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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Church integrated auxiliary is not required to file Form 990
A tax-exempt organization asked the IRS to be excused from filing Form 990, the annual information return most exempt organizations must file. The IRS determined that the organization qualifies as an …
Advance approval of a private foundation's civil-engineering scholarship procedures
A private foundation asked the IRS to pre-approve how it selects scholarship winners. This step matters because IRC Section 4945 hits a private foundation with an excise tax on "taxable expenditures,"…
Advance approval of a private foundation's fellowship-residency grant procedures
A private foundation asked the IRS to pre-approve how it runs an educational grant program under IRC Section 4945(g)(3). Under Section 4945, a private foundation's grants to individuals for study or s…
Advance approval of a need-and-merit scholarship program's procedures
A private foundation asked the IRS to pre-approve how it selects scholarship winners under IRC Section 4945(g)(1). This matters because a private foundation's grants to individuals for study are "taxa…
Advance approval of grant procedures for an emerging-sports-photographers program
A private foundation asked the IRS to pre-approve how it awards grants to emerging sports photographers under IRC Section 4945(g)(3). Under Section 4945, a foundation's grants to individuals for study…
Advance approval of a heritage-based scholarship program's procedures
A private foundation asked the IRS to pre-approve how it selects scholarship winners under IRC Section 4945(g)(1). Under Section 4945, a foundation's grants to individuals for study are "taxable expen…
501(c)(7) social-club exemption denied over public bingo income and missing member/non-member records
A membership social club, built around an annual parade and member socials, applied to be recognized as a tax-exempt social club under IRC Section 501(c)(7). The IRS denied the exemption. A 501(c)(7) …
501(c)(3) exemption denied to government-formed entity operating as a commercial bank
A government-created "semi-autonomous agency" that operates as a lending bank applied to be recognized as a charity under IRC Section 501(c)(3). The IRS denied it on both required tests. On the organi…
501(c)(3) exemption denied to a fee-based business-development consulting operation
An organization that provides business leadership, consulting, and technical assistance, initially focused on agribusiness development for entities abroad, applied to be recognized as a charity under …
A limited partner's conditional deficit-restoration obligation is not a payment obligation under § 1.752-2(b)
The IRS Office of Chief Counsel advised on how partnership debt is allocated among partners. When a partner "bears the economic risk of loss" for a partnership liability, that debt is treated as recou…
120-day relief to file a late S corporation election under § 1362(b)(5)
A corporation intended to be taxed as an S corporation starting the day it was formed, but it inadvertently missed the deadline to file Form 2553, the S corporation election form. It asked the IRS for…
9100 relief to make a late Qualified Opportunity Fund self-certification (Form 8996)
An LLC taxed as a partnership was set up to be a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF), a vehicle for investing capital gains in opportunity zones under IRC Section 1400Z-2. To be a QOF, it has to self-cer…
9100 relief to make a late check-the-box election for a foreign entity to be a partnership
A foreign business entity wanted to be treated as a partnership for U.S. federal tax purposes. To choose that classification, an eligible entity files a "check-the-box" election on Form 8832 under Tre…
Extension of time to allocate GST exemption to trust transfers under § 2642(g)
A grantor set up three irrevocable trusts for children and later descendants and made gifts to them over three years. Allocating "GST exemption" to such gifts keeps the trusts' generation-skipping tra…
IRS grants a corporate group extra time to make a late election to file a consolidated return
A parent corporation heading an affiliated group of companies wanted all of them to file a single consolidated federal income tax return, with the parent as the common parent, for a particular tax yea…
IRS grants extra time to make a late § 336(e) election treating a stock sale as an asset sale
An individual buyer purchased all the stock of an S corporation from its shareholder. The buyer and seller wanted the deal treated for tax purposes as if the company had sold its assets rather than it…
IRS grants a REIT extra time to make a late taxable-REIT-subsidiary election
A real estate investment trust (REIT) that invests in senior living facilities set up a wholly owned subsidiary to hold a newly acquired facility. It meant to elect, jointly with the subsidiary, to tr…
IRS grants an LLC extra time to elect disregarded-entity status after ending its S-corp election
A single-owner limited liability company had elected to be taxed as an S corporation, then later revoked that S-corp election. It intended, as of the revocation date, to be treated as a "disregarded e…
IRS pre-approves a science foundation's individual travel-grant procedures under § 4945(g)(3)
A private foundation that supports researchers in the earth and planetary sciences asked the IRS to pre-approve the procedures it uses to award travel grants to individual scientists. Under IRC § 4945…
IRS confirms a church integrated auxiliary need not file Form 990
An organization that qualifies as an "integrated auxiliary of a church" asked the IRS to excuse it from filing the annual Form 990 (the information return most tax-exempt organizations must file). Tre…
