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Tax Court News & Case Summaries

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news• IRS Written Determination

IRS Rules on LIFO Conformity for S Corporation Using Fair Value Hedge Accounting

The IRS has issued a non-precedential private letter ruling (PLR-115055-25) approving an S corporation’s use of fair value hedge accounting for sales hedges on gasoline inventory without violating the LIFO conformity requirement under Section 472(c) of the Internal Revenue Code.

PLR-115055-25
news• IRS Written Determination

IRS Rules on Utility Fee Income Under Sections 61 and 118

The IRS has ruled that fees collected by a regulated utility under a state-mandated cost-recovery framework constitute gross income under Section 61 of the Internal Revenue Code, and are not excludable as contributions to capital under Section 118.

PLR-112713-25
news• IRS Written Determination

IRS Rules on Tax Treatment of Universal Life Insurance Contracts with Annuity Riders

The IRS has approved tax treatment that treats a universal life insurance base contract and a single premium immediate annuity rider as separate contracts for federal tax purposes.

PLR-112168-25
news• IRS Written Determination

IRS Rules on Tax Treatment of Universal Life Insurance Contracts with Annuity Riders

The IRS has issued a landmark ruling granting 10 specific tax rulings for a universal life insurance contract paired with an immediate annuity rider, confirming that the base insurance policy and annuity component must be treated as separate contracts for federal tax purposes.

PLR-112167-25
news• IRS Written Determination

IRS Grants Extension for Late GST Exemption Allocation in Irrevocable Trust Case

The IRS granted a 120-day extension to allocate GST exemption to an irrevocable trust funded with $Z million in transfers, after the taxpayer’s accounting firm failed to advise on the election.

PLR-101287-26
news• US Tax Court

Novak v. Commissioner: Tax Court Upholds IRS Lien Despite Multi-Million-Dollar Installment Agreement Dispute

The Tax Court’s June 17, 2026 ruling in Novak v. C. Memo.

Docket No. 7365-24L
news• US Tax Court

Colette Branch v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue: A $8.3 Million Dispute Over Unreported Income and Deductions

3 million tax deficiency for tax years 2015 through 2017. The IRS, acting under Section 6020(b), prepared substitutes for returns (SFRs) after Branch failed to file, estimating over $6 million in annual gross receipts for her sole proprietorship.

Docket No. 7214-20
news• US Tax Court

Tax Court Denies Full Research Credits for Architectural Firm Due to Funded Research Exclusion

S. 41-4A(d)(3). The court rejected the IRS’s attempt to fully disallow the credits but also rejected the taxpayers’ argument that the Supreme Court’s 2024 decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo invalidated the funded research regulations under Section 41(d)(4)(H).

13382-17, 13385-17, 13387-17 (Consolidated)
news• IRS Bulletin

IRS Bulletin No. 2026–25: Key Updates on HSAs, Nonbank Trustees, Foreign Government Income, and Marginal Production Rates

The IRS Bulletin No. 2026–25, released June 15, 2026, introduces four major updates reshaping tax planning for health savings accounts (HSAs), broker-dealer compliance, foreign government taxation, and energy sector incentives.

Bulletin No. 2026–25
news• IRS Written Determination

IRS Grants Extension for Late § 754 Election Following Partner’s Death

The IRS granted a 120-day extension for a late § 754 election after a State limited partnership inadvertently failed to file the election following a partner’s death. 9100-3, allowing the partnership to retroactively elect to adjust the basis of its property under § 754 of the Internal Revenue Code.

PLR-120159-25
news• IRS Written Determination

IRS Grants Relief for Inadvertent S Corporation and QSub Election Failures

The IRS granted relief under Section 1362(f) to an LLC that inadvertently failed to qualify as an S corporation due to its operating agreement and profits interests violating the one-class-of-stock rule under Section 1361(b)(1)(D).

PLR-119999-25
news• IRS Written Determination

IRS Grants Aggregation of Nonoperating Mineral Interests Under § 614(e)

The IRS has approved a taxpayer’s request to aggregate separate nonoperating mineral interests under Section 614(e) of the Internal Revenue Code, allowing the interests to be treated as a single property for depletion calculations.

PLR-119960-25
news• IRS Written Determination

IRS Grants Extension for Late QSub Election Due to Inadvertence

9100-3 to a taxpayer seeking to elect qualified subchapter S subsidiary (QSub) status under § 1361(b)(3) after inadvertently failing to file Form 8869 within the required deadline.

PLR-118770-25
news• IRS Written Determination

IRS Grants Extension for Late Depreciation Election and Accounting Method Change Due to Internal Miscommunication

A taxpayer faced a potential $10 million tax liability after an internal miscommunication led to a missed deadline for critical elections tied to bonus depreciation and R&D expenditures.

PLR-116144-25
news• IRS Written Determination

IRS Rules on Tax Treatment of a Public Health Settlement Trust

The IRS has issued a non-precedential Private Letter Ruling (PLR) granting three critical tax rulings for a public health settlement trust: (1) the trust qualifies as a qualified settlement fund (QSF) under § 1.

