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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Connected parking-garage revenue qualifies as REIT rent
Two REIT-owned parking garages in a mixed-use project had to be physically connected and jointly operated, making it impractical to identify which garage held each public customer’s car. The REITs…
Connected parking-garage revenue qualifies as REIT rent
Two REIT-owned parking garages in a mixed-use project had to be physically connected and jointly operated, making it impractical to identify which garage held each public customer’s car. The REITs…
Continuing-trust modification preserves GST grandfathering
A trust irrevocable before September 25, 1985, and its successor trusts otherwise required outright distributions 21 years after a beneficiary’s death. A court-approved modification would instead…
Continuing-trust modification preserves GST grandfathering
A trust irrevocable before September 25, 1985, and its successor trusts otherwise required outright distributions 21 years after a beneficiary’s death. A court-approved modification would instead…
Continuing-trust modification preserves GST grandfathering
A trust irrevocable before September 25, 1985, and its successor trusts otherwise required outright distributions 21 years after a beneficiary’s death. A court-approved modification would instead…
Continuing-trust modification preserves GST grandfathering
A trust irrevocable before September 25, 1985, and its successor trusts otherwise required outright distributions 21 years after a beneficiary’s death. A court-approved modification would instead…
Continuing-trust modification preserves GST grandfathering
A trust irrevocable before September 25, 1985, and its successor trusts otherwise required outright distributions 21 years after a beneficiary’s death. A court-approved modification would instead…
Sportsmen’s social club denied charitable exemption
A long-running sportsmen’s club conducted conservation, youth, hunter-safety, and habitat activities, but also maintained year-round recreational facilities and events for adult members. Its…
Ground-lease rights are REIT real estate assets
A REIT acquired fee owners’ rights under ground leases covering land, rooftops, and other real property, together with successor leases or options allowing replacement leasing after existing tenants…
IRS grants late Form 5471 accounting-period election
A taxpayer missed the deadline to file Form 5471 electing under section 898(c)(2) a controlled foreign corporation tax year beginning one month before the majority U.S. shareholder year. The…
IRS grants late Form 5471 accounting-period election
A taxpayer missed the deadline to file Form 5471 electing under section 898(c)(2) a controlled foreign corporation tax year beginning one month before the majority U.S. shareholder year. The…
IRS grants late Form 5471 accounting-period election
A taxpayer missed the deadline to file Form 5471 electing under section 898(c)(2) a controlled foreign corporation tax year beginning one month before the majority U.S. shareholder year. The…
IRS grants late Form 5471 accounting-period election
A taxpayer missed the deadline to file Form 5471 electing under section 898(c)(2) a controlled foreign corporation tax year beginning one month before the majority U.S. shareholder year. The…
IRS grants foreign entity late disregarded-entity election
A foreign eligible entity wholly owned by a domestic partnership inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 electing disregarded-entity status from its formation date. The IRS granted 120 days to file…
IRS grants late section 336(e) election
A partnership purchaser acquired all stock of an S corporation, which later liquidated, and the parties intended asset-sale treatment but missed the section 336(e) election requirements. The IRS…
IRS approves elective stock-compensation method for cost sharing
A public company participating in a cost-sharing arrangement asked to replace the default tax-deduction method for measuring stock-based compensation intangible development costs with the elective…
IRS approves revised nuclear decommissioning schedule
An electric utility with an ownership interest in a nuclear plant requested a mandatory revised schedule of ruling amounts for its qualified nuclear decommissioning fund. Two public utility…
Warehouse storage payments qualify as REIT rents
A proposed REIT group stored customer pallets in specialized warehouses and separated real-property charges from handling and other services performed by taxable REIT subsidiaries or independent…
IRS grants late section 336(e) election statement
Purchasers acquired more than 80 percent of an S corporation’s stock in a represented qualified stock disposition, but the target’s return and section 336(e) election statement were not timely…
IRS grants late trust 65-day election
A trust made a distribution within the first 65 days of a new tax year and intended to treat it as paid on the last day of the preceding year under section 663(b), but inadvertently missed the…
IRS approves public-service fellowship procedures
