CCA 200851091: A general power of attorney does not carry partnership notice authority by itself

Plain-English summary

One sentence of advice, and it closes a gap that routinely trips up representatives in partnership cases.

Section 6223 governs the notices the Service must send partners in a unified partnership proceeding, including notice that the proceeding has begun and notice of the final partnership administrative adjustment. Those notices start clock periods and carry consequences, so the regulations are careful about who may stand in a partner's place to receive them and to act on partnership items. The authority to do that is not assumed from a representative's general engagement. It has to appear in the power itself.

The advice states the two acceptable ways to establish it. The power of attorney needs to include the language of Treas. Reg. section 301.6223(c)-1(e)(3), or the taxpayer needs to send a statement that the existing power already includes such authority. Either the document carries the authority on its face, or the taxpayer confirms in writing that it does.

The practical consequence is that an ordinary Form 2848 filed for an income tax year is not enough on its own. A representative may be fully authorized to handle the partner's individual examination and still lack authority on the partnership side, because the partnership notice provisions are their own regime with their own requirement. The fix is cheap if caught early, since a statement from the taxpayer will do, and expensive if caught late, because acts taken by a representative without the authority may not bind the partner and notices sent to that representative may not count.

The second option is worth noting for what it implies. A supplemental statement from the taxpayer can cure a power that does not recite the regulation's language, so the defect is one of documentation rather than substance. What cannot be skipped is the confirmation itself.

A companion release in this batch, CCA 0851110, shows the same issue from the other direction: where a purported representative's authority in the matter is doubtful, the Service asks the partner to establish that authority before treating the representative's request as the partner's own.

This is a clean digital release rather than a scan, so no OCR correction was needed. Kept as released: "Treas. Reg. 301.6223(c)-1(e)(3)" without a section symbol; and the subject line "RE: POA," using the abbreviation without expanding it.

Ruling snapshot

• Question: What must a power of attorney contain for a representative to act on a partner's behalf in a partnership proceeding?
• Outcome: Advice given. The power of attorney must include the language of Treas. Reg. section 301.6223(c)-1(e)(3), or the taxpayer must send a statement that the existing power includes such authority.
• Key authorities: IRC section 6223; Treas. Reg. section 301.6223(c)-1(e)(3).

Full text (IRS public release)

ID: CCA-920948-08 Number: 200851091
Office: -------------- Release Date: 12/19/2008

UILC: 6223.00-00

From: -------------------
Sent: Tue 9/2/2008 9:48 AM
To: -------------------------
Cc: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------
Subject: RE: POA

The POA needs to include the language of Treas. Reg. 301.6223(c)-1(e)(3) or the taxpayer needs to
send a statement that the existing power includes such authority.