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 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…
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…
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…
Taxpayer's GST-exemption allocations to three children's trusts ruled void for lack of GST potential
A father funded three nearly identical irrevocable trusts, one for each of his three children, with gifts over two years. He and his wife elected gift-splitting under Section 2513, and each spouse the…
Spouse's GST-exemption allocations to three children's trusts ruled void for lack of GST potential
A father set up three nearly identical irrevocable trusts, one for each of his three children, funding them with gifts over two years. He and his wife split the gifts for tax purposes (gift-splitting …
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 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…
Approves partition of grandfathered trust into family-line trusts
An irrevocable trust created before September 25, 1985, benefited a granddaughter and her descendants. A court ordered that, at the granddaughter's death, the trust be divided pro rata into separate t…
Trust modifications preserve GST tax exemption
A decedent’s trust created generation-skipping trusts with zero inclusion ratios because GST exemption was allocated to them. The trustees proposed a court-approved amendment giving each primary benef…
Estate receives 120 days to opt out of automatic GST exemption allocation
A decedent transferred cash to an irrevocable trust with generation-skipping transfer tax potential but did not intend to allocate GST exemption to the transfer. The accounting firm preparing the gift…
Estate receives 120 days to opt out of automatic GST exemption allocation
A decedent transferred cash to an irrevocable trust with generation-skipping transfer tax potential but did not intend to allocate GST exemption to the transfer. The accounting firm preparing the gift…
Estate received 120 days to sever a trust for GST exemption allocation
A decedent's revocable trust directed tax-efficient use of the generation-skipping transfer tax exemption and favored trusts with inclusion ratios of either zero or one. The estate's law and accountin…
Unitrust conversion preserved a grandfathered trust's GST exemption
A trust created by a decedent who died before December 26, 1985, remained exempt from generation-skipping transfer tax because it was irrevocable before the grandfathering date and had received no lat…
Estate received time for trust severance and reverse QTIP election
An estate timely elected QTIP treatment for a marital trust but failed to divide it into GST-exempt and nonexempt trusts or make a reverse QTIP election. The trustee had relied on tax professionals wh…
Trust decanting preserved generation-skipping tax exemption
A trust with a zero generation-skipping transfer tax inclusion ratio proposed to distribute all its assets to a successor trust under a state decanting statute enacted after the original trust became …
Second trust decanting preserved generation-skipping tax exemption
A trust for the settlor's second son had a zero generation-skipping transfer tax inclusion ratio and proposed to distribute all its assets to a successor trust under a state decanting statute enacted …
Court-approved trust partition caused no income, gift, or GST tax
A trust that became irrevocable before September 25, 1985 had previously been divided along family lines. A court later approved modifying one resulting trust so that, after the current beneficiary's …
Family trust could divide into seventeen separate trusts without tax
An irrevocable family trust created before September 25, 1985 proposed dividing into seventeen equal trusts, one for each grandchild's family line. Each new trust would retain materially similar distr…
Trust could divide into four family-line trusts without tax
An irrevocable trust created before September 25, 1985 benefited a grandchild's descendants, their spouses, and selected charities. Its trustees proposed dividing the trust equally into four trusts, o…
Four-way family trust division preserved tax treatment
An irrevocable pre-1985 trust benefited a grandchild's descendants and spouses, as well as charities chosen by the trustees. The trustees proposed creating four equal trusts, each centered on one grea…
Five-way family trust division produced no tax
A pre-1985 irrevocable trust for family members and selected charities proposed dividing into five equal trusts, one for each great-grandchild's family line. The divided trusts would use materially si…
Estates could make late GST exemption allocations to family trusts
A married couple made gifts to two irrevocable trusts for their sons and descendants in three years before 2001. They timely filed gift tax returns and elected to split the gifts equally, but their ta…
