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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9100 relief to file a late Form 8996 self-certifying as a Qualified Opportunity Fund
To claim Opportunity Zone tax benefits, an entity must "self-certify" as a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF) by attaching Form 8996 to a timely filed return. Here, an LLC taxed as a partnership was for…
9100 relief to make a late estate-tax portability election for a surviving spouse
When someone dies without using up their full estate-tax exclusion, the leftover amount (the "deceased spousal unused exclusion," or DSUE) can be passed to the surviving spouse, but only if the estate…
9100 relief to file a late entity election treating a foreign entity as a partnership
A business entity can choose how it is taxed by "checking the box" on Form 8832, an election called an entity classification election. A foreign entity that is eligible can elect to be treated as a pa…
9100 relief to file a late entity election treating a foreign entity as a partnership
A business entity can choose how it is taxed by "checking the box" on Form 8832, an election called an entity classification election. A foreign entity that is eligible can elect to be treated as a pa…
9100 relief to file a late entity election treating a foreign entity as a partnership
A business entity can choose how it is taxed by "checking the box" on Form 8832, an election called an entity classification election. A foreign entity that is eligible can elect to be treated as a pa…
9100 relief to make a QTIP election the estate's accountant never advised
Property left to a surviving spouse can qualify for the estate tax marital deduction, and a "QTIP" election under Section 2056(b)(7) lets an executor claim that deduction for a trust that pays the spo…
Request to enlarge an already-made QTIP election is denied because the election is irrevocable
When someone dies, property left to a surviving spouse can escape estate tax through the marital deduction, and a "QTIP" election under Section 2056(b)(7) lets an executor treat certain trust property…
9100 relief to file a late Form 8996 self-certifying as a Qualified Opportunity Fund
An entity that wants Opportunity Zone tax benefits must "self-certify" as a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF) by attaching Form 8996 to a timely filed return. Here, an LLC taxed as a partnership was fo…
9100 relief to refile the original Form 3115 after a one-day-late return spoiled an accounting-method change
To change a method of accounting under the IRS "automatic consent" procedures, a taxpayer must file Form 3115 twice: a duplicate copy with a designated IRS office, and the original attached to a timel…
9100 relief to file a late Section 336(e) election treating an S corporation stock sale as an asset sale
When buyers acquire at least 80% of a corporation's stock, a Section 336(e) election can let the parties treat the stock sale as if it were a sale of the company's assets, which often gives the buyers…
9100 relief to file a late Form 8996 self-certifying as a Qualified Opportunity Fund
An entity that wants Opportunity Zone tax benefits must "self-certify" as a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF) by attaching Form 8996 to a timely filed return each year. Here, an LLC taxed as an S corpo…
9100 relief to file a late election opting out of the Section 382(l)(5) bankruptcy rule
When a company with tax losses changes ownership, Section 382 usually limits how much of those losses the new owner can use each year. A special rule, Section 382(l)(5), can apply instead when the own…
9100 relief to file two late "check-the-box" elections classifying foreign subsidiaries as disregarded
This letter gives a company extra time to make two late "check-the-box" entity classification elections. A U.S. corporation that had elected S corporation status indirectly owned two foreign subsidiar…
9100 relief to make late QTIP and reverse-QTIP elections on an estate tax return after the preparer omitted them
This letter gives an estate more time to make two estate-tax elections that its accountant left off the return. A QTIP election (Section 2056(b)(7)) lets property passing into a marital trust for a su…
9100 relief treating a late Form 8996 as timely to self-certify a partnership as a Qualified Opportunity Fund
This letter grants a late-filing extension for an Opportunity Zone election, on facts very similar to a companion ruling in the same release week. A Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF) self-certifies by …
9100 relief treating a late Form 8996 as timely to self-certify a partnership as a Qualified Opportunity Fund
This letter grants a late-filing extension for an Opportunity Zone election. To become a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF), an entity must self-certify by filing Form 8996 with a timely tax return. Her…
9100 relief to file a late "check-the-box" election classifying a foreign entity as a partnership
This letter grants extra time to make a "check-the-box" entity classification election, a companion to another ruling issued the same week. Under the Section 7701 regulations, an eligible business ent…
9100 relief to file a late "check-the-box" election classifying a foreign entity as disregarded
This letter grants extra time to make a "check-the-box" entity classification election. Under the Section 7701 regulations, an eligible business entity can elect how it is treated for federal tax purp…
9100 relief to file a late Form 8996 self-certifying a partnership as a Qualified Opportunity Fund
This letter grants a late-filing extension for an Opportunity Zone election. A Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF) is an investment vehicle that lets investors defer and reduce capital-gains tax when the…
