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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Initial partnership return with all zeros likely invalid under the Beard test
The Office of Chief Counsel advised that an initial partnership return showing ownership information but containing all zeros would most likely be invalid under the Beard test. The advice focused on…
Mitigation may address a double allowance of research and work opportunity credits
The Office of Chief Counsel analyzed whether the mitigation provisions of IRC Sections 1311 through 1314 could address a taxpayer's potential double benefit from research and work opportunity…
Unexplained cash reduction should be included in aggregate foreign cash position
The Office of Chief Counsel analyzed the aggregate foreign cash position of a U.S. corporation with a specified foreign corporation subsidiary for purposes of the Section 965 transition tax. Chief…
Late Opportunity Zone deferral election treated as timely
An individual invested gain from the sale of an interest in a qualified opportunity fund but did not timely file Form 8949 to elect to defer the gain. The taxpayer was unaware that Form 8949 was…
Fund receives 60 days to make late QOF self-certification
A partnership formed to invest in qualified opportunity zone property intended to self-certify as a qualified opportunity fund, or QOF. Its accounting firm failed to attach Form 8996 to the…
IRS grants extra time to allocate GST exemption to a trust transfer
A donor made two transfers to an irrevocable trust with generation-skipping transfer tax potential. The donor's attorney told the accounting firm that the donor intended to allocate enough GST…
IRS grants extra time for opportunity fund self-certification
A partnership intended to operate as a qualified opportunity fund and invested in a company it represented was a qualified opportunity zone business. The accounting firm expected to prepare the…
IRS grants relief for a late real-property debt exclusion election
A taxpayer held an interest in a real-estate partnership through a trust but apparently did not receive the partnership's Schedule K-1 for the relevant year. The taxpayer therefore did not report…
IRS grants relief for GST allocations to three family trusts
A grantor created three irrevocable trusts for children and later descendants, and the spouses elected to split the gifts made to the trusts. Their first attorney did not advise them about the…
Extension lets a fund self-certify late as a Qualified Opportunity Fund
A limited liability company (taxed as a partnership) was formed to invest in an Opportunity Zone and intended to be a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF), a vehicle that lets investors defer and reduce…
Extension lets a fund self-certify late as a Qualified Opportunity Fund
A limited liability company (taxed as a partnership) was formed to invest in an Opportunity Zone and intended to be a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF), a vehicle that lets investors defer and reduce…
Extension lets a fund self-certify late as a Qualified Opportunity Fund
A limited liability company (taxed as a partnership) was formed to invest in an Opportunity Zone and intended to be a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF), a vehicle that lets investors defer and reduce…
Extension lets a fund self-certify late as a Qualified Opportunity Fund
A limited liability company (taxed as a partnership) was formed to invest in an Opportunity Zone and intended to be a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF), a vehicle that lets investors defer and reduce…
30-day extension for a foreign seller to apply for FIRPTA withholding certificates
When a foreign person sells a "US real property interest" (which includes shares of a US real property holding corporation), the FIRPTA rules in § 1445 generally require the buyer to withhold 15% of…
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…
§ 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…
§ 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…
Consent to aggregate nonoperating mineral (royalty) interests as single properties
A U.S. corporation that owns mineral, oil, and gas royalties (but does not drill or operate anything) asked the IRS for permission to combine many separate royalty interests into two larger…
9100 extension for a consolidated group to file Opportunity Zone election statements (§ 1.1502-14Z)
A corporate consolidated group missed a filing deadline for Opportunity Zone elections and asked the IRS for more time. Under section 1400Z-2, a taxpayer can defer capital gain by reinvesting it in…
9100 relief to self-certify as a Qualified Opportunity Fund via a late Form 8996 (§ 1400Z-2)
A newly formed LLC (taxed as a partnership) that intended to be a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF) missed the deadline to self-certify as one. To become a QOF under section 1400Z-2(d), an entity…
9100 relief for a late self-certification as a Qualified Opportunity Fund
A fund was set up to be a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF), the kind of vehicle that lets investors defer capital-gains tax by investing in low-income "opportunity zones." To become a QOF, the…
60-day extension to file a late Form 8996 self-certifying as a Qualified Opportunity Fund
A company set up to be a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF), the investment vehicle that lets investors defer and reduce tax on capital gains put into economically distressed Opportunity Zones, missed…
