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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Real estate company gets late-filing relief to elect REIT status after its manager missed the extension
A real estate company had been a wholly owned subsidiary of a publicly traded REIT, but after an outside investor bought into its parent it stopped qualifying as a "qualified REIT subsidiary" and had …
A county's development incentive payment counts as qualifying REIT income
A real estate investment trust (REIT) gets its favorable tax treatment only if almost all of its income is passive real estate income: at least 95% and 75% of gross income must come from rents and oth…
Energy infrastructure fees qualified as REIT real-property rents
A REIT planned to lease an offshore oil and gas platform, storage-tank capacity, and pipeline capacity to unrelated users. Fees could depend on reserved capacity, throughput volume, public inflation i…
Fiber and antenna-system lease payments qualify as REIT real-property rents
A real estate investment trust leases permanently affixed fiber optic and coaxial cable systems, conduit, and distributed antenna systems to telecommunications customers. Its agreements grant tenants …
A REIT's share of a lump-sum city payment to keep apartments affordable counts as qualifying REIT income
A real estate investment trust (REIT) has to earn most of its income from passive real estate sources, and a company that fails those income tests can lose its REIT status. This taxpayer, a REIT, held…
A REIT's energy-savings charge to tenants is not disqualifying "income or profits" rent
A real estate investment trust (REIT) operates mostly through an operating partnership that leases buildings to tenants. The partnership is rolling out a program to replace older fixtures with more en…
Late REIT election accepted after a signed return was misplaced during an office move
A limited liability company operated as a real estate investment trust (REIT) and intended to lock in that tax status by filing a Form 1120-REIT for its first year, which is how the section 856(c) ele…
Late § 853 foreign-tax-credit pass-through election allowed for a mutual fund after a missed deadline
A mutual fund taxed as a regulated investment company (RIC) invests in foreign companies and pays foreign taxes, and each year it elects under Internal Revenue Code § 853 to pass those foreign tax cre…
Late § 853 and § 1296 elections allowed for a mutual fund after a missed return deadline
A mutual fund taxed as a regulated investment company (RIC) needed to make two elections on its return: a § 853 election to pass foreign tax credits through to shareholders, and a § 1296 election to m…
Late § 853 foreign-tax-credit pass-through election allowed for a mutual fund after a missed deadline
A mutual fund taxed as a regulated investment company (RIC) invests in foreign companies and pays foreign taxes, and each year it elects under Internal Revenue Code § 853 to pass those foreign tax cre…
Late § 853 and § 1296 elections allowed for a mutual fund after a missed return deadline
A mutual fund taxed as a regulated investment company (RIC) needed to make two elections on its return: a § 853 election to pass foreign tax credits through to shareholders, and a § 1296 election to m…
Late § 853 and § 1296 elections allowed for a mutual fund after a missed return deadline
A mutual fund taxed as a regulated investment company (RIC) needed to make two elections on its return: a § 853 election to pass foreign tax credits through to shareholders, and a § 1296 election to m…
State brownfield-cleanup tax credits count as a good REIT asset and good REIT income
Real estate investment trusts (REITs) get their special tax treatment only if they stay heavily invested in real estate and earn mostly passive, real-estate-type income: at least 75% of assets must be…
Late relief lets a REIT make missed "taxable REIT subsidiary" elections for two subsidiaries
A real estate investment trust (REIT) and a corporation it owns can jointly elect, on Form 8875, to treat that corporation as a "taxable REIT subsidiary" (TRS) under Internal Revenue Code § 856(l), wh…
Late relief lets a REIT treat acquired subsidiaries as "taxable REIT subsidiaries"
A real estate investment trust (REIT) and a corporation it owns can jointly elect, on Form 8875, to treat that corporation as a "taxable REIT subsidiary" (TRS) under Internal Revenue Code § 856(l), wh…
A REIT's sale of its apartment portfolios in a liquidation is not a taxable "prohibited transaction"
A real estate investment trust (REIT) faces a punishing 100 percent tax under § 857(b)(6) on profits from "prohibited transactions," meaning sales of property the REIT holds primarily for sale to cust…
90-day extension to make a late taxable-REIT-subsidiary (TRS) election under § 856(l)
A real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns medical-office, senior-housing, student-housing, and self-storage properties set up a wholly owned subsidiary and meant to jointly elect (on Form 8875) …
A construction grant for a REIT redevelopment project is qualifying income
A REIT planned to redevelop a distressed, high-vacancy property into modern retail, residential, and other uses. It applied for a state economic-development grant that would reimburse documented const…
Assisted-living joint venture rent qualifies as REIT income