IRS excuses a church-affiliated school from Form 990, but requires annual Form 5578
A church-affiliated school below college level asked the IRS to excuse it from filing the annual Form 990. Treasury Regulation § 1.6033-2(g)(1)(vii) relieves an educational organization described in I…
IRS confirms a church integrated auxiliary need not file Form 990
An organization that qualifies as an "integrated auxiliary of a church" asked the IRS to excuse it from filing the annual Form 990 information return. Treasury Regulation § 1.6033-2(g)(1)(i) relieves …
IRS pre-approves a foundation's scholarship-award procedures under § 4945(g)(1)
A private foundation asked the IRS to pre-approve the procedures for its scholarship program before making any awards. Under IRC § 4945, scholarship grants a private foundation makes to individuals ar…
IRS confirms a church integrated auxiliary need not file Form 990
An organization that qualifies as an "integrated auxiliary of a church" asked the IRS to excuse it from filing the annual Form 990 information return. Treasury Regulation § 1.6033-2(g)(1)(i) relieves …
IRS approves a foundation's five-year set-aside to acquire art under § 4942(g)(2)
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve a "set-aside" of funds under IRC § 4942(g)(2). Private foundations must pay out a minimum amount each year, and those payouts are called qualifying distri…
IRS denies § 501(c)(4) social-welfare exemption to a condominium homeowners' association
A condominium homeowners' association applied to be recognized as a tax-exempt social welfare organization under IRC § 501(c)(4). This is the IRS's final adverse determination: because the association…
IRS denies § 501(c)(5) agricultural exemption to a livestock-breed sales association
A regional livestock-breed association applied for tax-exempt status as an agricultural organization under IRC § 501(c)(5). This is the IRS's final adverse determination, made final because the group …
IRS denies § 501(c)(6) business-league exemption to a member-referral networking group
A member-referral networking group organized as an LLC applied for tax-exempt status as a business league under IRC § 501(c)(6). This is the IRS's final adverse determination, made final when the grou…
IRS denies § 501(c)(3) exemption to a single-member LLC ministry for failing the organizational and operational tests
A single-member LLC describing itself as a ministry, church, and school applied for recognition as a tax-exempt charity under IRC § 501(c)(3). This is the IRS's final adverse determination, made final…
IRS denies § 501(c)(4) social-welfare exemption to a members-only mutual-aid society
A mutual-aid society made up of compatriots from one country applied to be recognized as a tax-exempt social welfare organization under IRC § 501(c)(4). This is the IRS's final adverse determination: …
IRS grants § 1362(f) relief for an inadvertently invalid QSub election
A company (X) owns a subsidiary (Sub) that it wanted to treat as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary, or QSub, which is a wholly owned S corporation subsidiary that is ignored as a separate entity for…
IRS grants § 9100 extension to make a late REIT election under § 856(c)
A corporation formed to operate as a real estate investment trust (REIT) intended to elect REIT status on its first tax return, but the return was never signed and filed on time. The CEO, who was prin…
IRS grants § 9100 extension to file late check-the-box elections for three foreign entities
Three foreign business entities (X, Y, and Z) each wanted to be treated as a disregarded entity for U.S. federal tax purposes, meaning ignored as separate from its owner, which is done by filing Form …
IRS grants § 9100 extension to make late QTIP and reverse-QTIP elections on an estate return
When a married settlor died, the family trust directed that property for which the trustee made a QTIP election would go into a marital share, itself split into a generation-skipping-transfer (GST) ta…
IRS grants § 1362(b)(5) relief for a late S corporation election
A limited liability company wanted to be taxed as an S corporation. It filed Form 8832 on time to be classified as an association taxable as a corporation, but missed the deadline to file Form 2553, w…
IRS grants § 1362(f) relief for an inadvertent S corporation termination caused by a second class of stock
An LLC taxed as an S corporation adopted an operating agreement that accidentally created a second class of stock, which S corporations are not allowed to have. The agreement tied members' liquidation…
IRS rules a leveraged corporate spin-off qualifies as tax-free under §§ 355 and 368
A publicly traded parent company (Distributing) asked the IRS to bless the tax treatment of a plan to separate one of its businesses (the SpinCo Business) into a new public company (Controlled 1). The…
IRS grants § 9100 extension for late QSub elections and § 1362(f) relief for a defective one
An S corporation (X) owns four subsidiaries it wanted to treat as qualified subchapter S subsidiaries (QSubs), which are wholly owned subsidiaries ignored as separate entities and folded into the pare…
IRS grants § 9100 extension for six late QSub elections and § 1362(f) relief for four defective ones
An S corporation (X) owns ten subsidiaries it wanted to treat as qualified subchapter S subsidiaries (QSubs), which are wholly owned subsidiaries ignored as separate entities and folded into the paren…
IRS grants § 9100 extension to file a late check-the-box election for a foreign entity
A foreign business entity wanted to be treated as a disregarded entity for U.S. federal tax purposes, meaning ignored as separate from its owner, which is done by filing Form 8832, the check-the-box e…
