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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IRS grants late-filing relief for a fund to self-certify as a Qualified Opportunity Fund after its accountant missed the return
An LLC taxed as a partnership was formed to be a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF), the vehicle that lets an investor defer capital-gains tax by reinvesting the gain in a business located in a designat…
IRS grants late-election relief for a partnership to keep its chosen fiscal year under section 444
A partnership normally must use a "required" tax year tied to its owners' tax years, but IRC § 444 lets it elect a different fiscal year (with a limited deferral period) if it files Form 8716 on time …
IRS grants late-filing relief to self-certify as a Qualified Opportunity Fund after the preparer omitted Form 8996
An LLC taxed as a partnership was formed to be a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF), the vehicle that lets investors defer capital-gains tax by reinvesting the gain in a designated low-income "opportuni…
IRS grants late-filing relief to self-certify as a Qualified Opportunity Fund after the preparer omitted Form 8996
An LLC taxed as a partnership was formed to be a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF), the vehicle that lets investors defer capital-gains tax by reinvesting the gain in a designated low-income "opportuni…
Late partnership basis-adjustment election (§ 754) allowed under 9100 relief
A limited partnership meant to make a section 754 election, which lets a partnership adjust the tax basis of its assets when interests change hands or property is distributed, so the incoming or affec…
Late Form 1128 to change a corporation's tax year allowed under 9100 relief
A C corporation that provides engineering and architectural design services wanted to change its tax year end and file Form 1128 (Application to Adopt, Change, or Retain a Tax Year) to do so. Under th…
Late election to amortize R&E expenditures over 10 years allowed under 9100 relief
A calendar-year, accrual-method taxpayer wanted to spread its research and experimental (R&E) expenditures over 10 years using the election in Code section 59(e), rather than deduct them all at once. …
Late election to waive the NOL carryback period granted to a consolidated group (9100 relief)
A parent company that files a consolidated tax return for its corporate group asked the IRS for extra time to make a missed election. When a consolidated group has a net operating loss (a "CNOL"), it …
Late Form 1128 to change an accounting period allowed under 9100 relief
A taxpayer wanted to change its tax year (accounting period) and needed to file Form 1128 to get IRS permission, but missed the filing deadline. Under Rev. Proc. 2002-39, Form 1128 must be filed by th…
Late check-the-box election to be taxed as a corporation allowed under 9100 relief
A limited liability company wanted to be classified as a corporation for federal tax purposes (an "entity classification," or "check-the-box," election) effective on a chosen date, but it missed the d…
Late QSub election allowed under 9100 relief
An S corporation bought another corporation as a wholly owned subsidiary and meant to treat it as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary (a "QSub"), which lets the IRS ignore the subsidiary as a separate…
9100 relief for a late Section 59(e) election to amortize R&D costs over 10 years
A consolidated group of corporations wanted to spread the deduction for its research and experimental (R&D) costs over 10 years rather than take them all at once, an option Code § 59(e) allows if the …
IRS grants a partnership 120 more days to make a late Section 754 basis-adjustment election after a partner's death
A partnership asked the IRS for extra time to make a late election under Section 754 of the tax code, and the IRS agreed. A Section 754 election lets a partnership adjust the tax basis of its assets w…
IRS grants a lower-tier partnership 120 more days to make a late Section 754 basis-adjustment election after a partner's death
A partnership asked the IRS for extra time to make a late Section 754 election, and the IRS granted it. A Section 754 election lets a partnership adjust the tax basis of its assets when a partner dies…
IRS grants a corporate parent 75 more days to make a late election to file a consolidated return
A parent corporation that heads a group of affiliated companies wanted to file one combined ("consolidated") federal income tax return for the whole group, but it missed the deadline to make that elec…
IRS grants an LLC 120 more days to make a late Section 754 basis-adjustment election after new members bought in
A limited liability company taxed as a partnership meant to make a Section 754 election but missed the filing deadline. A Section 754 election lets a partnership adjust the tax basis of its assets whe…
IRS treats a late Form 8996 as timely, letting an LLC self-certify as a Qualified Opportunity Fund
An investment LLC set up to develop real estate in Qualified Opportunity Zones wanted to be treated as a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF), which requires filing Form 8996 with a timely tax return each…
9100 relief to treat a late Form 8996 QOF self-certification as timely
A limited partnership was formed to be a qualified opportunity fund (a "QOF"), the vehicle investors use to defer capital gains by investing in low-income "opportunity zones" under Code § 1400Z-2. To …
9100 relief to treat a late Form 8996 QOF self-certification as timely
A limited liability company, taxed as a partnership, was formed to be a qualified opportunity fund (a "QOF"), the vehicle that lets investors defer capital gains by investing in low-income "opportunit…
