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.
No determinations match these filters
Try a different search term or clear the filters.
IRS grants a foreign entity extra time to make a late check-the-box election to be a disregarded entity
A foreign business entity wanted to be treated as a "disregarded entity" for U.S. federal tax purposes, meaning it is ignored as separate from its single owner (its income flows directly to that owner…
IRS grants a partnership extra time to make a late § 754 basis-adjustment election
A limited partnership wanted to make a section 754 election, which lets a partnership adjust the tax basis of its property when a partner transfers an interest or receives a distribution. That adjustm…
IRS grants a corporate parent extra time to make a late election to file a consolidated return
The parent company of an affiliated group of corporations wanted the group to file a single consolidated federal income tax return, with the parent as the common parent, for a particular tax year. Tha…
IRS grants a new corporate parent extra time to make a late consolidated-return election after an acquisition
A holding company (an LLC that elected to be taxed as a corporation), formed by private equity funds to buy a target corporation, acquired that target through its subsidiary. The target had been the c…
IRS grants an estate extra time to make a late portability election under § 2010(c)(5)(A)
When someone dies, any unused portion of their federal estate-and-gift tax exclusion can be passed to their surviving spouse through a "portability" election. This is valuable because it lets the surv…
Late § 754 election allowed for a partnership after two partners died
A partnership missed the deadline to make a § 754 election and asked the IRS for more time. A § 754 election lets a partnership adjust the tax basis of its assets when a partner's interest changes han…
Late § 754 election allowed for an LLC taxed as a partnership
An LLC taxed as a partnership meant to make a § 754 election but did not file it on time with its return. A § 754 election lets a partnership adjust the tax basis of its assets when interests change h…
Late estate-tax portability election allowed for a surviving spouse
When a married person 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 only…
Late estate-tax portability election allowed for a surviving spouse
A married person died leaving part of their federal estate-tax exemption unused. That leftover amount (the deceased spousal unused exclusion, or DSUE) can be transferred to the surviving spouse, but o…
Late § 336(e) election allowed to treat an S-corp stock sale as an asset sale
When someone buys all the stock of an S corporation, the parties can elect under § 336(e) to treat the deal as if the company sold all its assets and liquidated, which usually gives the buyer a steppe…
Late set-aside election allowed on an amended Form 8609 for the low-income housing credit
The low-income housing credit under § 42 rewards owners who rent a share of their units to lower-income tenants. To qualify, an owner must pick a "minimum set-aside" test on Form 8609, and once made t…
Late check-the-box election allowed for a foreign entity to be disregarded
Under the "check-the-box" rules, an eligible business entity can choose how it is taxed by filing Form 8832. A single-owner foreign entity can elect to be "disregarded," meaning it is ignored as a sep…
Late election allowed to apportion a consolidated § 382 limitation to departing members
When companies that had losses leave a consolidated group, the group's parent can elect under Treas. Reg. § 1.1502-95(c) to hand off part of the group's § 382 limitation (the annual cap on using pre-o…
Late check-the-box election allowed for a foreign entity to be disregarded
Under the "check-the-box" rules, an eligible business entity can pick how it is taxed by filing Form 8832. A single-owner foreign entity can elect to be "disregarded," meaning it is ignored as a separ…
Late Form 8996 accepted, allowing an LLC to self-certify as a qualified opportunity fund
A qualified opportunity fund (QOF) is an investment vehicle under § 1400Z-2 that lets investors defer capital gains by putting them into designated low-income "opportunity zones." To be a QOF, an enti…
Late Form 8996 accepted, allowing an LLC to self-certify as a qualified opportunity fund
A qualified opportunity fund (QOF) is an investment vehicle under § 1400Z-2 that lets investors defer capital gains by reinvesting them in designated low-income "opportunity zones." An entity self-cer…
Late check-the-box election allowed for a domestic LLC to be taxed as a corporation
Under the "check-the-box" rules, an eligible business entity can choose how it is taxed by filing Form 8832. By default a domestic LLC with two or more members is a partnership (or, with a single owne…
Late § 108(b)(5) election allowed to reduce depreciable-property basis first for cancelled debt
When a company's debt is forgiven, it normally has taxable cancellation-of-debt income, but an insolvent company can exclude that income under § 108 in exchange for cutting its tax attributes (things …
Late check-the-box election allowed for a foreign entity to be disregarded
Under the "check-the-box" rules, an eligible business entity can pick how it is taxed by filing Form 8832. A single-owner foreign entity can elect to be "disregarded," so it is ignored as a separate t…
Late estate-tax portability election allowed for a surviving spouse
A married person died leaving part of their federal estate-tax exemption unused. That leftover amount (the deceased spousal unused exclusion, or DSUE) can pass to the surviving spouse, but only if the…
Late Form 8996 accepted, allowing an LLC to self-certify as a qualified opportunity fund
