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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9100-3 relief granting 120 days for an LLC to file a late Form 8832 electing to be taxed as a corporation
A limited liability company wanted to be taxed as a corporation instead of under the default rules (a partnership or a disregarded entity). To do that, an LLC files Form 8832, the entity classificatio…
9100-3 relief granting 120 days for a homeowners association to make late section 528 elections (Forms 1120-H) for several years
A homeowners association can elect a favorable tax regime under Code section 528, which taxes only its non-exempt-function income, by filing Form 1120-H each year. This association inadvertently faile…
9100-3 relief granting 120 days for a foreign entity to file a late Form 8832 electing to be a disregarded entity
A foreign business entity wanted to be treated as a disregarded entity for US federal tax purposes, meaning it would not be taxed as a separate entity but instead as part of its single owner. To make …
Foundation's fees to a son-owned company for real estate development services are personal-services compensation, not self-dealing
A private foundation was set to inherit a portfolio of complex, hard-to- develop real estate (held through LLCs) after its founder's death. The founder's son sits on the foundation's board and also ow…
Companion ruling to the son-owned company; its real estate development fees from the foundation are personal-services pay, not self-dealing
This ruling is the companion to a same-day ruling on identical facts, but here the request was made by the company rather than the private foundation. A private foundation was set to inherit complex, …
"Divide and donate" split of a charitable remainder unitrust, with 8 favorable rulings on self-dealing, deductions, and foundation status
A married couple created a charitable remainder unitrust (CRUT), a trust that pays them an annual amount for life and leaves what remains to charity. Because one of the family's private foundations fa…
Companion ruling to the individuals on the same "divide and donate" CRUT split, with 8 favorable rulings
This ruling is the companion to a same-day ruling on the identical "divide and donate" transaction, but this letter is directed to the married couple (H and W) rather than to their charitable remainde…
Inadvertent termination of an S election relieved after trusts failed to make ESBT elections
A corporation had elected to be an S corporation, which passes income through to shareholders instead of paying corporate-level tax. S corporations can only have certain kinds of shareholders. Here, c…
10-year approval of substitute mortality tables for two pension plans
A pension plan sponsor asked to use plan-specific substitute mortality tables for two defined benefit plans when calculating minimum funding under Code section 430. The IRS approved the tables for up …
Excise tax waived for pension-plan liquidity shortfalls caused by risk transfers
A manufacturing company’s defined benefit pension plan had liquidity shortfalls for three quarters after two annuity purchases and a lump-sum window settled about 42 percent of the plan’s liabilities.…
10-year approval of substitute mortality tables for one pension plan
A pension plan sponsor asked to use plan-specific substitute mortality tables for one defined benefit plan when calculating minimum funding under Code section 430. The IRS approved the tables for up t…
10-year approval of substitute mortality tables for Plan 2
A pension plan sponsor asked to use plan-specific substitute mortality tables for Plan 2 when calculating minimum funding under Code section 430. The IRS approved the tables for up to 10 plan years be…
IRS waives the 10% excise tax on a pension plan's liquidity shortfall caused by an annuity buyout
A cooperative sponsors a single-employer defined benefit pension plan. When a plan large enough to owe accelerated quarterly contributions runs short of liquid assets to cover benefit payments, IRC § …
IRS denies 501(c)(3) status to a collective bargaining organization serving its members
An organization representing employees of a school district applied for recognition as a charity under Section 501(c)(3). Its membership was limited to district employees who also belonged to related …
IRS denies 501(c)(3) status to a farmers market that primarily benefits vendors
An organization formed to support local agriculture operated a seasonal market where farms and artisans sold food and other goods. It organized market days, advertised participating vendors, and charg…
IRS denies 501(c)(3) status to an insurance sales awards and training organization
An organization held a corporate-funded gala recognizing high-performing insurance employees and offered seminars about insurance products and consumer protection. Awards were based on issued policies…
IRS approves scholarship procedures for students from rural high schools
A foundation asked the IRS to approve its procedures for awarding scholarships to students at a college who graduated from rural high schools. Applicants would report their grades, activities, and pro…
IRS approves a foundation's scholarship and educational grant procedures under 4945(g)(1) and 4945(g)(3)
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve, in advance, the way it will award college scholarships and related educational grants to individuals. Under IRC Section 4945, a private foundation that m…
501(c)(3) denied, a club running public game tournaments is substantially recreational and fails the operational test
An organization that runs tournaments and weekly clubs for a game, open to the public and to all ages and skill levels, applied for 501(c)(3) charitable status using the streamlined Form 1023-EZ. Afte…
501(c)(3) denied, an open-source blockchain software project fails the organizational and operational tests and serves private interests
