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 may take an unlimited section 642(c) charitable deduction for income paid to charities
A decedent's will directed that, after specific bequests, taxes, debts, and administrative costs, a percentage of the estate's residue go to organizations that are exempt charities under Section 501(c…
IRS rules on nuclear decommissioning trust transfers in a partial sale of a nuclear power plant
Two owners of a nuclear power plant restructured their stakes. A private seller (a disregarded subsidiary of a taxable parent) is selling part of its undivided ownership interest in the plant to a buy…
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…
Trust can split inherited retirement accounts to a charity and heirs without triggering tax at the trust level
A woman died owning several retirement accounts that all named her revocable trust as the beneficiary. The trust splits the money two ways: a percentage goes to a private foundation (the charitable sh…
Proposed charitable distributions will not disqualify a charitable remainder unitrust
Two individuals created a charitable remainder unitrust that paid them a five-percent annual unitrust amount for life, then paid the survivor after the first death. After one creator died, the survivo…
Trust allowed charitable deduction for income set aside for foundation
A revocable trust became part of the decedent's estate under a Section 645 election, and a private foundation was its sole remaining beneficiary. The trust wholly owned an S corporation that planned t…
The S portion of an ESBT may carry a net operating loss that passed through from its S corporation into another year
An electing small business trust (ESBT) is a special kind of trust allowed to own S corporation stock. For tax purposes it is split in two: the "S portion," which holds the S corporation stock and is …
IRS rules a trust's IRA income paid on to a charity is offset by a charitable deduction
A decedent named a trust as the sole beneficiary of his IRA, and the trust document directs that the IRA proceeds go to a public charity (a donor advised fund). When the trust receives IRA distributio…
Splitting a GST-grandfathered trust into four equal trusts is tax-free across income, gift, estate, and GST tax
A trust created long ago (irrevocable before September 25, 1985, so it is "grandfathered" and exempt from the generation-skipping transfer, or GST, tax) held everything in a single share for one child…
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…
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…
Consent to revoke a section 643(e)(3) election that failed because of the related-party loss rule
An estate had elected to treat a decedent's revocable trust as part of the estate (an IRC Section 645 election). During one year the trust distributed property to the decedent's surviving spouse, who …
IRS grants an estate a 120-day extension to make the section 663(b) "65-day rule" election
An estate made distributions to its beneficiaries within the first 65 days of a new tax year. IRC § 663(b) (the "65-day rule") lets an estate or trust elect to treat such early-year distributions as i…
IRS approves a court reformation of a defective charitable remainder unitrust as a qualified reformation under Section 2055(e)(3)
A married couple created an irrevocable lifetime trust that they intended to be a charitable remainder unitrust, paying them (and the survivor) a percentage of the trust's value each year with the rem…
Division of grandfathered trust preserves GST exemption and avoids transfer-tax and income-tax consequences
A trust created under a settlor's will before September 25, 1985 proposed dividing one child's share into two equal trusts, one associated with each of that child's children. The new trusts would have…
Pro-rata division into separate family trusts preserves income-tax attributes and GST exemption
Two grantors created a trust for their children and allocated enough generation-skipping transfer tax exemption to give it an inclusion ratio of zero. As the family grew and beneficiaries' financial n…
Early pro-rata trust division preserves income-tax attributes and GST exemption
Two grantors created a trust for their descendants and allocated enough generation-skipping transfer tax exemption to give it an inclusion ratio of zero. After one grantor died and family members deve…
Winding up a charitable remainder annuity trust by giving the annuity interest to the charity is a gift, not a sale, and not self-dealing
A married couple created a charitable remainder annuity trust (CRAT): they receive a 5 percent annuity for their joint lives, and a private foundation they control is the remainder beneficiary. They w…
A transfer between two trusts owned by the same beneficiary is not recognized as a sale
An irrevocable family trust contributed stock to an LLC taxed as a partnership and later transferred part of its LLC interest to a subtrust for one beneficiary. The subtrust proposed selling part of t…
Trust transfer remains an incomplete gift and committee powers avoid estate inclusion
A grantor created an irrevocable domestic trust for family members and retained several nonfiduciary powers over distributions, including a consent power, a support-related power, and a limited testam…
Incomplete-gift trust committee avoids ownership, gift, and general-power treatment
An irrevocable domestic trust used a power-of-appointment committee to direct distributions among the grantor and other beneficiaries. While the committee remains in existence, the IRS found no trust …
Incomplete-gift trust committee avoids ownership, gift, and general-power treatment
An irrevocable domestic trust used a power-of-appointment committee to direct distributions among the grantor and other beneficiaries. While the committee remains in existence, the IRS found no trust …
Incomplete-gift trust committee avoids ownership, gift, and general-power treatment
An irrevocable domestic trust used a power-of-appointment committee to direct distributions among the grantor and other beneficiaries. While the committee remains in existence, the IRS found no trust …
Incomplete-gift trust committee avoids ownership, gift, and general-power treatment
An irrevocable domestic trust used a power-of-appointment committee to direct distributions among the grantor and other beneficiaries. While the committee remains in existence, the IRS found no trust …
Incomplete-gift trust committee avoids ownership, gift, and general-power treatment
An irrevocable domestic trust used a power-of-appointment committee to direct distributions among the grantor and other beneficiaries. While the committee remains in existence, the IRS found no trust …
IRS grants late trust 65-day election
A trust made a distribution within the first 65 days of a new tax year and intended to treat it as paid on the last day of the preceding year under section 663(b), but inadvertently missed the electio…
IRS blesses an incomplete-gift non-grantor trust with a power of appointment committee
A married couple in a community property state set up an irrevocable trust funded with community property and controlled by a "power of appointment committee" made up of the spouses and several family…
Trust gets extra time to make the 65-day election for a late-year distribution
