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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City reimbursements qualify for a REIT's 95 percent income test
A real estate investment trust indirectly owned a mixed-use project and acquired rights under an economic development agreement to receive city reimbursements for public improvements. The…
IRS approves a private foundation's training-center set-aside
A private foundation that helps economically disadvantaged youth planned to build a training center while continuing its scholarship program. The project required land acquisition, construction,…
IRS approves a private foundation's scholarship procedures
A private operating foundation proposed one-time scholarships for undergraduate and graduate students who belonged to the organization. It publicized the program, excluded insiders and prior…
IRS approves a scientific-research grant set-aside
A private foundation sought to set aside funds for a new scientific research grant program focused on cancer, aging, and regeneration. The program required time to publicize the opportunity,…
IRS approves need-based scholarship procedures
A private foundation proposed scholarships for students attending primary, secondary, undergraduate, and graduate schools. It would publicize the program locally and select recipients based on…
IRS revokes exemption for failing the organizational and operational tests
An organization received section 501(c)(3) recognition through Form 1023-EZ, but an IRS examination later reviewed its governing documents and activities. The IRS found that the articles described…
Farmers' market denied agricultural organization exemption
An association of farmers and gardeners applied for exemption as an agricultural organization under section 501(c)(5). It operated a year-round farmers' market, charged vendors for space, assigned…
Restaurant denied section 501(c)(3) exemption for commercial operations
An organization sought retroactive reinstatement of section 501(c)(3) status after an earlier exemption was revoked for failing to file required returns. Its articles contemplated international…
Charity's support for an affiliated PAC would violate campaign and private-benefit rules
A section 501(c)(3) healthcare organization proposed to let its taxable subsidiary establish a political action committee. The charity would provide employees, facilities, administrative services,…
Payments to acquire vehicle and equipment leases must be capitalized
A financial business purchased automobile leases from dealers and equipment leases from manufacturers or vendors. It paid dealers an excess-markup premium tied to a lease's expected profit and paid…
Environmental remediation tax credits count as qualifying REIT income
A real estate investment trust indirectly owned a partnership developing a mixed-use project on a contaminated site in an economically distressed area. A state program awarded transferable tax…
Environmental remediation tax credits count as qualifying REIT income
A real estate investment trust indirectly owned a partnership developing a mixed-use project on a contaminated site in an economically distressed area. A state program awarded transferable tax…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late QTIP election
A decedent left the residuary estate in a trust that paid all net income to the surviving spouse at least quarterly for life, with the remainder later held for descendants. The estate timely filed…
S corporation receives 120 days to file a late QSub election
An S corporation intended to elect qualified subchapter S subsidiary treatment for a wholly owned subsidiary but failed to file Form 8869 on time. It reported all relevant tax years consistently…
Partnership receives 120 days to make a late section 754 election
A partnership distributed property to a retiring partner and intended to elect under section 754 to adjust partnership property basis, but it inadvertently omitted the election from its timely…
Parties receive 45 days to file a late section 336(e) election statement
Purchasers acquired all stock of an S corporation from its shareholders, and the parties had timely signed a binding agreement to make a section 336(e) election that would treat the stock sale as an…
Late QSST election does not end corporation's S status
Shares of an S corporation were transferred to a trust eligible to be a qualified subchapter S trust, but the beneficiary inadvertently failed to make the required QSST election on time. That…
Currency gain from passive investment entities is qualifying partnership income
A limited partnership invested in corporate portfolio companies, often through partnership or disregarded holding companies that served only as passive conduits. Some holding companies used a…
Consolidated group receives 60 days to correct its Form 3115 filing
A corporate group intended to use the automatic-consent procedures to change its accounting method for certain prepaid expenses to the 12-month rule. Its tax adviser attached Form 3115 to the timely…
Foreign entity receives 120 days to make a late disregarded-entity election
A foreign eligible entity failed to file Form 8832 on time to elect disregarded-entity status from its intended effective date. The IRS found that the entity satisfied the standards for…
