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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IRS grants a foreign reinsurance company late-election relief for both the § 953(d) domestic-treatment and § 831(b) small-insurer elections
A small foreign insurance company that reinsures insurance contracts, owned by three individuals, wanted two tax elections: one under Code Section 953(d) to be treated as a U.S. domestic corporation, …
IRS grants a foreign entity extra time to elect disregarded-entity status on a late Form 8832
A single-owner foreign business entity wanted to be treated as a "disregarded entity" for U.S. tax purposes, meaning it is ignored as separate from its owner and its income flows straight onto the own…
Late Form 8832 election allowed so a foreign entity can be taxed as a partnership
A business entity formed in a foreign country wanted to be treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes, but it missed the deadline to file Form 8832 (the Entity Classification Electi…
Late S-corporation election excused for reasonable cause under § 1362(b)(5)
A corporation with a single shareholder intended to be taxed as an S corporation from the day it was formed and had been filing its returns that way, but it never timely filed Form 2553, the election …
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…
Late Section 1022 carryover-basis election allowed for a 2010 decedent's estate
For people who died in 2010, a one-year quirk in the law let an estate choose between the reinstated estate tax and a special "carryover basis" regime under Internal Revenue Code § 1022, which is elec…
Late "reverse QTIP" election allowed so a marital trust keeps the decedent's GST exemption
When a person leaves property to a marital ("QTIP") trust for a surviving spouse, the spouse is normally treated as the transferor of that trust for generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax purposes. A …
Late relief to split a marital trust and make a "reverse QTIP" election so the estate's GST exemption sticks
When a wealthy person dies and leaves property in a marital trust for a surviving spouse, the estate can make a "reverse QTIP" election so that, for generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax purposes, th…
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…
Late relief lets a merged company make the 70/30 safe-harbor election for its deal fees
When a company pays "success-based fees" (advisory fees owed only if a deal closes) in an acquisition, the tax rules generally require it to capitalize those fees as costs of the transaction unless it…
Reformation of a trust's Crummey withdrawal error avoids general powers of appointment; 120-day extension to allocate GST exemption
A settlor set up an irrevocable trust for his descendants, wanting the trust assets to stay out of his children's estates and to use up his and his spouse's generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax exem…
Reformation of a trust's Crummey withdrawal error avoids general powers of appointment; 120-day extension to allocate GST exemption
A settlor set up an irrevocable trust for his descendants, wanting the trust assets to stay out of his children's estates and to use up his and his spouse's generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax exem…
Reformation of a trust's Crummey withdrawal error avoids general powers of appointment; 120-day extension to allocate GST exemption
A settlor set up an irrevocable trust for his descendants, wanting the trust assets to stay out of his children's estates and to use up his and his spouse's generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax exem…
Reformation of a trust's Crummey withdrawal error avoids general powers of appointment; 120-day extension to allocate GST exemption
A settlor set up an irrevocable trust for his descendants, wanting the trust assets to stay out of his children's estates and to use up his and his spouse's generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax exem…
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) …
90-day extension to make a late § 831(b) small-insurance-company election
A newly formed small non-life ("property and casualty") insurance company meant to elect under section 831(b)(2) to be taxed only on its taxable investment income, a favorable election available to ce…
Grants 60 days to file a late IC-DISC election after advisers miscommunicated
A domestic corporation was formed to operate as an interest charge domestic international sales corporation (IC-DISC) for its parent company's export sales. The corporation relied on two accounting fi…
Grants 120 days for a late section 1022 election and basis allocation for a 2010 estate
The executor of an estate for a person who died in 2010 hired an attorney to prepare the estate's tax filings, but the attorney failed to file Form 8939 by the January 17, 2012 deadline. That form was…
Grants 60 days to file an omitted safe-harbor election for success-based acquisition fees
A corporate group acquired a healthcare company and paid contingent fees to two financial advisers. Its tax adviser recommended the Rev. Proc. 2011-29 safe harbor, prepared the required election state…
