Q. What is a Private Letter Ruling? 

A. A Private Letter Ruling (PLR) is an IRS response to a taxpayer’s formal request for an opinion on the taxpayer’s individual situation. The IRS charges a fee for each such ruling. Each ruling applies only to the situation of the individual taxpayer who requested it and officially cannot be applied to other situations. However, many tax experts rely on these rulings to broadly interpret the position of the IRS on various issues.
If you want to be 100% sure you’ll survive an IRS audit on your SEPP, or if you feel that your circumstances warrant individual approval from the IRS, get your own PLR. The procedure to obtain a PLR is usually found in the first Internal Revenue Bulletin issued each year.A professional tax or financial adviser can also help you obtain a Private Letter Ruling.