60-day extension to file a late Form 8996 self-certifying as a Qualified Opportunity Fund
A company formed to be a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF), the vehicle that lets investors defer and reduce capital-gains tax by investing in distressed Opportunity Zones, missed the deadline to…
An LLC that never filed Form 8996 is allowed to self-certify late as a Qualified Opportunity Fund after its manager died
A Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF) is an investment vehicle that lets investors defer and reduce tax on capital gains if they put the money into designated low-income "opportunity zones." To become…
Late Form 8996 accepted, letting an LLC self-certify as a Qualified Opportunity Fund
Two investors deferred capital gains by putting the money into an LLC they intended to run as a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF), the vehicle that lets taxpayers defer and reduce tax on gains…
Late Form 8996 accepted, letting an LLC self-certify as a Qualified Opportunity Fund
Two investors deferred capital gains by putting the money into an LLC they intended to run as a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF), the vehicle that lets taxpayers defer and reduce tax on gains…
A rural telephone cooperative's gain from selling a subsidiary's partnership interest, to the extent tied to patrons' network use, is patronage-sourced income
A cooperative operates at cost for its members (patrons), returning its margins to them as patronage dividends, and those patronage-sourced amounts can be excluded from the cooperative's taxable…
A rural telephone cooperative's gain from selling a subsidiary's partnership interest, to the extent tied to patrons' network use, is patronage-sourced income
A cooperative operates at cost for its members (patrons), returning its margins to them as patronage dividends, and those patronage-sourced amounts can be excluded from the cooperative's taxable…
9100-3 relief, 60 days to file a late Form 8996 to self-certify as a Qualified Opportunity Fund
A Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF) is an investment vehicle that gets special tax benefits for putting money into designated low-income "opportunity zones." To become a QOF, an entity must…
Late Form 8996 accepted, allowing an LLC to self-certify as a qualified opportunity fund
A qualified opportunity fund (QOF) is an investment vehicle under § 1400Z-2 that lets investors defer capital gains by putting them into designated low-income "opportunity zones." To be a QOF, an…
Late Form 8996 accepted, allowing an LLC to self-certify as a qualified opportunity fund
A qualified opportunity fund (QOF) is an investment vehicle under § 1400Z-2 that lets investors defer capital gains by reinvesting them in designated low-income "opportunity zones." An entity…
Late Form 8996 accepted, allowing an LLC to self-certify as a qualified opportunity fund
A qualified opportunity fund (QOF) is an investment vehicle under § 1400Z-2 that lets investors defer capital gains by reinvesting them in designated low-income "opportunity zones." An entity…
Late Form 8996 accepted, allowing an LLC to self-certify as a qualified opportunity fund
A qualified opportunity fund (QOF) is an investment vehicle under § 1400Z-2 that lets investors defer capital gains by reinvesting them in designated low-income "opportunity zones." An entity…
Relief accepting a late Form 8996 to self-certify as a qualified opportunity fund
A qualified opportunity fund (QOF) is an investment vehicle that lets investors defer and reduce tax on capital gains they roll into designated low-income "opportunity zones" under § 1400Z-2. To be…
Late-filed Form 8996 treated as timely so an LLC can self-certify as a qualified opportunity fund
A qualified opportunity fund (QOF) is an investment vehicle that gets tax breaks for putting money into designated low-income "opportunity zones." To become one, an entity must self-certify each…
60-day extension for a qualified opportunity fund to file its late Form 8996 election
A limited liability company formed to invest in qualified opportunity zone property intended to be treated as a qualified opportunity fund. It had no income or expenses during its first tax year and…
60-day extension to file a late Form 8996 self-certifying as a Qualified Opportunity Fund
A Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF) lets investors defer capital gains by putting them into businesses in designated low-income areas, but the fund must certify itself each year by filing Form 8996…
IRS grants a late Qualified Opportunity Fund self-certification after an accountant's engagement omission caused a missed Form 8996
A company was set up specifically to be a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF), a vehicle that invests in economically distressed "opportunity zones" and lets investors defer and reduce capital gains…
9100 relief lets an LLC self-certify late as a qualified opportunity fund (1400Z-2)
An LLC taxed as a partnership was set up to be a qualified opportunity fund (QOF), a vehicle that lets investors defer and reduce capital-gains tax by investing in designated low-income "opportunity…
9100 extension to apply late for FIRPTA withholding certificates on U.S. real property sales (1445)