PLR-116022-25
news• IRS Written Determination

IRS Rules on Segregation and Distribution of Inherited IRA Assets Among Beneficiaries

The IRS confirmed in a Private Letter Ruling (PLR) that an inherited IRA can be divided into separate accounts for multiple beneficiaries without triggering immediate tax consequences.

PLR-114415-25
news• US Tax Court

Wells v. Commissioner: Charitable Deduction Denied for Missing Donee Acknowledgment

42 million charitable deduction claimed by William P. and Ruth E. Wells for tax years 2019–2021, resulting in $402,708 in deficiencies and penalties.

13104-24
news• US Tax Court

Aryanpure v. Commissioner: Fraud Penalties Upheld for Underreporting Medical Practice Income

The Tax Court’s June 10 ruling in Aryanpure v. Commissioner exposes a staggering $500,000 in tax deficiencies and $375,000 in fraud penalties—underscoring the IRS’s relentless pursuit of medical professionals who blur the lines between personal and business finances.

17120-23
news• US Tax Court

Schumachers' Horse Breeding Activity Deemed Hobby, Not Business, by Tax Court

The Tax Court’s June 9 ruling in Schumacher v. Commissioner denied $191,179 in deductions for 2017–2019 and upheld $33,520 in penalties for Keith and Rhonda Schumacher’s horse breeding operation.

4276-23
news• IRS Written Determination

IRS Grants Extension for Late Consolidated Return Election Under § 1.1502-75(a)(1)

1502-75(a)(1). The relief allows the affiliated group to file the election within 75 days of the ruling letter’s issuance, despite missing the original deadline tied to the taxable year’s extended return due date.

PLR-119875-25
news• IRS Written Determination

IRS Grants Extension for Late Consolidated Return Election Under § 301.9100-3

1502-75(a)(1), the regulation governing consolidated federal income tax returns. The taxpayer requested relief after missing the deadline to elect consolidation for the taxable year ending on Date 1, citing reasonable action and good faith in its compliance efforts.

PLR-119874-25
news• IRS Written Determination

IRS Grants Relief for Inadvertent Election Out of Installment Sale Method

The IRS granted relief to married taxpayers who inadvertently elected out of the installment sale method due to a preparer’s oversight, allowing them to revoke the election and report the gain proportionally over time.

PLR-118773-25
news• IRS Written Determination

IRS Rules on REIT Loan Treatment in Joint Ventures Under § 856

The IRS has issued a non-precedential Private Letter Ruling (PLR-117459-19) clarifying that loans between a REIT and its joint ventures—when attributable to the REIT’s capital interest—are excluded from the REIT’s asset tests under § 856(c)(4).

PLR-117459-19
news• IRS Written Determination

IRS Grants Extension for Late § 754 Election Following Partner’s Death

The IRS granted a 120-day extension for a late § 754 election in a non-precedential private letter ruling (PLR-117052-25), permitting a partnership to retroactively adjust asset bases after a partner’s death.

PLR-117052-25
news• IRS Written Determination

IRS Grants Extension for Late S Corporation and Entity Classification Elections

7701-3, allowing the taxpayer to retroactively elect corporate tax treatment and S corporation status.

PLR-116985-25
news• IRS Written Determination

IRS Grants Extension for Late § 754 Election Following Partner’s Death

9100-3. The partnership failed to make the election due to its tax advisors overlooking the requirement, leaving it unable to adjust basis following the partner’s passing—a critical omission given the potential for double taxation.

PLR-116877-25
news• IRS Written Determination

IRS Grants Extension for Late § 754 Election Following Partner's Death

The IRS granted a rare 120-day extension for a late § 754 election after a partnership missed the filing deadline due to an advisor's oversight and the death of a partner. In a non-precedential ruling, the agency concluded the partnership acted reasonably and in good faith, despite the omission.

PLR-116876-25
news• IRS Written Determination

IRS Denies Late Mark-to-Market Election for Corporation Due to Hindsight and Lack of Good Faith

A corporation’s attempt to retroactively claim $5 million in securities trading losses under the mark-to-market accounting method was rejected by the IRS, which ruled the taxpayer acted with impermissible hindsight.

PLR-116840-22
news• IRS Written Determination

IRS Grants Extension for Consolidated Group to Make QOF Elections Under Section 1400Z-2

The IRS granted a consolidated group a rare extension to file late elections under Treas. Reg. 1502-14Z(c)(2), allowing the group to retroactively treat investments in Qualified Opportunity Funds (QOFs) as qualifying deferral elections under § 1400Z-2.

PLR-116509-25
news• IRS Written Determination

IRS Grants Extension for Late QOF Self-Certification Under § 301.9100-3

9100-3 to a taxpayer who missed the deadline for self-certifying as a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF) under § 1400Z-2(d). The taxpayer requested an extension to file Form 8996, the IRS-required certification mechanism for QOFs, and the IRS ruled that the late filing would now be treated as timely.

PLR-116231-25