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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Pro rata division into five family trusts produced no income, estate, gift, or GST tax
A trust created before September 25, 1985, benefited one grandchild and that grandchild's descendants. Because the five children had different circumstances, the trustees obtained court approval to di…
Pro rata division into five family trusts produced no income, estate, gift, or GST tax
A trust created before September 25, 1985, benefited one grandchild and that grandchild's descendants. Because the five children had different circumstances, the trustees obtained court approval to di…
Pre-1942 trust keeps its GST-exempt status through a court construction and modification, and beneficiary disclaimers stay tax-free
An old family trust, created before October 21, 1942 and still irrevocable long before the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax took effect, asked the IRS to bless a set of proposed changes without …
Pre-1942 trust keeps its GST-exempt status through a court construction and modification, and beneficiary disclaimers stay tax-free
An old family trust, created before October 21, 1942 and still irrevocable long before the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax took effect, asked the IRS to bless a set of proposed changes without …
Pre-1942 trust keeps its GST-exempt status through a court construction and modification, and beneficiary disclaimers stay tax-free
An old family trust, created before October 21, 1942 and still irrevocable long before the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax took effect, asked the IRS to bless a set of proposed changes without …
Pre-1942 trust keeps its GST-exempt status through a court construction and modification, and beneficiary disclaimers stay tax-free
An old family trust, created before October 21, 1942 and still irrevocable long before the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax took effect, asked the IRS to bless a set of proposed changes without …
Pre-1942 trust keeps its GST-exempt status through a court construction and modification, and beneficiary disclaimers stay tax-free
An old family trust, created before October 21, 1942 and still irrevocable long before the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax took effect, asked the IRS to bless a set of proposed changes without …
Pre-1942 trust keeps its GST-exempt status through a court construction and modification, and beneficiary disclaimers stay tax-free
An old family trust, created before October 21, 1942 and still irrevocable long before the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax took effect, asked the IRS to bless a set of proposed changes without …
Pre-1942 trust keeps its GST-exempt status through a court construction and modification, and beneficiary disclaimers stay tax-free
An old family trust, created before October 21, 1942 and still irrevocable long before the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax took effect, asked the IRS to bless a set of proposed changes without …
Pre-1942 trust keeps its GST-exempt status through a court construction and modification, and beneficiary disclaimers stay tax-free
An old family trust, created before October 21, 1942 and still irrevocable long before the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax took effect, asked the IRS to bless a set of proposed changes without …
Pre-1942 trust keeps its GST-exempt status through a court construction and modification, and beneficiary disclaimers stay tax-free
An old family trust, created before October 21, 1942 and still irrevocable long before the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax took effect, asked the IRS to bless a set of proposed changes without …
Pre-1942 trust keeps its GST-exempt status through a court construction and modification, and beneficiary disclaimers stay tax-free
An old family trust, created before October 21, 1942 and still irrevocable long before the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax took effect, asked the IRS to bless a set of proposed changes without …
Pre-1942 trust keeps its GST-exempt status through a court construction and modification, and beneficiary disclaimers stay tax-free
An old family trust, created before October 21, 1942 and still irrevocable long before the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax took effect, asked the IRS to bless a set of proposed changes without …
Pre-1942 trust keeps its GST-exempt status through a court construction and modification, and beneficiary disclaimers stay tax-free
An old family trust, created before October 21, 1942 and still irrevocable long before the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax took effect, asked the IRS to bless a set of proposed changes without …
Pre-1942 trust keeps its GST-exempt status through a court construction and modification, and beneficiary disclaimers stay tax-free
An old family trust, created before October 21, 1942 and still irrevocable long before the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax took effect, asked the IRS to bless a set of proposed changes without …
Pre-1942 trust keeps its GST-exempt status through a court construction and modification, and beneficiary disclaimers stay tax-free
An old family trust, created before October 21, 1942 and still irrevocable long before the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax took effect, asked the IRS to bless a set of proposed changes without …
Pre-1942 trust keeps its GST-exempt status through a court construction and modification, and beneficiary disclaimers stay tax-free
An old family trust, created before October 21, 1942 and still irrevocable long before the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax took effect, asked the IRS to bless a set of proposed changes without …
Pre-1942 trust keeps its GST-exempt status through a court construction and modification, and beneficiary disclaimers stay tax-free
An old family trust, created before October 21, 1942 and still irrevocable long before the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax took effect, asked the IRS to bless a set of proposed changes without …
