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 grants late election out of automatic GST exemption allocation
A taxpayer created a grantor retained annuity trust whose remaining property later passed to a family trust with generation-skipping transfer potential. The taxpayer's attorney failed to explain that …
IRS extends school construction bond expenditure period after pandemic delays
A public authority issued qualified school construction bonds and loaned the proceeds for renovation and construction of school facilities. Most proceeds funded a completed renovation, while the remai…
IRS grants extra time for a Section 336(e) election
Shareholders sold all their stock in an S corporation target to a purchaser, and the parties intended to elect under IRC § 336(e) to treat the qualified stock disposition as an asset disposition. The …
IRS approves scholarship and enrichment grant procedures
A private foundation proposed a scholarship program for higher education and an enrichment grant program for scholars, faculty members, lecturers, and other distinguished scholars. Scholarship recipie…
IRS approves employer-related scholarship procedures
A private foundation proposed scholarships for children and stepchildren of an employer's active full-time employees. An independent public charity would administer the program and select recipients u…
IRS approves conference attendance grant procedures
A private foundation proposed educational grants enabling people in nonprofit, government, educational, and certain creative work to attend its sustainable-development conference. Applicants would des…
IRS approves business scholarship procedures for a high school senior
A private foundation proposed an annual scholarship for a graduating high school senior who planned to attend a four-year college and pursue business or entrepreneurial business studies. Trustees woul…
Medical marijuana membership dispensary denied exemption
A membership organization sought exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3) for operating a medical marijuana dispensary and cultivating and distributing cannabis to members. The organization charged membership …
Student loan repayment lottery denied exemption
An organization sought exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3) for a program that collected donations and application fees and randomly selected participants to receive payments toward student loan debt. Elig…
Adult softball team denied exemption
An adult women's softball team sought exemption under IRC § 501(c)(3). Its articles of incorporation stated neither an exempt purpose nor how assets would be distributed upon dissolution. The team's a…
Business referral group denied social welfare exemption
A professional networking chapter sought exemption as a social welfare organization under IRC § 501(c)(4). Its members promoted one another through referrals, met weekly, and paid dues that funded mee…
Student loan authority may issue bonds on behalf of a city
A nonprofit student loan authority planned to broaden its educational lending activities and issue revenue bonds on behalf of its sole sponsoring city. The city appointed and could remove every direct…
IRS grants late taxable REIT subsidiary election
A real estate investment trust owned a hotel through disregarded entities and leased the hotel to a corporate tenant that was intended to be its taxable REIT subsidiary. The lease required the joint T…
IRS grants relief for ineffective S election and inadvertent termination
A corporation's S election was ineffective because spouses with community-property interests did not consent and an ineligible trust owned stock on the election date. The corporation later issued shar…
IRS approves transfer of nuclear decommissioning fund assets
Three utility sellers planned to sell their interests in a nuclear power plant to a buyer's disregarded entity and transfer all assets from their qualified nuclear decommissioning funds to a new buyer…
IRS approves transfer of nuclear decommissioning fund assets
Three utility sellers planned to sell their interests in a nuclear power plant to a buyer's disregarded entity and transfer all assets from their qualified nuclear decommissioning funds to a new buyer…
IRS approves transfer of nuclear decommissioning fund assets
Three utility sellers planned to sell their interests in a nuclear power plant to a buyer's disregarded entity and transfer all assets from their qualified nuclear decommissioning funds to a new buyer…
IRS approves transfer of nuclear decommissioning fund assets
Three utility sellers planned to sell their interests in a nuclear power plant to a buyer's disregarded entity and transfer all assets from their qualified nuclear decommissioning funds to a new buyer…
IRS grants extra time for IC-DISC election
An operating S corporation formed a subsidiary to act as an interest charge domestic international sales corporation for its export business. The subsidiary entered a commission agreement, received co…
IRS grants late taxable REIT subsidiary election
A real estate investment trust acquired an ownership interest in a subsidiary that leased facilities from the REIT, and both entities intended to elect taxable REIT subsidiary treatment. Their investm…
IRS grants extra time for Section 338(g) election