A qualified opportunity fund (QOF) is an investment vehicle under § 1400Z-2 that lets investors defer capital gains by reinvesting them in designated low-income "opportunity zones." An entity self-cer…
Late Form 8996 accepted, allowing an LLC to self-certify as a qualified opportunity fund
A qualified opportunity fund (QOF) is an investment vehicle under § 1400Z-2 that lets investors defer capital gains by reinvesting them in designated low-income "opportunity zones." An entity self-cer…
Late check-the-box election allowed for two LLCs to be taxed as corporations
Under the "check-the-box" rules, an eligible business entity can choose how it is taxed by filing Form 8832. By default a domestic LLC with two or more members is a partnership (or, with one owner, is…
Late estate-tax portability election allowed for a surviving spouse
A married person died leaving part of their federal estate-tax exemption unused. That leftover amount (the deceased spousal unused exclusion, or DSUE) can pass to the surviving spouse, but only if the…
120-day extension for an LLC to file a late check-the-box election to be taxed as a corporation
A limited liability company wanted to be taxed as a corporation rather than under the default rules that treat an LLC as a partnership or a disregarded entity. To do that, it had to file Form 8832 (th…
120-day extension for a partnership to make a late § 754 basis-adjustment election
An LLC taxed as a partnership wanted to make a § 754 election, which lets a partnership adjust the tax basis of its assets when a partner's interest changes hands or property is distributed, so the ne…
120-day extension for a partnership to make a late § 754 basis-adjustment election
An LLC taxed as a partnership wanted to make a § 754 election, which lets a partnership adjust the tax basis of its assets when a partner's interest changes hands, so a buying partner's inside basis m…
60-day extension to file a missing § 174 R&E method-change statement with an amended return
A corporate group that files a consolidated return had to change its accounting method to comply with § 174 as amended by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which requires research or experimental (SRE) …
Late S-corp election relief plus 9100 extension for a PLLC's corporate-classification election
A professional LLC intended to be taxed as an S corporation from the day it was formed. To get there, an LLC normally must both elect to be classified as a corporation (via Form 8832) and elect S-corp…
120-day extension for a foreign entity to file a late check-the-box election to be disregarded
A foreign business entity wanted to be treated as a disregarded entity for U.S. tax purposes, meaning it is ignored as separate from its single owner (so the owner reports the entity's income directly…
120-day extension for a foreign entity to file a late check-the-box election to be disregarded
A foreign business entity wanted to be treated as a disregarded entity for U.S. tax purposes, meaning it is ignored as separate from its single owner (so the owner reports the entity's income directly…
120-day extension for a foreign entity to file a late check-the-box election to be disregarded
A foreign business entity wanted to be treated as a disregarded entity for U.S. tax purposes, meaning it is ignored as separate from its single owner (so the owner reports the entity's income directly…
Late S-corp election relief plus 9100 extension for an LLC's corporate-classification election
A state LLC intended to be taxed as an S corporation from a certain date. To get there, an LLC normally must both elect to be classified as a corporation (via Form 8832) and elect S-corporation status…
Triple S-corp relief for an LLC (late classification, late S election, and second-class-of-stock termination)
An LLC intended to be taxed as an S corporation from the day it was formed and had always filed that way, but it hit three separate problems. First, it never filed the forms to be classified as a corp…
60-day extension to elect out of bonus depreciation under § 168(k)(7)
Bonus depreciation under § 168(k) lets a business immediately deduct a large percentage of the cost of qualifying property in the year it is placed in service. A taxpayer can instead elect out of bonu…
75-day extension to file a late § 336(e) election treating an S-corp stock sale as an asset sale
A § 336(e) election lets certain sales of a corporation's stock be treated, for tax purposes, as if the corporation had sold its assets. Buyers often want this because it gives the assets a stepped-up…
120-day extension for an entity to file a late check-the-box election to be taxed as a corporation
A business entity wanted to be taxed as a corporation rather than under the default classification (partnership or disregarded entity). To do that, it had to file Form 8832, the "check-the-box" entity…
Relief accepting a late Form 8996 to self-certify as a qualified opportunity fund
A qualified opportunity fund (QOF) is an investment vehicle that lets investors defer and reduce tax on capital gains they roll into designated low-income "opportunity zones" under § 1400Z-2. To be a …
120-day extension to file a late Section 754 election to adjust partnership property basis
A Section 754 election lets a partnership adjust the tax basis of its property when a partner's interest changes hands or property is distributed, so the new numbers line up with what partners actuall…
Late-filed Form 8996 treated as timely so an LLC can self-certify as a qualified opportunity fund
A qualified opportunity fund (QOF) is an investment vehicle that gets tax breaks for putting money into designated low-income "opportunity zones." To become one, an entity must self-certify each year …
9100-3 relief granting 120 days to file a late QSub election so a subsidiary is treated as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary retroactively