A company intending to qualify as a real estate investment trust owned assisted-living facilities through a partnership. The facilities were leased to operating partnerships owned by the REIT's taxabl…
Senior facilities and foreign income receive mixed REIT rulings
A company planning to elect REIT status acquired independent-living and assisted-living facilities in the United States and another country. The IRS ruled that the integrated senior facilities with me…
Payment to waive property purchase right was qualifying REIT income
A real estate investment trust indirectly held a general-partner interest in a partnership that owned a residential rental property with onsite retail tenants. The partnership agreement gave each part…
REIT received time for taxable-subsidiary election
A REIT owned a foreign company and foreign property companies whose intercompany interest deductions were affected by new foreign tax rules. Relying on its tax adviser's analysis, the REIT did not tim…
City development payments qualified for REIT tests
A REIT owned an interest in a partnership developing a mixed-use shopping center on a long-vacant site. A city agreed to make annual payments from a portion of new tax revenue generated by the project…
Development reimbursements met REIT asset and income tests
A REIT held an interest in a partnership developing a mixed-use shopping center on a long-vacant property. A city agreed to make annual payments from a share of new tax revenue attributable to the pro…
City project payments received favorable REIT treatment
A REIT owned part of a partnership developing a mixed-use shopping center on a long-vacant site. The city agreed to use a portion of new project-generated tax revenue for annual payments that included…
REIT received a second extension for subsidiary elections
A REIT and two subsidiaries intended to elect taxable REIT subsidiary status and had already obtained an IRS extension to file Forms 8875. The law firm, accounting firm, and in-house advisor each mist…
Treats apartment services as qualifying REIT rental activity
A real estate investment trust owned three luxury apartment properties and asked whether services provided there would create impermissible tenant service income. The services included leasing, common…
REIT group receives 90 days to make late taxable REIT subsidiary elections
A company planning to qualify as a REIT acquired interests in six health care companies that had previously been taxable REIT subsidiaries of another REIT. New joint elections on Form 8875 were requir…
REIT receives extra time for two taxable-subsidiary elections
A company intending to qualify as a real estate investment trust acquired a building containing offices, a hotel, an athletic club, and restaurants. Two subsidiaries leased and operated the hotel and …
REIT successors get more time for subsidiary elections
Two predecessor REITs intended to elect taxable REIT subsidiary status for their respective subsidiaries and filed Forms 8875 by the intended deadlines. During a later acquisition, their successors di…
Carbon units produce qualifying income when issued, not when sold
A timber REIT received carbon-emission units under a foreign program that restricted harvesting unless replacement trees were planted. New regulations meant the separately transferable units no longer…
Mortgage settlement payments preserve REMIC status and interests
A trustee for multiple residential mortgage-backed securitization trusts requested rulings about a bank settlement over alleged breaches of mortgage representations and warranties. Each trust's share …
RMBS settlement shares preserve REMIC tax treatment
A trustee for multiple residential mortgage-backed securitization trusts requested rulings about a bank settlement over alleged breaches of mortgage representations and warranties. Each settling trust…
REIT receives extensions to make two taxable-subsidiary elections
A real estate investment trust and two indirectly owned corporations intended to elect taxable REIT subsidiary status, but their advisers and internal personnel failed to file the required Forms 8875 …
Base solar incentive counts as qualifying REIT income
A real estate investment trust indirectly owned a mixed-use shopping center and planned to install a rooftop solar electricity system serving only that property. A utility program would pay a lump-sum…
Shopping-center solar incentive qualifies for REIT income tests
A REIT indirectly owned a mixed-use retail center and planned a rooftop solar system that would supply electricity only to the property. A utility incentive would include a base payment for the system…
Rooftop solar base payment is qualifying REIT income
A REIT indirectly owned a regional shopping center and planned to install a rooftop solar system used only to serve that property. The local utility's incentive included a base amount for the system a…
Solar installation incentive is qualifying REIT income
A REIT indirectly owned a mixed-use shopping center and its land through a partnership. The partnership planned to install a rooftop solar system that would generate electricity only for the center. A…
Utility's base solar payment qualifies as REIT income
A REIT's partnership owned a mixed-use shopping center and the underlying land and planned to install a solar system on the roof. The system would serve only the center and would be treated as a struc…
Shopping-center solar base incentive meets REIT income tests
