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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Partnership acquisition cleared section 351 investment-company test
A publicly traded partnership planned to acquire an unrelated public corporation for partnership units and cash, after which the acquired corporation would contribute its assets to a lower-tier public…
Late section 336(e) election statement received filing extension
Shareholders sold all stock of an S corporation to a partnership through a disregarded entity, and the parties had a timely written agreement to make a section 336(e) election treating the stock sale …
Late section 336(e) election received conditional relief
Shareholders sold all stock of an S corporation to a partnership and entered a timely written agreement to make a section 336(e) election, but the S corporation's return and election statement were no…
Parties received time to complete section 336(e) election
Purchasers acquired all stock of an S corporation, and the parties intended the sale to be treated as an asset disposition under section 336(e). A tax professional failed to advise them to timely exec…
Section 336(e) agreement and statement received late-election relief
A partnership acquired all stock of an S corporation through a disregarded entity, and the parties intended to treat the stock sale as an asset disposition under section 336(e). They relied on a quali…
Foreign entity received 120 days for late Form 8832
A foreign eligible entity intended to elect disregarded-entity status but did not timely file Form 8832. It represented that it acted reasonably and in good faith and that relief would not prejudice t…
Foreign entity received late disregarded-entity election relief
A foreign eligible entity failed to timely file Form 8832 electing disregarded-entity status from the date it was organized. It represented that it acted reasonably and in good faith and that relief w…
QTIP trust settlement received favorable transfer-tax rulings
A surviving spouse and bank trustee settled extensive litigation by terminating an irrevocable QTIP trust and two marital QTIP trusts. The spouse would receive a support distribution plus the actuaria…
QTIP trust termination settlement received favorable rulings
A surviving spouse and bank trustee proposed to end an irrevocable QTIP trust and two marital QTIP trusts under a court-approved settlement. The spouse would receive a support payment and cash equal t…
QTIP settlement termination received favorable tax treatment
A surviving spouse and trustee settled trust litigation by proposing to terminate an irrevocable QTIP trust and two marital QTIP trusts. The spouse would receive a support distribution and the actuari…
Court-approved QTIP trust settlement received favorable rulings
A surviving spouse and bank trustee sought rulings before completing a court-approved settlement that would terminate an irrevocable QTIP trust and two marital QTIP trusts. The spouse would receive a …
QTIP trust settlement approved for transfer-tax purposes
A surviving spouse and trustee proposed a court-approved settlement ending an irrevocable QTIP trust and two marital QTIP trusts. The spouse would receive a support distribution and the present value …
Municipal homeowner grants were taxable and reportable
A municipal corporation offered grants to eligible owner-occupants for installing approved home systems intended to address a local problem. Homeowners selected contractors and systems from approved l…
Member bar and gaming association lost social-welfare exemption
A home association affiliated with a veterans' organization held section 501(c)(4) social-welfare status. Its primary activity became operating members-only social quarters and a bar, with a substanti…
Healthcare insurer denied charitable exemption
An organization planned to sell comprehensive healthcare insurance for a monthly premium and later develop healthcare facilities. Insurance premiums were projected to produce 94 percent of its income,…
Commercial production project denied charitable exemption
An organization proposed to train disabled people, particularly veterans, through paid positions on commercial production projects. It would own the resulting intellectual property, license completed …
Scholarship and educational grant procedures approved
A private foundation proposed scholarships and educational grants for graduating seniors from a specified school who had overcome financial, family, illness, or disability-related hardship. Awards cou…
Scholarship procedures for women studying the arts approved
A private foundation proposed scholarships for female students pursuing music, drama, visual arts, and related fields at accredited institutions in a specified area. Applicants had to be U.S. citizens…
Fellowship and alumni grant procedures approved
A private foundation proposed fellowships for young U.S. citizens and permanent residents to spend nine to twelve months abroad pursuing individualized religious, cultural, educational, and leadership…
Domestic and international scholarship procedures approved
A private foundation proposed two need-based scholarship programs for low-income high school seniors. One would support students connected with a specified church, while the other would support studen…