A trust made a distribution to a beneficiary within the first 65 days of a tax year and wanted to treat it, under IRC § 663(b), as if it had been paid on the last day of the prior year. That election …
Community property trust receives income, gift, estate, and basis rulings
A married couple transferred community property to an irrevocable trust that could benefit them, their descendants, and other named beneficiaries through powers shared with a power-of-appointment comm…
Community property trust receives income, gift, estate, and basis rulings
A married couple transferred community property to an irrevocable trust that could benefit them, their descendants, and other named beneficiaries through powers shared with a power-of-appointment comm…
Community property trust receives income, gift, estate, and basis rulings
A married couple transferred community property to an irrevocable trust that could benefit them, their descendants, and other named beneficiaries through powers shared with a power-of-appointment comm…
Community property trust receives income, gift, estate, and basis rulings
A married couple transferred community property to an irrevocable trust that could benefit them, their descendants, and other named beneficiaries through powers shared with a power-of-appointment comm…
Community property trust receives income, gift, estate, and basis rulings
A married couple transferred community property to an irrevocable trust that could benefit them, their descendants, and other named beneficiaries through powers shared with a power-of-appointment comm…
Trust receives 120-day extension for charitable-contribution election
A trust made charitable contributions during one tax year and intended to elect under section 642(c) to treat them as paid in the preceding year. Its tax adviser inadvertently failed to file the trust…
Trust receives 120-day extension for charitable-contribution election
A trust made charitable contributions during one tax year and intended to elect under section 642(c) to treat them as paid in the preceding year. Its tax adviser inadvertently failed to file the trust…
Trust receives 120-day extension for charitable-contribution election
A trust made charitable contributions during one tax year and intended to elect under section 642(c) to treat them as paid in the preceding year. Its tax adviser inadvertently failed to file the trust…
Estate received 120 days for late 65-day distribution election
An estate made a distribution during the first 65 days of a fiscal year and intended under section 663(b) to treat it as paid or credited on the last day of the preceding fiscal year. The election was…
Charitable lead trust termination caused no gain or loss
A charitable lead annuity trust paid an annuity to a charitable foundation and originally provided for the remainder to revert to the settlor or the settlor's assigns. The settlor assigned the remaind…
Pro rata division of grandfathered trust was tax neutral
An irrevocable pre-September 25, 1985 trust for a son and his issue proposed dividing pro rata into five equal subtrusts, one for each child and that child's issue, because the children had different …
Trust funding stayed incomplete while committee powers avoided transfer tax
A grantor created an irrevocable domestic trust for the grantor and family members, retaining consent, support-limited, and testamentary appointment powers while a family committee held joint distribu…
Retained trust powers kept the transfer incomplete
A grantor created an irrevocable domestic trust for the grantor and family members, retaining consent, support-limited, and testamentary appointment powers while a family committee held joint distribu…
Joint trust powers avoided committee transfer tax
A grantor created an irrevocable domestic trust for the grantor and family members, retaining consent, support-limited, and testamentary appointment powers while a family committee held joint distribu…
Family committee powers did not create taxable gifts
A grantor created an irrevocable domestic trust for the grantor and family members, retaining consent, support-limited, and testamentary appointment powers while a family committee held joint distribu…
Retained appointment powers prevented a completed gift
A grantor created an irrevocable domestic trust for the grantor and family members, retaining consent, support-limited, and testamentary appointment powers while a family committee held joint distribu…
Trust committee distributions avoided member gift tax
A grantor created an irrevocable domestic trust for the grantor and family members, retaining consent, support-limited, and testamentary appointment powers while a family committee held joint distribu…
Splitting a decedent's IRA (left to his estate) into separate inherited IRAs for the heirs is not a taxable distribution
A man died after he had started taking required minimum distributions (RMDs) from his IRA, and he had named his estate (not a person) as the account's beneficiary. His will left the estate's interest …
Charitable trust contributions remained incomplete gifts and avoided split-interest trust rules
A settlor created an irrevocable trust for individuals and a foundation while retaining consent and limited appointment powers. The IRS ruled that the initial contribution was an incomplete gift and t…
Trust transfer remained an incomplete gift and committee powers caused no estate inclusion
A grantor created an irrevocable domestic trust for the grantor and other lifetime beneficiaries. The grantor retained powers to direct distributions, while a committee could act with the grantor's co…
Trust transfer remained an incomplete gift and committee powers caused no estate inclusion
A grantor created an irrevocable domestic trust for the grantor and other lifetime beneficiaries. The grantor retained powers to direct distributions, while a committee could act with the grantor's co…
Trust transfer remained an incomplete gift and committee powers caused no estate inclusion
A grantor created an irrevocable domestic trust for the grantor and other lifetime beneficiaries. The grantor retained powers to direct distributions, while a committee could act with the grantor's co…
Trust transfer remained an incomplete gift and committee powers caused no estate inclusion
A grantor created an irrevocable domestic trust for the grantor and other lifetime beneficiaries. The grantor retained powers to direct distributions, while a committee could act with the grantor's co…
Trust transfer remained an incomplete gift and committee powers caused no estate inclusion
A grantor created an irrevocable domestic trust for the grantor and other lifetime beneficiaries. The grantor retained powers to direct distributions, while a committee could act with the grantor's co…
Married couple's community-property trust is a non-grantor trust and their contributions are incomplete gifts
A married couple in a community property state set up an irrevocable trust for themselves, their children, two other individuals, and charities. Distributions are controlled by a "Power of Appointment…
Married couple's community-property trust is a non-grantor trust and their contributions are incomplete gifts
A married couple in a community property state set up an irrevocable trust for themselves, their children, two other individuals, and charities. Distributions are controlled by a "Power of Appointment…
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.