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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Failed-bank asset transfer blocks carryover basis through late REIT election
A bank acquired assets and deposit liabilities from a failed institution in a transaction supported by federal net worth assistance and loss guarantees. The acquiring group later filed a REIT return…
Insurance company receives late section 831(b) election relief
A property and casualty insurer intended to elect the alternative tax regime under IRC § 831(b). An employee overseeing tax compliance mistakenly believed the insurer's outside tax firm had…
Bundled certified warranty is not an insurance contract
A seller offered used products through a certification program that automatically included a supplement extending the original warranty. Customers could not remove the supplement, buy it separately,…
Chinese student may claim teacher treaty benefits without leaving the United States
A Chinese resident studied in the United States and claimed the student exemption under Article 20 of the U.S.-China income tax treaty before accepting a university teaching position. Chief Counsel…
Future second-injury fund assessments are not unpaid losses
An insurance company estimated its future annual assessments to the federal Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act second-injury fund and included those estimates in unpaid losses under…
Investment managers are not limited partners for self-employment tax
An investment-management LLC treated all of its full-time individual partners as limited partners and excluded their shares of management-fee income from self-employment tax. The partners performed…
Separate insurance fund avoids investor-control ownership
An investment company planned a new regulated investment company series available only through life insurance and variable annuity separate accounts, plus limited permitted holders. The new…
Rehabilitated insurer may include deferred claim obligations in losses
A non-life insurer restructured certain policies through a court-supervised rehabilitation plan after suffering significant losses. For each allowed claim, the insurer would pay a cash portion…
Trustee changes and unitrust conversion avoid gift tax
Before October 8, 1990, family members used their own funds to buy life and remainder interests in real property, and sale proceeds later entered an irrevocable trust preserving those interests. The…
Trustee changes and unitrust conversion avoid gift tax
Before October 8, 1990, family members used their own funds to buy life and remainder interests in real property, and sale proceeds later entered an irrevocable trust preserving those interests. The…
Trustee changes and unitrust conversion avoid gift tax
Before October 8, 1990, family members used their own funds to buy life and remainder interests in real property, and sale proceeds later entered an irrevocable trust preserving those interests. The…
Trustee changes and unitrust conversion avoid gift tax
Before October 8, 1990, family members used their own funds to buy life and remainder interests in real property, and sale proceeds later entered an irrevocable trust preserving those interests. The…
Trustee changes and unitrust conversion avoid gift tax
Before October 8, 1990, family members used their own funds to buy life and remainder interests in real property, and sale proceeds later entered an irrevocable trust preserving those interests. The…
Trustee changes and unitrust conversion avoid gift tax
Before October 8, 1990, family members used their own funds to buy life and remainder interests in real property, and sale proceeds later entered an irrevocable trust preserving those interests. The…
Trustee changes and unitrust conversion avoid gift tax
Before October 8, 1990, family members used their own funds to buy life and remainder interests in real property, and sale proceeds later entered an irrevocable trust preserving those interests. The…
Insurer receives extension for late alternative-tax election
A foreign property-and-casualty insurer elected domestic treatment and sought to use the alternative tax under IRC § 831(b), which taxes qualifying small insurers only on investment income. Its…
Charity status revoked for nonexempt purpose and private benefit
The IRS issued a final adverse determination revoking an organization's § 501(c)(3) status effective July 1, 2001. It found that the organization did not operate exclusively for exempt purposes or…
Closed-period post-settlement comments were not prohibited ex parte contacts
Chief Counsel considered statements that examination personnel made to Appeals at a post-settlement conference without the taxpayer present. Similar statements about credibility and alleged…
Section 475 mark-to-market applied to basket transactions
A securities trader that had elected § 475(f) could not omit its basket transactions from mark-to-market accounting. Whether the arrangements were recharacterized as direct ownership of the…
Blue Cross plan retained section 833 status while winding up
A nonprofit Blue Cross and Blue Shield organization sold its insurance operations to another nonprofit plan, retained disputed claims and other assets while winding up, and committed its remaining…
Product service contract reinsurer qualified as an insurance company
