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 trust gets incomplete-gift, power, and basis rulings with an income-tax caveat
A married couple in a community-property state created an irrevocable trust for themselves, family members, and friends, with distributions controlled through retained powers and a nonfiduciary power-…
Community-property trust gets incomplete-gift, power, and basis rulings with an income-tax caveat
A married couple in a community-property state created an irrevocable trust for themselves, family members, and friends, with distributions controlled through retained powers and a nonfiduciary power-…
Community-property trust gets incomplete-gift, power, and basis rulings with an income-tax caveat
A married couple in a community-property state created an irrevocable trust for themselves, family members, and friends, with distributions controlled through retained powers and a nonfiduciary power-…
Community-property trust gets incomplete-gift, power, and basis rulings with an income-tax caveat
A married couple in a community-property state created an irrevocable trust for themselves, family members, and friends, with distributions controlled through retained powers and a nonfiduciary power-…
Community-property trust gets incomplete-gift, power, and basis rulings with an income-tax caveat
A married couple in a community-property state created an irrevocable trust for themselves, family members, and friends, with distributions controlled through retained powers and a nonfiduciary power-…
Community-property trust gets incomplete-gift, power, and basis rulings with an income-tax caveat
A married couple in a community-property state created an irrevocable trust for themselves, family members, and friends, with distributions controlled through retained powers and a nonfiduciary power-…
Incomplete non-grantor trust succeeds, contributions and committee distributions are not completed gifts
A person set up a trust for themselves and their four children, with distributions steered by a "Distribution Committee" made up of the grantor and two children. This is the increasingly common "incom…
Incomplete non-grantor trust succeeds, contributions and committee distributions are not completed gifts
A person set up a trust for themselves and their four children, with distributions steered by a "Distribution Committee" made up of the grantor and two children. This is the increasingly common "incom…
Two charitable remainder unitrusts with a flexible charity-designation power qualify under § 664
An individual planned to create two charitable remainder unitrusts (CRUTs), a type of trust that pays a fixed percentage to the donor (and here, in one trust, a surviving spouse) each year and leaves …
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…
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…
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…
Defines income, gift, and estate tax treatment of family trust powers
A grantor created an irrevocable domestic trust for himself, his spouse, descendants, parents, and another individual. A committee that included the grantor and other beneficiaries or their representa…
Defines income, gift, and estate tax treatment of family trust powers
A grantor created an irrevocable domestic trust for himself, his spouse, descendants, parents, and another individual. A committee that included the grantor and other beneficiaries or their representa…
Defines income, gift, and estate tax treatment of family trust powers
A grantor created an irrevocable domestic trust for himself, his spouse, descendants, parents, and another individual. A committee that included the grantor and other beneficiaries or their representa…
Defines income, gift, and estate tax treatment of family trust powers
A grantor created an irrevocable domestic trust for himself, his spouse, descendants, parents, and another individual. A committee that included the grantor and other beneficiaries or their representa…
Defines income, gift, and estate tax treatment of family trust powers
A grantor created an irrevocable domestic trust for himself, his spouse, descendants, parents, and another individual. A committee that included the grantor and other beneficiaries or their representa…
Retroactive trust reformation counts for foreign grantor-trust exception
A nonresident donor created an irrevocable U.S.-governed trust intending grantor-trust treatment, but the instrument allowed distributions to the donor's children during the donor's life. A 1996 statu…
Trust receives extra time for charitable-contribution election
A trust made charitable contributions in one year and reported them as deductions for the preceding year, as section 642(c) permits when a timely election is filed. The trust inadvertently omitted the…
Estate receives extra time to make a 65-day distribution election
An estate made a distribution during the first 65 days of a fiscal year and intended to treat it as paid or credited on the last day of the preceding tax year under section 663(b). The estate failed t…
Incomplete-gift trust receives favorable tax rulings
A married couple in a community property state created an irrevocable domestic trust whose distribution committee could act unanimously or with a grantor's consent. The IRS ruled that the grantors' re…
Incomplete-gift trust receives favorable tax rulings
A married couple in a community property state created an irrevocable domestic trust whose distribution committee could act unanimously or with a grantor's consent. The IRS ruled that the grantors' re…
Incomplete-gift trust receives favorable tax rulings
A married couple in a community property state created an irrevocable domestic trust whose distribution committee could act unanimously or with a grantor's consent. The IRS ruled that the grantors' re…
Post-creation trust modification does not support charitable-distribution deductions
A trust sought refunds based on charitable distributions made after a state court modified the trust to give a beneficiary a lifetime power of appointment in favor of two foundations. The original tru…
A community property trust received favorable income, gift, estate, and basis rulings
A married couple transferred community property to an irrevocable domestic trust whose distribution decisions were controlled through a power-of-appointment committee and retained grantor powers. The …
Retained powers kept community property trust contributions incomplete for gift tax
Spouses placed community property in an irrevocable domestic trust that used a committee to direct distributions and gave the spouses retained distribution and testamentary powers. The IRS ruled that …
Retained trust powers leave transfers incomplete for gift tax
A husband and wife each created an irrevocable trust benefiting the grantor and their children, with distributions controlled through several grantor and committee powers. The IRS found no listed circ…
Alaska Native Settlement Trust receives section 646 treatment
An Alaska Native Corporation established an irrevocable Settlement Trust under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act for holders of its voting Settlement Common Stock and planned to elect section 64…
Charitable trust may track a school's endowment without generating UBTI
A charitable remainder unitrust had a school as its trustee and sole charitable remainder beneficiary. The school proposed issuing contractual endowment units so the trust could receive returns matchi…
College endowment units do not create UBTI for charitable remainder trust