An organization formed to develop and promote open-source software for a decentralized content-sharing blockchain applied for 501(c)(3) status on Form 1023-EZ. The IRS issued a proposed adverse determ…
501(c)(3) revoked, a dog-rescue charity whose operators were charged with animal cruelty and that stopped responding to the IRS
The IRS revoked the 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status of an animal-welfare organization that had been recognized as a dog rescue. During an examination, the revenue agent could not reach the organization: i…
501(c)(3) revoked, an inactive organization gave the IRS no records to verify its exempt purpose
The IRS revoked an organization's 501(c)(3) status after it failed to answer the agency's information requests during an examination. The organization had been set up by a person who created many nonp…
501(c)(7) social club revoked, a public dog show generated most of its income from nonmembers
The IRS revoked the 501(c)(7) tax-exempt status of a social club whose main activity was a dog show open to the general public. Tax-exempt social clubs must be operated substantially for the pleasure …
IRS approves a private foundation's set-aside to fund a foreign cancer hospital under 4942(g)(2)
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve a "set-aside" under Section 4942(g)(2), a way to count money earmarked for a specific long-term charitable project as a qualifying distribution now, even …
IRS approves a private foundation's set-aside to fund a foreign cancer hospital under 4942(g)(2)
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve a set-aside under Section 4942(g)(2), which lets a foundation count money reserved for a specific long-term charitable project as a qualifying distributio…
Church auxiliary is exempt from filing Form 990
An organization exempt under Section 501(c)(3) asked to be excused from filing Form 990. Treasury regulations exempt an integrated auxiliary of a church from that annual return requirement. Based on t…
Pension plan may use substitute mortality tables for up to 10 years
A defined benefit pension plan sponsor asked to use plan-specific substitute mortality tables when calculating the plan's minimum funding obligations under Section 430. The tables cover male and femal…
Motorsports facility denied Section 501(c)(3) status
An organization formed to operate a community motorsports facility applied for recognition under Section 501(c)(3). Its activities would include drag racing, drifting, off-road racing, motocross, auto…
Housing project gets 120 days to make omitted average-income election
The owner of a multi-building low-income housing project intended to elect the average-income minimum set-aside under Section 42(g)(1)(C). Its contemporaneous records showed that intent, but it inadve…
60-day extension for a qualified opportunity fund to file its late Form 8996 election
A limited liability company formed to invest in qualified opportunity zone property intended to be treated as a qualified opportunity fund. It had no income or expenses during its first tax year and d…
120-day extension for a foreign entity to make a late disregarded-entity election
A foreign entity intended to be treated as a disregarded entity for U.S. federal tax purposes as of a specified date but did not file Form 8832 on time. It asked the IRS for an extension under Treas. …
Inadvertent S corporation termination excused after trust beneficiaries missed their QSST elections
An S corporation can only have certain kinds of shareholders; a trust generally qualifies only if the beneficiary files a Qualified Subchapter S Trust (QSST) election on time. Here five trusts acquire…
120-day relief for an LLC to make late corporate-classification and S corporation elections
An LLC is treated by default as a partnership (if it has multiple owners) or as a disregarded entity (if it has one), so to be taxed as an S corporation it must both elect to be classified as a corpor…
60-day extension to file a late Form 8996 self-certifying as a Qualified Opportunity Fund
A Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF) lets investors defer capital gains by putting them into businesses in designated low-income areas, but the fund must certify itself each year by filing Form 8996 wit…
60-day extension to make a late success-based fee safe harbor election under Rev. Proc. 2011-29
When a company buys another business, fees paid to advisors that come due only if the deal closes ("success-based fees") normally must be capitalized unless the buyer keeps detailed records showing pa…
60-day extension to make a late GILTI high-tax exclusion election for a group of controlled foreign corporations
A U.S. corporation that heads a consolidated group owns a group of controlled foreign corporations (CFCs). Under the GILTI rules of section 951A, a U.S. shareholder must include a CFC's income in its …
90-day extension to file a corrected IC-DISC election (Form 4876-A)
A company set up a new corporation to serve as an interest-charge domestic international sales corporation (an IC-DISC), a type of entity that provides a tax benefit for U.S. exporters. To get IC-DISC…
Billboard REIT's advertising-display income qualifies as rents from real property
A real estate investment trust (REIT) owns outdoor advertising displays, such as billboards, including digital ones that rotate multiple ads. REITs must earn most of their income from real-estate sour…
75-day extension to file a late section 336(e) election treating a stock sale as an asset sale
Buyers purchased all the stock of an S corporation from its shareholders. When a stock sale meets the definition of a "qualified stock disposition," the parties can elect under section 336(e) to treat…
Section 1059A does not cap import basis at the customs value derived under the deductive value method
