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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Estate receives 120 days to make a late QDOT election
A decedent left the residue of his estate to his surviving spouse, who was not a United States citizen. Tax advisers told the spouse that a qualified domestic trust was needed for the estate to…
Grants 120 days for late estate portability election
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion to the surviving spouse. The estate represented that the decedent's…
Estate received 120 days for a late alternate valuation election
An estate's co-executors hired an attorney to prepare a timely Form 706, but the attorney failed to make the Section 2032 alternate valuation election. The executors later filed a supplemental…
Estate received time for alternate valuation election
An estate timely filed Form 706 within one year after its filing deadline, including extensions, but its attorney omitted the Section 2032 alternate valuation election. The executor asked for…
Family trust could divide into seventeen separate trusts without tax
An irrevocable family trust created before September 25, 1985 proposed dividing into seventeen equal trusts, one for each grandchild's family line. Each new trust would retain materially similar…
Trust could divide into four family-line trusts without tax
An irrevocable trust created before September 25, 1985 benefited a grandchild's descendants, their spouses, and selected charities. Its trustees proposed dividing the trust equally into four trusts,…
Four-way family trust division preserved tax treatment
An irrevocable pre-1985 trust benefited a grandchild's descendants and spouses, as well as charities chosen by the trustees. The trustees proposed creating four equal trusts, each centered on one…
Five-way family trust division produced no tax
A pre-1985 irrevocable trust for family members and selected charities proposed dividing into five equal trusts, one for each great-grandchild's family line. The divided trusts would use materially…
Beneficiary could serve as co-trustee without a general power
A pre-1985 trust had divided into separate trusts for two grandchildren, and one trust needed a successor co-trustee. The trustees proposed appointing the beneficiary or one of her descendants. The…
Successor beneficiary co-trustee did not create appointment power
A trust created before September 25, 1985 later divided into separate trusts for two grandchildren. For the second trust, the serving trustees proposed adding its beneficiary or one of her…
Grants estate 120 days to elect alternate valuation
An estate timely filed Form 706 within one year after its due date, but the CPA preparing the return failed to check the box electing alternate valuation under section 2032. The CPA stated that the…
Grants 120 days for late farmland special-use valuation election
An estate included farmland, but the accountant preparing its timely Form 706 did not advise the co-executors to elect special-use valuation under section 2032A. An attorney later discovered that…
Remaining family property keeps its pre-1990 transfer status
A married couple and their six children bought real property before October 9, 1990, paying separately for life estates and remainder interests. The life tenants proposed conveying all their…
Partial life-estate conveyances are gifts but avoid estate inclusion
A married couple and their six children bought real property before October 9, 1990, paying separately for successive life estates and remainder interests. The life tenants proposed conveying all…
Family life-estate transfers are gifts without estate inclusion
A married couple and their six children bought real property before October 9, 1990, paying separately for successive life estates and remainder interests. The life tenants proposed giving the…
Old trust's disclaimers and court changes preserve transfer-tax treatment
An irrevocable trust created before October 22, 1942, gave successive beneficiaries general powers of appointment and was scheduled to end 21 years after the original beneficiary's death.…
Estate gets more time to make QTIP election
An estate timely filed its federal estate tax return but did not elect qualified terminable interest property treatment for a marital trust. The executor, a CPA whose accounting firm prepared the…
Incomplete-gift trust receives favorable tax rulings
A married couple in a community property state created an irrevocable domestic trust whose distribution committee could act unanimously or with a grantor's consent. The IRS ruled that the grantors'…
Incomplete-gift trust receives favorable tax rulings
A married couple in a community property state created an irrevocable domestic trust whose distribution committee could act unanimously or with a grantor's consent. The IRS ruled that the grantors'…
Incomplete-gift trust receives favorable tax rulings
A married couple in a community property state created an irrevocable domestic trust whose distribution committee could act unanimously or with a grantor's consent. The IRS ruled that the grantors'…
A deathbed purchase of GRAT remainders did not supply adequate consideration
A donor purchased the remainder interests in two grantor retained annuity trusts using unsecured promissory notes and died the next day while the annuity terms were still running. The trust property…
A community property trust received favorable income, gift, estate, and basis rulings
A married couple transferred community property to an irrevocable domestic trust whose distribution decisions were controlled through a power-of-appointment committee and retained grantor powers.…
Retained powers kept community property trust contributions incomplete for gift tax
Spouses placed community property in an irrevocable domestic trust that used a committee to direct distributions and gave the spouses retained distribution and testamentary powers. The IRS ruled…
Spousal trust with a distribution committee is not a grantor trust, and contributions are incomplete gifts
A married couple in a community property state set up an irrevocable trust holding community property for themselves and their descendants. Distributions are controlled by a committee of family…
Farm remainder sale to the seller's mother avoided special-use recapture tax
An estate elected special-use valuation for farm property that passed as a life estate to the decedent's daughter, with remainder interests for her two children. One grandchild proposed selling a…
Retained trust powers leave transfers incomplete for gift tax
A husband and wife each created an irrevocable trust benefiting the grantor and their children, with distributions controlled through several grantor and committee powers. The IRS found no listed…
Estate received 120 days to make a late portability election
A decedent's estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spousal unused exclusion amount to the surviving spouse. The personal representative stated that the…
Trust reformation prevented estate inclusion and a taxable gift
An irrevocable trust gave the grantor's spouse a testamentary power of appointment but failed to expressly exclude appointments to the spouse, the spouse's estate, or their creditors. The grantor…
