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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Modifying a pre-1985 grandfathered trust without losing GST exemption or triggering gift, estate, or income tax
A family trust was created under the will of someone who died before September 25, 1985. That timing makes the trust "grandfathered" and exempt from the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax, so long…
Modifying a grandfathered 1985 trust into lifetime issue trusts keeps GST-exempt status with no estate or gift tax
An irrevocable trust created before September 25, 1985 is "grandfathered" from the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax, a valuable status that careless changes can destroy. Here the grantor, the da…
Companion ruling: modifying a grandfathered 1985 trust into lifetime issue trusts keeps GST-exempt status with no estate or gift tax
This is a companion ruling to a sibling trust in the same family (the facts and analysis mirror the related ruling, with a different IRS control number). An irrevocable trust created before September …
Modifying a grandfathered pre-1985 trust into lifetime issue trusts keeps GST-exempt status, with no estate or gift tax
An irrevocable trust created before September 25, 1985 is "grandfathered" from the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax, a valuable status that poorly designed changes can destroy. Here the grantor,…
Modifying a grandfathered pre-1985 trust into lifetime issue trusts keeps GST-exempt status, with no estate or gift tax
An irrevocable trust created before September 25, 1985 is "grandfathered" from the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax, a valuable status that poorly designed changes can destroy. Here the grantor,…
Modifying a grandfathered pre-1985 trust into lifetime issue trusts keeps GST-exempt status, with no estate or gift tax
An irrevocable trust created before September 25, 1985 is "grandfathered" from the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax, a valuable status that poorly designed changes can destroy. Here the grantor,…
Modifying a grandfathered pre-1985 trust into lifetime issue trusts keeps GST-exempt status, with no estate or gift tax
An irrevocable trust created before September 25, 1985 is "grandfathered" from the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax, a valuable status that poorly designed changes can destroy. Here the grantor,…
A "divide and donate" split and early termination of a charitable remainder unitrust to fund the settlors' private foundations is not self-dealing and yields income and gift tax charitable deductions
A married couple created a charitable remainder unitrust (CRUT), a trust that pays them 5% a year for life and leaves whatever remains to charity. They now want to accelerate part of the gift so money…
"Divide and donate" split of a charitable remainder unitrust, with 8 favorable rulings on self-dealing, deductions, and foundation status
A married couple created a charitable remainder unitrust (CRUT), a trust that pays them an annual amount for life and leaves what remains to charity. Because one of the family's private foundations fa…
Companion ruling to the individuals on the same "divide and donate" CRUT split, with 8 favorable rulings
This ruling is the companion to a same-day ruling on the identical "divide and donate" transaction, but this letter is directed to the married couple (H and W) rather than to their charitable remainde…
Dividing a pre-1985 grandfathered trust into family sub-trusts keeps GST exemption and triggers no gift or estate tax
Trusts that were irrevocable before September 25, 1985 are "grandfathered" and completely exempt from the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax, but that protected status can be lost if the trust is …
Early trust termination avoided transfer taxes but triggered capital gain
A pre-September 25, 1985 irrevocable trust paid a fixed annuity to a grandchild and would ultimately pass to the grandchild’s descendants. The adult and minor beneficiaries, represented as necessary, …
Dividing a marital QTIP trust and disclaiming half is tax-free income-wise and produces a controlled gift, with no surprise estate inclusion
A surviving spouse was the lifetime income beneficiary of a "QTIP" marital trust (property that qualified for the estate tax marital deduction when the first spouse died and that will normally be taxe…
Dividing a marital QTIP trust and disclaiming half is tax-free income-wise and produces a controlled gift, with no surprise estate inclusion
A surviving spouse was the lifetime income beneficiary of a "QTIP" marital trust (property that qualified for the estate tax marital deduction when the first spouse died and that will normally be taxe…
Descendant trust modifications preserve tax treatment
A trust created before September 25, 1985, had already been divided into separate trusts for two grandchildren. A state court approved further changes to one grandchild's trust, including retaining di…
Descendant trust modifications preserve tax treatment
A trust created before September 25, 1985, had already been divided into separate trusts for two grandchildren. A state court approved further changes to one grandchild's trust, including retaining di…
Proportionate stock surrenders avoid income, distribution, and gift treatment
An executive and several trusts proposed surrendering the same percentage of two classes of common shares to a corporation without receiving consideration. The corporation would retire those shares an…
Proportionate stock surrenders avoid income, distribution, and gift treatment
An executive and several trusts proposed surrendering the same percentage of two classes of common shares to a corporation without receiving consideration. The corporation would retire those shares an…
Proportionate stock surrenders avoid income, distribution, and gift treatment
