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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Five children may split an inherited IRA while using the oldest child's life expectancy
A decedent who had already reached the required beginning date named a revocable trust as the beneficiary of an IRA. After death, the trust became irrevocable and divided the remaining property among …
IRS gives mixed rulings on elections into governmental hybrid retirement plans
A state retirement system for judges and legislators proposed a one-time, irrevocable election allowing certain members to move from defined benefit plans into hybrid cash balance plans. For members w…
Surviving spouse may roll over an IRA left through her revocable trust
A decedent named a trust as the sole beneficiary of his IRA, and his surviving spouse was the trust's sole trustee and beneficiary. She could amend or revoke the trust and distribute all income and pr…
Splitting a deceased owner's estate-beneficiary IRA into separate inherited IRAs is not a taxable distribution
When an IRA owner dies and names his estate (not individuals) as the IRA beneficiary, the estate's personal representatives sometimes want to divide the account so each estate beneficiary can manage t…
A trust that inherited two IRAs qualifies as a "see-through" trust, so payouts can stretch over the oldest child's life expectancy
A person died (before the SECURE Act's 2020 rules applied) naming a revocable trust as the beneficiary of two IRAs, with the decedent's three children as the trust's beneficiaries. After death, that t…
Surviving spouse may roll over her community-property share of a deceased spouse's IRA held through a trust
A husband and wife in a community property state set up a family trust, and the husband's IRA named the trust as its beneficiary. When the husband died, half of the IRA was the wife's community proper…
IRS refuses to waive the 60-day IRA rollover deadline for a distribution used to buy a house
Money taken out of an IRA is normally taxable unless it is rolled back into a retirement account within 60 days. A taxpayer, on his real estate agent's advice, pulled cash out of his IRA to make an al…
Automatic 5-year extension to amortize a multiemployer pension plan's unfunded liabilities
Multiemployer pension plans must fund their promised benefits over time, paying down "unfunded liabilities" on set amortization schedules. When a plan is stressed, Section 431(d) lets it apply to stre…
IRS waives the 60-day deadline for two IRA rollovers mishandled by advisers
A married couple relied on a financial adviser and two institutions to place IRA distributions into self-directed IRAs that would invest in a real estate partnership. Instead, a distribution taken by …
IRS waives the 60-day deadline for two IRA rollovers placed in non-IRA accounts
A married couple took distributions from separate IRAs intending to roll the funds into new IRAs that would invest in real estate partnerships. They relied on a financial adviser and financial institu…
IRS explains annuity tax rules when grantor and non-grantor trusts own the contracts
A life insurer asked how the 10 percent additional tax and the non-natural-person annuity rule apply when a trust owns a nonqualified deferred annuity. For a grantor trust, the IRS ruled that the gran…
IRS allows an estate-owned IRA to be divided into inherited IRAs for trust beneficiaries
An unmarried IRA owner died after her required beginning date and named her estate as the IRA beneficiary. Her will passed the residuary estate, including the IRA, to a trust that divided the assets e…
IRS waives the 60-day deadline for an IRA rollover after a divorce
A taxpayer had relied on her spouse to handle financial and tax matters throughout their 45-year marriage. After their divorce, she received an IRA distribution and deposited it within 60 days into a …
Contract-paid annuity advisory fees are not distributions to the owner
A life insurer planned deferred annuity contracts designed for owners receiving ongoing professional advice about allocating contract value among available investment options. The owner would authoriz…
Annuity investment-advice fees paid by the contract are not owner distributions
A life insurer planned three types of deferred annuity contracts for owners who would receive ongoing professional advice about allocating contract value among available options. The owner would autho…
A missed IRA rollover deadline is waived after a custodian mailed notice to an old address
An IRA custodian resigned and assigned real estate investment trust shares to the account owner, creating a distribution. The custodian mailed the resignation notice to the taxpayer's former address, …
Employees may allocate employer contributions between an HRA and retirement plan without creating a cash deferral election
A union maintained a health reimbursement arrangement and a qualified profit-sharing plan under collective bargaining agreements. The plans proposed allowing employees to make an annual irrevocable ch…
Nonunion pension plans approved to use substitute mortality tables
A controlled group requested permission to use plan-specific substitute mortality tables for male and female participants, including disabled participants, in two nonunion defined benefit plans. The t…
Union pension plans approved to use substitute mortality tables
A controlled group requested permission to use plan-specific substitute mortality tables for male and female participants, including disabled participants, in three union defined benefit plans. The ta…
