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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Estate gets more time to make a portability election for the surviving spouse
When one spouse dies without using all of their federal estate-and-gift tax exemption, the estate can make a "portability" election that lets the surviving spouse use the leftover amount, called the d…
Estate gets more time to make a portability election for the surviving spouse
When one spouse dies without using all of their federal estate-and-gift tax exemption, the estate can make a "portability" election that lets the surviving spouse use the leftover amount, called the d…
Late portability (DSUE) election allowed under 9100 relief
When one spouse dies without using all of their federal estate-tax exclusion, the surviving spouse can inherit the leftover amount (the "deceased spousal unused exclusion," or DSUE) only if the deceas…
Late portability (DSUE) election allowed under 9100 relief
When one spouse dies without using all of their federal estate-tax exclusion, the surviving spouse can inherit the leftover amount (the "deceased spousal unused exclusion," or DSUE) only if the deceas…
Late section 362(e)(2)(C) basis-election statement allowed under 9100 relief
When property is transferred to a corporation in a tax-free § 351 exchange and the property's tax basis is higher than its value, § 362(e)(2) normally forces the receiving corporation to reduce its ba…
Late portability (DSUE) election allowed under 9100 relief
When one spouse dies without using all of their federal estate-tax exclusion, the surviving spouse can inherit the leftover amount (the "deceased spousal unused exclusion," or DSUE) only if the deceas…
Late section 853 foreign-tax pass-through election by a liquidated fund allowed under 9100 relief
A mutual fund (a regulated investment company, or RIC) that holds mostly foreign stocks can elect under § 853 to pass the foreign taxes it pays through to its shareholders, who then claim the related …
Late portability (DSUE) election allowed under 9100 relief
When one spouse dies without using all of their federal estate-tax exclusion, the surviving spouse can inherit the leftover amount (the "deceased spousal unused exclusion," or DSUE) only if the deceas…
Late check-the-box election to be a disregarded entity allowed under 9100 relief
A foreign business entity with a single owner can choose, using a "check-the-box" election on Form 8832, to be treated as a disregarded entity (ignored for U.S. tax, so its income flows straight to th…
Late portability (DSUE) election allowed under 9100 relief
When one spouse dies without using all of their federal estate-tax exclusion, the surviving spouse can inherit the leftover amount (the "deceased spousal unused exclusion," or DSUE) only if the deceas…
Late reverse-QTIP election allowed so the deceased's GST exemption can shelter the marital trust
When a marital trust qualifies for the estate-tax marital deduction under the QTIP rules, the surviving spouse (not the deceased) would normally be treated as the "transferor" for generation-skipping …
Late QDOT citizenship notice (Form 706-QDT) allowed so the trust escapes the section 2056A estate tax
When a U.S. decedent's surviving spouse is not a U.S. citizen, property qualifies for the estate-tax marital deduction only if it passes to a qualified domestic trust (QDOT), and distributions of prin…
Late portability (DSUE) election allowed under 9100 relief
When one spouse dies without using all of their federal estate-tax exclusion, the surviving spouse can inherit the leftover amount (the "deceased spousal unused exclusion," or DSUE) only if the deceas…
Late RIC (section 851(b)) and foreign-tax pass-through (section 853) elections allowed under 9100 relief
A new fund intended to elect to be taxed as a regulated investment company (RIC) under § 851(b) for its first year, and also to elect under § 853 to pass the foreign taxes it paid through to its share…
Late portability (DSUE) election allowed under 9100 relief
When one spouse dies without using all of their federal estate-tax exclusion, the surviving spouse can inherit the leftover amount (the "deceased spousal unused exclusion," or DSUE) only if the deceas…
Late section 42(f)(1) election to defer the low-income-housing credit period allowed under 9100 relief
The low-income housing credit under § 42 is claimed over a 10-year "credit period" that starts the year a building is placed in service, unless the owner makes an irrevocable § 42(f)(1) election to st…
Late check-the-box election to be a disregarded entity allowed under 9100 relief
A foreign business entity with a single owner can choose, using a "check-the-box" election on Form 8832, to be treated as a disregarded entity (ignored for U.S. tax, so its income flows straight to th…
Late check-the-box elections for two foreign entities to be disregarded allowed under 9100 relief
A foreign business entity with a single owner can use a "check-the-box" election on Form 8832 to be treated as a disregarded entity (ignored for U.S. tax, so its income flows straight to the owner) in…
Late safe-harbor election for success-based deal fees allowed under 9100 relief
When a company buys a business, advisory fees that are payable only if the deal closes ("success-based fees") are presumed to be a cost of the acquisition and must be capitalized rather than deducted.…
Late identification for integrating convertible notes with a hedge allowed under 9100 relief
Tax rules let a company combine ("integrate") a qualifying debt instrument with a hedge so the pair is taxed as if it were a single fixed-rate note, but only if the company records and identifies the …
Late portability election for a deceased spouse's unused exclusion allowed under 9100 relief
