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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Community-property incomplete-gift non-grantor trust gets six favorable rulings
A married couple in a community-property state set up an "incomplete-gift non-grantor" trust (often called an ING or, in community-property form, a CING) funded with their community property. The trus…
Community-property incomplete-gift non-grantor trust gets six favorable rulings
A married couple in a community-property state set up an "incomplete-gift non-grantor" trust (often called an ING or, in community-property form, a CING) funded with their community property. The trus…
Community-property incomplete-gift non-grantor trust gets six favorable rulings
A married couple in a community-property state set up an "incomplete-gift non-grantor" trust (often called an ING or, in community-property form, a CING) funded with their community property. The trus…
Late relief to elect out of bonus depreciation on rehabbed leasehold improvements
Two partnerships that buy, rehabilitate, and lease real estate placed qualified leasehold improvement property in service and claimed the § 47 rehabilitation credit on it. When you claim that credit, …
Journal advertising is not the exempt society's unrelated business income
A 501(c)(6) professional society publishes a scholarly journal through a contract with a for-profit publisher. The society controls the editorial content, but under the contract the publisher alone se…
Late relief granted to elect partnership classification
A foreign business entity, owned by foreign persons, wanted to be classified as a partnership for U.S. federal tax purposes once it became relevant to U.S. tax, but it missed the deadline to file Form…
A voting trust is a permissible S corporation shareholder
An S corporation is limited in who can own its stock; certain trusts qualify, but the wrong kind of shareholder can blow the S election. Here the shares were held by an electing small business trust (…
County hospital trust's income is tax-exempt as an essential government function
A county hospital authority, a political subdivision of its state, planned to sell hospital assets to a for-profit operator. State law required it to park the net sale proceeds in an irrevocable trust…
Late relief granted to elect foreign disregarded-entity status
A foreign business entity with a single owner wanted to be treated as a "disregarded entity" for U.S. federal tax purposes (meaning it is ignored as separate from its owner, so the owner reports its i…
Court fix of a botched Crummey clause carries no estate, gift, or GST tax
A grandfather set up an irrevocable trust split into three shares, one for each grandchild, meant to keep the trust assets out of the grandchildren's taxable estates and to use up his and his wife's g…
Court fix of a botched Crummey clause carries no estate, gift, or GST tax
A grandfather set up an irrevocable trust split into three shares, one for each grandchild, meant to keep the trust assets out of the grandchildren's taxable estates and to use up his and his wife's g…
Court fix of a botched Crummey clause carries no estate, gift, or GST tax
A grandfather set up an irrevocable trust split into three shares, one for each grandchild, meant to keep the trust assets out of the grandchildren's taxable estates and to use up his and his wife's g…
Court fix of a botched Crummey clause carries no estate, gift, or GST tax
A grandfather set up an irrevocable trust split into three shares, one for each grandchild, meant to keep the trust assets out of the grandchildren's taxable estates and to use up his and his wife's g…
Court fix of a botched Crummey clause carries no estate, gift, or GST tax
A grandfather set up an irrevocable trust split into three shares, one for each grandchild, meant to keep the trust assets out of the grandchildren's taxable estates and to use up his and his wife's g…
Group trust looks through to each beneficiary for the pension-held REIT test
A large pension trust fund pools the retirement money of many separate pension plans into one "group trust" (an "81-100 group trust," named after Rev. Rul. 81-100) and invests it in U.S. real estate, …
Late relief granted to waive an NOL carryback for a consolidated group
The parent company of a consolidated group had a consolidated net operating loss (CNOL) for one tax year. It meant to give up the right to carry that loss back to earlier years (so it could instead ca…
120-day extension granted to make a late QSub election for a wholly owned subsidiary
An S corporation acquired all the stock of another S corporation and intended to fold it in as a "qualified subchapter S subsidiary" (QSub), which makes the subsidiary disappear for tax purposes so it…
Consent granted for a retroactive QEF election on a PFIC investment
A U.S. financial-services firm held a minority stake, through a U.S. subsidiary, in a foreign special-purpose vehicle used in a building-redevelopment financing. That foreign company was a passive for…
Foundation's health-care scholarship procedures approved under 4945(g)(1)
A private foundation runs a scholarship program for local residents pursuing health-care degrees or certifications at nearby schools, and asked the IRS to approve how it selects recipients. Private fo…
Gas-lease royalty group denied 501(c)(6) exemption for performing particular services for members
A membership group formed to help mineral-lease owners fight improper deductions from the gas royalties they were owed under a particular lease form. It collected dues, hired lawyers and accountants t…