A private foundation proposed a fellowship for university students committed to public service. Rather than cash, selected fellows would receive lodging, counseling, and supplemental liberal-arts…
IRS approves nonprofit-board fellowship procedures
A private foundation proposed a year-long program of seminars and a retreat to train public-charity board members in governance, fiduciary duties, fundraising, meeting facilitation, leadership, and…
IRS approves multi-year facility-project set-aside
A private foundation undertaking a multi-year scientific-research facility upgrade proposed setting aside funds to secure fabrication pricing and demonstrate commitment while raising the remaining…
IRS approves regional-study scholarship and grant procedures
A private foundation proposed scholarships for qualifying students and grants for projects focused on two redacted geographic regions. Applicants would be selected using objective criteria, insiders…
IRS approves innovative-teaching award procedures
A private foundation proposed an award program for full-time teachers who submit experience-based proposals for innovative classroom methods and improved student services. An independent review…
IRS approves scholar and professional fellowship procedures
A private foundation proposed a fellowship program for promising or accomplished scholars and professionals in fields including the humanities, education, journalism, the arts, medicine, science,…
IRS denies charity status to member-benefit organization
An organization already recognized under section 501(c)(5) applied for recognition as a section 501(c)(3) charity. It provided death benefits and related assistance to the widows and orphans of…
IRS denies social-club exemption due to nonmember rental income
A fishing and conservation club applied for exemption as a social club under section 501(c)(7). It organized member fishing tournaments, but it also rented its clubhouse to members and nonmembers,…
IRS grants extra time for a consolidated-return election
A corporate parent and its affiliated group failed to timely make the election to file a consolidated federal income tax return. The parent sought regulatory relief before the IRS discovered the…
Trust modifications preserve grandfathered GST tax exemption
An irrevocable trust created before September 25, 1985, had been divided into a trust and several successor trusts. The trustees obtained court approval to modify the trusts so that property…
Continuing-trust provisions preserve GST tax exemption
An irrevocable trust created before September 25, 1985, had been divided into a trust and several successor trusts. The trustees obtained court approval to modify the trusts so that property…
Continuing trusts retain grandfathered GST tax treatment
An irrevocable trust established before September 25, 1985, had been partitioned and later divided into separate successor trusts. A court approved provisions that would hold termination…
Trust modification does not disturb GST tax exemption
An irrevocable trust established before September 25, 1985, had been partitioned and later divided into separate successor trusts. A court approved a modification under which distributions for…
Continuing-trust modification preserves GST exemption
An irrevocable trust created before September 25, 1985, was partitioned and later divided into separate successor trusts. The trustees obtained court approval to hold termination distributions for…
IRS approves educational exam-voucher grant procedures
A private foundation proposed an educational grant program that would issue exam vouchers and reimburse testing-center costs for learners who completed course content and met a stated score…
IRS approves a five-year scientific grant set-aside
A private foundation proposed setting aside funds for grants to organizations conducting research expected to advance chemistry and life sciences. The grants would support the purchase and operation…
IRS approves scholarship and education-support grants
A private foundation proposed two grant programs for students and recent graduates. One would fund postsecondary tuition, related expenses, and room and board, while the other would cover…
IRS approves community and employee-child scholarships
A private foundation proposed one scholarship program for graduating seniors in a local area and another for children of a company's full-time employees. Both programs would use academic…
Business networking group denied business-league exemption
A business networking organization limited membership generally to one representative from each business classification. Members held weekly meetings, delivered self-promotional presentations, and…
S corporation split-up qualifies for tax-free reorganization treatment
A closely held S corporation proposed forming five controlled S corporations, transferring portions of its assets to them, and distributing each subsidiary's stock to designated shareholder groups…
IRS applies utility normalization rules to surcharge rate base and NOL carryforwards
A regulated water and wastewater utility asked how federal tax normalization rules applied when an infrastructure surcharge rate case used accumulated deferred income tax (ADIT) to reduce rate base…