Late corporate-classification and S-corporation elections allowed for an LLC
A limited liability company wanted to be taxed as an S corporation. To get there, an LLC normally has to take two steps: first elect (on Form 8832) to be treated as a corporation, then elect S-corpora…
9100 relief for a foreign entity's late check-the-box election to be a partnership
A foreign business entity wanted to be treated as a partnership for U.S. federal tax purposes. Under the "check-the-box" rules (Treas. Reg. § 301.7701-3), an eligible entity can choose its tax classif…
IRS grants a corporate parent 60 more days to make a late consolidated-return election
A corporate parent wanted its affiliated group of corporations to file a single consolidated federal income tax return, with itself as the common parent, for a particular tax year. That choice, the co…
IRS grants 90 more days to make a late IC-DISC election after a defective Form 4876-A
A company was set up to be an interest charge domestic international sales corporation (IC-DISC), a special export-incentive entity that earns commissions on a related company's exports and gives its …
Estate gets extra time to make a late portability election
When one spouse dies without using all of their federal estate tax exemption, the leftover amount (the "deceased spousal unused exclusion," or DSUE) can be passed to the surviving spouse. But this "po…
Buyer gets late-election relief to treat an S-corp stock purchase as an asset purchase
A partnership bought all the stock of an S corporation through a disregarded subsidiary. The parties intended to treat the deal, for tax purposes, as if the S corporation had sold its assets rather th…
Foreign entity gets late-election relief to be taxed as a corporation
A foreign business entity meant to be treated as a corporation for U.S. tax purposes from the day it was formed, which requires filing Form 8832 (an "entity classification" or "check-the-box" election…
Laid-off startup employee gets more time to make a QSBS gain-rollover election
An early startup employee held qualified small business stock (QSBS), sold some of it after being laid off, and within 60 days used the proceeds to buy more stock in the same company. Section 1045 let…
Partnership gets late-election relief to deduct demolished building components
A partnership renovated a building it owned, demolishing parts of it (walls, windows, roofing, plumbing, HVAC, wiring). When you demolish part of a depreciable building, tax rules let you make a "part…
Fund gets late-election relief to self-certify as a Qualified Opportunity Fund
Investors rolled capital gains into an LLC intending it to be a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF), a vehicle that lets taxpayers defer (and potentially reduce) tax on gains reinvested in economically d…
LLC gets extra time to make a late section 754 basis-adjustment election
A partnership (an LLC taxed as a partnership) wanted to make a section 754 election, which lets a partnership adjust the tax basis of its property when a partner's interest is transferred or property …
LLC gets late-election relief to be taxed as a corporation
A single-member LLC, wholly owned by a corporation, meant to elect to be treated as an association taxable as a corporation for federal tax purposes (rather than being disregarded, which is the defaul…
Parties received more time to elect asset-sale treatment for an S corporation stock sale
An S corporation's shareholders sold all of its stock to a purchaser, and the parties intended to treat the transaction as an asset sale under section 336(e). A qualified tax professional failed to ad…
Donor received 120 days to elect GST trust treatment for prior transfers
A donor created a trust for descendants and transferred cash and securities to it over two years. The donor instructed an attorney to elect on Form 709 to treat the trust as a generation-skipping tran…
Partnership received 120 days to make a late GILTI high-tax exclusion election
A partnership that owned a controlled foreign corporation wanted to make the GILTI high-tax exclusion election for an earlier tax year. Its accounting firm prepared an administrative adjustment reques…
Subsidiary received 45 days to file the original Form 3115 after a due-date error
A corporate parent acquired a subsidiary in a transaction described as a tax-free merger, which ended the subsidiary's tax year. The subsidiary sought automatic accounting-method changes for capitaliz…
Estate received 120 days to make a late portability election
A decedent left a surviving spouse and an unused portion of the federal estate and gift tax exclusion. The estate represented that it was not otherwise required to file Form 706 because of the estate'…
Late Form 8996 was treated as timely after an adviser used the wrong tax year-end
A corporation that had been a qualified opportunity fund converted to a partnership and later merged into another entity, creating a short tax year. The resulting partnership intended to self-certify …
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election
A decedent left a surviving spouse and an unused portion of the federal estate and gift tax exclusion, but the estate did not timely file Form 706 to elect portability. The estate represented that its…
Buyer and sellers receive late section 338(h)(10) election relief
A corporate buyer acquired all the stock of an S corporation from its shareholders and their trusts in a transaction represented to be a qualified stock purchase. The parties intended to make a joint …
Two foreign subsidiaries receive late disregarded-entity election relief