A newly formed foreign company planned to assume an insurer’s obligations for product service contracts sold by a particular retailer. The service contracts covered mechanical-failure risks after…
Dividing and partly terminating a QTIP marital trust produced defined gift, estate, and income tax results
Trustees proposed dividing a QTIP marital trust into three pro rata trusts, converting one to a state-law total return unitrust, and terminating another for the deceased spouse's children. The IRS…
Credit counseling organization lost exemption for commercial DMP operations
A credit counseling organization had been recognized under section 501(c)(3) to provide financial education, counseling, and budget planning. The examination found that its primary activity had…
Current corporate officer may authorize representation for prior S years
Chief Counsel advised that a corporation, rather than its shareholders, remains the taxpayer in an audit even for years when an S election was in effect. A Form 2848 for the corporation must…
Optional equipment warranties qualify as insurance
An equipment seller planned to form a subsidiary that would issue optional extended warranties covering repair or replacement of specified parts after the manufacturer's warranty ended. The…
Insurance-only funds avoid investor-control ownership
An investment adviser planned regulated investment company funds available only through insurance company separate accounts and other permitted holders. Each fund would invest in publicly available…
Mutual insurance company restructuring receives tax treatment rulings
The IRS ruled on a proposed restructuring of a not-for-profit mutual insurance company into a mutual holding company with separate stock insurance and controlled corporations. The transaction…
Passive investment activities treated as an insurance business
The IRS ruled that a subsidiary's passive investment activities would be treated as an insurance business after a planned check-the-box election, allowing the related income and expenses to be…
IRA property may lose exclusion after rollover
Chief Counsel discussed whether property could be excluded from a bankruptcy estate. The existing exclusion was based on the spendthrift-type restriction applicable under ERISA. Counsel questioned…
IRS treats foreign-regulated separate accounts as segregated under the variable-contract rules
The IRS ruled that separate accounts of an electing foreign insurance company could be treated as segregated from its general asset accounts under § 817(d)(1). The company was treated as a domestic…
IRS approves a multi-class REIT share structure
The IRS considered two planned real estate investment trusts that would issue multiple classes of common stock with different distribution-channel fees. The taxpayers also planned dividend…
IRS approves allocation of a cooperative's pension contribution
The IRS considered a farmer-owned cooperative's proposed use of litigation settlement proceeds to make a special contribution to an underfunded employee pension plan. The settlement related partly…
IRS permits aggregation of two related net profits interests
The IRS granted a taxpayer permission to aggregate two aggregate net profits interests in mineral properties and treat them as one property for federal income tax purposes. The taxpayer represented…
Qualified joint ventures and Schedule C reporting
The Chief Counsel advice considers how a business jointly owned by a married couple should be reported for federal tax purposes. It states that the business would generally be treated as a…
Conference rights for a proposed adverse TAM
This Chief Counsel Advice explains the procedures that apply when the Associate Office proposes an adverse Technical Advice Memorandum. It says that a taxpayer who participated in a mandatory…
PLR 1351006: reinsurance activities qualify a taxpayer as an insurance company
A taxpayer that was organized and regulated as an insurance company reinsured collateral protection policies for vehicle loans and indemnified a dealership's motor vehicle service contracts. It…
TAM 1350033: mining exploration costs must be recaptured even for closed years
This Technical Advice Memorandum addresses a mining company's failure to recapture exploration expenditures after mines reached the producing stage. The IRS concludes that the company must recapture…
CCA 1350031: IRS unable to rule on captive insurer status and premium deductions
Chief Counsel addresses a foreign insurance company that elected to be taxed as a domestic corporation and sought rulings about a reinsurance pool and premiums paid by affiliated companies. The…
CCA 1350030: IRS unable to rule on captive insurer status and premium deductions
Chief Counsel addresses a foreign insurance company that elected to be taxed as a domestic corporation and sought rulings about a reinsurance pool and premiums paid by an affiliated company. The…
CCA 1350029: IRS unable to rule on captive insurer status and premium deductions
Chief Counsel addresses a foreign insurance company that elected to be taxed as a domestic corporation and sought rulings about a reinsurance pool and premiums paid by affiliated companies. The…
CCA 1350028: IRS unable to rule on captive insurer status and premium deductions
Chief Counsel addresses a foreign insurance company that elected to be taxed as a domestic corporation and sought rulings about a reinsurance pool and premiums paid by an affiliated company. The…