9100 relief to make late GILTI high-tax-exclusion elections for a CFC group across three years
This letter gives a corporate group more time to make a tax election tied to the GILTI rules for foreign subsidiaries. GILTI (global intangible low-taxed income) requires U.S. shareholders of controll…
9100 relief to file a late statement electing the 70/30 success-based-fee safe harbor under Rev. Proc. 2011-29
This letter grants a company extra time to file a tax election it meant to make but accidentally left off its return. When a business pays fees that are contingent on closing an acquisition ("success-…
Late relief granted to self-certify a partnership as a Qualified Opportunity Fund
A Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF) is an investment vehicle that lets investors defer and reduce tax on capital gains if they reinvest in designated low-income "opportunity zones." To become a QOF, an…
Late relief granted to elect out of automatic GST exemption allocation for two GRATs
When someone makes a gift to certain trusts that could later skip a generation, the tax code automatically uses up part of the person's generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax exemption unless they for…
Partnership gets more time to make a late Section 754 basis-adjustment election
A partnership can file a "section 754 election" so that when partnership interests change hands or property is distributed, the inside tax basis of the partnership's assets is adjusted to match. The e…
Estate gets more time to make an estate-tax portability election
When someone dies without using up their full estate-tax exemption, a "portability" election lets the surviving spouse claim the leftover amount (the deceased spousal unused exclusion, or DSUE). The c…
Late election granted to pass rehabilitation-credit expenditures to a tenant
The rehabilitation credit rewards owners who fix up certain older buildings. When a landlord owns the building but a tenant is the one that should claim the credit, tax rules let the landlord "elect" …
Late relief for a partnership to make a section 754 basis-adjustment election
An LLC taxed as a partnership went through a series of ownership changes: its interests were transferred to a newly formed partnership (briefly making it a disregarded entity), then interests were tra…
Partnership gets more time to make a late section 754 election after a sale
A company that is taxed as a partnership had a buyer purchase a large stake in its parent, a transfer that would let the partnership adjust the tax basis of its assets under a section 754 election so …
Late relief lets a foreign entity elect to be disregarded from its owner (companion ruling)
This is a companion ruling to PLR 202452002, involving a related foreign company. Like the other one, this foreign company wanted to be treated as a "disregarded entity" for U.S. federal tax purposes …
Late relief lets a foreign entity elect to be disregarded from its owner
A foreign company wanted to be treated as a "disregarded entity" for U.S. federal tax purposes, meaning it would be ignored as separate from its single owner. To do that it had to file Form 8832 (the …
Late relief lets an LLC change from a corporation to a partnership for tax purposes
An LLC had elected to be an S corporation, which under the check-the-box rules also meant it was automatically treated as an association taxable as a corporation. The LLC later wanted to switch to bei…
Estate gets more time to make a missed QTIP marital-deduction election
When someone dies leaving property to a surviving spouse in a certain kind of trust, the estate can elect "QTIP" treatment under section 2056(b)(7) so that property qualifies for the unlimited estate-…
Limited partnership gets more time to make a late section 754 basis-adjustment election
A limited partnership had a partner (who held its interest through a trust) die. When a partnership interest transfers, a section 754 election lets the partnership adjust the tax basis of its assets s…
Late relief to elect out of automatic GST exemption on eleven GRATs (companion ruling)
This is the companion ruling to PLR 202451010, addressing the other spouse in the same married couple. Here the taxpayer personally set up the children's trust and funded eleven grantor retained annui…
Late relief to elect out of automatic GST exemption on eleven GRAT transfers
A married couple set up eleven grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs) whose remaining property would pass to a trust for their children when the annuity terms ended. Because the trusts could later tr…
Late-filed Form 8996 treated as timely, self-certifying an LLC as a Qualified Opportunity Fund
An LLC taxed as a partnership was organized to be a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF), a structure that gives investors capital-gains tax benefits for investing in designated opportunity zones. To beco…
Late Form 8996 relief lets an LLC self-certify as a Qualified Opportunity Fund
An LLC was set up to be a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF), a vehicle that lets investors defer capital gains tax when they reinvest gains into designated low-income "opportunity zones." To become a Q…
Late election extended for a foreign entity 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 would be ignored as separate from its single owner. To get that treatment it had to f…
A partnership gets 120 more days to make a late basis-adjustment election after a partner buys in
An LLC taxed as a partnership had one partner (A) buy another partner's (B's) interest in the business. When a partnership interest changes hands, the partnership can file a Code section 754 election …
A foreign company gets more time to file the "check-the-box" election making it a disregarded entity
