption to a private-road maintenance association
A property owners association collected money from its members to repair and maintain private roads serving their homes. Its organizing document stated a private-road purpose, and state law allowed…
IRS denies exemption to a member-oriented equine events club
An equine membership organization operated a barn, arena, bleachers, and concession stand and gave members free facility use, event admission, voting rights, horse boarding, and access to amateur…
Artist residency grant procedures receive advance approval
A private foundation proposed an artist residency program with three six-week sessions each year. Selected artists would receive housing, studio access, meals, a stipend, and supply assistance while…
IRS denies exemption to a fee-based laboratory testing service
An organization proposed providing laboratory collection and rapid-testing services to patients referred by health-care providers and to walk-in customers. It expected service fees to be its initial…
Restitution was solely a condition of supervised release
A defendant was ordered to pay restitution for two Title 26 crimes after pleading not guilty, so there was no plea agreement authorizing restitution as an independent part of the sentence. The…
Restitution was independently imposed under the mandatory statute
A defendant was convicted of a Title 18 conspiracy to defraud the United States and a Title 26 offense involving a false return. The conduct alleged for the tax count was entirely included within…
Refund after the suit deadline would be erroneous
A taxpayer apparently filed a timely refund claim because Section 7503 extended the filing date, but the IRS incorrectly denied the claim as late. The taxpayer then did not bring a refund suit…
No tax restitution was available for assessment
A criminal plea agreement identified restitution payable to a nongovernment victim, and the judgment ordered exactly that amount. The court did not order restitution for the Title 26 count, despite…
Refund extension could not be signed after the suit deadline
The IRS issued a claim-disallowance notice that started the two-year period for filing a refund suit. Although Section 6532(a)(2) permits the parties to extend that period using Form 907, the…
Restitution above the plea amount was a supervised-release condition
The restitution ordered by the court exceeded the amount stated in the plea agreement. The IRS advised that the restitution therefore could only have been imposed as a condition of supervised…
Plea-agreement restitution was independently assessable
The court ordered restitution under the plea agreement and in the exact amount set by that agreement. The IRS advised that the case therefore did not fall under the Westbrooks rule for restitution…
Title 18 plea restitution was not a Westbrooks case
The defendant pleaded guilty to two Title 18 counts, and the plea agreement authorized restitution in the exact amount the court ordered. The IRS advised that the restitution therefore did not fall…
Restitution matched the plea agreement
A plea agreement authorized restitution, and the court ordered the same amount stated in that agreement. The IRS advised that the case therefore did not fall under the Westbrooks rule for…
Trial-based Title 26 restitution was a Westbrooks case
The defendant was convicted only of Title 26 offenses after a trial and had no plea agreement authorizing restitution. The IRS advised that the matter was therefore a Westbrooks case, meaning the…
Section 6700 reaches false micro-captive claims, ongoing fees, and individual promoters
A promoter marketed a turnkey micro-captive insurance program as eligible for insurance deductions and the Section 831(b) income exclusion. The IRS advised that Section 6700 covers both direct…
Section 6700 penalty base includes post-formation promoter fees
A promoter organized micro-captive insurance companies and then received continuing maintenance and management fees. It argued that Section 6700 penalties could be calculated only on income earned…
IRS denies reversal of inherited IRA distribution
A trust inherited an IRA after the account owner died. Acting on the custodian's advice, the trustees moved substantially all of the IRA assets into a non-IRA account so they could trade stocks. The…
FCC C-band payments qualify for involuntary conversion relief
Two satellite communications taxpayers had to clear part of the C-band spectrum under an FCC order and relocate their services to the remaining band. The FCC arrangement provided reimbursement for…
Partnership receives more time for real property business election
A foreign limited liability company treated as a partnership wanted to elect out of the Section 163(j) business interest limitation for its qualifying real property trades or businesses. Its tax…
Medical product manufacturer is a qualified trade or business
A domestic C corporation manufactured custom products prescribed by independent health care providers. Its employees evaluated and fitted individuals for the products, but the corporation earned its…
Partnership receives more time for success-based fee election
A partnership paid a fee contingent on completing a merger transaction. Its accounting firm prepared the return using the Revenue Procedure 2011-29 safe harbor, deducting 70 percent of the fee and…
VEBA student loan service is nonqualifying but de minimis
A voluntary employees' beneficiary association proposed offering members an online service that helps with student loan repayment and forgiveness programs. The trust asked the IRS to treat the…
Circular note transfers are treated as direct asset contributions
A publicly traded parent planned a large internal restructuring to move assets and liabilities from foreign branches and disregarded entities to foreign corporate subsidiaries. The steps used asset…
IRS approves a metropolitan-area scholarship program
A private foundation requested advance approval for a scholarship program serving full-time undergraduate students from a specified metropolitan area. Applicants would be evaluated on academic…
IRS approves international entrepreneur and artist grant programs
A private foundation requested advance approval for two educational grant programs serving individuals from a foreign country. One program would support entrepreneurs, including women in STEM, who…
IRS approves community service educational grants
A private foundation proposed educational grants for faculty, staff, and undergraduate students who showed exemplary character and commitment to community service. Grants could fund educational…
Class reunion fund denied Section 501(c)(3) exemption
An unincorporated association applied for Section 501(c)(3) exemption using Form 1023-EZ. Its only activity was holding money contributed by classmates who wanted to attend future class reunions.…
Member funeral benefit organization denied exemption
A membership organization applied for Section 501(c)(3) exemption and private foundation status. It collected registration fees and monthly dues, then used its funds primarily to pay funeral and…
Private road association denied social club exemption
A mutual benefit corporation for neighborhood residents applied for social club exemption under Section 501(c)(7). Membership was mandatory for residents, and annual assessments paid for a private…
Small homeowners association denied social welfare exemption
A homeowners association for a small subdivision applied for social welfare exemption under Section 501(c)(4). It collected only HOA fees and maintained roads, a dry hydrant, entry features, signs,…
Dog training club denied Section 501(c)(3) exemption
A dog club applied for Section 501(c)(3) exemption. Its articles promoted purebred dogs, dog training, obedience trials, and sanctioned matches. The club offered training classes to members and 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.