IRS grants § 9100 extension to file a late check-the-box election for a foreign entity
A foreign business entity wanted to be treated as a disregarded entity for U.S. federal tax purposes, meaning ignored as separate from its owner, which is done by filing Form 8832, the check-the-box e…
IRS lets a private foundation recompute § 4942 distribution carryovers from a below-market charitable lease, reaching a closed year
A private foundation bought rural land and leased it to a public charity (X) for a nominal rent, giving X the right to buy the land at a deep discount. That kind of below-market charitable lease shoul…
IRS grants § 9100 extension to make a late portability (DSUE) election
When one spouse dies, the estate can elect "portability," which lets the surviving spouse use the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion (the deceased spousal unused exclusion, or DSUE…
IRS confirms a church-affiliated mission society need not file Form 990
Most tax-exempt organizations must file a yearly information return (Form 990) with the IRS. A group asked to be excused from that requirement because it is a mission society. This letter is the IRS's…
IRS approves a foundation's scholarship procedures under § 4945(g)(1)
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve, in advance, the way it selects and awards scholarships. Private foundations normally owe an excise tax under IRC § 4945 on grants to individuals for stud…
IRS confirms a governmental-unit affiliate need not file Form 990
Tax-exempt organizations generally must file a yearly Form 990 information return, but the IRS has discretion to excuse some of them. A group asked to be relieved from that filing duty. This letter is…
IRS approves an expanded foundation scholarship program under § 4945(g)(1)
A private foundation that already had IRS approval for a scholarship program wanted to expand who can apply and to change how the program is run. Because private foundations owe an excise tax under IR…
IRS approves a foundation's STEM educational-grant procedures under § 4945(g)(3)
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve, in advance, how it awards educational grants tied to a STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) program. Private foundations owe an excis…
IRS confirms a governmental-unit affiliate need not file Form 990
Tax-exempt organizations generally must file a yearly Form 990 information return, but the IRS can excuse some of them. A group asked to be relieved from that duty. This letter is the IRS's favorable …
IRS confirms a church-affiliated school need not file Form 990, but must still certify nondiscrimination
A below-college-level school affiliated with a church asked to be excused from filing the yearly Form 990 information return. This letter is the IRS's favorable determination. Under Treasury Regulatio…
IRS approves a foundation's scholarship procedures under § 4945(g)(1)
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve, in advance, how it selects and awards scholarships. Private foundations owe an excise tax under IRC § 4945 on grants to individuals for study unless the …
IRS approves a foundation's multi-year fellowship for bereaved students under § 4945(g)(1)
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve, in advance, how it awards a multi-year college fellowship. Private foundations owe an excise tax under IRC § 4945 on grants to individuals for study unle…
IRS confirms a governmental-unit affiliate need not file Form 990
Tax-exempt organizations generally must file a yearly Form 990 information return, but the IRS can excuse some of them. A group asked to be relieved from that duty. This letter is the IRS's favorable …
IRS denies § 501(c)(3) exemption to an office healthy-snack sale
A group applied (using the short Form 1023-EZ) to be recognized as a tax-exempt charity under IRC § 501(c)(3). Its only activity was running a healthy-snack stand in an office, selling snacks to co-wo…
§ 9100 extension to make a late election out of tax-exempt controlled entity status under § 168(h)(6)(F)(ii)
Depreciation on property used by a tax-exempt entity is slowed down: it must use the alternative depreciation system rather than the faster normal rules. A corporation that is at least half-owned by t…
§ 9100 extension to make a late § 754 election to adjust partnership basis
A partnership can elect under IRC § 754 to adjust the tax basis of its assets when a partner's interest changes hands or when property is distributed, so the inside basis better matches what the partn…
§ 9100 extension to make a late Qualified Opportunity Fund self-certification under § 1400Z-2
A Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF) is an investment vehicle that gets capital-gains tax breaks for investing in designated low-income Opportunity Zones under IRC § 1400Z-2. To be a QOF, an entity has …
§ 9100 extension to make a late Qualified Opportunity Fund self-certification under § 1400Z-2
A Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF) gets capital-gains tax breaks for investing in designated low-income Opportunity Zones under IRC § 1400Z-2. To be a QOF, an entity must self-certify each year by att…
§ 9100 extension to make a late check-the-box election to be taxed as a corporation
Under the "check-the-box" rules, a limited liability company can choose how it is taxed by filing Form 8832. By default a multi-member LLC is treated as a partnership, but it can elect to be treated i…
IRS approves a foundation's school-district scholarship and teacher-grant procedures under § 4945(g)(1)
A private foundation asked the IRS to approve, in advance, how it selects and awards two education programs tied to one school district. Private foundations normally owe an excise tax under IRC § 4945…
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.