An executive and several trusts proposed surrendering the same percentage of two classes of common shares to a corporation without receiving consideration. The corporation would retire those shares an…
Proportionate stock surrenders avoid income, distribution, and gift treatment
An executive and several trusts proposed surrendering the same percentage of two classes of common shares to a corporation without receiving consideration. The corporation would retire those shares an…
Proportionate stock surrenders avoid income, distribution, and gift treatment
An executive and several trusts proposed surrendering the same percentage of two classes of common shares to a corporation without receiving consideration. The corporation would retire those shares an…
Proportionate stock surrenders avoid income, distribution, and gift treatment
An executive and several trusts proposed surrendering the same percentage of two classes of common shares to a corporation without receiving consideration. The corporation would retire those shares an…
Proportionate stock surrenders avoid income, distribution, and gift treatment
An executive and several trusts proposed surrendering the same percentage of two classes of common shares to a corporation without receiving consideration. The corporation would retire those shares an…
Proportionate stock surrenders avoid income, distribution, and gift treatment
An executive and several trusts proposed surrendering the same percentage of two classes of common shares to a corporation without receiving consideration. The corporation would retire those shares an…
Proportionate stock surrenders avoid income, distribution, and gift treatment
An executive and several trusts proposed surrendering the same percentage of two classes of common shares to a corporation without receiving consideration. The corporation would retire those shares an…
Proportionate stock surrenders avoid income, distribution, and gift treatment
An executive and several trusts proposed surrendering the same percentage of two classes of common shares to a corporation without receiving consideration. The corporation would retire those shares an…
Proportionate stock surrenders avoid income, distribution, and gift treatment
An executive and several trusts proposed surrendering the same percentage of two classes of common shares to a corporation without receiving consideration. The corporation would retire those shares an…
Adding grantor tax reimbursement power caused beneficiary gifts
An irrevocable grantor trust did not originally permit the trustee to reimburse the grantor for income tax attributable to the trust's income. The trustee later obtained a court-approved modification,…
Adult-adoption trust settlement preserves GST exemption and avoids gift tax
A family disputed whether three people adopted as adults qualified as descendants under a settlor's will and therefore shared in several family trusts. The trusts had become irrevocable before Septemb…
Family trust compromise keeps GST protection and creates no taxable gifts
Beneficiaries of several family trusts litigated whether three people adopted as adults counted as descendants under the settlor's will. The trusts were irrevocable before September 25, 1985, had no l…
Court settlement leaves grandfathered trusts GST-exempt and avoids gifts
Family members disputed whether three adults adopted by grandchildren were descendants entitled to share in trusts created under a settlor's will. The trusts were irrevocable before September 25, 1985…
Beneficiary settlement preserves GST grandfathering without gift tax
A dispute arose over whether three individuals adopted after reaching adulthood were descendants under a settlor's will and beneficiaries of multiple family trusts. Each trust was irrevocable before S…
Trust litigation settlement keeps GST exemption and causes no gifts
A trustee asked a state court to decide whether three adults adopted by the settlor's grandchildren qualified as descendants and remainder beneficiaries under the settlor's will. The affected trusts h…
Adult-adoptee compromise does not alter trusts' GST or gift tax treatment
Several beneficiaries contested whether adults adopted by members of the settlor's family were descendants under the settlor's will. The family trusts were irrevocable before September 25, 1985, and n…
Negotiated adult-adoption settlement preserves grandfathered tax status
The beneficiaries of several old family trusts disagreed about whether three adults adopted by grandchildren were descendants under the settlor's will. Because the trusts were irrevocable before Septe…
Reasonable trust compromise keeps GST exemption and avoids gifts
A long-running family dispute concerned whether three adult adoptees qualified as descendants and remainder beneficiaries under the settlor's will. The family trusts were irrevocable before September …
Family settlement does not disturb GST exemption or trigger gift tax
Family trust beneficiaries litigated whether three people adopted as adults qualified as descendants under a will and could share in the trust remainders. The trusts were protected from generation-ski…
Court-approved beneficiary compromise preserves old trusts' tax protection
A family disagreed over whether people adopted as adults were descendants for purposes of several trusts created under a will. The trusts were irrevocable before September 25, 1985, and had no later a…
Adult-adoptee trust settlement retains GST grandfather protection
The trustee and family beneficiaries disputed whether three individuals adopted as adults fit the will's definition of descendants. The family trusts were irrevocable before September 25, 1985, and ha…
Settlement of adoptee claims preserves trust tax grandfathering
A family trust dispute centered on whether three adults adopted by grandchildren were descendants under the settlor's will. The affected trusts were irrevocable before September 25, 1985, and had no l…
Beneficiary dispute settlement leaves grandfathered trusts unchanged for tax
