Ezel / IRS Rulings / 200907031

CCA 200907031: Abating an invalid assessment can produce a refund

Number
200907031
Outcome
Advice
Document type
Chief Counsel Advice
IRS subject
Collection Due Process - Levy
Topics
Procedure, penalties, and administration
Code sections
§ 6330
Ruling dated
January 6, 2009
Publicly released
February 13, 2009
Source
View Official PDF

Apply this to your situation

This page covers legal advice the IRS Office of Chief Counsel wrote for IRS staff, issued in 2009, which can't be cited as precedent. Ask about your situation and see what the current Code and IRS guidance say, with citations.

Currency note: this determination was released in 2009
Statutory amendments, regulation changes, court decisions, or later IRS guidance may have changed the analysis since then. Treat this page as historical context, not current tax advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, threshold, or position mentioned here.
Not precedent. Under 26 U.S.C. § 6110(k)(3), this written determination may not be used or cited as precedent. It is advice from the IRS Office of Chief Counsel to IRS personnel on the facts they presented, and identifying details were redacted by the IRS before release. The official IRS release (linked on this page as a PDF) is the authoritative source.
About this page: The plain-English summary and ruling snapshot below were written by Ezel based on the official IRS release. The full text is the IRS's own document.
View official IRS release (PDF)

Plain-English summary

Chief Counsel considered a payment applied to an assessment that was later abated as invalid during a collection due process matter. Once the assessment is abated, the payment results in an overpayment that the IRS may refund to the taxpayer. The advice conditions that answer on there being no statute-of-limitations obstacle to the refund.

Ruling snapshot

  • Question: May the IRS refund a payment after abating the assessment to which it was applied as invalid?
  • Outcome: Advice given: yes, if the refund is not barred by a limitations period.
  • Key authorities: IRC § 6330.

Full text (IRS public release)

ID: CCA-169156-09 Number: 200907031
Release Date: 2/13/2009
Office: --------------
UILC: 6330.00-00

From: ---------------------
Sent: Tuesday, January 06, 2009 1:56 PM
To:---------------------
Cc: ----------------------------
Subject: Refund in CDP case

If the assessment we applied the payment to is abated as invalid, then we can refund the resulting
overpayment to the taxpayer assuming there are no statute of limitations issues for the refund.

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