A domestic parent intended to make a § 338(g) election for a controlled foreign corporation's acquisition of a target's stock but failed to file a valid election on time. The parent represented that i…
IRS grants extra time for Section 338(g) election
A domestic parent intended to make a § 338(g) election for a controlled foreign corporation's acquisition of a target's stock but failed to file a valid election on time. The parent represented that i…
IRS approves revised nuclear decommissioning ruling amounts
An electric utility requested elective review of the ruling amounts for contributions to its nuclear decommissioning fund after a public utility commission revised the decommissioning costs included i…
IRS approves revised nuclear decommissioning ruling amounts
An electric utility requested elective review of the ruling amounts for contributions to its nuclear decommissioning fund after a public utility commission revised the decommissioning costs included i…
IRS approves revised nuclear decommissioning ruling amounts
An electric utility requested an elective revised schedule of ruling amounts for contributions to its nuclear decommissioning fund. The proposed schedule relied on an independent decommissioning study…
IRS grants extra time for a taxable REIT subsidiary election
A company intending to qualify as a real estate investment trust acquired an indirect interest in a subsidiary and planned to elect taxable REIT subsidiary status for that entity. The election was not…
Annuity-paid advisory fees are not distributions to contract owners
A life insurer planned to offer variable, fixed-indexed, and hybrid nonqualified deferred annuity contracts designed for owners who receive ongoing advice about allocating contract value among availab…
IRS approves set-asides for two scholarly symposia
A private foundation planned two multi-year symposia that would bring promising young scholars together to discuss work in two redacted academic disciplines. It proposed annual set-asides to accumulat…
IRS approves a private foundation's scholarship and educational loan procedures
A private foundation asked for advance approval of procedures for scholarships and possible future long-term, low-interest educational loans. Its program would primarily help financially needy student…
IRS approves an employer-related scholarship program
A private foundation proposed scholarships for children, dependents, and grandchildren of employees of a company and its subsidiaries. An independent committee would select recipients using academic a…
IRS denies exemption to a social and recreational hobby group
An unincorporated association of friends sought tax-exempt status for activities involving education, making, and tasting in redacted subject areas. Its meetings included guest speakers and mentoring,…
IRS denies exemption to a fund benefiting preidentified employees
An organization used profits from sales in a workplace lunchroom to make fixed payments to employees who belonged to a particular union and experienced a redacted event. The IRS found that its organiz…
IRS denies business-league status to a cooperative retail gallery
A member organization operated a seasonal retail gallery that sold members' handcrafted goods, retained part of the proceeds, and paid the remainder to each seller. It also provided bookkeeping, adver…
IRS denies business-league status to a football-official placement service
A membership organization recruited, trained, evaluated, and assigned football officials to games for local school districts. It collected the districts' payments and distributed compensation to the m…
IRS denies charitable status to a recreational community festival
An organization conducted an annual community festival featuring a beauty pageant, parade, tournaments, a run, a car show, fireworks, games, vendors, children's activities, and music. Its articles sai…
Opportunity fund gets 45 days to make a late self-certification election
A partnership formed to invest in qualified opportunity zone property intended to certify itself as a qualified opportunity fund for its first tax year. Its tax adviser knew Form 8996 was required but…
Corporation gets 90 days to make a late IC-DISC election
A corporation was formed to operate as an interest charge domestic international sales corporation, or IC-DISC, for an affiliated equipment exporter. Its owners and tax advisers intended to make the e…
IRS permits late identification of an integrated debt and hedge transaction
A corporation issued convertible notes and bought capped call options in the same transaction, intending to treat them as an integrated debt and hedge transaction under Treasury Regulation § 1.1275-6.…
IRS grants relief for an inadvertent S corporation termination
An S corporation made annual nonresident state income tax payments for certain shareholders in amounts that were disproportionate to their ownership interests. The corporation represented that those p…
IRS validates an S election made with an ineligible shareholder
A corporation elected S status while one shareholder was an entity that could not hold S corporation stock, making the election ineffective. The corporation and its shareholders did not know of the el…
Company in liquidation gets 120 days to file a corporate classification election