Government plan switch allowed only when employee contributions stay the same
Two state retirement systems for judges and legislators proposed a one-time election allowing existing members to move from defined benefit tiers to hybrid cash balance plans. The IRS ruled that membe…
Government plan switch allowed for Tier 2 but not Tier 1 members
Three state retirement systems proposed a one-time election allowing Tier 1 and Tier 2 members to move from defined benefit plans to hybrid cash balance plans. The IRS ruled that Tier 2 members could …
Prehire staffing period counts for qualified-plan eligibility and vesting
A company used a staffing agency for workers who typically worked full time under a leasing arrangement for four months before the company hired them directly. Its defined benefit plan required one ye…
Surviving spouse could roll inherited plan benefits into her IRA
A deceased employee's estate was the beneficiary of his qualified retirement plan and section 403(b) annuity plan. His surviving spouse was the estate's sole executor, the sole trustee and beneficiary…
Pension plan may use substitute mortality tables for five years
A defined benefit pension plan asked to use plan-specific substitute mortality tables when calculating minimum funding under section 430. The request covered male and female annuitants and nonannuitan…
Pension sponsor approved to use substitute mortality tables for its salaried plan
A company that sponsors defined benefit pension plans asked the IRS for permission to use its own "substitute" mortality tables, rather than the standard IRS tables, when calculating the minimum requi…
Pension sponsor approved to use substitute mortality tables for its hourly plan
A company that sponsors defined benefit pension plans asked the IRS for permission to use its own "substitute" mortality tables, rather than the standard IRS tables, when calculating the minimum requi…
Two pension plans may use substitute mortality tables for annuitants
A taxpayer asked to use plan-specific substitute mortality tables for the combined male and female annuitants of two defined benefit pension plans, excluding disabled participants. The IRS found that …
IRS approves an automatic extension for pension-plan amortization periods
A multiemployer pension plan requested an automatic extension of the periods for amortizing specified unfunded liabilities. The IRS approved the request for the redacted eligible charge bases and a re…
Pension plan for church-associated nonprofit qualifies as a church plan
A religiously affiliated nonprofit serving people with developmental disabilities asked whether its defined benefit pension plan qualified as a church plan under section 414(e). The nonprofit was tax …
One pension amendment approved and one declined for ruling
A multiemployer defined benefit plan with a five-year amortization extension proposed two amendments that would increase liabilities. The IRS declined to rule on a retroactive benefit-accrual amendmen…
Plan approved to use substitute mortality tables
A defined benefit pension plan asked to use substitute mortality tables when calculating its minimum funding obligations. The IRS approved the tables for male and female annuitants and nonannuitants, …
Pension minimum funding waiver approved with conditions
An employer sought a waiver of the remaining unpaid minimum required contribution for its pension plan's 2018 plan year. The IRS found that project-related problems had caused a temporary substantial …
Annuity-paid advisory fees not treated as owner distributions
A life insurer planned to offer nonqualified deferred annuity contracts designed for owners receiving ongoing advice about allocating contract value among available investment options. Owners could au…
Contract-specific advisory fees are not annuity distributions
A life insurer proposed nonqualified deferred annuity contracts designed for owners who receive ongoing professional advice about allocating contract value among available options. Owners could author…
Annuity-funded advice fees excluded from owner receipts
A life insurance company planned three nonqualified deferred annuity contracts whose owners would receive ongoing advice about choosing among the contracts' investment options. Owners could authorize …
Annuity advisory fees treated as contract expenses
A life insurer proposed three nonqualified deferred annuity contracts designed for owners who would receive professional advice about allocating contract value among available options. The owner could…
Direct annuity advisory fees are not owner distributions
A life insurance company proposed three nonqualified deferred annuity products meant to operate with continuing investment advice. Owners could authorize fees capped at 1.5 percent of contract value t…
Contract-paid investment advice is not an annuity receipt
A life insurer designed three nonqualified deferred annuity contracts for owners using ongoing investment advisers. The insurer would pay authorized fees directly from contract value, capped at 1.5 pe…
Investment advice fees excluded from annuity receipts
A life insurer proposed three nonqualified deferred annuity contracts intended for use with ongoing investment advice. Owners could authorize direct payment from contract value of advisory fees capped…
Two annuity products may pay advisory fees without distribution treatment
A life insurer proposed two nonqualified deferred annuity contracts, one variable and one nonvariable, for owners using ongoing investment advice. The contracts could pay authorized advisory fees dire…
