Ezel / IRS Rulings / 200907034

CCA 200907034: A TEFRA closing conference is policy, not a legal requirement

Number
200907034
Outcome
Advice
Document type
Chief Counsel Advice
IRS subject
Notice to Partners of Proceedings
Topics
Procedure, penalties, and administration
Code sections
§ 6223
Ruling dated
January 27, 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 advised that no law requires a closing conference in a TEFRA partnership audit. Internal Revenue Manual procedures call for agents to provide one as a matter of IRS policy, but those procedures are legally discretionary. The tax matters partner must notify partners of proposed adjustments, including those on Form 5701. If the tax matters partner does not confirm the closing conference within the required seven days, the agent may issue the final partnership administrative adjustments.

Ruling snapshot

  • Question: Must the IRS hold a closing conference before issuing final partnership administrative adjustments in a TEFRA audit?
  • Outcome: Advice given: no legal requirement applies, although IRS policy directs agents to follow the conference procedures.
  • Key authorities: IRC § 6223; Treas. Reg. § 301.6223(g)-1(b)(ii).

Full text (IRS public release)

ID: CCA_2009012708372137 Number: 200907034
Release Date: 2/13/2009
Office: --------------
UILC: 6223.00-00

From: -------------------
Sent: Tuesday, January 27, 2009 8:37:25 AM
To: --------------------
Cc: ---------------------------------
Subject: RE:

There is no legal requirement for a closing conference in a TEFRA audit. The IRM provisions in this regard are purely discretionary from a legal perspective.

We nevertheless require agents to follow these IRM procedures, but this is based on policy rather than a legal requirement.

Treas. Reg. 301.6223(g)-1(b)(ii) requires the TMP to notify the partners of any proposed adjustments. This would include the Form 5701 Notice of Proposed Adjustments.

If the TMP does not confirm the closing conference meeting with the 7 days required, the agent is free to have the FPAA's issued at that point.

What does the Code say today, for your facts?

This advice was written for IRS staff and cannot be cited. Ezel checks the current Internal Revenue Code and IRS guidance against your situation, with citations.

Opens in Ezel Pro.

  • Checks the law as it stands today, not only this page
  • Cites every source it relies on, so you can verify it
  • Chat, drafting and research in one workspace