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 portability election
A decedent's estate was not otherwise required to file Form 706 because the represented gross estate and adjusted taxable gifts were below the filing threshold. The estate had unused exclusion…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
A decedent's estate was not otherwise required to file Form 706 because the represented gross estate and adjusted taxable gifts were below the filing threshold. The estate had unused exclusion…
Chief Counsel catalogs 121 charitable-contribution cases
Chief Counsel prepared an updated case list covering 121 selected charitable-contribution decisions and orders from 2012 through April 15, 2020. Most entries concern conservation easements,…
Partner-level basis may be adjusted without reopening the partnership return
Chief Counsel advised that a partner's outside basis is an affected item that may be adjusted in a partner-level examination while accepting the partnership return as filed. The examiner may correct…
Foundation may fund relocation and housing for STEM interns
A private foundation proposed stipends helping underserved and underrepresented college students pay relocation and housing costs for STEM internships. Eligible students would be rising sophomores,…
Foundation's artist residency grants receive advance approval
A private foundation proposed an artist residency program providing time, space, housing, and financial support for artists to create work and exchange ideas. Recipients would generally receive a…
Exemption revoked for commercial historic-tax-credit business
The IRS revoked a historic-preservation organization's Section 501(c)(3) exemption after concluding that its main activity was a commercial historic-tax-credit business. The organization entered…
Cryptocurrency software organization denied section 501(c)(3) status
An organization applied for section 501(c)(3) status to support an open-source cryptocurrency, its blockchain software, a digital wallet, related websites, research, merchant integration, and user…
Social club may treat one-time carbon-offset credits as unusual income
A tax-exempt social club owned forestland that its members used for hiking, hunting, fishing, and other outdoor recreation. It proposed entering a state carbon-offset program that required long-term…
Governmental commodity authority's income excluded under section 115
A nonprofit authority was formed by governmental members to buy, sell, manage, and distribute a redacted commodity on their behalf. Its members were political subdivisions or entities whose income…
S corporation receives 120 days to make a late QSub election
An S corporation wholly owned one subsidiary, which in turn wholly owned a second subsidiary. The parent had elected to treat the first subsidiary as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary and intended…
LLC receives 120 days to make a late corporate classification election
A limited liability company intended from its formation to be classified as an association taxable as a corporation for federal tax purposes. It did not timely file Form 8832 to make that…
Closing agreement still governs payments after section 162(f) amendment
A corporate group had entered a binding settlement agreement requiring perpetual annual payments and later entered an IRS closing agreement governing the payments' tax treatment. The closing…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate was not otherwise required to file Form 706 because the decedent's gross estate and adjusted taxable gifts were below the filing threshold. The decedent left a surviving spouse and an…
LLC receives relief for late corporate classification and S elections
A limited liability company intended to be treated as an S corporation from a redacted effective date but inadvertently failed to file Form 2553 properly and on time. Because an LLC must first be…
Foreign entity receives 120 days to make a late disregarded-entity election
A foreign entity wholly owned by a U.S. citizen was formed to hold interests in another entity. It became relevant for U.S. tax purposes on a redacted date and intended to be classified as…
Foreign entity receives 120 days to make a late partnership election
A foreign entity owned by a U.S. citizen and another investor was formed to hold interests in another entity. It became relevant for U.S. tax purposes on a redacted date and intended to be…
Prehire staffing period counts for qualified-plan eligibility and vesting
A company used a staffing agency for workers who typically worked full time under a leasing arrangement for four months before the company hired them directly. Its defined benefit plan required one…
Late Form 8996 treated as timely for qualified opportunity fund status
A partnership was formed to operate as a qualified opportunity fund and hired an adviser to prepare its first federal return, request an automatic extension, and file Form 8996. The adviser knew the…
Proposed split-off and debt exchange qualify for corporate nonrecognition
A publicly traded parent planned to separate one business by contributing its assets and subsidiaries to a newly formed controlled corporation. The controlled corporation would borrow money,…