Advisory fees for two annuities are contract expenses
A life insurance company planned two nonqualified deferred annuity contracts, one variable and one nonvariable, designed for owners receiving ongoing investment advice. Contract value could pay adviso…
Cash realized on employer debt can fund deductible pension contribution
A company proposed contributing its own publicly traded investment-grade debt securities to its defined benefit pension trust. The debt itself was only the company's promise to pay and therefore was n…
Annuity-paid investment advisory fees are not distributions to contract owners
A life insurance company planned to offer nonqualified deferred annuity contracts designed for owners who receive ongoing professional advice about allocating the contracts' cash value. With the owner…
Annuity-paid investment advisory fees are contract expenses, not owner distributions
A life insurance company planned to offer nonqualified deferred annuity contracts designed for owners who receive ongoing professional advice about allocating the contracts' cash value. With the owner…
Direct payment of annuity investment-advice fees is not an owner distribution
A life insurance company planned to offer nonqualified deferred annuity contracts designed for owners who receive ongoing professional advice about allocating the contracts' cash value. With the owner…
Advisory fees paid from fixed annuities are expenses rather than owner distributions
A life insurance company planned to offer two nonvariable, nonqualified deferred annuity contracts designed for owners who receive ongoing professional advice about allocating the contracts' cash valu…
Annuity contract may pay qualifying advisory fees without making an owner distribution
A life insurance company planned to offer nonqualified deferred annuity contracts designed for owners who receive ongoing professional advice about allocating the contracts' cash value. With the owner…
Contract-only annuity advice fees are not taxable distributions to owners
A life insurance company planned to offer nonqualified deferred annuity contracts designed for owners who receive ongoing professional advice about allocating the contracts' cash value. With the owner…
Annuity-funded investment advice does not create a distribution to the owner
A life insurance company planned to offer nonqualified deferred annuity contracts designed for owners who receive ongoing professional advice about allocating the contracts' cash value. With the owner…
Direct annuity payment of qualifying advice fees is not taxable to the owner
A life insurance company planned to offer nonqualified deferred annuity contracts designed for owners who receive ongoing professional advice about allocating the contracts' cash value. With the owner…
Qualifying investment-advice fees paid from annuities are contract expenses
A life insurance company planned to offer nonqualified deferred annuity contracts designed for owners who receive ongoing professional advice about allocating the contracts' cash value. With the owner…
Surviving spouse could roll over an IRA allocated through a community-property trust
A married couple's revocable trust was the beneficiary of the deceased spouse's IRA, which was community property. After the death, the surviving spouse became sole trustee and could allocate trust as…
Charity's inherited IRA transfer remains an IRA and is not taxable
A charitable organization was the named beneficiary of a deceased person's IRA. The custodian required the charity to open a new inherited IRA so the original account's assets could move there by a di…
Two pension plans approved to use substitute annuitant mortality tables
A taxpayer requested substitute mortality tables for two defined benefit pension plans. The IRS approved the substitute rates for male and female annuitants, including disabled participants, for ten p…
Pension plan approved to use substitute annuitant mortality tables
A taxpayer requested substitute mortality tables for one defined benefit pension plan within a controlled group. The IRS approved substitute rates for the plan’s male and female annuitants, excluding …
Pension plan approved to use substitute annuitant mortality tables for ten years
A taxpayer requested substitute mortality tables for one defined benefit pension plan in a controlled group. The IRS approved substitute rates for male and female annuitants, excluding disabled partic…
Surviving spouse could roll estate-beneficiary plan assets into an IRA
A participant in a governmental section 457(b) plan named his estate, rather than his spouse, as the beneficiary of his account. His surviving spouse was both the executrix and sole beneficiary of the…
Retirement plan contribution required an actual outlay of assets
Chief Counsel explained when an employer has actually paid a contribution to a qualified retirement plan trust for a section 404(a) deduction. Under the objective outlay-of-assets test from Don E. Wil…
Surviving spouse could roll retitled inherited IRA into her own IRA
A decedent's IRA originally named another beneficiary, but the custodian retitled the account under a state court order to name the surviving spouse as sole beneficiary. The spouse had an unlimited ri…
Surviving spouse may roll inherited IRA proceeds into her own IRAs
A decedent's children were originally named as the sole beneficiaries of his IRA, but a state court later named his surviving spouse as the sole beneficiary. The spouse represented that she had an unl…
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.