Online services platform is a third-party settlement organization; each service is one transaction for §6050W reporting
A company runs a mobile app and website that connects service providers with customers, collects the customers' payments, and guarantees to pay the providers, keeping a service fee. It asked the IRS t…
Taxpayer's GST-exemption allocations to three children's trusts ruled void for lack of GST potential
A father funded three nearly identical irrevocable trusts, one for each of his three children, with gifts over two years. He and his wife elected gift-splitting under Section 2513, and each spouse the…
Incomplete-gift non-grantor trust: contributions are incomplete gifts, and distribution-committee members hold no general power of appointment
A person (the Grantor) set up an irrevocable trust for a family class (parents, siblings, a niece and nephew, future issue, and another trust), with a "Distribution Committee" of relatives that decide…
Gross pension-plan values in financial-statement notes count as supplemental info for the LIFO foreign-operations 30% test
A U.S. wholesale distributor uses the LIFO inventory method, which normally forces a company to report LIFO results to shareholders and lenders too (the "LIFO conformity" rule). Under Revenue Ruling 7…
Spouse's GST-exemption allocations to three children's trusts ruled void for lack of GST potential
A father set up three nearly identical irrevocable trusts, one for each of his three children, funding them with gifts over two years. He and his wife split the gifts for tax purposes (gift-splitting …
Late-election relief granted for an S corporation to file its §336(e) statement
Two individuals bought all the stock of an S corporation for cash and a note, and the buyers, sellers, and company signed a binding agreement to treat the stock sale as an asset sale under IRC Section…
Late-election relief granted to file a §336(e) statement treating a stock sale as an asset sale
A buyer (a partnership) acquired all the stock of a target corporation, and the parties agreed to treat the stock sale as an asset sale under IRC Section 336(e), which can give the buyer a stepped-up …
Tax-free spin-off rulings for a foreign-parented group separating two businesses via a §355/§368(a)(1)(D) restructuring
A privately held foreign parent company, sitting atop a worldwide group of subsidiaries, wanted to separate one line of business (the "Controlled Business") from another (the "Distributing Business") …
60-day rollover deadline waived for retiree who relied on separating spouse for finances
A retiree took a lump-sum distribution from her employer's qualified retirement plan and parked most of it in an ordinary (non-IRA) savings account, missing the 60-day window to roll part of it into a…
Foundation's band-scholarship procedures approved under 4945(g)(1)
A private foundation runs a scholarship for graduating senior band members at a particular school and asked the IRS to approve how it picks winners. Private foundations owe an excise tax on grants to …
Global-citizenship foundation's scholarship and travel grant procedures approved under 4945(g)(3)
A private foundation runs a global-citizenship fellowship and asked the IRS to bless the way it hands out grants to the individual fellows. Private foundations normally owe an excise tax when they pay…
201835014: Denies litigation-related set-asides because no court order barred distributions
A private foundation sought advance approval to set aside specified amounts for two fiscal years while it litigated with the charitable beneficiary named in the testator's will. The foundation had sto…
201835013: Approves a set-aside for botanical garden construction and improvements
A private foundation operating a botanical garden sought to set aside funds for two long-term construction projects. One project would build a visitor center with meeting, greenhouse, retail, café, ex…
201835012: Denies 501(c)(3) status because adult recreational sports were a substantial purpose
A corporation sought section 501(c)(3) status to promote health and fitness through church leagues, tournaments, exercise programs, and recreation for both adults and children. Its immediate focus was…
201835011: Denies VEBA status because participating employers lacked a common employment bond
A trust sought section 501(c)(9) status as a voluntary employees' beneficiary association offering medical, dental, vision, life, and other welfare benefits to small employers across many industries i…
201835010: Denies section 521 exemption to a consumer-oriented local food co-op
A local food co-op sought exemption as a farmers' cooperative under section 521. Most of its members were consumers, and the organization connected them with producer members through an online marketp…
201835009: Denies 501(c)(3) status to a fee-based transportation business
A nonprofit corporation sought section 501(c)(3) status for a business offering transportation, employment, invention, mentoring, paralegal, and lending services. Its articles stated broad business pu…
201835008: Denies 501(c)(3) status to a fee-funded biotech consulting business
An organization sought section 501(c)(3) status for consulting, executive search, coaching, and educational services aimed at biotech and pharmaceutical companies developing treatments for rare diseas…
201835007: Denies 501(c)(7) status to a sports officials association operating a business
An association of sports officials sought exemption as a social club under section 501(c)(7). It spent 70 percent of its time providing member officials to public and private schools, collected the of…