A foreign parent owned two foreign eligible entities that each intended to elect disregarded-entity status from its formation date but missed the Form 8832 deadline. The IRS concluded that both entiti…
Partnership receives 30 days to file a late tax-year change request
A partnership became majority-owned by a corporation with a March 31 tax year, requiring the partnership to change from a calendar year to the majority partner's fiscal year. Its tax professionals fil…
Consolidated group receives 75 days to waive a loss carryback
A consolidated group incurred a consolidated net operating loss and intended to give up the entire carryback period, but its return did not include a valid election statement. The parent represented t…
Opportunity fund receives 60 days for late self-certification
A partnership was formed to invest capital gains in qualified opportunity zone property and hired an adviser to prepare its returns and required elections. Although the adviser had the information nee…
Foreign entity receives late disregarded-entity election relief
A foreign eligible entity intended to be treated as a disregarded entity from its formation date but failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS concluded that the entity met the standards for discretio…
REIT receives 90 days to make a late taxable-subsidiary election
A real estate investment trust formed a subsidiary to lease and operate a hotel and intended to elect taxable REIT subsidiary status from the REIT conversion date. The election was missed because the …
Partnership receives 120 days to make a late section 754 election
A partnership failed to make a section 754 election after a deceased partner's interest passed to several successors. The IRS concluded that the partnership met the standards for discretionary relief …
Foreign entity receives late disregarded-entity election relief
A foreign entity with one owner failed to file Form 8832 on time to elect disregarded-entity status from a redacted effective date. The IRS concluded that the entity met the standards for discretionar…
Late accounting-method-change forms treated as timely
A parent company requested filing relief for controlled foreign corporations that changed how they accounted for rent expense under the automatic consent procedures. The parent intended to extend its …
Partnership's late qualified opportunity fund certification is treated as timely
A partnership was formed to operate as a qualified opportunity fund and stated that purpose in its operating agreement. One member told an experienced tax preparer about the investment and the fund's …
Foreign entity receives 120 days for late disregarded-entity election
A foreign eligible entity intended to be classified as a disregarded entity for U.S. federal tax purposes but failed to file Form 8832 on time. It represented that the failure was inadvertent, that it…
Corporation receives 90 days to make late IC-DISC election
A corporation was formed to operate as an interest charge domestic international sales corporation and attempted to file Form 4876-A for its first tax year. The filing was outside the normal 90-day wi…
Donor receives 120 days to elect GST trust treatment for prior transfers
A donor created a trust for descendants and made several transfers of cash and securities to it over two years. The donor instructed an attorney to elect on Form 709 to treat the trust as a generation…
Corporate group receives 120 days for late GILTI high-tax election
A U.S. corporate group wanted to make the GILTI high-tax exclusion election for income of its wholly owned controlled foreign corporation. Its accounting firm recognized the benefit before the 24-mont…
Housing project receives 120 days to make average-income set-aside election
The owner of a single-building low-income housing project intended to choose the average-income minimum set-aside under section 42(g)(1)(C). Its contemporaneous records reflected that intent, but it i…
Estate receives 120 days to complete GST exemption allocation to trust
A decedent's will created separate residuary trusts for three children. The estate's attorney intended to allocate all available generation-skipping transfer tax exemption to one trust on Form 706, bu…
Late tangible-property elections are treated as timely after missed extension filing
A corporate group intended to extend its federal income tax return but failed to file Form 7004 after pandemic filing relief changed its normal extension process and staff turnover contributed to the …
Three partnerships receive 120 days to make late section 754 elections
Three related partnerships missed section 754 elections after deaths and transfers of partnership interests. The elections would have permitted basis adjustments to partnership property under sections…
45-day extension to file a late Form 8996 after a firm/management-team mix-up
An LLC (taxed as a partnership) was formed to be a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF) as one of many entities in a single large development project. Because it formed late in the year and had no income,…
Late Form 8996 accepted so a fund can self-certify as a Qualified Opportunity Fund
A partnership (an LLC) was formed to be a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF), a vehicle that lets investors defer tax on capital gains reinvested in opportunity-zone property. Becoming a QOF requires "s…
Late Form 8996 accepted so a fund can self-certify as a Qualified Opportunity Fund
A partnership (an LLC) was set up to be a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF), a vehicle that lets investors defer tax on capital gains reinvested in opportunity-zone property. To become a QOF, an entity…
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.