A company formed under the laws of a foreign country wanted to be treated as a disregarded entity for U.S. federal tax purposes, meaning it is ignored as separate from its single owner. That election …
An apartment partnership gets more time to elect out of the business interest deduction limit
A limited partnership owns and operates an apartment complex. Code section 163(j) caps how much business interest a taxpayer can deduct, but a real property trade or business can elect out of that cap…
A company gets more time to make the election that keeps a built-in loss from being duplicated
A taxpayer transferred property to a corporation in a tax-free section 351 exchange, but the property's tax basis was higher than its fair market value, meaning it carried a built-in loss. Section 362…
A foreign buyer that missed its deadline gets extra time to elect asset treatment for its stock purchases
A foreign company bought all the stock of several foreign target companies, each a controlled foreign corporation for U.S. tax purposes. Code section 338(g) lets a buyer of stock elect to treat the pu…
A partnership that forgot to file a basis-adjustment election gets 120 more days to do it
An LLC taxed as a partnership let a new partner buy into the business. When a partnership interest is sold, the partnership can file a Code section 754 election so the buyer gets a basis step-up (or s…
Taxpayer received time to opt out of automatic GST exemption allocation
A spouse created and funded a trust for family members, including the couple's children, and the trust had generation-skipping transfer tax potential. The couple intended not to allocate GST exemption…
Late Form 3115 and bonus depreciation election treated as timely
A corporation intended to file an accounting method change for self-constructed asset costs and elect out of bonus depreciation for specified property placed in service during the year. It timely sent…
Estate received 120 days to make a portability election
An estate was not otherwise required to file an estate tax return but needed Form 706 to elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused exclusion amount to the surviving spouse. The estate did not …
Qualified opportunity fund self-certification treated as timely
A partnership was formed to operate as a qualified opportunity fund and relied on tax professionals to prepare its first-year return and Form 8996. The tax preparer believed an accounting firm would p…
Taxpayer received time to opt out of GST allocation after GRAT term ended
A taxpayer created a grantor retained annuity trust, and when the retained interest ended the remaining property passed to a trust with generation-skipping transfer tax potential. That event closed th…
Taxpayer received time to opt out of GST allocation after GRAT term ended
A taxpayer created a grantor retained annuity trust, and when the retained interest ended the remaining property passed to a trust with generation-skipping transfer tax potential. That event closed th…
Foreign entity received 120 days to elect corporate classification
A foreign eligible entity intended to be classified as an association taxable as a corporation from its formation date but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. It represented that the error…
IRS grants relief for a late qualified opportunity fund self-certification
A partnership intended from its formation to operate as a qualified opportunity fund (QOF), but it did not timely file its first Form 1065 or the Form 8996 needed to self-certify as a QOF. The partner…
IRS grants more time for a Section 336(e) election on an S corporation stock sale
A partnership bought all the stock of an S corporation from its shareholders, and the parties intended to elect under Section 336(e) to treat the stock sale as an asset sale. They did not timely attac…
IRS gives an estate 120 days to make a late portability election
An estate asked for more time to elect portability of the deceased spouse's unused estate and gift tax exclusion, known as the DSUE amount, for the surviving spouse. Based on the estate's representati…
IRS grants relief after a partnership return omitted its QOF self-certification
A partnership was formed to operate as a qualified opportunity fund (QOF) and hired one accounting firm for its tax filings and another firm for opportunity-zone consulting and oversight. The parties …
IRS gives a corporate group 60 days to elect out of bonus depreciation
A corporate parent and two subsidiaries claimed additional first-year depreciation on five-year property placed in service during two taxable years. Their internal accounting team lacked federal tax e…
IRS grants 120 days for a late corporate classification election
A single-owner limited liability company was treated by default as disregarded from its owner for federal tax purposes. It intended to change its classification and become an association taxable as a …
IRS grants 60 days to perfect a success-based fee safe-harbor election
A corporate group paid success-based fees to three financial consultants in connection with an acquisition of its parent partnership. Revenue Procedure 2011-29 offers a safe harbor that treats 70 perc…
Partnership receives 60 days to make its qualified opportunity fund election
A partnership intended to operate as a qualified opportunity fund and relied on professional advisers to handle the required tax filings. Although its advisers had discussed the fund's status, the ret…
Partnership receives extra time to change to its required tax year
A partnership acquired a majority partner whose tax year required the partnership to change its own accounting period. During a transition between service providers, the partnership missed the deadlin…
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.