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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A REIT's share of self-charged management fees is left out of the gross-income tests
A real estate investment trust (REIT) plans to restructure so that it indirectly owns a slice of the outside manager that runs its real estate portfolio. Because the REIT would then be a partner in th…
Late relief for a foreign entity to elect disregarded status
A foreign company wholly owned by a single owner wanted to be treated as a disregarded entity (ignored as separate from its owner) for U.S. federal tax purposes, effective from a specific date. By ina…
IRS approves a regional scholarship program
A private foundation proposed renewable scholarships for high school and college students pursuing their first bachelor's degree in a specified region. Applicants had to demonstrate academic achieveme…
IRS approves multiple scholarship programs
A private foundation proposed several classes of one-time scholarships for graduating high school seniors and one university student. The programs used varied criteria, including academic standing, fi…
Advance approval of an employer-related scholarship program
A private foundation runs a scholarship program for the children and grandchildren of a company's current, retired, or deceased employees, paying grants directly to students pursuing an undergraduate …
IRS denies charitable status to a hockey officials association
A membership association scheduled independent-contractor ice hockey officials for leagues, retained an administrative fee, and paid the remaining league receipts to the officials. It also trained off…
IRS denies exemption for a medication-development trust
A trust and its wholly owned disregarded entity planned to develop, manufacture, import, distribute, and sell medication for medical aid in dying. The trust expected loans from its trustee at first an…
IRS denies exemption to a fundraiser for one individual
A nonprofit corporation was formed to raise money for a named individual's medical, personal, and living expenses during treatment and recovery. Its website described that person's diagnosis, solicite…
IRS denies title-holding exemption to a sports officials association
An unincorporated association trained sports officials, conducted rules seminars and workshops, supplied rule books, and provided officials for high school games. It applied for exemption as a title-h…
Parties receive extra time for a Section 336(e) election
A partnership purchaser acquired all the stock of an S corporation from its shareholders in a transaction represented to be a qualified stock disposition. The parties intended to make an IRC § 336(e) …
Affiliated group gets 90 days to elect consolidated filing
A domestic parent corporation and its affiliated group failed to make a valid election to file a consolidated federal income tax return by the filing deadline. The relevant assessment periods remained…
Nonvoting LLC interests avoid self-dealing and excess-holdings taxes
A private foundation expected to receive nonvoting interests in an LLC from its donors or their estate. The LLC would hold a promissory note issued by an irrevocable trust connected to the donors, and…
IRS grants inadvertent S corporation termination relief
An S corporation owned two qualified subchapter S subsidiaries, and its shares were held by a grantor trust. When one deemed owner died, part of the trust remained an eligible shareholder for two year…
IRS denies exemption to a religious film production organization
A nonprofit corporation planned to create and commercially distribute films with religious messages using scripts written by its founder and president. Churches would finance production, film professi…
IRS denies exemption to a controlled-substance sacrament organization
A nationwide membership organization offered courses, ceremonies, retreats, counseling, and plant and fungi products that it treated as religious sacraments. It accepted members with varied religious …
IRS approves a multistate essay scholarship program
A private foundation proposed nonrenewable scholarships for graduating high school seniors in four states who planned to attend accredited four-year colleges or universities. Home-schooled applicants …
IRS approves a COVID-delayed construction set-aside
A private foundation requested to set aside funds for construction and repair projects at two educational properties. COVID-19 shutdowns disrupted active projects and made completion schedules uncerta…
IRS approves weekly community solution grants
A private foundation proposed weekly grants to individuals or teams for research and solutions benefiting residents of three cities. It would publicly announce each application cycle, require a detail…
COVID postponement preserves a late-return refund claim
A taxpayer's 2016 wage withholding was deemed paid on April 15, 2017, and the taxpayer filed a delinquent 2016 return in June 2020 claiming a refund. Ordinarily, the refund claim needed to be filed by…
Seafood trade-relief payments can qualify for the tribal fishing-income exclusion
Members of a federally recognized Indian tribe received payments under the Department of Agriculture's Seafood Trade Relief Program after foreign retaliatory tariffs reduced seafood exports. IRC § 787…
COVID filing postponement did not extend the refund lookback period
Notice 2020-23 postponed the deadline for filing a 2019 federal income tax return until July 15, 2020. It did not change the rule that 2019 withholding and estimated taxes were deemed paid on April 15…