201835006: Denies 501(c)(3) status to a mutual-benefit cattle farm
A mutual-benefit corporation sought section 501(c)(3) status for a cattle farm that would buy, breed, and sell cattle, with future plans to donate meat, support schools, and provide farm education. It…
Says a pending QTIP extension request is relevant to an estate refund claim
An IRS office was considering an estate's refund claim while the taxpayer sought a private letter ruling for more time to sever a trust and make a qualified terminable interest property election. Chie…
Treats broad offshore development seismic surveys as section 167(h) G&G costs
An offshore oil and gas operator acquired a seismic survey covering broad areas of two fields after development had been approved, then used the data to optimize the placement of development wells. It…
Grants 45 days for late section 338(g) elections for seven CFCs
A foreign corporation acquired a foreign target in a qualified stock purchase and made section 338 elections for the target, a foreign subsidiary, and the parent of a consolidated group. It also inten…
Approves a revised section 468A nuclear decommissioning funding schedule
A public utility requested a revised schedule of ruling amounts for deductible contributions to a nuclear decommissioning fund under section 468A. The utility owned part of the nuclear plant directly …
Approves section 355 internal and external distributions for a business separation
A publicly traded consolidated group proposed separating one business through asset and subsidiary transfers, an internal distribution, a contribution to a new controlled corporation, and an external …
Approves scholarship procedures for students from three high schools
A private foundation requested advance approval under section 4945(g) for a scholarship program serving graduating seniors from three high schools. It expected to select one student from each school a…
Approves need-based scholarship procedures for graduates of one school
A private foundation requested advance approval under section 4945(g) for scholarships to financially needy graduates of a particular school who enrolled at accredited educational institutions. The an…
Approves undergraduate and trade scholarship procedures
A private foundation requested advance approval under section 4945(g) for scholarships to students pursuing undergraduate degrees or trade and certificate programs. The board would set the annual numb…
Revokes charity status for donor-controlled partnership program
The IRS revoked the section 501(c)(3) status of an organization used in charitable-giving arrangements involving limited partnerships and limited liability companies. Donors transferred nonvoting inte…
Revokes an inactive charity's tax exemption
The IRS revoked the section 501(c)(3) status of an organization formed to operate nursing and retirement facilities for elderly people. The organization reported transferring its assets to a related n…
Approves QTIP trust division and charitable renunciation
A surviving spouse proposed dividing a qualified terminable interest property trust into two separate trusts with identical terms, then renouncing all interests in one trust so its assets would pass t…
Applies related-party exchange exception to later nonrecognition transfers
A partnership acquired two real properties from a related corporation in a section 1031 exchange and proposed disposing of both within two years. One property would enter another like-kind exchange un…
Divorce trust terms preserve S corporation and ESBT status
A divorcing couple proposed moving S corporation stock from one spouse's grantor trust into a single trust that would internally account for equal shares for each spouse. The trust agreement gave the …
Divorce trust preserves S corporation and ESBT status
A divorcing couple planned to transfer S corporation shares from one spouse's grantor trust to a negotiated trust holding equal internal shares for the former spouses. The trust agreement gave the spo…
Divorce trust preserves S corporation and ESBT status
A divorcing couple planned to transfer S corporation shares from one spouse's grantor trust to a negotiated trust holding equal internal shares for the former spouses. The trust agreement gave the spo…
Approves tax-free split-off or spin-off treatment
A publicly traded parent proposed separating a controlled corporation that operated a distinct segment of the group's business. The parent could exchange controlled-company stock for its own shares an…
Grants 120 days for late GST exemption allocation
An estate timely filed its federal estate and generation-skipping transfer tax return, but its CPA failed to allocate the decedent's available GST exemption to a trust with generation-skipping potenti…
Grants 120 days for late section 754 election
A limited partnership failed to make a timely section 754 election for the year in which one of its partners died. The partnership represented that the omission was inadvertent, that it acted reasonab…
Grants late foreign partnership classification election
A foreign entity intended to be classified as a partnership for U.S. federal tax purposes but did not timely file Form 8832. The entity requested relief under the Treasury regulations for late regulat…
Grants late GST allocations for pre-2001 trust transfers
Two taxpayers established an irrevocable trust for their children and descendants, then made additional community-property transfers to it in a year ending on or before December 31, 2000. Their accoun…
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.