A REIT indirectly owned a shopping center and the land beneath it and planned a rooftop solar installation serving only the center. The utility's upfront incentive was calculated using a base rate, wi…
Mortgage settlement payment preserves REMIC qualification
A REMIC in a residential mortgage securitization trust was entitled to a settlement payment resolving claims that mortgage loans breached representations and warranties. The payment did not exceed all…
Antenna-system payments qualify as REIT real property rents
A corporation planning to elect REIT status owned or controlled cables, conduit, equipment, and property rights used in distributed antenna systems for wireless carriers. It represented that the cable…
Pipeline dehydrator and user fees qualify for REIT tests
A publicly traded corporation that elected REIT status owned one pipeline system and planned to acquire another from its taxable REIT subsidiary. A dehydrator removed moisture solely to protect the fi…
REIT and hotel company received 90 days to make a late TRS election
A real estate investment trust indirectly owned a single-member limited liability company that leased a hotel operated by an eligible independent contractor. The parties intended for the company to el…
Mortgage settlement shares preserved REMIC tax treatment
A trustee for numerous residential mortgage-backed securitization trusts sought rulings about a bank settlement resolving alleged breaches of mortgage representations and warranties. Each settling tru…
Allocated mortgage settlement payments preserved REMIC treatment
Two trustees for residential mortgage-backed securitization trusts requested rulings about a bank settlement over alleged mortgage representation and warranty breaches. Settlement shares would be base…
REIT owners received 90 days to make late taxable REIT subsidiary elections
Several real estate investment trusts indirectly owned a corporation formed to hold a shared parking garage. The owners and corporation intended the corporation to be a taxable REIT subsidiary from it…
Investment funds receive 90 days for late foreign-tax elections
Several regulated investment companies in a fund-of-funds structure intended to elect under section 853 so their shareholders could claim proportionate shares of foreign taxes. Their return preparer c…
Construction-account interest qualified for the REIT income test
A real estate investment trust was developing an affordable residential rental building with bond financing from a state agency. Some bond proceeds had to remain in a trustee-held account until needed…
Mortgage settlement allocations do not disrupt REMIC tax treatment
A trustee represented numerous residential mortgage-backed securitization trusts that had elected REMIC status. The trusts entered a settlement with a banking organization over alleged breaches of mor…
Mortgage settlement allocations do not disrupt REMIC tax treatment
A trustee represented numerous residential mortgage-backed securitization trusts that had elected REMIC status. The trusts entered a settlement with a banking organization over alleged breaches of mor…
Mortgage settlement allocations do not disrupt REMIC tax treatment
A trustee represented numerous residential mortgage-backed securitization trusts that had elected REMIC status. The trusts entered a settlement with a banking organization over alleged breaches of mor…
Deficiency dividends generally trigger interest but not Chapter 68 penalties
Chief Counsel analyzed the consequences when a regulated investment company or real estate investment trust obtains a section 860 deficiency dividends deduction. Assuming the entity timely filed its o…
REIT and subsidiary receive relief for a late TRS election
A real estate investment trust and a corporation it partly owned intended to elect taxable REIT subsidiary (TRS) status effective from the corporation's formation. A staff administrative oversight cau…
Property company receives relief for a late initial REIT election
A property-holding limited liability company intended to elect real estate investment trust status for the first tax year in which it acquired industrial buildings. Its outside accounting firm mistake…
REIT and subsidiary receive relief for a late TRS election
A real estate investment trust and an indirectly owned subsidiary intended the subsidiary to be a taxable REIT subsidiary, but the parties and their advisers overlooked the required Form 8875 amid a c…
REIT and hotel subsidiary receive relief for a late TRS election
A real estate investment trust indirectly owned a company formed to lease a hotel property and intended that company to be a taxable REIT subsidiary when the hotel began operating. Outside advisers ag…
REIT and subsidiary receive 90 days to make a late TRS election
A corporation and its subsidiary filed Form 8875 before the parent qualified as a real estate investment trust, then mistakenly assumed the taxable REIT subsidiary election remained effective after th…
Tenant electricity charges do not depend on property income or profits
A company planning to elect REIT status owned rental property equipped with energy-storage systems operated by a third party. The operator charged the landlord half of the electricity-cost savings pro…
Forestry carbon credits produce qualifying REIT income when accrued
A publicly traded timber REIT planned U.S. and foreign carbon-sequestration projects covering specifically identified forestlands. The projects imposed enforceable land-use and forest-management restr…
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.