The IRS should not sign another form after providing the required deed
Counsel addressed a request involving a sales disclosure form after the IRS provided a deed. The short email states that the Service satisfied the statutory requirements when it provided the deed. Cou…
Qualifying solar equipment has a five-year recovery period for the bonus-depreciation test
Counsel considered the recovery period for a solar energy system when applying the bonus-depreciation rules in IRC § 168(k). Property described in § 48(a)(3)(A), including certain solar-energy equipme…
Premium for conservation-easement tax-loss coverage was not deductible
A partnership donated a conservation easement and bought a policy that could pay amounts calculated by reference to a later disallowance of the charitable deduction. The policy covered the partnership…
S corporation received extra time to file a Section 336(e) election
The owners intended a sale of all the stock of an S corporation to be treated as an asset sale under IRC § 336(e), but the required election statement was not filed on time. The parties requested disc…
REIT received 90 days to make late taxable-subsidiary elections
A company intending to qualify as a real estate investment trust acquired a predecessor's properties and subsidiaries in a transaction represented to be an F reorganization. Its former law firm failed…
Related-party exchange chain did not prevent Section 1031 deferral
A corporation sold real property through a qualified intermediary and acquired replacement properties that had been owned by two related companies. Those companies and two additional related entities …
Consolidated group received extra time to waive an NOL carryback
A consolidated group intended to waive the entire carryback period for a consolidated net operating loss and reported the loss consistently with that choice, but it failed to attach a valid election s…
IRS grants relief for an ineffective S corporation election caused by operating agreement provisions
A limited liability company elected S corporation status, but provisions in its operating agreement caused it to be treated as having more than one class of stock. That meant the company did not quali…
IRS preserves S corporation status after trusts made invalid QSST elections
A company elected S corporation status while two shareholder trusts attempted to elect qualified subchapter S trust status. The trusts were not eligible to be QSSTs, which made the company's S electio…
IRS grants a foreign entity more time to elect corporate classification
A foreign eligible entity intended to change from partnership classification to an association taxable as a corporation, but it did not file Form 8832 on time because of inadvertence. The entity repre…
IRS approves a conditional minimum funding waiver for a pension plan
An employer asked the IRS to waive the remaining minimum required contribution to its pension plan for a redacted plan year. The employer attributed its temporary substantial business hardship to proj…
IRS permits a foreign entity to change to disregarded status within 60 months
A foreign eligible entity had elected to be taxed as a corporation and later wanted to change its classification to a disregarded entity. Normally, an entity cannot make another classification electio…
IRS approves a private foundation's scholarship and individual grant procedures
A private foundation requested advance approval for two programs that make grants to individuals. One program provides scholarships and fellowships for undergraduate or graduate study, while the other…
IRS revokes a charity that failed the organizational and operational tests
The IRS revoked an organization's IRC § 501(c)(3) status after concluding that it failed both the organizational and operational tests. The organization promoted teddy bear artists through an annual e…
IRS revokes a field hockey charity for member-account fundraising
The IRS revoked the tax exemption of an organization formed to teach field hockey to high-school-aged girls and help players pursue collegiate opportunities. The organization assigned fundraising proc…
IRS revokes a social club's tax exemption for excess non-member and investment income
This is a final IRS determination revoking an organization's tax-exempt status as a social club under Section 501(c)(7). Section 501(c)(7) exempts clubs organized for pleasure and recreation that are …
IRS revokes a social club's exemption after recurring non-member rental income
The IRS revoked an organization's tax-exempt status as a social club under Section 501(c)(7). The organization rented its hall and an apartment to the public, and its non-member income exceeded the li…
IRS revokes a social club's exemption because recurring public rentals dominated its income
The IRS concluded that an organization no longer qualified as a tax-exempt social club under Section 501(c)(7). The organization combined a member society with historical education, scholarships, char…
IRS revokes a social club whose income came entirely from rentals and investments
The IRS revoked an organization's tax-exempt status as a social club under Section 501(c)(7). The organization held an annual alumni reunion and several meetings, but it owned a lodge and parking lot …
IRS revokes a charity that failed to file its return or provide examination records