Beneficiary could serve as co-trustee without a general power
A pre-1985 trust had divided into separate trusts for two grandchildren, and one trust needed a successor co-trustee. The trustees proposed appointing the beneficiary or one of her descendants. The tr…
Successor beneficiary co-trustee did not create appointment power
A trust created before September 25, 1985 later divided into separate trusts for two grandchildren. For the second trust, the serving trustees proposed adding its beneficiary or one of her descendants…
Spouse received late GST exemption allocation relief
A decedent created an irrevocable trust for children and their descendants, and the spouses elected to split the original gift. The gift-tax returns failed to allocate either spouse's generation-skipp…
Trust modifications preserve GST status without gifts or gain
An irrevocable trust with a zero generation-skipping transfer tax inclusion ratio was modified to protect two beneficiaries with medical or capacity concerns. The changes replaced a grandchild's manda…
Trust construction excluding adoptees causes no transfer taxes or gain
A trust created before September 25, 1985, used the undefined terms “issue” and “children” to describe beneficiaries. After one child adopted two adults, the settlor attested that the trust had always…
Blood-descendant trust construction preserves tax treatment
A trust created before September 25, 1985, used the undefined terms “issue,” “descendants,” and “children” to identify beneficiaries. After one child adopted two adults, the living settlor attested th…
Estate receives 120 days to allocate GST exemption after incorrect gift-splitting returns
A husband funded four trusts for his children, and the spouses elected to split their gifts equally under section 2513. Their gift tax returns mistakenly reported three-fourths of the total gift to th…
Estate receives 120 days to allocate a decedent's GST exemption to an earlier trust gift
A decedent created and funded an irrevocable trust for the decedent's children and their descendants. The decedent and spouse elected to split the gift on their Forms 709, but the decedent's return di…
Old trust's disclaimers and court changes preserve transfer-tax treatment
An irrevocable trust created before October 22, 1942, gave successive beneficiaries general powers of appointment and was scheduled to end 21 years after the original beneficiary's death. Descendants …
Donor receives extra time for GST allocations and trust election
A donor made stock and cash gifts over many years to an irrevocable trust with generation-skipping transfer potential. Although the donor intended the trust to be GST-exempt and had enough exemption a…
Donor receives extra time for GST allocations and trust election
A donor made stock and cash gifts over many years to an irrevocable trust for a child that had generation-skipping transfer potential. The donor consistently intended the trust to be GST-exempt and ha…
Wife receives extra time to allocate GST exemption to two trusts
A married couple created two irrevocable descendant trusts and intended to allocate generation-skipping transfer exemption to their gifts. They also intended to split eligible gifts between the spouse…
Husband receives extra time to allocate GST exemption to three trusts
A husband created three irrevocable trusts for his spouse and descendants and intended to allocate generation-skipping transfer exemption to gifts made over five years. He and his wife also intended t…
Estate receives extra time to allocate GST exemption to a family trust
A decedent's residuary trust created an irrevocable subtrust for the decedent's spouse and descendants. The spouse was entitled to the subtrust's net income and held a limited power to appoint princip…
Estate gets extra time for reverse QTIP election and trust severance
A decedent's estate made a QTIP election for a marital trust but did not divide the trust into GST-exempt and non-exempt shares or make a reverse QTIP election. The accountant who prepared the estate …
Estate receives 120 days to allocate GST exemption to family trust
A decedent's will created a family trust with generation-skipping transfer tax potential. The estate's accounting firm timely filed Form 706 but allocated GST exemption to a different trust and failed…
Donor received more time to elect out of automatic GST exemption allocations
A married couple treated annual gifts to generation-skipping trusts as made one-half by each spouse and reported the transfers on timely gift tax returns. The taxpayer intended to elect out of the aut…
Trust creator received late relief to preserve GST exemption
A taxpayer made annual gifts to a generation-skipping trust and later to its successor trust, with the taxpayer and spouse electing to split each gift equally. Timely gift tax returns were filed, but …
Spouses received extra time to elect out of automatic GST exemption allocation