An S corporation ("X") owns all of the stock of another corporation ("Y") and wanted Y to be a qualified subchapter S subsidiary (QSub), a subsidiary that is ignored as a separate corporation and fold…
9100-3 relief granting 120 days to make a late section 754 election so a partnership can adjust the basis of its property after a partner's death
A partnership had a partner die, an event that (with a section 754 election in place) lets the partnership step up the inside basis of its assets to match the value the deceased partner's successor no…
9100-3 relief granting 120 days for an LLC to file a late Form 8832 electing to be taxed as a corporation
A limited liability company wanted to be taxed as a corporation instead of under the default rules (a partnership or a disregarded entity). To do that, an LLC files Form 8832, the entity classificatio…
9100-3 relief granting 120 days for a homeowners association to make late section 528 elections (Forms 1120-H) for several years
A homeowners association can elect a favorable tax regime under Code section 528, which taxes only its non-exempt-function income, by filing Form 1120-H each year. This association inadvertently faile…
9100-3 relief granting 120 days for a foreign entity to file a late Form 8832 electing to be a disregarded entity
A foreign business entity wanted to be treated as a disregarded entity for US federal tax purposes, meaning it would not be taxed as a separate entity but instead as part of its single owner. To make …
Housing project gets 120 days to make omitted average-income election
The owner of a multi-building low-income housing project intended to elect the average-income minimum set-aside under Section 42(g)(1)(C). Its contemporaneous records showed that intent, but it inadve…
60-day extension for a qualified opportunity fund to file its late Form 8996 election
A limited liability company formed to invest in qualified opportunity zone property intended to be treated as a qualified opportunity fund. It had no income or expenses during its first tax year and d…
120-day extension for a foreign entity to make a late disregarded-entity election
A foreign entity intended to be treated as a disregarded entity for U.S. federal tax purposes as of a specified date but did not file Form 8832 on time. It asked the IRS for an extension under Treas. …
120-day relief for an LLC to make late corporate-classification and S corporation elections
An LLC is treated by default as a partnership (if it has multiple owners) or as a disregarded entity (if it has one), so to be taxed as an S corporation it must both elect to be classified as a corpor…
60-day extension to file a late Form 8996 self-certifying as a Qualified Opportunity Fund
A Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF) lets investors defer capital gains by putting them into businesses in designated low-income areas, but the fund must certify itself each year by filing Form 8996 wit…
60-day extension to make a late success-based fee safe harbor election under Rev. Proc. 2011-29
When a company buys another business, fees paid to advisors that come due only if the deal closes ("success-based fees") normally must be capitalized unless the buyer keeps detailed records showing pa…
60-day extension to make a late GILTI high-tax exclusion election for a group of controlled foreign corporations
A U.S. corporation that heads a consolidated group owns a group of controlled foreign corporations (CFCs). Under the GILTI rules of section 951A, a U.S. shareholder must include a CFC's income in its …
90-day extension to file a corrected IC-DISC election (Form 4876-A)
A company set up a new corporation to serve as an interest-charge domestic international sales corporation (an IC-DISC), a type of entity that provides a tax benefit for U.S. exporters. To get IC-DISC…
75-day extension to file a late section 336(e) election treating a stock sale as an asset sale
Buyers purchased all the stock of an S corporation from its shareholders. When a stock sale meets the definition of a "qualified stock disposition," the parties can elect under section 336(e) to treat…
120-day extension to file a late Form 8832 electing partnership classification
A foreign entity wanted to be classified as a partnership for U.S. federal tax purposes as of a specific date, which requires filing Form 8832 (the entity classification election). Through inadvertenc…
120-day extension for an estate to make a late portability (DSUE) election
When a married person dies without using all of their federal estate-and-gift tax exclusion, the unused amount (the "deceased spousal unused exclusion," or DSUE) can be passed to the surviving spouse,…
120-day extension to file a late Form 8832 electing partnership classification
A foreign entity wanted to be treated as a partnership for U.S. federal tax purposes, effective a specific date, which requires filing Form 8832 (the entity classification election). It missed the fil…
120-day extension to make a late section 754 basis-adjustment election
A state limited liability company taxed as a partnership meant to make a section 754 election for a particular tax year but inadvertently failed to make it properly. A section 754 election lets a part…
120-day extension to file a late Form 8832 electing disregarded-entity status
A private limited company organized in a foreign country was acquired by a U.S. corporation, which wanted the foreign company treated as a disregarded entity for federal tax purposes (meaning its inco…
120-day extension to make a late section 754 basis-adjustment election
A limited liability limited partnership had a partner die during a tax year. When a partnership interest transfers (including on a partner's death), a section 754 election lets the partnership adjust …
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.