The IRS revoked an organization's tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3). The organization did not file its required annual Form 990 for the year under examination and did not provide the requested…
IRS retroactively revokes a charity whose articles failed the organizational test
The IRS revoked an organization's Section 501(c)(3) status back to its original exemption date. On Form 1023-EZ, the organization had attested that its organizing document limited its purposes to exem…
IRS revokes a charity that did not provide complete audit records
The IRS revoked an organization's Section 501(c)(3) status because it could not verify the organization's documents, activities, or operations. The organization had obtained exemption through Form 102…
IRS revokes a youth hockey charity dominated by social and recreational events
The IRS revoked the Section 501(c)(3) status of an organization formed to provide hockey equipment, education, and scholarships to young athletes. During the year examined, the organization collected …
IRS denies business-league status to a plaza owners association
The IRS denied Section 501(c)(6) exemption to an association of property owners in a commercial plaza. Membership arose automatically from owning a parcel, without regard to the owner's particular tra…
IRS revokes a charity after repeated promises to provide records went unfulfilled
The IRS revoked an organization's Section 501(c)(3) status because it did not provide records needed to examine its activities, receipts, and expenditures. The organization had obtained exemption thro…
IRS revokes a suspended charity that did not respond to its audit
The IRS revoked an organization's Section 501(c)(3) status after it failed to respond to an examination. The organization had obtained exemption through Form 1023-EZ, had not filed a Form 990-series r…
IRS revokes a purported museum that primarily sold products and benefited its founder
The IRS revoked the Section 501(c)(3) status of an organization that said it operated a museum. During a site visit, the IRS found no visible museum, public display, accessible entrance, or other acti…
IRS revokes a foster-child charity for personal spending and inadequate records
The IRS revoked the Section 501(c)(3) status of an organization formed to sponsor fitness opportunities for foster children. Bank records obtained by summons showed payments for clothing, groceries, a…
IRS disqualifies a social club whose oil-and-gas royalties dominated its income
The IRS disqualified a self-declared social club from exemption under Section 501(c)(7). The club provided recreation and firearms education to hunters and marksmen, but its primary income came from r…
IRS denies exemption to an association maintaining a road for its members
The IRS denied Section 501(c)(3) status to an association whose activity was maintaining a road used by its member property owners. The owners either performed the work or hired a contractor, and ever…
IRS revokes a religious school after missing records and alleged embezzlement
The IRS revoked the Section 501(c)(3) status of a religious elementary school that did not respond to seven information-document requests or substantiate its activities and expenditures. The report sa…
IRS revokes a charity that ignored its audit and produced no records
The IRS revoked an organization's Section 501(c)(3) status after it failed to respond to an audit or produce records supporting its exempt activities. The organization had received exemption through F…
IRS revokes an inactive animal shelter after eviction and state cancellation
The IRS revoked the Section 501(c)(3) status of an animal-rescue organization that had stopped operating. The organization’s president said the shelter had been evicted, its animals and most assets we…
IRS revokes an inactive supporting organization that never received funding
The IRS revoked the Section 501(c)(3) status of a Type I supporting organization that had never become operational. The organization was formed to make charitable distributions and grants to a specifi…
IRS revokes a military-member association for private benefit and defective documents
The IRS revoked the Section 501(c)(3) status of an unincorporated association formed to promote camaraderie among assigned military personnel. Member dues paid for plaques and other departure gifts, m…
IRS revokes an inactive supporting organization after its supported organization entered bankruptcy
The IRS revoked the Section 501(c)(3) status of an organization formed to raise funds for and support a hospital or related public facilities. Its supported organization entered bankruptcy, and the su…
IRS revokes a dormant fraternity’s social-club exemption because all receipts were investment income
The IRS revoked the Section 501(c)(7) exemption of a fraternity that had stopped conducting social activities after selling its house. During the two examined tax years, all of the organization’s rece…
IRS revokes a private foundation whose funds inured to its sole trustee
The IRS revoked the Section 501(c)(3) status of a private non-operating foundation created to support the arts and provide scholarships to musicians, composers, and lyricists. The foundation transferr…
IRS revokes a business league's exemption for promoting two product brands rather than a whole line of business
The IRS revoked an organization's IRC § 501(c)(6) exemption as a business league. The group was an association of independent distributors ("marketers") who were all affiliated by contract with a sing…
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.