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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75 days granted for a corporate group to make a late election to file a consolidated return
A parent company and its affiliated group of corporations wanted to file a single consolidated federal income tax return, with the parent as the common parent. A group makes that election, in…
120 days granted to elect out of automatic GST exemption allocation on gifts to children's trusts
A married couple set up three irrevocable trusts for their three children and made gifts to them over two years. Gifts to this kind of trust are "indirect skips" for generation-skipping transfer…
LLC granted late relief to elect corporate status and be treated as an S corporation
An LLC intended to be taxed as an S corporation from a specific date but never filed the required elections. An LLC first has to be treated as a corporation (Form 8832) and then elect S corporation…
60 days granted to make a late Section 336(e) election treating an S corporation stock sale as an asset sale
Buyers purchased all the stock of an S corporation from its shareholder. The parties wanted the deal treated as if the corporation had sold its assets rather than as a stock sale, which can give the…
120 days granted for a single-member LLC to make a late election to be taxed as a corporation
A single-owner LLC wanted to be treated as a corporation for federal tax purposes rather than as a disregarded entity (the default for a one-owner LLC). To do that, it has to file Form 8832, the…
Consent granted for a foreign insurance company to revoke its Section 953(d) "domestic corporation" election
A foreign-incorporated insurance company had elected under Section 953(d) to be treated as a domestic (U.S.) corporation for tax purposes. That election lets certain foreign insurers be taxed like…
120 days granted to a surviving spouse's estate to make a late QTIP election on a marital trust
When a married person dies, property left to the surviving spouse in a qualifying marital trust can escape estate tax if the estate makes a "qualified terminable interest property" (QTIP) election…
120 days granted for an S corporation to make a late QSub election for a subsidiary
An S corporation that wholly owns another corporation can elect to treat that subsidiary as a "qualified subchapter S subsidiary" (QSub), which makes the subsidiary disappear for tax purposes so its…
120 days granted for a foreign unlimited liability company to make a late election to be taxed as a corporation
A business entity formed outside the United States can choose how it is treated for U.S. federal tax purposes by filing Form 8832, the entity classification election. Here, a foreign "unlimited…
120 days granted to a corporation to make a late S corporation election for reasonable cause
A corporation that wants to be taxed as an S corporation (income passing through to shareholders rather than being taxed at the corporate level) must file Form 2553 by a deadline tied to the start…
120 days granted for an LLC to make a late election to be reclassified as a partnership after revoking its S election
An LLC had elected to be an S corporation, which under the classification rules also meant it was treated as a corporation for federal tax purposes. Later it revoked the S election and wanted to be…
120 days granted to elect out of automatic GST-exemption allocation on gifts to three children's trusts
When someone makes a gift to certain trusts that could later skip a generation (for example, benefiting grandchildren), the tax rules automatically use up part of the giver's generation-skipping…
Early termination of a charitable lead annuity trust, paying the undiscounted remaining annuities to a donor-advised fund, triggers no foundation excise taxes
A charitable lead annuity trust (CLAT) pays a fixed amount to charity each year for a set term, and whatever is left at the end goes to a private beneficiary. This CLAT pays its annuity to a…
Inadvertent-termination relief where an S corporation's status lapsed because a trust shareholder missed its QSST election
An S corporation can only have certain kinds of shareholders. A trust can qualify while it is treated as owned by a living individual, and it stays eligible for two years after that owner dies;…
An S corporation's rental income from actively managed real estate is not passive investment income
An S corporation that carries over accumulated earnings and profits from a prior C corporation life can lose its S status (and owe a special tax) if more than 25% of its gross receipts are "passive…
A rural telephone cooperative's gain from selling a subsidiary's partnership interest, to the extent tied to patrons' network use, is patronage-sourced income
A cooperative operates at cost for its members (patrons), returning its margins to them as patronage dividends, and those patronage-sourced amounts can be excluded from the cooperative's taxable…
Approval for a pension plan aggregated group to use plan-specific substitute mortality tables for funding computations
Single-employer defined benefit pension plans must calculate how much money to set aside (their minimum funding) using mortality tables that predict how long participants will live. Instead of the…
Approval for a single pension plan (after a merger) to use plan-specific substitute mortality tables for funding computations
Single-employer defined benefit pension plans must calculate their minimum funding using mortality tables. A sponsor with enough participants may ask to use "substitute" mortality tables built from…
120 days granted for a late section 865(h)(2) election to treat foreign-corporation stock-sale gain as foreign-source income under a treaty
When a U.S. resident sells stock, the gain is normally treated as U.S.-source income. But § 865(h) lets a taxpayer elect to treat gain from selling stock in a foreign corporation as foreign-source…
A county land-reclamation nonprofit's income is excludable under section 115(1) and contributions to it are deductible under section 170(c)(1)