When someone dies without using all of their federal estate-tax exclusion, the unused portion (the "deceased spousal unused exclusion," or DSUE amount) can be passed to the surviving spouse, but only …
Late election to file a consolidated return allowed under 9100 relief
A group of affiliated corporations can choose to file a single consolidated federal income tax return under a common parent instead of separate returns. That election is made by timely filing the cons…
Late portability election for a deceased spouse's unused exclusion allowed under 9100 relief
When someone dies without using all of their federal estate-tax exclusion, the unused portion (the "deceased spousal unused exclusion," or DSUE amount) can be passed to the surviving spouse, but only …
Late consent-dividend election for a REIT allowed under 9100 relief
A corporation (here a real estate investment trust, or REIT) can claim a deduction for "dividends paid" that includes "consent dividends," which are hypothetical dividends a shareholder agrees to trea…
Late section 754 basis-adjustment election allowed under 9100 relief
A partnership can make a "§ 754 election" so that, when it distributes property or a partner's interest changes hands, it adjusts the tax basis of its assets (under §§ 734(b) and 743(b)) to match econ…
Late check-the-box election for a foreign eligible entity allowed under 9100 relief
A foreign business entity that is eligible can use a "check-the-box" election on Form 8832 to choose how it is classified for U.S. tax purposes (as a corporation, a partnership, or a disregarded entit…
Late corporate-classification and S corporation elections allowed under 9100 relief
A limited liability company that wants to be taxed as an S corporation has to clear two hurdles: it must be treated as a corporation (which an LLC can achieve by filing Form 8832, or automatically thr…
Late check-the-box election to be a disregarded entity allowed under 9100 relief
A foreign business entity with a single owner can use a "check-the-box" election on Form 8832 to be treated as a disregarded entity (ignored for U.S. tax, so its income flows straight to the owner) in…
9100 relief lets a qualified opportunity fund self-certify late on Form 8996 after its preparer wrongly told it not to file
A limited liability company set up as a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF) missed the deadline to self-certify by filing Form 8996 with its tax return. It had hired a tax firm to prepare the return, but…
9100 relief to make a late section 336(e) election and a late S corporation election after a stock sale
When buyers purchased all the stock of an S corporation, the parties intended to make two tax elections but missed the deadlines. The first, a section 336(e) election, lets a "qualified stock disposit…
9100 relief to file a late section 336(e) election statement after an S corporation stock sale
Buyers acquired more than 80% of the stock of an S corporation from its sellers. The parties intended for the stock sale to be treated as an asset sale by making a section 336(e) election, which lets …
9100 relief to file a late Form 8832 electing to be taxed as a corporation
A limited company that is an "eligible entity" under the check-the-box rules wanted to be classified as an association taxable as a corporation for federal tax purposes, but through inadvertence it ne…
9100 relief to make a late portability election so a surviving spouse can use the DSUE amount
When one spouse dies without using all of their federal estate tax exclusion, the unused portion (the "deceased spousal unused exclusion," or DSUE) can pass to the surviving spouse, but only if the de…
9100 relief to file a late QSLOB election (Form 5310-A) for a walled-off defense contractor's 401(k) plan
A U.S. subsidiary that performs classified work for the U.S. government must be walled off from its foreign parent under a "Foreign Ownership, Control and Influence" (FOCI) security framework, and it …
9100 relief to file a late Form 8832 classifying a foreign entity as a partnership
A foreign business entity, eligible under the check-the-box rules to choose how it is classified for U.S. federal tax purposes, wanted to be treated as a partnership as of a chosen effective date. It …
9100 relief to file a late section 754 election after a partner's death
A limited partnership had a partner who died, an event that lets the partnership step up (or down) the basis of its assets to match the successor's basis in the partnership interest, but only if the p…
9100 relief to make a late QSub election after the subsidiary was fixed to qualify as a corporation
An S corporation formed a wholly owned LLC subsidiary and tried to elect to treat it as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary (QSub), which lets the parent ignore the subsidiary as a separate entity and…
9100 relief to make a late portability (DSUE) election for an estate not otherwise required to file
When a married person dies without using all of their federal estate-tax exclusion, the estate can elect "portability" to pass the unused amount (the deceased spousal unused exclusion, or DSUE) to the…
Late-election relief to make a portability (DSUE) election for an estate that was not required to file an estate tax return
When one spouse dies without using all of the federal estate and gift tax exclusion, the survivor can inherit the unused amount (the deceased spousal unused exclusion, or DSUE) through a "portability"…
IRS grants a late-filing estate 120 days to make a portability election for the deceased spouse's unused exclusion
When one spouse dies, the estate can "port" the deceased spouse's unused estate-and-gift-tax exclusion (the DSUE amount) over to the surviving spouse, but only by making an election on a timely filed …
IRS grants a partnership 120 more days to make a section 754 basis-adjustment election