Grants late section 336(e) election relief for an S corporation stock acquisition
A disregarded purchaser acquired all the stock of an S corporation for its regarded owner, and the purchase agreement said a section 336(e) election would be made. The election was not timely complete…
Grants 120 days for a late section 59(e) election on research expenditures
A corporation intended to file its return and elect under section 59(e) to deduct research and experimental expenditures ratably over ten years. Its internal tax accountant mistakenly believed Form 70…
Grants 120 days for a late section 754 election after a partnership-interest transfer
A limited liability company taxed as a partnership timely filed its return for a year in which one member transferred part of its interest to another member, but it did not attach a section 754 electi…
Grants 120 days to elect the investment tax credit for renewable facilities
A taxpayer intended to make the irrevocable section 48(a)(5) election to claim the investment tax credit instead of the section 45 production tax credit for renewable-energy facilities. Its internal t…
LLC allowed to switch back to partnership taxation within the usual 60-month lock-out because ownership changed by more than half
An LLC can choose how it is taxed (disregarded, partnership, or corporation), but once it elects to change its classification, it generally cannot change again for 60 months. Here an LLC started as a …
Partnership gets a late section 754 election after a member bought out another, subject to basis-adjustment conditions
An LLC taxed as a partnership had one member transfer her entire interest to another member. The partnership filed its return for that year on time but did not include the § 754 election that would le…
Partnership gets more time to make a section 754 basis-adjustment election it filed its returns as if it had made
A § 754 election lets a partnership adjust the basis of its assets after a partner's interest changes hands, matching inside basis to what happened at the partner level. The election has to be filed w…
Grantor granted more time to allocate GST exemption to two trusts after the accountant left it off the gift tax return
A grantor set up and funded two irrevocable trusts for descendants and reported the gifts on a gift tax return (Form 709), but the accounting firm that prepared the return failed to allocate any of th…
Estate gets extra time to split a marital trust into QTIP and non-QTIP shares and fix its generation-skipping tax planning
When a spouse dies, property left in trust for the surviving spouse can qualify for the unlimited estate-tax marital deduction if the executor makes a "QTIP" election under § 2056(b)(7). Where only pa…
Companion ruling grants the other spouse extra time to elect out of automatic GST exemption allocation to a GRAT
This is the companion to PLR 201839012, covering the other gift-splitting spouse for the same grantor retained annuity trust (GRAT). A taxpayer created a GRAT that continued for family members after t…
Fund company gets more time to make the joint election that shifts a built-in loss from asset basis to stock basis
When property with a built-in loss (basis higher than value) is contributed to a corporation in a tax-free § 351 exchange, § 362(e)(2) normally forces the receiving corporation to reduce its basis in …
Spouse granted extra time to elect out of automatic GST exemption allocation to a GRAT
A taxpayer created a grantor retained annuity trust (GRAT) that continued for family members after the annuity term ended, giving it generation-skipping transfer (GST) potential. The taxpayer and spou…
Parent company gets extra time to elect to file a consolidated return for the year it acquired a group of subsidiaries
A group of affiliated corporations can choose to file one combined ("consolidated") federal income tax return instead of separate returns, but the group makes that election simply by filing the consol…
Corporation gets more time to file the election to be treated as an IC-DISC after its form went missing
An interest-charge domestic international sales corporation (IC-DISC) is a special export tax vehicle that lets qualifying exporters defer some U.S. tax on export income. To claim that status, a corpo…
Corporation gets more time to file the election to be treated as an IC-DISC after its form went missing
An interest-charge domestic international sales corporation (IC-DISC) is a special export tax vehicle that lets qualifying exporters defer some U.S. tax on export income. To claim that status, a corpo…
Partnership gets more time to make a section 754 basis-adjustment election it missed
When someone buys into a partnership, the partnership can make a § 754 election so the new partner's share of the partnership's assets gets a basis adjustment that matches what they paid, which usuall…
Extra time granted to elect out of automatic GST exemption allocation after accountant missed it
A taxpayer set up a grantor retained annuity trust (GRAT) that, once the annuity term ended, continued for the benefit of the taxpayer's descendants, meaning it could later generate a generation-skipp…