A charitable remainder unitrust proposed exchanging assets for contractual units tied to the pooled endowment of the college serving as its trustee and remainder beneficiary. The units would provide p…
Retained trust powers make gift incomplete without taxing distribution committee
A grantor created an irrevocable trust whose nonfiduciary distribution committee could direct distributions with the grantor's consent or by unanimous action, while the grantor retained separate distr…
Prior-year withholding corrections are limited to administrative errors
Chief Counsel clarified when an employer may use Form 941-X to correct federal income tax withholding from a prior year. An administrative error is limited to a transposition or basic mathematical mis…
Court-approved trust divisions avoid gift and estate tax and generally preserve income tax treatment
Two continuing trusts created after a grantor retained annuity trust ended proposed dividing their assets into separate successor trusts for each of the grantor's two sons and their respective descend…
Trust receives extra time to elect prior-year treatment for charitable payments
A trust made charitable contributions in one taxable year but intended to elect under IRC § 642(c) to treat them as paid in the preceding year. The trustee inadvertently failed to file the election by…
Trust transfer is an incomplete gift, while part of the income-tax ruling is deferred
A grantor created an irrevocable domestic trust for himself, his descendants, and a foundation. A distribution committee could direct payments, while the grantor retained consent, support-distribution…
Trust transfer is an incomplete gift, while part of the income-tax ruling is deferred
A grantor created an irrevocable domestic trust for himself, his descendants, and a foundation. A distribution committee could direct payments, while the grantor retained consent, support-distribution…
Trust transfer is an incomplete gift, while part of the income-tax ruling is deferred
A grantor created an irrevocable domestic trust for himself, his descendants, and a foundation. A distribution committee could direct payments, while the grantor retained consent, support-distribution…
Trust transfer is an incomplete gift, while part of the income-tax ruling is deferred
A grantor created an irrevocable domestic trust for himself, his descendants, and a foundation. A distribution committee could direct payments, while the grantor retained consent, support-distribution…
Trust transfer is an incomplete gift, while part of the income-tax ruling is deferred
A grantor created an irrevocable domestic trust for himself, his descendants, and a foundation. A distribution committee could direct payments, while the grantor retained consent, support-distribution…
Trust transfer is an incomplete gift, while part of the income-tax ruling is deferred
A grantor created an irrevocable domestic trust for himself, his descendants, and a foundation. A distribution committee could direct payments, while the grantor retained consent, support-distribution…
Trust transfer is an incomplete gift, while part of the income-tax ruling is deferred
A grantor created an irrevocable domestic trust for himself, his descendants, and a foundation. A distribution committee could direct payments, while the grantor retained consent, support-distribution…
Trust transfer is an incomplete gift, while part of the income-tax ruling is deferred
A grantor created an irrevocable domestic trust for himself, his descendants, and a foundation. A distribution committee could direct payments, while the grantor retained consent, support-distribution…
Trust transfer is an incomplete gift, while part of the income-tax ruling is deferred
A grantor created an irrevocable domestic trust for himself, his descendants, and a foundation. A distribution committee could direct payments, while the grantor retained consent, support-distribution…
Mismanaged charitable remainder trust faces income and excise taxes
A trust intended to qualify as a charitable remainder unitrust repeatedly included capital gains in trust income and paid more than its governing net-income limit permitted. The IRS concluded that the…
Failed charitable remainder trust owes tax before beneficiary payout
A trust intended as a charitable remainder unitrust paid beneficiaries more than its net-income limitation allowed by improperly treating capital gains as income. The IRS concluded that the trust fail…
Trust gets 120 days to make a 65-day distribution election
A calendar-year trust made a distribution during the first 65 days of a later year and intended to treat it as paid on the final day of the prior year under section 663(b). The trust inadvertently fai…
Pro rata trust division preserves tax treatment and S eligibility
An irrevocable grantor trust holding S corporation stock and other assets proposed moving the non-S stock assets, pro rata, into eight separate family trusts while retaining the S corporation shares. …
Trust may make a late 65-day distribution election
A calendar-year trust made a distribution during the first 65 days of the next year and intended to treat it as paid on the last day of the prior year under section 663(b). The trustee inadvertently f…
Pro rata trust divisions preserve existing tax treatment
Two irrevocable trusts created before September 25, 1985 proposed dividing into separate, pro rata subtrusts for each of three children and their descendants. The IRS ruled that the divisions would pr…
Pro rata trust divisions preserve existing tax treatment
Two irrevocable trusts created before September 25, 1985 proposed dividing into separate, pro rata subtrusts for each of three children and their descendants. The IRS ruled that the divisions would pr…
Trust transfers remain incomplete gifts and community property receives a basis adjustment
A married couple in a community property state transferred property to an irrevocable trust for descendants and charities while retaining several powers over income and principal. The IRS concluded th…
Trust transfers remain incomplete gifts and community property receives a basis adjustment
A married couple in a community property state transferred property to an irrevocable trust for descendants and charities while retaining several powers over income and principal. The IRS concluded th…
Trust transfers remain incomplete gifts and community property receives a basis adjustment
A married couple in a community property state transferred property to an irrevocable trust for descendants and charities while retaining several powers over income and principal. The IRS concluded th…
Trust powers preserve incomplete gifts without giving committee members general powers
A married couple placed community property in an irrevocable trust and shared distribution powers with a power-of-appointment committee. The IRS concluded that the trust terms did not make either gran…
Trust powers preserve incomplete gifts without giving committee members general powers
A married couple placed community property in an irrevocable trust and shared distribution powers with a power-of-appointment committee. The IRS concluded that the trust terms did not make either gran…
Trust powers preserve incomplete gifts without giving committee members general powers
A married couple placed community property in an irrevocable trust and shared distribution powers with a power-of-appointment committee. The IRS concluded that the trust terms did not make either gran…
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.