A trustee sought a state-court ruling on whether three adults adopted by grandchildren qualified as descendants under a settlor's will. The family trusts were irrevocable before September 25, 1985, wi…
Adult-adoption settlement does not change grandfathered trust taxes
A trustee and family members disagreed about whether three adult adoptees qualified as descendants and remainder beneficiaries under a settlor's will. The affected trusts were irrevocable before Septe…
Family compromise preserves GST-exempt trusts without taxable gifts
Family members contested whether three people adopted as adults qualified as descendants under a will and could benefit from several family trusts. The trusts were irrevocable before September 25, 198…
Court compromise preserves family trusts' GST and gift tax treatment
Beneficiaries disputed whether three adults adopted by grandchildren fell within a will's definition of descendants. The family trusts involved were irrevocable before September 25, 1985, and had rece…
Adult-adoptee agreement preserves GST grandfathering and avoids gifts
A state-court dispute asked whether three adult adoptees qualified as descendants and potential remainder beneficiaries under a settlor's will. The family trusts at issue were irrevocable before Septe…
How a surviving spouse's renunciation of her QTIP marital-trust interest is taxed as a gift, with net-gift and estate-inclusion consequences
When a spouse dies, property left in a "QTIP" marital trust escapes estate tax at the first death but is taxed later, either in the surviving spouse's estate when she dies or as a gift if she gives up…
Settling a grandfathered trust's ambiguous per-stirpes clause keeps its GST-exempt status and triggers no gift or income tax
A family trust created before September 25, 1985 is "grandfathered," meaning it is exempt from the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax. The trust's will language directed that, when the last of cer…
Settling a grandfathered trust's ambiguous per-stirpes clause keeps its GST-exempt status and triggers no gift or income tax
A family trust created before September 25, 1985 is "grandfathered," meaning it is exempt from the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax. The trust's will language directed that, when the last of cer…
Settling a grandfathered trust's ambiguous per-stirpes clause keeps its GST-exempt status and triggers no gift or income tax
A family trust created before September 25, 1985 is "grandfathered," meaning it is exempt from the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax. The trust's will language directed that, when the last of cer…
Settling a grandfathered trust's ambiguous per-stirpes clause keeps its GST-exempt status and triggers no gift or income tax
A family trust created before September 25, 1985 is "grandfathered," meaning it is exempt from the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax. The trust's will language directed that, when the last of cer…
Settling a grandfathered trust's ambiguous per-stirpes clause keeps its GST-exempt status and triggers no gift or income tax
A family trust created before September 25, 1985 is "grandfathered," meaning it is exempt from the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax. The trust's will language directed that, when the last of cer…
Court-approved settlement of an ambiguous trust term triggers no GST, gift, or income tax
An old trust, created and made irrevocable before September 25, 1985 (so it is grandfathered as exempt from generation-skipping transfer, or GST, tax), had a will provision that was ambiguous about wh…
Court-approved settlement of an ambiguous trust term triggers no GST, gift, or income tax
An old trust, created and made irrevocable before September 25, 1985 (so it is grandfathered as exempt from generation-skipping transfer, or GST, tax), had a will provision that was ambiguous about wh…
Court-approved settlement of an ambiguous trust term triggers no GST, gift, or income tax
An old trust, created and made irrevocable before September 25, 1985 (so it is grandfathered as exempt from generation-skipping transfer, or GST, tax), had a will provision that was ambiguous about wh…
Trust settlement causes no GST, gift, gain, or excess-income tax consequences
A trust that became irrevocable before September 25, 1985 contained ambiguous instructions for dividing its remainder among descendants when it terminated. The potential beneficiaries negotiated a cou…
Splitting a GST-grandfathered trust into five family trusts triggers no tax
A family asked the IRS how dividing one irrevocable trust into five separate trusts, one for each branch of the family, would be taxed. The original trust was created before the generation-skipping tr…
Splitting a GST-grandfathered trust into five family trusts triggers no tax
A family asked the IRS how dividing one irrevocable trust into five separate trusts, one for each branch of the family, would be taxed. The original trust was created before the generation-skipping tr…
Splitting a GST-grandfathered trust into five family trusts triggers no tax
A family asked the IRS how dividing one irrevocable trust into five separate trusts, one for each branch of the family, would be taxed. The original trust was created before the generation-skipping tr…
Pro rata division into five family trusts produced no income, estate, gift, or GST tax
A trust created before September 25, 1985, benefited one grandchild and that grandchild's descendants. Because the five children had different circumstances, the trustees obtained court approval to di…
Pro rata division into five family trusts produced no income, estate, gift, or GST tax
A trust created before September 25, 1985, benefited one grandchild and that grandchild's descendants. Because the five children had different circumstances, the trustees obtained court approval to di…
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.