Pre-1942 trust keeps its GST-exempt status through a court construction and modification, and beneficiary disclaimers stay tax-free
An old family trust, created before October 21, 1942 and still irrevocable long before the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax took effect, asked the IRS to bless a set of proposed changes without …
Pre-1942 trust keeps its GST-exempt status through a court construction and modification, and beneficiary disclaimers stay tax-free
An old family trust, created before October 21, 1942 and still irrevocable long before the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax took effect, asked the IRS to bless a set of proposed changes without …
Pre-1942 trust keeps its GST-exempt status through a court construction and modification, and beneficiary disclaimers stay tax-free
An old family trust, created before October 21, 1942 and still irrevocable long before the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax took effect, asked the IRS to bless a set of proposed changes without …
Pre-1942 trust keeps its GST-exempt status through a court construction and modification, and beneficiary disclaimers stay tax-free
An old family trust, created before October 21, 1942 and still irrevocable long before the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax took effect, asked the IRS to bless a set of proposed changes without …
Pre-1942 trust keeps its GST-exempt status through a court construction and modification, and beneficiary disclaimers stay tax-free
An old family trust, created before October 21, 1942 and still irrevocable long before the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax took effect, asked the IRS to bless a set of proposed changes without …
Pre-1942 trust keeps its GST-exempt status through a court construction and modification, and beneficiary disclaimers stay tax-free
An old family trust, created before October 21, 1942 and still irrevocable long before the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax took effect, asked the IRS to bless a set of proposed changes without …
Pre-1942 trust keeps its GST-exempt status through a court construction and modification, and beneficiary disclaimers stay tax-free
An old family trust, created before October 21, 1942 and still irrevocable long before the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax took effect, asked the IRS to bless a set of proposed changes without …
Pre-1942 trust keeps its GST-exempt status through a court construction and modification, and beneficiary disclaimers stay tax-free
An old family trust, created before October 21, 1942 and still irrevocable long before the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax took effect, asked the IRS to bless a set of proposed changes without …
A granddaughter's testamentary power of appointment is limited, not general, so the grandfathered trust stays GST-exempt and out of her estate
A family trust traces back to a settlor who died before September 25, 1985, which makes the trust "grandfathered" and generally exempt from the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax. Over two generat…
A GRAT funded during a pending merger failed section 2702 because the donor used an outdated, undervalued appraisal
The founder of a very successful company was exploring a sale. After investment bankers solicited bids and five corporations made offers, the founder set up a two-year grantor retained annuity trust (…
Retroactive scrivener's-error trust fix does not create a spousal general power of appointment, and the reverse QTIP election stays valid
When the grantor of a revocable trust died, the trust split into a family fund and a marital trust for his surviving spouse. An earlier draft of the trust required that any successor trustee be indepe…
Splitting a QTIP marital trust in two, then disclaiming one, is a gift but not a taxable sale and keeps QTIP status
After a decedent's death, the marital share of his revocable trust was treated as qualified terminable interest property (QTIP), giving his surviving spouse a lifetime income interest. The spouse, as …
Division of grandfathered trust preserves GST exemption and avoids transfer-tax and income-tax consequences
A trust created under a settlor's will before September 25, 1985 proposed dividing one child's share into two equal trusts, one associated with each of that child's children. The new trusts would have…
QTIP commutation creates separate nonoffsetting gifts
A surviving spouse held the income interest in a QTIP trust, while two children held the remainder. An agreement commuted the trust and distributed all property to the spouse, and the parties reported…
Court correction of trust errors has no transfer-tax or income-tax effect
A trust created before the generation-skipping transfer tax effective date contained scrivener's errors that made its multigenerational distribution provisions ambiguous. A state court conditionally a…
Court correction of trust errors has no transfer-tax or income-tax effect
A trust created before the generation-skipping transfer tax effective date contained scrivener's errors that made its multigenerational distribution provisions ambiguous. A state court conditionally a…
Court correction of trust errors has no transfer-tax or income-tax effect
A trust created before the generation-skipping transfer tax effective date contained scrivener's errors that made its multigenerational distribution provisions ambiguous. A state court conditionally a…
QTIP trust division is tax-free, but later modification triggers gifts
A trustee divided a QTIP marital trust into two trusts with identical terms. Because the division left the spouse's and daughters' beneficial interests unchanged, the IRS ruled that it did not trigger…
Trust constructions preserve GST status and avoid income, gift, and estate tax consequences
A testamentary trust created before September 25, 1985 had undergone court proceedings concerning trustee succession and the meaning of trust earnings. After the primary beneficiary died, another cour…
Court-corrected trust division retains GST grandfathering without transfer-tax consequences
A testamentary trust created before September 25, 1985 had been the subject of court proceedings about trustee succession and whether earnings included capital gains. When its primary beneficiary died…