When a partnership interest changes hands, the partnership can make a "section 754 election" to adjust the tax basis of its assets, which usually benefits the incoming partner by aligning the inside b…
IRS grants a historic-rehab entity 60 more days to elect out of "tax-exempt controlled entity" treatment
This ruling involves a historic building rehabilitation financed with federal historic tax credits (under Internal Revenue Code § 47). The taxpayer is an LLC wholly owned by a § 501 tax-exempt nonprof…
IRS grants a corporation 120 more days to elect to amortize research expenses over 10 years
A corporation that files a consolidated return for its group wanted to elect, under Internal Revenue Code § 59(e), to deduct its research and experimental (R&E) expenditures ratably over 10 years inst…
IRS grants a company 60 more days to make the 70/30 safe-harbor election for success-based fees
When a company pays fees that are contingent on closing a merger or acquisition ("success-based fees"), the tax rules presume the whole fee must be capitalized (spread out) rather than deducted, unles…
IRS grants a corporation 120 more days to make section 59(e) elections its accountant forgot to attach
A corporation that files a consolidated return decided to elect, under Internal Revenue Code § 59(e), to deduct its research and experimental (R&E) expenditures ratably over 10 years rather than all a…
IRS denies a day-trader's request to make a late mark-to-market election, citing hindsight
A securities trader wanted to elect the "mark-to-market" method of accounting under Internal Revenue Code § 475(f), which lets a trader in securities treat trading gains and losses as ordinary (rather…
IRS grants extension of time to make a Section 336(e) election for an S corporation stock sale
A purchaser bought all the stock of an S corporation from its shareholder in a deal the parties intended to treat, for tax purposes, as a sale of the company's assets rather than its stock. That treat…
IRS grants extension to make a Section 59(e) election to amortize R&E expenditures over 10 years
The parent company of an affiliated corporate group (a retail distributor of children's and infants' apparel) intended to elect under section 59(e) to deduct part of its research and experimental (R&E…
IRS grants a REIT extra time to make a taxable REIT subsidiary election it failed to file
A real estate investment trust (REIT) acquired a hotel, planning to own it through the REIT and lease it to a subsidiary that would be treated as a "taxable REIT subsidiary" (TRS). A REIT generally ca…
IRS grants extension to self-certify as a Qualified Opportunity Fund (Form 8996)
An LLC was formed to invest in a qualified opportunity zone and to act as a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF), the vehicle that lets investors defer tax on capital gains they reinvest in distressed are…
IRS grants a decedent's estate more time to make the portability (DSUE) election
When one spouse dies without using all of their federal estate and gift tax exclusion, the unused amount (the "deceased spousal unused exclusion," or DSUE) can be transferred to the surviving spouse. …
IRS grants a decedent's estate more time to make the portability (DSUE) election
When one spouse dies without using all of their federal estate and gift tax exclusion, the unused amount (the "deceased spousal unused exclusion," or DSUE) can be transferred to the surviving spouse. …
IRS grants extra time to elect a taxable REIT subsidiary after a law-firm and fund each assumed the other would file
A real estate fund set up a structure to hold hotels through a REIT and a taxable REIT subsidiary (TRS), a common "RIDEA" arrangement that lets a REIT lease its lodging facilities to a TRS that hires …
IRS gives a REIT 90 days to make a late taxable REIT subsidiary election after a law-firm and fund each assumed the other would file
A real estate fund built a structure to hold hotels through a REIT and a taxable REIT subsidiary (TRS), a common "RIDEA" arrangement that lets a REIT lease its lodging facilities to a TRS which then h…
IRS gives a GRAT settlor extra time to opt out of automatic GST-exemption allocation after the attorney never advised it
A person (the settlor) set up a grantor retained annuity trust (GRAT) and transferred property into it, reporting the gift on a timely Form 709. When the settlor's retained annuity interest ended and …
IRS gives a GRAT settlor extra time to opt out of automatic GST-exemption allocation after the attorney never advised it
A person (the settlor) set up a grantor retained annuity trust (GRAT) and transferred property into it, reporting the gift on a timely Form 709. When the settlor's retained annuity interest ended and …
IRS gives an S corporation 60 days to make a late safe-harbor election for success-based transaction fees
A holding company taxed as an S corporation paid "success-based fees" (fees contingent on a deal closing) to an advisor in connection with a business acquisition and reorganization. Under the capitali…
IRS grants 75 more days to file a late Section 336(e) election statement after a tax pro missed the deadline
A partnership bought all the stock of an S corporation in a deal the parties treated as a qualified stock disposition. They intended to make a section 336(e) election, which lets a qualifying stock sa…
LLC gets 120 days to file a late election to be taxed as a corporation
A limited liability company intended to be classified as a corporation for federal tax purposes as of a chosen effective date, but it never filed the required Form 8832 (Entity Classification Election…
Partnership gets 120 days to make a late Section 754 basis-adjustment election after a partner's death
A limited partnership wanted to make a section 754 election, which lets a partnership adjust the tax basis of its assets when a partnership interest is transferred (here, after a partner died) or prop…
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.