Estate receives relief for late alternate valuation election
An estate's personal representative intended to elect the alternate valuation method under section 2032 after receiving advice about its potential benefits. The necessary alternate-date appraisals…
S corporation receives inadvertent termination relief for missed ESBT elections
Two trusts were eligible S corporation shareholders until a redacted date, when they needed electing small business trust elections to remain eligible. Their trustees did not timely make those…
Corporation receives 120 days to file a late S election
A corporation's sole shareholder intended the company to be an S corporation, but Form 2553 was not filed on time. The company requested late-election relief for a redacted effective date. It…
Foreign entity receives late disregarded-entity election relief
A foreign entity intended to elect disregarded-entity treatment but did not timely file Form 8832. It represented that it was eligible for the election, acted reasonably and in good faith, did not…
Taxpayer may elect out of automatic GST allocation for two GRATs
A taxpayer created two grantor retained annuity trusts, transferred company stock to them, and intended to elect out of automatic generation-skipping transfer exemption allocation. The taxpayer's…
Missed ESBT elections treated as inadvertent S corporation termination
An S corporation's shares were held by a grantor trust whose deemed owner died. The trust remained an eligible S shareholder for two years after the owner's death, but no ESBT election was made when…
S corporation received more time to make a QSub election
An S corporation acquired all the stock of a subsidiary and intended to treat it as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary (QSub) from the acquisition date. The corporation failed to file Form 8869 on…
Surviving spouse could roll inherited plan benefits into her IRA
A deceased employee's estate was the beneficiary of his qualified retirement plan and section 403(b) annuity plan. His surviving spouse was the estate's sole executor, the sole trustee and…
Defective governing terms and missing consent did not prevent S status
A company's S corporation election was ineffective because its operating agreement created more than one class of stock and one shareholder did not sign Form 2553. A later amendment left the same…
Taxpayer received 45 days to file a duplicate Form 3115
An S corporation timely attached an original Form 3115 to its federal return for two accounting method changes affecting its QSub subsidiaries. Its accounting firm was also supposed to send the…
Current IRS officials may approve returns made by an agent
Chief Counsel was asked who may approve a request under Treasury Regulation section 1.6012-1(a)(5) for an income tax return to be made by an agent now that IRS district directors no longer exist.…
IRS employees may show collection documents to an outside notary
Chief Counsel considered whether an IRS employee may use a licensed outside notary when an IRS employee notary is unavailable. Documents such as deeds from administrative or judicial property sales…
Changing the identified hedge fund partner did not require a separate audit
A partnership used contracts with a bank to retain investment exposure to interests in a hedge fund that was also taxed as a partnership. The parties reported the bank as the owner and partner, but…
IRS could not refund OIC payments without an overpayment
A taxpayer made payments toward an offer in compromise that the IRS had rejected, apparently because of an IRS administrative mistake. The payments were properly applied against the taxpayer's…
Chief Counsel accepted the taxpayer's income treatment
This brief advice concerns a heavily redacted examination matter indexed by the IRS under underwriting income. The taxpayer maintained that it did not have to include certain amounts in income for…
Healthcare investor group denied business league exemption
A membership organization of accredited healthcare investors sought exemption as a business league under section 501(c)(6). It screened healthcare startups, selected companies to present at…
Foundation scholarship procedures received advance approval
A private foundation proposed scholarships for financially needy international students graduating from high schools in a specified city and attending college in the United States. Applicants would…
Affiliated group received more time to elect consolidated filing
A domestic parent corporation and its affiliated group failed to make a timely election to file a consolidated federal income tax return. The limitations period remained open, the parent was not…
Closing agreement continued to govern settlement payment deductions
A subsidiary made perpetual settlement payments under an agreement entered before December 22, 2017, and an IRS closing agreement treated those payments as deductible business expenses rather than…
Taxpayer received more time for success-fee safe harbor election
A corporation paid contingent financial-advisor fees in connection with a taxable acquisition of all its stock. Its return preparer applied the Revenue Procedure 2011-29 safe harbor, which treats 70…