A U.S. corporation bought interests in three limited liability companies from foreign sellers. Because the interests counted as "United States real property interests," the FIRPTA rules in IRC §…
Real estate partnership receives 60 days for late QOF self-certification
A partnership was organized to operate as a Qualified Opportunity Fund and develop an office building in an opportunity zone. Its investors reported their interests as QOF investments, but two…
Late-filed partnership return's QOF certification is treated as timely
A newly formed partnership intended to invest in an opportunity-zone business and operate as a Qualified Opportunity Fund. Its tax preparer planned to request an automatic filing extension, then…
Form 8996 filed with a late first-year return is treated as timely
A partnership was formed to invest in, manage, and dispose of qualified opportunity zone property and began operating as a Qualified Opportunity Fund. It did not engage an accounting firm until 14…
Sports-betting winnings paid to nonresident alien required 30 percent withholding
Chief Counsel addressed U.S. withholding on sports-betting winnings paid to a nonresident alien. For a U.S. taxpayer, the payment would not have triggered Form W-2G reporting or withholding under…
Fund received 60 days to file late qualified opportunity fund certifications
A limited liability company was formed to qualify as a qualified opportunity fund and invest in qualified opportunity zone property. It hired an experienced accountant who knew that intent and was…
REIT could make consent dividend in liquidation year
A publicly traded REIT planned to be acquired and then liquidate into the acquiring partnership. Because assumed debt exceeded asset basis, the REIT expected liquidation gain and insufficient actual…
Fund received 60 days to make late QOF self-certification
A partnership was formed to operate as a qualified opportunity fund, and its operating agreement required it to self-certify by filing Form 8996. Its accounting firm timely filed Form 1065 but…
Fund received 60 days for QOF election after advisor tracking error
Managers contributed eligible capital gain to a newly formed partnership that invested in a qualified opportunity zone business. They retained a CPA and firm to file the partnership return and Form…
Mineral royalties qualify as trade-or-business income for passive-loss and net-investment-income rules
A partnership that owns, operates, and manages oil, gas, and other mineral interests asked how its royalties and disposition gains should be treated under the passive-activity and…
Tax Court signature-block notice applies beyond decision documents
Chief Counsel clarified the scope of Chief Counsel Notice 2025-003 for documents filed with the Tax Court. The notice applies to every document signed and dated after January 17, 2025, not only to…
Late qualified opportunity fund certification accepted
A partnership intended to self-certify as a qualified opportunity fund beginning in a particular month. Its original accountant incorrectly concluded that no federal return was required and did not…
Late qualified opportunity fund certification treated as timely
A partnership was formed to operate as a qualified opportunity fund, but its manager and tax advisers did not timely file an extension or partnership return because of a miscommunication. The…
Fund received more time to self-certify as a qualified opportunity fund
A partnership formed to operate as a qualified opportunity fund missed the deadline to file Form 8996 with its partnership return. Its accounting firm had advised it about the required filings but…
Nonprofit insurer holding-company reorganization and spin-offs received favorable rulings
A nonprofit insurer subject to IRC §§ 501(m) and 833 reorganized under a new nonprofit holding company and separated regulated and nonregulated businesses. The IRS treated the insurer's admission of…
Mineral royalty interests could be aggregated for depletion calculations
A partnership held royalty interests under two mineral leases and did not bear exploration, development, or production costs. It asked to aggregate the separate interests as one property when…
Late Form 8996 treated as timely for opportunity fund certification
A partnership formed to invest in qualified opportunity zone property relied on a longtime accountant to handle its tax compliance. The accountant did not know that Form 8996 was required and…
Opportunity fund's amended Form 8996 was accepted as timely
A partnership was formed to invest in a qualified opportunity zone business, and some members contributed gains they expected to defer. Its longtime accountant did not know that the partnership had…
QSF need not withhold on principal repayments to foreign claimants
A court-appointed receivership qualified as a settlement fund after the SEC sued an internet-advertising company and its owner for operating a Ponzi scheme. The court-approved claims process allowed…
Partnership received extra time to self-certify as a qualified opportunity fund
A partnership formed to invest in qualified opportunity zone property missed the deadline to file Form 8996 and self-certify as a qualified opportunity fund. Its manager had hired a firm to prepare…
LLC received relief for a late qualified opportunity fund election
An LLC formed to invest in qualified opportunity zone property asked the IRS to treat its late Form 8996 as timely. The LLC had hired an accountant to prepare its partnership return and extension,…
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.