Revolving educational loan procedures approved
A private foundation proposed a revolving educational loan program for needy and deserving students under age 23 who lived in a specified area. Loans could support study at U.S. trade, technical, prof…
Condominium association denied social-welfare exemption
A condominium owners association applied for exemption as a social-welfare organization under section 501(c)(4). It collected homeowners association and management fees and used them for building serv…
Breeding and showing association denied charitable exemption
An association already exempt under section 501(c)(5) asked to change its status to a charitable and educational organization under section 501(c)(3). Its articles authorized activities promoting anim…
Homeowners association denied charitable exemption
A homeowners association applied for recognition as a charitable organization under section 501(c)(3). Every lot owner in the subdivision was a member, and annual dues funded services such as snow rem…
Internet exchange point denied business-league exemption
A nonprofit internet exchange point sought exemption as a business league under section 501(c)(6). It connected members to shared switching infrastructure for internet traffic exchange and route peeri…
Member death-benefit association denied social-welfare exemption
An association collected registration fees, annual dues, and per-member assessments to pay death benefits to the designated beneficiaries of deceased members. It also offered members free seminars on …
For-profit hunting club denied social-club exemption
A for-profit corporation owned land where its shareholders could hunt, camp, ride off-road vehicles, snowmobile, and engage in conservation activities. It received no member income; all revenue came f…
Food-truck scheduling association denied business-league exemption
A food-truck association sought exemption as a business league under section 501(c)(6). It lobbied governments, promoted vending locations, worked with event planners and suppliers, and offered member…
Nonprofit grocery store denied 501(c)(3) exemption
A nonprofit planned to operate a grocery store in a blighted, low-income census tract that it described as a food desert. It intended to sell affordable nutritious food, accept donated groceries, part…
Business referral group denied business-league exemption
An unincorporated association of professionals sought exemption as a business league under section 501(c)(6). Its members met weekly to learn about one another's businesses, exchange referrals, and tr…
Breed association denied 501(c)(3) exemption
An unincorporated breed association sought exemption under section 501(c)(3). Its activities included an annual show, other public events, a festival presentation, membership meetings, awards, and inf…
Death-benefit group denied social-club exemption
A group of close friends sought exemption as a social club under section 501(c)(7). Members paid monthly fees into a fund that made a fixed payment after a qualifying death involving a member, spouse,…
Business corridor group denied 501(c)(3) reclassification
A business corridor organization already exempt under section 501(c)(6) asked to qualify under section 501(c)(3). It held an annual anti-violence festival, organized business mixers, distributed Chris…
Housing project gets 120 days to make 40-60 set-aside election
The owner of a multiple-building low-income housing project intended to elect the 40-60 minimum set-aside under section 42(g)(1)(B). It inadvertently omitted the election from the Form 8609 submitted …
Late REIT election treated as timely
A single-member limited liability company intended to elect real estate investment trust status for its first taxable year as a corporation. Its tax firm mistakenly omitted the company's Form 7004 fro…
Partnership gets 120 days to make late section 754 election
A limited partnership intended to make a section 754 election after a partner died and partnership interests passed through a trust. The partnership instructed its tax advisors to make the election, b…
Family company agreement keeps section 2703 grandfather status
A family-owned company was governed by a stock redemption and buy-sell agreement adopted before October 8, 1990. The company and its shareholders asked whether later family transfers, administrative c…
Family company restrictions remain grandfathered under section 2703
A family-owned company was governed by a stock redemption and buy-sell agreement adopted before October 8, 1990. The company and its shareholders asked whether later family transfers, administrative c…
Pre-1990 family stock agreement remains grandfathered
A family-owned company was governed by a stock redemption and buy-sell agreement adopted before October 8, 1990. The company and its shareholders asked whether later family transfers, administrative c…
Family stock restrictions retain section 2703 grandfather protection
A family-owned company was governed by a stock redemption and buy-sell agreement adopted before October 8, 1990. The company and its shareholders asked whether later family transfers, administrative c…