A married couple created an irrevocable trust that divided into separate trusts for their children, including two trusts with generation-skipping transfer tax potential. Their accounting firm prepared…
Spouses received extra time to stop automatic GST exemption allocations
A married couple established an irrevocable trust with separate trusts for their children, including two intended to remain non-exempt from generation-skipping transfer tax. Their accounting firm prep…
Grantor received extra time to stop automatic GST exemption allocations
A grantor and spouse created an irrevocable trust with three separate trusts for their children, each with generation-skipping transfer tax potential. An accounting firm prepared a gift tax return ele…
Grantor received extra time to prevent GST exemption allocations to two trusts
A taxpayer created a family trust for descendants and a grantor retained annuity trust whose remaining assets would pass to the family trust after the estate tax inclusion period ended. The taxpayer d…
Grantor received 120 days to elect out of automatic GST exemption allocation
A grantor created three trusts for the grantor's children and made gifts to those trusts. The grantor intended to elect out of the automatic allocation of generation-skipping transfer tax exemption fo…
Trust amendments do not end grandfathered GST exemption
An irrevocable trust created before September 25, 1985, was exempt from the generation-skipping transfer tax unless a later amendment created an actual or constructive addition. A committee with a lim…
Recoverable tax payment does not add property to grandfathered trust
A beneficiary and her spouse mistakenly paid income taxes attributable to capital gain earned by an irrevocable trust created before September 25, 1985. State law required the trust to bear those taxe…
Correcting trust drafting error preserved transfer-tax treatment
A trust created before the generation-skipping transfer tax effective date directed that, after a son's death, shares be created for his “surviving” children. Other trust language showed that a deceas…
Gift tax return substantially complied with GST exemption allocation rules
A husband transferred property to a trust for his descendants, and the spouses elected to treat the gift as made one-half by each of them. The wife elected out of the automatic GST exemption allocatio…
Estate receives time to sever a marital trust and make a reverse QTIP election
A decedent's estate made a QTIP election for a marital trust but did not sever the trust, make a reverse QTIP election, or allocate the decedent's unused GST exemption. The executor had relied on a la…
Gift tax return substantially complied with GST exemption allocation rules
A husband transferred property to a trust for his descendants, and the spouses elected to treat the gift as made one-half by each of them. The husband elected out of the automatic GST exemption alloca…
Estate receives 120 days to elect out of automatic GST allocation
A decedent transferred limited-partnership interests to three irrevocable trusts primarily benefiting the decedent's children. The law firm that prepared the trusts and gift-tax return failed to advis…
Taxpayer may elect out of automatic GST allocation for three trusts
A taxpayer made transfers to a grantor retained annuity trust and two descendant trusts with generation-skipping transfer potential. The taxpayer intended not to allocate GST exemption, but the accoun…
Spouses receive 120 days to allocate GST exemption to an old trust gift
A grantor created a trust for descendants and relatives before December 31, 2000, and transferred property to it. The grantor and spouse timely elected gift splitting on their Forms 709, but their acc…
Spouse receives 120 days to allocate GST exemption to old trust gifts
A settlor created an irrevocable trust for children and descendants and made additional transfers before December 31, 2000. The settlor relied on tax professionals but did not timely file gift tax ret…
Settlor receives 120 days to allocate GST exemption to old trust gifts
A settlor created an irrevocable trust for children and descendants and made additional transfers before December 31, 2000. The settlor relied on tax professionals but did not timely file a gift tax r…
Spouse receives 120 days to allocate GST exemption to an old trust gift
A settlor created and funded an irrevocable trust for a child and the settlor's descendants before December 31, 2000. The settlor relied on tax professionals but did not timely file Form 709 or alloca…
Settlor receives 120 days to allocate GST exemption to an old trust gift
A settlor created and funded an irrevocable trust for a child and the settlor's descendants before December 31, 2000. The settlor relied on tax professionals but did not timely file Form 709 or alloca…
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.