Estate received 120 days to elect portability for the surviving spouse
An estate failed to file Form 706 by the deadline needed to elect portability of the decedent's unused exclusion amount to the surviving spouse. The estate represented that the decedent's gross…
Corrected appointment power caused neither estate inclusion nor a gift
An irrevocable trust intended to give the grantor's spouse only a limited testamentary power of appointment, but the trust language did not expressly bar appointments to the spouse, the spouse's…
Estate received 120 days to make a late portability election
A decedent's estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the decedent's unused estate and gift tax exclusion for the surviving spouse. The estate represented that the gross…
Estate received 120 days to make a late portability election
A decedent's estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the decedent's unused estate and gift tax exclusion for the surviving spouse. The estate represented that the gross…
Estate received 120 days to make a late portability election
A decedent's estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the decedent's unused estate and gift tax exclusion for the surviving spouse. The estate represented that the gross…
Estate receives 120 days to elect portability
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion amount. The estate represented that the decedent's gross estate was…
Estate receives 120 days to elect portability
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion amount. The estate represented that the decedent's gross estate was…
Estate receives 120 days to elect portability
An estate did not file Form 706 by the deadline to elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion amount. The estate represented that the decedent's gross estate,…
Estate receives 120 days to elect portability
An estate did not file Form 706 by the deadline to elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion amount. The estate represented that the decedent's gross estate,…
Estate receives 120 days to elect portability
An estate did not timely file Form 706 to elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion amount. The surviving spouse, acting as executor, represented that the…
Estate receives 120 days to elect portability
An estate did not timely file Form 706 to elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion amount. The estate represented that the decedent's gross estate and taxable…
Trust amendments do not end grandfathered GST exemption
An irrevocable trust created before September 25, 1985, was exempt from the generation-skipping transfer tax unless a later amendment created an actual or constructive addition. A committee with a…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
A surviving spouse, treated as the estate's executor because no executor had been appointed, missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the decedent's unused estate and gift tax…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the decedent's unused estate and gift tax exclusion for the surviving spouse. The estate represented that the decedent's gross…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
A surviving spouse serving as executor missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the decedent's unused estate and gift tax exclusion. The executor represented that the decedent's…
Recoverable tax payment does not add property to grandfathered trust
A beneficiary and her spouse mistakenly paid income taxes attributable to capital gain earned by an irrevocable trust created before September 25, 1985. State law required the trust to bear those…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the decedent's unused estate and gift tax exclusion for the surviving spouse. The estate represented that the decedent's gross…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
A decedent's son, serving as personal representative, missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the decedent's unused estate and gift tax exclusion for the surviving spouse. He…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
A decedent's daughter, serving as personal representative, missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the decedent's unused estate and gift tax exclusion for the surviving spouse.…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the decedent's unused estate and gift tax exclusion for the surviving spouse. The estate represented that the decedent's gross…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the decedent's unused estate and gift tax exclusion for the surviving spouse. The estate represented that the decedent's gross…
Estate received more time to elect portability
A decedent's estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion for the surviving spouse. The surviving spouse…
Estate received 120 days to elect portability
A decedent's estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion for the surviving spouse. The estate represented that the…
Late portability election was permitted
A decedent's estate did not timely file Form 706 to elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion for the surviving spouse. The estate represented that the…
Estate obtained late portability relief
A decedent's estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion for the surviving spouse. The estate represented that the…
Missed portability election received relief
A decedent's estate failed to file Form 706 by the deadline for electing portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion. The estate represented that the gross estate,…
Correcting trust drafting error preserved transfer-tax treatment
A trust created before the generation-skipping transfer tax effective date directed that, after a son's death, shares be created for his “surviving” children. Other trust language showed that a…
Estate received 120 days to elect portability
A decedent's estate missed the deadline to file Form 706 and elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion. The executor represented that the gross estate,…
Estate obtained late portability relief
A decedent's estate did not file Form 706 by the deadline for electing portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion. The executor represented that the estate was below…
Surviving spouse received late portability relief
A decedent's estate missed the Form 706 deadline for electing portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion. The surviving spouse, acting as executor, represented that…
Estate could make late portability election
A decedent's estate missed the deadline to elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion. The surviving spouse represented that the estate was below the filing…
Missed portability election received relief
A decedent's estate failed to file Form 706 by the deadline for electing portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion. The estate represented that the gross estate,…
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.