Judicial trust corrections avoid gain, gifts, estate inclusion, and loss of GST status
A pre-September 25, 1985 testamentary trust had previously received judicial rulings about corporate trustee succession and the treatment of capital gains as earnings. Following the primary beneficiar…
Grandfathered trust may be corrected and divided without federal tax recognition
A testamentary trust established before the effective date of the generation-skipping transfer tax rules had undergone judicial changes involving trustee succession and trust earnings. A later court j…
Trust reformation and equal child-trust distributions receive favorable tax rulings
A grandfathered testamentary trust and the primary beneficiary's will contained provisions later addressed in several state-court proceedings. The final judgment corrected drafting errors, clarified t…
Corrected exercise of a limited power preserves a trust's GST exemption
A testamentary trust created before September 25, 1985 was governed by a limited power of appointment and had already undergone judicial proceedings about trustee succession and trust earnings. After …
Winding up a charitable remainder annuity trust by giving the annuity interest to the charity is a gift, not a sale, and not self-dealing
A married couple created a charitable remainder annuity trust (CRAT): they receive a 5 percent annuity for their joint lives, and a private foundation they control is the remainder beneficiary. They w…
Beneficiary made a taxable gift by directing a foreign foundation's assets elsewhere
A U.S. resident was the primary beneficiary of a foreign foundation and was entitled to all of its assets and liquidation proceeds. When the foundation dissolved, the beneficiary directed its assets t…
State-law limits avoid power-of-appointment transfer taxes for old trusts
A decedent was the trustee and lifetime income beneficiary of two family trusts created before September 25, 1985. State law later limited a trustee-beneficiary's power to distribute trust property to…
State-law limits avoid power-of-appointment transfer taxes for old trusts
A decedent was the trustee and lifetime income beneficiary of two family trusts created before September 25, 1985. State law later limited a trustee-beneficiary's power to distribute trust property to…
State-law limits avoid power-of-appointment transfer taxes for old trusts
A decedent was the trustee and lifetime income beneficiary of two family trusts created before September 25, 1985. State law later limited a trustee-beneficiary's power to distribute trust property to…
Trust transfer remains an incomplete gift and committee powers avoid estate inclusion
A grantor created an irrevocable domestic trust for family members and retained several nonfiduciary powers over distributions, including a consent power, a support-related power, and a limited testam…
Family company buy-sell agreement keeps its section 2703 grandfathering
A family-owned company had a stock redemption and buy-sell agreement created before section 2703 became effective. Family stock had later passed among estates, descendants, descendant trusts, and gene…
Family company buy-sell agreement keeps its section 2703 grandfathering
A family-owned company had a stock redemption and buy-sell agreement created before section 2703 became effective. Family stock had later passed among estates, descendants, descendant trusts, and gene…
Family company buy-sell agreement keeps its section 2703 grandfathering
A family-owned company had a stock redemption and buy-sell agreement created before section 2703 became effective. Family stock had later passed among estates, descendants, descendant trusts, and gene…
Family company buy-sell agreement keeps its section 2703 grandfathering
A family-owned company had a stock redemption and buy-sell agreement created before section 2703 became effective. Family stock had later passed among estates, descendants, descendant trusts, and gene…
Family company buy-sell agreement keeps its section 2703 grandfathering
A family-owned company had a stock redemption and buy-sell agreement created before section 2703 became effective. Family stock had later passed among estates, descendants, descendant trusts, and gene…
Family company buy-sell agreement keeps its section 2703 grandfathering
A family-owned company had a stock redemption and buy-sell agreement created before section 2703 became effective. Family stock had later passed among estates, descendants, descendant trusts, and gene…
Family company buy-sell agreement keeps its section 2703 grandfathering
A family-owned company had a stock redemption and buy-sell agreement created before section 2703 became effective. Family stock had later passed among estates, descendants, descendant trusts, and gene…
Family company buy-sell agreement keeps its section 2703 grandfathering
A family-owned company had a stock redemption and buy-sell agreement created before section 2703 became effective. Family stock had later passed among estates, descendants, descendant trusts, and gene…
Family company buy-sell agreement keeps its section 2703 grandfathering
A family-owned company had a stock redemption and buy-sell agreement created before section 2703 became effective. Family stock had later passed among estates, descendants, descendant trusts, and gene…
Family company buy-sell agreement keeps its section 2703 grandfathering
A family-owned company had a stock redemption and buy-sell agreement created before section 2703 became effective. Family stock had later passed among estates, descendants, descendant trusts, and gene…
QTIP trust settlement received favorable transfer-tax rulings
A surviving spouse and bank trustee settled extensive litigation by terminating an irrevocable QTIP trust and two marital QTIP trusts. The spouse would receive a support distribution plus the actuaria…
QTIP trust termination settlement received favorable rulings
A surviving spouse and bank trustee proposed to end an irrevocable QTIP trust and two marital QTIP trusts under a court-approved settlement. The spouse would receive a support payment and cash equal t…
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.