SECTION 1. WHAT IS

THE PURPOSE OF THIS REVENUE PROCEDURE?

Description of terms used in this revenue procedure

This revenue procedure explains how the Service provides advice to taxpayers on issues under the jurisdiction of the Associate Chief Counsel (Corporate), the Associate Chief Counsel (Employee Benefits, Exempt Organizations, and Employment Taxes), the Associate Chief Counsel (Energy, Credits, and Excise Tax), the Associate Chief Counsel (Financial Institutions and Products), the Associate Chief Counsel (Income Tax and Accounting), the Associate Chief Counsel (International), the Associate Chief Counsel (Passthroughs, Trusts and Estates), and the Associate Chief Counsel (Procedure and Administration). It explains the forms of advice and the manner in which advice is requested by taxpayers and provided by the Service. A sample format for a letter ruling request is provided in Appendix B. See section 4 of this revenue procedure for information on certain issues outside the scope of this revenue procedure on which advice may be requested under a different revenue procedure.

.01 For purposes of this revenue procedure—

(1) the term “Service” includes the four operating divisions of the Internal Revenue Service and the Associate offices. The four operating divisions are:

(a) Large Business & International Division (LB&I), which generally serves corporations, S corporations, and partnerships, with assets in excess of $10 million. It also serves U.S. citizens and residents with offshore activities and non-residents with U.S. activities.

(b) Small Business/Self-Employed Division (SB/SE), which generally serves corporations, including S corporations, and partnerships, with assets less than or equal to $10 million; filers of gift, estate, excise, employment and fiduciary returns; individuals filing an individual Federal income tax return with accompanying Schedule C (Profit or Loss From Business (Sole Proprietorship)), Schedule E (Supplemental Income and Loss), Schedule F (Profit or Loss From Farming), or Form 2106, Employee Business Expenses ;

(c) Taxpayer Services (TS), which generally serves individuals with wage and investment income only (and with no international tax returns) filing an individual Federal income tax return without accompanying Schedule C, E, or F, or Form 2106; and

(d) Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division (TE/GE), which serves three distinct taxpayer segments: employee plans (including IRAs), exempt organizations, and government entities.

(2) the term "Associate office" refers to the Office of Associate Chief Counsel (Corporate), the Office of Associate Chief Counsel (Employee Benefits, Exempt Organizations, and Employment Taxes), the Office of Associate Chief Counsel (Energy, Credits, and Excise Tax), the Office of Associate Chief Counsel (Financial Institutions and Products), the Office of Associate Chief Counsel (Income Tax and Accounting), the Office of Associate Chief Counsel (International), the Office of Associate Chief Counsel (Passthroughs, Trusts and Estates), or the Office of Associate Chief Counsel (Procedure and Administration), as appropriate.

(3) the term “Director” refers to the Practice Area Director, LB&I; Director, Field Operations, LB&I; Area Director, Field Examination, SB/SE; Director, Specialty Examination Policy, SB/ SE; Program Manager, Estate & Gift Tax Policy, SB/SE; Program Manager, Employment Tax Policy, SB/SE; Program Manager, Excise Tax Policy, SB/SE; Director, Return Integrity & Compliance Services, TS; Director, Employee Plans; Director, Employee Plans, Rulings and Agreements; Director, Employee Plans Examinations; Director, Exempt Organizations; Director, Exempt Organizations, Rulings and Agreements; Director, Exempt Organizations Examinations; or Director, Government Entities, as appropriate.

(4) the term “field office” refers to the respective offices of the Directors, as appropriate.

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Updated annually

(5) the term "taxpayer" includes all persons subject to any provision of the Internal Revenue Code and, when appropriate, their representatives. More specifically, the term includes tax-exempt organizations, as well as issuers of tax-exempt obligations, mortgage credit certificates, and tax credit bonds.

(6) the terms “Appeals” and “Appeals office” refer to the Internal Revenue Service Independent Office of Appeals.

.02 This revenue procedure is updated annually as the first revenue procedure of the year, but it may be modified, amplified or clarified during the year.

SECTION 2. WHAT The Service provides advice in the form of letter rulings, closing agreements, determination ARE THE FORMS IN letters, information letters, and oral advice. WHICH THE SERVICE PROVIDES ADVICE TO TAXPAYERS?