Late allocation of GST exemption to a charitable lead trust is allowed after the accountant forgot to make it
A married couple set up and funded an irrevocable charitable lead unitrust that pays a foundation for 20 years, then hands the remainder to their grandchildren. Because the grandchildren are two gener…
Late relief to elect out of bonus depreciation on rehabbed leasehold improvements
Two partnerships that buy, rehabilitate, and lease real estate placed qualified leasehold improvement property in service and claimed the § 47 rehabilitation credit on it. When you claim that credit, …
Late relief granted to elect partnership classification
A foreign business entity, owned by foreign persons, wanted to be classified as a partnership for U.S. federal tax purposes once it became relevant to U.S. tax, but it missed the deadline to file Form…
Late relief granted to waive an NOL carryback for a consolidated group
The parent company of a consolidated group had a consolidated net operating loss (CNOL) for one tax year. It meant to give up the right to carry that loss back to earlier years (so it could instead ca…
120-day extension granted to make a late QSub election for a wholly owned subsidiary
An S corporation acquired all the stock of another S corporation and intended to fold it in as a "qualified subchapter S subsidiary" (QSub), which makes the subsidiary disappear for tax purposes so it…
Late-election relief granted for an S corporation to file its §336(e) statement
Two individuals bought all the stock of an S corporation for cash and a note, and the buyers, sellers, and company signed a binding agreement to treat the stock sale as an asset sale under IRC Section…
Late-election relief granted to file a §336(e) statement treating a stock sale as an asset sale
A buyer (a partnership) acquired all the stock of a target corporation, and the parties agreed to treat the stock sale as an asset sale under IRC Section 336(e), which can give the buyer a stepped-up …
Grants 45 days for late section 338(g) elections for seven CFCs
A foreign corporation acquired a foreign target in a qualified stock purchase and made section 338 elections for the target, a foreign subsidiary, and the parent of a consolidated group. It also inten…
Grants 120 days for late GST exemption allocation
An estate timely filed its federal estate and generation-skipping transfer tax return, but its CPA failed to allocate the decedent's available GST exemption to a trust with generation-skipping potenti…
Grants 120 days for late section 754 election
A limited partnership failed to make a timely section 754 election for the year in which one of its partners died. The partnership represented that the omission was inadvertent, that it acted reasonab…
Grants late GST allocations for pre-2001 trust transfers
Two taxpayers established an irrevocable trust for their children and descendants, then made additional community-property transfers to it in a year ending on or before December 31, 2000. Their accoun…
Grants late partnership election for foreign entity
A foreign entity owned through foreign and domestic entities intended to be treated as a partnership for U.S. federal tax purposes from its formation date. Its domestic S corporation owner communicate…
Late election to file a consolidated return is allowed after a missed filing
A corporation became the parent of a new affiliated group after acquiring another company and its subsidiaries. The group meant to file a single consolidated federal income tax return for the year, bu…
Grants extension for omitted section 754 election
A partnership failed to include a section 754 election with its return for the year an individual partner died. The partnership represented that the omission was inadvertent, that it acted reasonably …
Grants late partnership classification election for foreign entity
A foreign entity intended to be classified as a partnership for federal tax purposes from its formation date but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS found that the entity satisfied…
Grants late disregarded entity election for foreign entity
A foreign entity intended to be classified as disregarded from its owner for federal tax purposes from its formation date but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS found that the ent…
Grants late disregarded entity election for foreign entity
A foreign entity intended to be classified as disregarded from its owner for federal tax purposes from its formation date but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS found that the ent…
Grants late disregarded entity election for foreign entity
A foreign entity intended to be classified as disregarded from its owner for federal tax purposes from its formation date but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS found that the ent…
Grants late disregarded entity election for foreign entity
A foreign entity intended to be classified as disregarded from its owner for federal tax purposes from its formation date but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. The IRS found that the ent…
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.