Foreign entity receives 120 days to make a late disregarded-entity election
A foreign eligible entity failed to file Form 8832 on time to elect disregarded-entity status from its formation date. The IRS found that the entity satisfied the standards for regulatory-election…
Foreign entity receives 120 days to make a late partnership election
A foreign eligible entity failed to file Form 8832 on time to elect partnership status from its formation date. The IRS found that the entity satisfied the standards for regulatory-election relief…
Foreign entity receives 120 days to make a late disregarded-entity election
A foreign eligible entity failed to file Form 8832 on time to elect disregarded-entity status from its formation date. The IRS found that the entity satisfied the standards for regulatory-election…
Foreign entity receives 120 days to make a late disregarded-entity election
A foreign eligible entity failed to file Form 8832 on time to elect disregarded-entity status from its formation date. The IRS found that the entity satisfied the standards for regulatory-election…
Passive-income termination of S status was inadvertent
An S corporation had accumulated C corporation earnings and profits and, for three consecutive years, received passive investment income exceeding 25 percent of gross receipts. Those facts…
Estate receives 120 days to allocate unused GST exemption
A married couple created a revocable trust that later divided into separate trusts, and the trust became irrevocable at the surviving spouse's death. The estate timely filed Form 706 but failed to…
Missing ESBT election does not invalidate corporation's S status
A trust held stock when a corporation's S election was supposed to take effect, but the trustee had not elected electing small business trust treatment. The trust therefore was not an eligible S…
Estate receives 120 days to elect portability of unused exclusion
A decedent's estate was below the estate tax filing threshold, and the surviving spouse inherited the estate through the marital deduction. The spouse hired an experienced accountant to advise on…
Two pension plans may use substitute mortality tables for annuitants
A taxpayer asked to use plan-specific substitute mortality tables for the combined male and female annuitants of two defined benefit pension plans, excluding disabled participants. The IRS found…
Foundation's first-generation scholarship procedures approved
A private foundation proposed renewable scholarships for financially needy students who would be among the first in their immediate families to pursue post-secondary education. Applicants also had…
Foundation's international scholarships and professional grants approved
A private foundation proposed two programs for adults in the United States and abroad, with preferences tied to a specified state, counties, and national descent. Its scholarship program would…
Foundation's four-year college scholarship procedures approved
A private foundation proposed scholarships for graduating high school seniors from two states who planned to attend accredited four-year colleges or universities in one of three states. Applicants…
Employer-related scholarships for employees' children approved
A private foundation proposed renewable scholarships for dependent children of full-time employees of a beer distributor. Eligible students had to meet age and parental-service requirements, pursue…
Foundation's unconventional workshop grant procedures approved
A private foundation proposed educational grants enabling recipients to attend short, unconventional workshops offered by third parties. The workshops would develop professional, literary, musical,…
Foundation's scholarships and tobacco-research grants approved
A private foundation proposed both academic scholarships and grants for independent research on smoking cessation, tobacco harm reduction, and alternatives for tobacco farmers. Scholarship…
Fine-dining club denied section 501(c)(3) exemption
A membership organization applied for section 501(c)(3) status while planning quarterly fine-dining events for members interested in food and wine. Its articles did not limit its purposes to exempt…
Exemption revoked after disability-services organization became inactive
A nonprofit had been recognized under section 501(c)(3) to diagnose developmental disabilities and help affected people locate services. After government funding ended, its Forms 990 reported that…
Hospital exemption revoked after all assets were sold
A hospital had been recognized under section 501(c)(3) and was exempt from filing annual Forms 990 because it was affiliated with a government agency. It later sold all of its assets, stopped…
Facility-leasing organization denied charitable status
An organization bought and renovated a former church building, then leased it to religious and educational tenants and made it available for weddings, meetings, concerts, and other events. Almost…
Sliding-scale auto repair shop denied charitable status
An organization planned to operate an auto repair shop for the general public, using a sliding fee scale tied to household income. Some customers would pay normal market rates, the organization…