Letter ruling .01 A "letter ruling" is a written determination issued to a taxpayer by an Associate office in response to the taxpayer’s written inquiry, filed prior to the filing of returns or reports that are required by the tax laws, about its status for tax purposes or the tax effects of its acts or transactions. A letter ruling interprets the tax laws and applies them to the taxpayer's specific set of facts. A letter ruling is issued when appropriate in the interest of sound tax administration. One type of letter ruling is an Associate office’s response granting or denying a request for a change in a taxpayer’s method of accounting or accounting period. Once issued, a letter ruling may be revoked or modified for a number of reasons. See section 11 of this revenue procedure. A letter ruling may be issued with a closing agreement, however, and a closing agreement is final unless fraud, malfeasance, or misrepresentation of a material fact can be shown. See section 2.02 of this revenue procedure.

Letter rulings are subject to exchange of information under U.S. tax treaties or tax information exchange agreements in accordance with the terms of such treaties and agreements (including terms regarding relevancy, confidentiality, and the protection of trade secrets).

Closing agreement .02 A "closing agreement" is a final agreement between the Service and a taxpayer on a specific issue or liability. It is entered into under the authority in § 7121, and it is final unless fraud, malfeasance, or misrepresentation of a material fact can be shown. A closing agreement may be entered into when it is advantageous to have a matter permanently and conclusively closed or when a taxpayer can show that there are good reasons for an agreement and that making the agreement will not prejudice the interests of the Government.

A taxpayer may request a closing agreement with a letter ruling or in lieu of a letter ruling, with respect to a transaction that would be eligible for a letter ruling. If the Service agrees that a closing agreement is appropriate, the Associate Chief Counsel with subject matter jurisdiction signs the closing agreement on behalf of the Service.

In appropriate cases, the Service may ask a taxpayer to enter into a closing agreement as a condition for the issuance of a letter ruling or in lieu of issuing a letter ruling.

If, in a single case, a closing agreement is requested for each person or entity in a class of taxpayers, separate agreements are entered into only if the class consists of 25 or fewer taxpayers. If the issue and holding are identical for the class and there are more than 25 taxpayers in the class,

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Determination letter

a "mass closing agreement" will be entered into with the taxpayer who is authorized by the others to represent the class.

.03 A "determination letter" is a written determination issued by a Director that applies the principles and precedents previously announced by the Service to a specific set of facts. It is issued only when a determination can be made based on clearly established rules in a statute, a tax treaty, the regulations, a conclusion in a revenue ruling, or an opinion or court decision that represents the position of the Service.

Information letter .04 An "information letter" is a statement issued by an Associate office or Director that calls attention to a well-established interpretation or principle of tax law (including a tax treaty) without applying it to a specific set of facts. An information letter may be issued if the taxpayer's inquiry indicates a need for general information or if the taxpayer's request does not meet the requirements of this revenue procedure and the Service concludes that general information will help the taxpayer. An information letter is advisory only and has no binding effect on the Service. If the Associate office issues an information letter in response to a request for a letter ruling that does not meet the requirements of this revenue procedure, the information letter is not a substitute for a letter ruling. The taxpayer should provide a daytime telephone number with the taxpayer's request for an information letter.

Information letters that are issued by the Associate offices to members of the public are made available to the public. Information letters that are issued by the field offices are generally not made available to the public.

Because information letters do not constitute written determinations as defined in § 6110, they are not subject to public inspection under § 6110. The Service makes the information letters available to the public under the Freedom of Information Act (the “FOIA”). Before any information letter is made available to the public, an Associate office will redact any information exempt from disclosure under the FOIA. See, e.g., 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(6) (exemption for information the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy); 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(3) in conjunction with § 6103 (exemption for returns and return information as defined in § 6103(b)).

The following documents also will not be available for public inspection as part of this process:

(1) transmittal letters in which the Service furnishes publications or other publicly available material to taxpayers, without any significant legal discussion;

(2) responses to taxpayer or third party contacts that are inquiries with respect to a pending request for a letter ruling, technical advice memorandum, or Chief Counsel Advice (which are subject to public inspection under § 6110 after their issuance); and

(3) responses to taxpayer or third party communications with respect to any investigation, audit, litigation, or other enforcement action.

Oral Advice .05

(1) No oral rulings and no written rulings in response to oral requests. The Service does not orally issue letter rulings or determination letters, nor does it issue letter rulings or determination letters in response to oral requests from taxpayers. Service employees ordinarily will discuss

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