Buy-sell agreement remains protected from section 2703
A family-owned company was governed by a stock redemption and buy-sell agreement adopted before October 8, 1990. The company and its shareholders asked whether later family transfers, administrative c…
Family share agreement remains grandfathered after planned changes
A family-owned company was governed by a stock redemption and buy-sell agreement adopted before October 8, 1990. The company and its shareholders asked whether later family transfers, administrative c…
Family company changes do not trigger section 2703
A family-owned company was governed by a stock redemption and buy-sell agreement adopted before October 8, 1990. The company and its shareholders asked whether later family transfers, administrative c…
Planned stock changes preserve section 2703 grandfathering
A family-owned company was governed by a stock redemption and buy-sell agreement adopted before October 8, 1990. The company and its shareholders asked whether later family transfers, administrative c…
Family company recapitalization does not end grandfathering
A family-owned company was governed by a stock redemption and buy-sell agreement adopted before October 8, 1990. The company and its shareholders asked whether later family transfers, administrative c…
Later family transfers do not alter grandfathered stock agreement
A family-owned company was governed by a stock redemption and buy-sell agreement adopted before October 8, 1990. The company and its shareholders asked whether later family transfers, administrative c…
Ineffective QSub election receives inadvertent relief
An S corporation acquired all the stock of another S corporation as part of a purported reorganization, after which the subsidiary converted to a limited liability company. The parent intended to elec…
Estate gets 120 days to make portability election
An estate that represented it was not otherwise required to file Form 706 sought extra time to elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate-tax exclusion. Although an estate-tax return had…
LLC gets 120 days to elect partnership classification
A multi-member limited liability company had initially elected corporate classification for federal tax purposes. It later intended to be treated as a partnership from a specified effective date but f…
Truck and tractor pull group denied 501(c)(3) reinstatement
An organization whose exemption had been automatically revoked sought reinstatement under section 501(c)(3). Its articles stated that it was formed for social and civic purposes and to host an annual …
IRS approves county-based scholarship procedures
A private foundation requested advance approval for a scholarship program serving high school seniors and community college transferees who lived in a specified county and participated in an approved …
Private foundation scholarship program receives advance approval
A private foundation requested advance approval for a scholarship program serving high school seniors and community college transferees who lived in a specified county and participated in an approved …
Medical marijuana dispensary denied 501(c)(3) reinstatement
An organization whose exemption had been automatically revoked sought retroactive reinstatement under section 501(c)(3). Its articles and bylaws stated that it would dispense medical cannabis to quali…
Homeowners association denied social-welfare exemption
A homeowners association sought exemption as a social-welfare organization under section 501(c)(4). Membership was compulsory for homeowners inside a fenced area, and dues maintained streets, lighting…
Commercial hog farm denied 501(c)(3) exemption
An organization proposed a self-sustaining hog farm that would use donated surplus or waste inputs, sell part of its output, and donate the balance to related charities. It expected its product to com…
Fundraiser for one person's medical and burial expenses denied exemption
An unincorporated association applied for section 501(c)(3) status to raise funds for the medical costs and burial of one named person. The IRS concluded that paying a preselected individual's expense…
Legal-defense trust for one person denied exemption
A trust applied for section 501(c)(3) status to raise money for one named person's legal defense and possible bail or bond. The fund would remain active until that person was exonerated or exhausted a…
IRS grants extra time for subsidiaries to file LIFO elections
After acquiring a corporate group, a taxpayer discovered that the former parent’s tax adviser had failed to advise that LIFO computations must be performed entity by entity and that each inventory-hol…
IRS approves revised nuclear decommissioning fund schedule
The owner of a permanently closed nuclear power plant requested a revised schedule of ruling amounts for deductible contributions to its qualified nuclear decommissioning fund. Based on the taxpayer’s…
IRS grants late success-based-fee safe-harbor election
A corporation incurred success-based fees in an acquisition and reported them using Revenue Procedure 2011-29’s 70-percent deduction and 30-percent capitalization safe harbor. Its accounting firm prep…
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.