A U.S. corporation owned by a foreign parent imports finished goods that the parent manufactures abroad and resells them to unrelated U.S. buyers. Section 1059A stops importers from claiming a higher …
120-day extension to file a late Form 8832 electing partnership classification
A foreign entity wanted to be classified as a partnership for U.S. federal tax purposes as of a specific date, which requires filing Form 8832 (the entity classification election). Through inadvertenc…
120-day extension for an estate to make a late portability (DSUE) election
When a married person dies without using all of their federal estate-and-gift tax exclusion, the unused amount (the "deceased spousal unused exclusion," or DSUE) can be passed to the surviving spouse,…
60-day extension to elect out of bonus depreciation on 7-year and 15-year property
A partnership (an LLC taxed as a partnership) bought property it classified as 7-year and 15-year property and claimed the extra "bonus" first-year depreciation deduction under section 168(k) on its t…
Inadvertently invalid S-corporation election excused after an ineligible LLC held shares
A corporation elected to be taxed as an S corporation, but the election was invalid from the start because one of its shareholders was an LLC taxed as a partnership. S corporations may only have certa…
120-day extension to file a late Form 8832 electing partnership classification
A foreign entity wanted to be treated as a partnership for U.S. federal tax purposes, effective a specific date, which requires filing Form 8832 (the entity classification election). It missed the fil…
Tax-free treatment for a multinational group's three-step spin-off separating two businesses
A publicly traded foreign parent company sits atop a worldwide group that runs two distinct businesses, and it wants to separate them. To do that, it laid out a long series of internal reorganization …
Inadvertent invalid QSub election excused, subsidiary treated as a QSub under section 1362(f)
An S corporation acquired another S corporation as a wholly owned subsidiary and elected to treat that subsidiary as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary (a QSub), which lets the parent treat the subsi…
120-day extension to make a late section 754 basis-adjustment election
A state limited liability company taxed as a partnership meant to make a section 754 election for a particular tax year but inadvertently failed to make it properly. A section 754 election lets a part…
120-day extension to file a late Form 8832 electing disregarded-entity status
A private limited company organized in a foreign country was acquired by a U.S. corporation, which wanted the foreign company treated as a disregarded entity for federal tax purposes (meaning its inco…
120-day extension to make a late section 754 basis-adjustment election
A limited liability limited partnership had a partner die during a tax year. When a partnership interest transfers (including on a partner's death), a section 754 election lets the partnership adjust …
County-government support association's income is excludable under section 115(1)
A nonprofit corporation, already recognized as tax-exempt under section 501(c)(4), exists to support and strengthen county governments in its state. Every county is a member, pays standardized dues, a…
IRS approves a private foundation's scholarship procedures under IRC 4945(g)(1)
A private foundation asked the IRS to pre-approve how it picks and pays scholarship winners. Foundations need this sign-off because a grant to an individual for study is normally a "taxable expenditur…
IRS relieves a church-affiliated mission society from filing Form 990
A tax-exempt organization asked the IRS to be excused from filing the annual Form 990 information return. A Treasury regulation, Section 1.6033-2(g)(1)(iv), exempts a "mission society" from that filin…
IRS relieves a church's integrated auxiliary from filing Form 990
A tax-exempt organization asked the IRS to be excused from filing the annual Form 990 information return. A Treasury regulation, Section 1.6033-2(g)(1)(i), exempts an "integrated auxiliary of a church…
IRS denies 501(c)(4) exemption to a lakeside-subdivision homeowners' association
A homeowners' association for a subdivision next to a lake applied to be recognized as a tax-exempt social welfare organization under IRC Section 501(c)(4). The association maintains three common area…
IRS relieves a church-affiliated mission society from filing Form 990
A tax-exempt organization asked the IRS to be excused from filing the annual Form 990 information return. A Treasury regulation, Section 1.6033-2(g)(1)(iv), exempts a "mission society" from that filin…
IRS relieves a church's integrated auxiliary from filing Form 990
A tax-exempt organization asked the IRS to be excused from filing the annual Form 990 information return. A Treasury regulation, Section 1.6033-2(g)(1)(i), exempts an "integrated auxiliary of a church…
IRS approves a foundation's scholarship and study-and-research grant procedures under IRC 4945(g)(1) and (g)(3)
A private foundation asked the IRS to pre-approve two grant programs: a scholarship program under IRC Section 4945(g)(1) and a study-and-research grant program under IRC Section 4945(g)(3). Foundation…
IRS denies 501(c)(3) exemption to a community entrepreneurship, arts, and music organization
An unincorporated association applied (on the streamlined Form 1023-EZ) to be recognized as a tax-exempt charity under IRC Section 501(c)(3). Its mission was to promote entrepreneurial leadership and …
IRS denies 501(c)(3) exemption to a cannabis-industry economic-development nonprofit
A nonprofit corporation applied to be recognized as a tax-exempt charity under IRC Section 501(c)(3). Its stated purpose was to promote a "responsible cannabis-related tourism industry" and cannabis e…
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.