A county created a nonprofit corporation (a "land bank") to reclaim and repurpose vacant, abandoned, and tax-foreclosed property and to promote housing and economic development. It asked the IRS for…
A rural telephone cooperative's gain from selling a subsidiary's partnership interest, to the extent tied to patrons' network use, is patronage-sourced income
A cooperative operates at cost for its members (patrons), returning its margins to them as patronage dividends, and those patronage-sourced amounts can be excluded from the cooperative's taxable…
No gain or loss on a taxable corporation's liquidation into a tax-exempt tribal corporation, which will itself be exempt from federal income tax
When a taxable corporation moves its assets into a tax-exempt entity, the tax rules normally treat that like a taxable sale so the built-in gain does not escape tax forever. Here, a state-law…
Advance approval of a private foundation's scholarship-award procedures under section 4945(g)(1)
A private foundation that hands money to individuals for study normally risks an excise tax on that payment, unless the IRS approves its grant-making procedures in advance. Here, a foundation…
Final adverse ruling denying 501(c)(3) exemption to an employee-aid fund that serves private, not public, interests
To be tax-exempt as a charity under section 501(c)(3), an organization must operate exclusively for public purposes, not to benefit a private group. Here, an unincorporated association applied for…
Final adverse ruling denying 501(c)(4) exemption to a gated homeowners association whose common areas are closed to the public
A social welfare organization can be tax-exempt under section 501(c)(4) only if it operates for the good of a whole community, not just its own members. Here, a real estate management association…
9100-3 relief granting a late Form 1128 to adopt a 52-53 week taxable year after the advisor missed the deadline
To change or adopt a tax year, a taxpayer generally must file Form 1128 by the due date of the return for the first year affected. Here, a taxpayer wanted to adopt a 52-53 week fiscal year but its…
9100-3 relief, 120 days for a foreign eligible entity to file a late Form 8832 electing to be disregarded from its owner
Under the "check-the-box" rules, an eligible business entity can choose how it is taxed by filing Form 8832. A single-owner foreign entity can elect to be "disregarded," meaning it is ignored as…
9100-3 relief, 120 days for a non-filing estate to make a late portability election so the surviving spouse can use the DSUE amount
When someone dies without using up their full estate/gift tax exclusion, the leftover ("deceased spousal unused exclusion," or DSUE) can be passed to the surviving spouse, but only if the estate…
Transitory, insignificant momentary ownership of S-corp stock by an ineligible shareholder under the equity-compensation regulations does not terminate the S elections
An S corporation loses its S status if it ever has an ineligible shareholder, such as a partnership. Here, two S corporations (Y and Z) ran equity compensation plans that let employees of a related…
Inadvertent S-corp termination relief under 1362(f) after five trust shareholders missed their QSST elections
An S corporation can only have certain kinds of shareholders. A trust generally qualifies only if its beneficiary makes a "qualified subchapter S trust" (QSST) election on time. Here, five trusts…
9100-3 relief, 60 days to file a late Form 8996 to self-certify as a Qualified Opportunity Fund
A Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF) is an investment vehicle that gets special tax benefits for putting money into designated low-income "opportunity zones." To become a QOF, an entity must…
9100-3 relief, 120 days for a foreign entity to file a late Form 8832 electing to be taxed as a corporation
Under the "check-the-box" rules, an eligible business entity can choose how it is taxed by filing Form 8832. Here, a foreign entity had been treated as a partnership but, after 100% of its interests…
9100-3 relief, 60 days for a late 168(h)(6)(F)(ii) election not to be treated as a tax-exempt controlled entity
When a tax-exempt organization owns property (directly or through certain entities), the depreciation rules are less favorable, using slower "alternative depreciation." A corporation that is at…
Advance approval of a private foundation's educational grant procedures under section 4945(g)(3)
A private foundation that gives money to individuals for study or similar purposes risks an excise tax on that payment, unless the IRS approves its grant-making procedures in advance. Here, a…
Advance approval of a private foundation's last-dollar scholarship procedures under section 4945(g)(1)
A private foundation that gives money to individuals for study risks an excise tax on that payment, unless the IRS approves its grant-making procedures in advance. Here, a foundation runs a…
Approval to use plan-specific substitute mortality tables under section 430 for an aggregated group of union defined benefit plans (Group B)
Employers that sponsor traditional (defined benefit) pension plans must calculate how much to fund each year, and those calculations depend on mortality assumptions (how long retirees are expected…
Approval to use plan-specific substitute mortality tables under section 430 for an aggregated group of non-union defined benefit plans (Group A)
Employers that sponsor traditional (defined benefit) pension plans must calculate how much to fund each year, and those calculations depend on mortality assumptions (how long retirees are expected…
Supporting organization's set-aside for a firefighting training facility approved
A tax-exempt, non-functionally integrated Type III supporting organization asked to count construction funds set aside for a firefighting training facility toward its annual distribution…
IRS denies 501(c)(3) exemption to a family heritage organization