CCA 1350027: IRS unable to rule on captive insurer status and premium deductions
Chief Counsel addresses a foreign insurance company that elected to be taxed as a domestic corporation and sought rulings about a reinsurance pool and premiums paid by affiliated companies. The…
CCA 1350026: IRS unable to rule on captive insurer status and premium deductions
Chief Counsel addresses a foreign insurance company that elected to be taxed as a domestic corporation and sought rulings about a reinsurance pool and premiums paid by an affiliated company. The…
CCA 1350010: IRS declines to rule on a captive insurer's reinsurance pool arrangement
Chief Counsel considered a foreign insurance company that elected to be taxed as a domestic corporation and participated in a reinsurance pool. The company requested rulings that it qualified as an…
CCA 1350009: IRS declines to rule on a captive insurer's reinsurance pool arrangement
Chief Counsel considered a foreign insurance company that elected to be taxed as a domestic corporation and participated in a reinsurance pool. The company requested rulings that it qualified as an…
CCA 1350008: IRS declines to rule on a captive insurer's reinsurance pool arrangement
Chief Counsel considered a foreign insurance company that elected to be taxed as a domestic corporation and participated in a reinsurance pool. The company requested rulings that it qualified as an…
PLR 1346008: IRS grants extra time for a Canadian RRSP treaty election
The IRS granted a married couple an extension of time to elect treaty treatment for undistributed income accrued in their Canadian RRSPs. The couple had moved to the United States, timely filed U.S.…
TAM 1344009: Community ice rink operator remains exempt under section 501(c)(3)
The IRS considered whether a nonprofit that operates community ice rinks remained exempt under section 501(c)(3). The organization made its facilities available for public skating, school physical…
CCA 1343020: foreign distributor earnings are compensation for services, sourced by service location
Chief Counsel Advice addresses payments made by a multi-level marketing company to foreign distributors based on purchases by distributors lower in their sponsorship chains. It concludes that the…
CCA 1343019: Cypriot holding company can support qualified dividend treatment
Chief Counsel Advice considers whether dividends from a Cypriot holding company can receive the reduced tax rate for qualified dividend income when the company is not owned by Cypriot residents. It…
PLR 1343017: extension granted for a treaty election involving a Canadian retirement plan
The IRS revoked and replaced an earlier private letter ruling for a U.S. resident who had contributed to a Canadian registered retirement savings plan. The taxpayer had not made the election under…
PLR 1343014: Canadian RRSP treaty election extension granted
The IRS considered a married couple who had moved from Canada to the United States while continuing to hold Canadian registered retirement savings plans. Their accountant had not told them to file…
PLR 1343005: consent granted to aggregate operating mineral interests
The IRS granted a foreign mining company treated as a U.S. corporation permission to aggregate separate operating mineral interests in one mine as a single property for depletion purposes. The…
IRC sections 817(a) and (b) apply to variable annuities issued by a nonlife insurer
Chief Counsel Advice considers whether the reserve and basis rules in sections 817(a) and 817(b) apply to variable annuities issued by a nonlife insurance company. The advice concludes that both…
CCA 1341017: CCA concludes a subsidiary is not a bank for section 581
Chief Counsel Advice concluded that the taxpayer's subsidiary does not satisfy the requirements to be treated as a bank under section 581. As a result, the subsidiary cannot be excluded from the…
PLR 1340015: IRS recognizes an interdenominational ministry as a religious order
The IRS concluded that an interdenominational Christian ministry qualified as a religious order for specified employment-tax rules. The ministry was recognized as tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3),…
PLR 1340007: IRS grants a late election for Canadian retirement accounts
The IRS granted a taxpayer more time to elect treaty treatment for undistributed earnings in Canadian retirement accounts. The taxpayer had moved from the United States to Canada, later returned to…
PLR 1338036: IRS grants a surviving spouse more time for a Canadian RRSP treaty election
A taxpayer and spouse became U.S. residents while holding Canadian registered retirement savings plans (RRSPs), but they did not make the election needed to defer U.S. tax on undistributed RRSP…
PLR 1338014: IRS grants more time to elect treaty deferral for Canadian RRSP income
A taxpayer who moved from Canada to the United States held two Canadian registered retirement savings plans. The taxpayer and spouse did not know they needed to file Form 8891 and make the treaty…
PLR 1338005: Variable contract holders do not own underlying public fund shares
A regulated investment company offered its shares through insurance company separate accounts and related variable funds. It planned to broaden its strategy by investing in public funds, including…
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.