Assumption reinsurance would not restart life insurance tax tests
Members of a corporate group owned private-placement variable life insurance policies on selected employees to finance employee benefit liabilities. After an event involving the insurer, the…
Estate received more time to elect portability of unused exclusion
A decedent's estate was not otherwise required to file Form 706 because of the represented value of the gross estate and taxable gifts. The estate nevertheless needed a timely estate tax return to…
Taxpayer received 45 days to file a duplicate Form 3115
An S corporation timely attached an original Form 3115 to its federal return for two accounting method changes affecting its QSub subsidiary. Its accounting firm was also supposed to send the…
Membership business activity failed the social welfare test
The IRS examined an organization that claimed exemption as a social welfare organization under section 501(c)(4). The final determination states that the organization was not a civic league or…
Foundation scholarship procedures received advance approval
A private foundation proposed scholarships for financially needy students committed to succeeding at colleges, trade schools, technical schools, or similar postsecondary institutions in the United…
Restaurant alcohol club denied social club exemption
A nonprofit formed a private club inside a public restaurant so members could purchase alcoholic beverages under state licensing rules. Membership was broadly available to adult county residents…
Museum expansion set-aside approved as a qualifying distribution
A private foundation planned to expand and improve an art museum facility that it owned and leased to an exempt museum operator. The project required more funds than the foundation's current annual…
Industry competition organization denied charitable reclassification
An organization already exempt as a section 501(c)(6) business league sought recognition as a section 501(c)(3) charitable and educational organization. Its primary activity was an annual skills…
Food truck association denied charitable exemption
A professional association of independent food truck owners and operators applied for exemption under section 501(c)(3). It promoted member businesses through catering referrals, exclusive vending…
Scholarship and educational grant procedures approved
A private foundation requested advance approval for three need-based scholarship programs and a broader educational grant program. The scholarships covered college, advanced-degree, or specialized…
Historic building restoration set-aside approved
A private foundation proposed a grant to a public charity restoring a historic building as a community center for culture, education, and neighborhood revitalization. The grant would fund about…
Commercial fishers association denied charitable exemption
A membership organization of commercial fishers applied for exemption under section 501(c)(3). It sought to advocate for sustainable fisheries, send representatives to regional and international…
Member funeral benefit plan denied charitable exemption
A mutual assistance membership organization collected fees and death-triggered contributions from members and paid funeral benefits when a member or family member died. Eligibility opened after one…
IRS approves a private foundation's scholarship procedures
A private foundation proposed scholarships for high school seniors who belong to a tax-exempt financial cooperative and plan to attend an accredited college, university, community college,…
Franchise-owner association denied business-league exemption
An association of franchise owners for a single brand sought exemption as a business league under section 501(c)(6). It held meetings and annual forums about brand policies, vendors, operating…
Market-priced solar systems are not public utility property
A regulated electric utility proposed a voluntary program under which it would own and operate solar systems at participating commercial customers' premises. Each customer would receive a percentage…
Foundation may divide its assets among related foundations and terminate
A private foundation whose directors disagreed about its operation proposed dividing all of its assets evenly among several existing or newly formed private foundations controlled by the same…
Taxpayer receives 45 days to file a success-fee safe-harbor election
A partnership paid success-based financial advisory fees in connection with acquisitions of broadband businesses. Its return preparer analyzed the fees under Revenue Procedure 2011-29 and prepared…
Late section 336(e) election statement receives filing relief
A buyer acquired all the stock of an S corporation in a transaction represented to be a qualified stock disposition. The S corporation and its shareholder timely signed a binding agreement to make a…
IRS extends the period for a commercially reasonable liquidation
A taxpayer asked the IRS to supplement an earlier private letter ruling governing a plan to liquidate a group of debtors. It represented that it had consistently pursued liquidation as quickly as…
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.