Target acquisition fees remained capitalized after the parent sold the target
A parent corporation acquired a target in a taxable stock transaction, and the target capitalized professional and administrative fees that facilitated the acquisition. The IRS advised that those…
Form 1099-B required for cash settlement but not physical delivery
A dealer entered into forward contracts under which customers paid for the right to receive property later. A customer could take delivery of the property originally set aside, take delivery of…
Tax-exempt controlled entity received 45 days to make late election
A corporation wholly owned by a section 501(c)(3) organization intended to elect under section 168(h)(6)(F)(ii) not to be treated as a tax-exempt controlled entity. Its tax preparer filed the…
Foreign entity received 120 days to file late disregarded-entity election
A foreign eligible entity intended to be treated as disregarded from its formation date but did not timely file Form 8832. It represented that the omission occurred despite reasonable, good-faith…
Foreign entity received 120 days to file late disregarded-entity election
A foreign eligible entity intended to be treated as disregarded from its formation date but did not timely file Form 8832. It represented that the omission occurred despite reasonable, good-faith…
Foreign entity received 120 days to file late disregarded-entity election
A foreign eligible entity intended to be treated as disregarded from its formation date but did not timely file Form 8832. It represented that the omission occurred despite reasonable, good-faith…
S corporation received relief for omitted QSST elections
An S corporation’s stock passed through several trusts after a shareholder died. Eight trusts were intended to qualify as qualified subchapter S trusts, but the required QSST elections were not…
S corporation received relief for omitted QSST elections
An S corporation’s stock passed through several trusts after a shareholder died. Eight trusts were intended to qualify as qualified subchapter S trusts, but the required QSST elections were not…
S corporation received relief for two omitted QSST elections
An S corporation shareholder’s stock passed through an administrative trust and then to two successor trusts after the shareholder died. The successor trusts were intended to qualify as qualified…
Corporation received 120 days to file late S election
A corporation intended to be treated as an S corporation from a specified date but did not timely file the election. It established reasonable cause for the late filing under section 1362(b)(5). The…
Police association denied fraternal-beneficiary exemption
A police association sought section 501(c)(8) status after its prior section 501(c)(4) status was automatically revoked for failing to file Form 990 for three consecutive years. It held meetings,…
Exemption revoked after organization failed to provide records
An exempt organization told the IRS that it had terminated. The IRS requested descriptions of its activities, financial statements, minutes, publications, a final return, a formal statement about…
Exemption revoked after organization failed to provide audit records
The IRS audited an organization that had received section 501(c)(3) status through Form 1023-EZ. The organization had not filed a Form 990-series return for the audited year and did not provide the…
Proving some kickbacks can support disallowance of related deductions
A taxpayer deducted meal, entertainment, and advertising payments that the IRS believed included illegal kickbacks. Sections 162(c)(1) and 162(c)(2) place the burden on the IRS to prove a payment is…
Bankruptcy trust remains a liquidating trust during another extension
A trust was created under a Chapter 11 liquidation plan to sell assets and distribute the proceeds to beneficiaries. Its agreement prohibited operating a trade or business, limited retained cash,…
Parties receive more time to file a section 336(e) election statement
A purchaser acquired all the stock of an S corporation target through a disregarded entity. The seller and target had a timely written agreement to make a section 336(e) election, but the target's…
S corporation receives relief after shareholder eligibility failures
An S corporation was owned in part through a disregarded limited liability company whose interests were held by individuals and grantor trusts. When one owner died, two trusts ceased being grantor…
Leadership-development grant procedures approved
A private foundation proposed educational grants for activists, community leaders, charity workers, students, scholars, and others working toward charitable social change. Grants could fund…
Employer-related scholarship procedures approved
A private foundation proposed scholarships for children of employees of five public-service and other employers. Recipients would be selected on merit through applications, references, and…
Art study-abroad grant procedures approved
A private foundation proposed one-time grants for undergraduate and graduate art students participating in a university study-abroad program. The grants would cover program fees, group travel,…
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.