A state court placed a limited liability company into liquidation and appointed a receiver whose deputy took control of the company's assets and operations. The deputy relied on a tax professional who…
IRS grants relief for an inadvertent S corporation termination
An S corporation had a shareholder that was a limited liability company owned through trusts created by a married couple in a community-property state. After interests in the LLC were sold to addition…
IRS grants relief for an inadvertent S corporation termination
An S corporation had a shareholder that was a limited liability company owned through trusts created by a married couple in a community-property state. After interests in the LLC were sold to addition…
IRS grants relief for an inadvertent S corporation termination
An S corporation had a shareholder that was a limited liability company owned through trusts created by a married couple in a community-property state. After interests in the LLC were sold to addition…
IRS grants relief for an inadvertent S corporation termination
An S corporation had a shareholder that was a limited liability company owned through trusts created by a married couple in a community-property state. After interests in the LLC were sold to addition…
IRS grants relief for an inadvertent S corporation termination
An S corporation had a shareholder that was a limited liability company owned through trusts created by a married couple in a community-property state. After interests in the LLC were sold to addition…
IRS grants relief for an inadvertent S corporation termination
An S corporation had a shareholder that was a limited liability company owned through trusts created by a married couple in a community-property state. After interests in the LLC were sold to addition…
IRS grants relief for an inadvertent S corporation termination
An S corporation had a shareholder that was a limited liability company owned through trusts created by a married couple in a community-property state. After interests in the LLC were sold to addition…
IRS grants a 60-month extension for a museum relocation set-aside
A private foundation had previously received approval to set aside funds to relocate a museum between two foreign cities. An unexpected donation doubled the museum's collection and increased its space…
IRS denies charitable status to a recreational vehicle club
A nonprofit vehicle club sought exemption for promoting recreation and preserving or restoring older vehicles. Its main activities were an annual vehicle show, another annual vehicle gathering, and qu…
IRS denies charitable status to an industry member association
An industry association sought charitable and educational exemption while serving owner-operators and related businesses through paid memberships. Its objectives included promoting professionalism and…
IRS denies charitable status to an adult recreational soccer league
A nonprofit corporation operated an adult soccer league funded entirely by participant registration fees. Its articles described its purpose as providing physical recreation and fun, while also statin…
IRS denies charitable status to a homeowners association
A mutual-benefit homeowners association maintained subdivision common areas, enforced protective covenants, collected annual dues, and held neighborhood meetings. Its facilities and common property we…
IRS denies charitable status to a family genealogy association
A family association gathered annually so descendants of a common ancestor could socialize, celebrate their heritage, and learn about family history. It also selected a charitable service project each…
Late-filing relief to elect U.S. tax treatment and small-insurer status
A small foreign insurance company, owned equally by two individuals, writes extended-warranty coverage tied to a related recreational-vehicle business. It hired a tax professional who was supposed to …
LLC stays disregarded and special shareholder rights do not block an F reorganization
A publicly traded parent company reorganized to separate its core business from old legacy liabilities. It formed a new holding corporation, which formed a wholly owned LLC, then merged the old parent…
Late-election relief to file a consolidated return
A parent corporation heading an affiliated group of companies missed the deadline to elect to file a consolidated federal income tax return for one tax year. The election under Treas. Reg. § 1.1502-75…
Late relief to elect corporate tax classification for a single-member LLC
A single-member LLC wanted to be taxed as a corporation from the day it was formed, but it never filed the required Form 8832 entity classification election on time. By default a single-owner LLC is d…
A state medical school's faculty-practice entities are state instrumentalities for FICA and FUTA
A state university's medical school ran its clinical operations through two nonprofit entities: one that supports the medical school and its own wholly owned LLC that acts as the faculty practice plan…
A governmental self-insurance pool's income is excluded under § 115
An unincorporated association of local governments runs a group self-insurance pool that provides workers' compensation and liability coverage to its member governments and their employees. Only polit…
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.