A family heritage organization sought recognition as a tax-exempt charity under IRC Section 501(c)(3). Its activities included family reunions and picnics, genealogical and historical research,…
Farmers market denied § 501(c)(3) exemption because it primarily benefited vendors
An organization sought § 501(c)(3) status for operating a farmers market where local producers and artisans paid weekly or seasonal fees to sell goods. It also held monthly educational events and…
Business district group denied § 501(c)(6) exemption for providing member website services
A business district organization sought exemption as a business league or similar organization under § 501(c)(6). It promoted district events, ran sidewalk sales, and maintained a website where…
Member-owned water company denied § 501(c)(3) exemption for serving private interests
A mutual benefit corporation sought § 501(c)(3) status for supplying and testing water from a shared well. It delivered water only to member-owned parcels, collected monthly member payments for…
IRS denies veterans organization exemption because too few members are war veterans
An organization supporting veterans, active-duty service members, and their families applied for exemption under IRC Section 501(c)(19). Its membership included current or former members of the…
IRS denies 501(c)(3) exemption to a class reunion and scholarship group
An organization open only to graduates of one high school class applied for recognition as a charity under IRC Section 501(c)(3). It arranged reunions and other events for class members and raised…
Chief Counsel advises issuing an FPA despite a missed NAP mailing
Chief Counsel advised the IRS to proceed with issuing an FPA even though the NAP had not been mailed to the LKA. The advice gave two reasons. First, the writer concluded that the BBA does not…
Partnership gets 60 more days to self-certify as a qualified opportunity fund
A partnership formed to invest in qualified opportunity zone property intended to elect qualified opportunity fund status. Its accountant knew of that intent but failed to advise the partnership to…
Foreign entity gets 120 days to file a late check-the-box election
A foreign entity intended to be treated as disregarded from its single owner for U.S. federal tax purposes but did not timely file Form 8832. It asked the IRS for an extension under Treasury…
Estate gets 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate was not otherwise required to file an estate tax return but needed Form 706 to transfer the decedent's unused estate and gift tax exclusion to the surviving spouse. The estate did not…
Foreign entity gets 120 days to make a late disregarded-entity election
A foreign entity intended to be treated as disregarded from its owner for U.S. federal tax purposes but inadvertently failed to timely file Form 8832. It requested an extension under Treasury…
IRS grants more time to elect treaty sourcing for gain on foreign stock
A U.S. consolidated group sold stock in a foreign corporation and paid tax to the foreign country on the gain. The group reported the gain as U.S.-source income after its original return preparer…
IRS grants an LLC more time to elect corporate tax classification
An LLC intended to be taxed as a corporation from the date it was formed but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. The entity asked for relief under Treasury Regulation Section 301.9100-3,…
IRS approves a downstream merger as a Type A reorganization
An S corporation proposed to merge downstream into a corporation whose stock was its primary asset, leaving the lower-tier corporation as the survivor. The S corporation's shareholders would receive…
IRS grants a late safe-harbor election for acquisition success fees
An S corporation incurred a success-based advisory fee through disregarded subsidiaries in a taxable business acquisition. Its original return preparer did not advise it to make the safe-harbor…
IRS approves a pension plan's use of plan-specific substitute mortality tables for three plan years under § 430(h)(3)(C)
A company that sponsors a single-employer defined benefit pension plan asked the IRS for permission to use its own plan-specific mortality tables, instead of the standard tables in the regulations,…
IRS gives advance approval of a private foundation's high-school scholarship procedures under § 4945(g)(1)
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve, in advance, the way it selects and awards scholarships to graduating high school students of a particular school. Private foundations owe an excise tax…
IRS denies § 501(c)(3) exemption to a winter-sports social club that fails the organizational and operational tests
A newly formed ski and winter-sports club applied for recognition as a tax-exempt charity under Code section 501(c)(3), using the short Form 1023-EZ. The IRS denied the application and, after the…
IRS denies § 501(c)(6) business-league exemption to a single-brand franchisee association
A group of franchisees who all own outlets of one particular brand formed an association and applied for tax exemption as a "business league" under Code section 501(c)(6). The IRS denied the…
IRS denies § 501(c)(6) exemption to a commercial condominium owners' association
An owners' association for a commercial (business) condominium applied for tax exemption as a "business league" under Code section 501(c)(6). The association manages the building's common areas,…
IRS denies § 501(c)(3) exemption to a homeowners' association serving private member interests
A homeowners' association, organized as a mutual benefit common-interest development corporation, applied for charitable tax exemption under Code section 501(c)(3) using Form 1023-EZ. Its activities…
IRS grants a foreign entity extra time to make a late check-the-box election to be a disregarded entity
A foreign business entity wanted to be treated as a "disregarded entity" for U.S. federal tax purposes, meaning it is ignored as separate from its single owner (its income flows directly to that…
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.