IRS grants S corporation relief for partnership terms and IRA ownership
A limited liability company intended to be taxed as an S corporation, but its operating agreement contained partnership-style allocation and liquidation provisions that created a second class of…
IRS approves entrepreneurial student fellowship procedures
A private foundation proposed a one-year fellowship for full-time undergraduate and graduate students pursuing independent entrepreneurial projects. Projects could involve nonprofit or for-profit…
IRS approves renewable scholarships for low-income students
A private foundation proposed scholarships for low-income college students who lived in a specified local area. Awards could cover tuition, books, supplies, and room and board, and applicants had to…
IRS approves set-aside for historic university building restoration
A private foundation proposed setting aside funds for the rehabilitation and repair of an uninhabitable historic building that a public university planned to use. The grant would cover about…
IRS approves college scholarships for music-program students
A private foundation proposed college scholarships for high-need students who had participated for at least three years in nonprofit music education programs supported by the foundation. Students…
Fundraising website denied charitable exemption for insufficient operational detail
An organization applied for section 501(c)(3) status to operate a no-fee website supporting community fundraising campaigns. It planned to absorb payment-processing costs, publicize campaigns…
Exclusive-category networking group denied business-league exemption
A membership organization held weekly breakfast meetings where members discussed and promoted their businesses, along with outings and social events. Membership was generally limited to one…
IRS revokes mistaken charitable exemption for defective organizing documents
An organization had previously been treated as a section 501(c)(4) social welfare organization, but after that status was revoked, a secretary mistakenly filed Form 1023-EZ seeking section 501(c)(3)…
Business referral chapter denied social-welfare exemption
A business networking chapter sought exemption as a section 501(c)(4) social welfare organization. Members met weekly to deliver short business presentations, learn referral techniques, and help one…
Partnership basis and at-risk limits also restrict self-employment losses
Chief Counsel considered whether general partners could use partnership losses to reduce net earnings from self-employment when those losses were disallowed for income tax purposes. The memorandum…
Two-year extension preserves bankruptcy liquidating-trust status
A trust created under a Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan held and pursued litigation claims for the benefit of creditors and distributed liquidation proceeds. Its original five-year term had already been…
Late ESBT election receives inadvertent S corporation termination relief
A trust owning stock in an S corporation ceased to be a grantor trust and qualified to become an electing small business trust, but its trustee did not timely file the ESBT election. That omission…
Nuclear decommissioning fund transfer keeps qualified status
A corporate owner proposed transferring a nuclear power plant, its assets, and its decommissioning liabilities to an affiliated corporation, including both qualified and nonqualified decommissioning…
Plant transfer preserves qualified nuclear decommissioning fund
A corporate owner proposed transferring a nuclear power plant, related assets, and decommissioning obligations to an affiliated corporation. The transferred assets included a qualified nuclear…
Transfer of two nuclear plants preserves qualified decommissioning funds
A corporate owner proposed transferring two nuclear power plants, including one that had permanently ceased operations, to an affiliated corporation. The transaction included each plant's qualified…
Qualified funds survive affiliate transfer of two nuclear plants
A corporate owner proposed transferring two nuclear plants and their associated assets and liabilities to an affiliated corporation. One plant had permanently stopped operating, and each plant had…
Affiliate plant transfer retains qualified nuclear fund treatment
A corporation proposed transferring a nuclear power plant, related assets, and decommissioning obligations to an affiliated corporation. The transferred property included a qualified nuclear…
Nuclear plant and qualified fund transfer receives nonrecognition treatment
A corporation proposed transferring a nuclear power plant, its decommissioning funds, and related liabilities to an affiliated corporation. The IRS ruled that the qualified nuclear decommissioning…
New owner may restore S election before five-year waiting period ends
A corporation's sole shareholder had revoked its S election. A new shareholder later bought stock, and the corporation redeemed all of the former owner's remaining shares, leaving the buyer as sole…
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.