CCA 200910031: Pre-filing agreements had guidance but no fixed processing deadline

Plain-English summary

Chief Counsel was asked about the processing timeline for a pre-filing agreement. Revenue Procedure 2007-17 did not impose a specific processing deadline. It called for an orientation meeting after acceptance, followed immediately by a meeting to develop a plan and timeline for resolving issues before associated returns were due. The Internal Revenue Manual suggested 120 days to develop the issue and complete the closing agreement, and approximately 35 weeks from receipt of the request to an executed agreement.

Ruling snapshot

• Question: Did IRS guidance impose a specific deadline for processing a pre-filing agreement?
• Outcome: Advice given: no fixed deadline applied, although the guidance supplied planning benchmarks.
• Key authorities: IRC § 7121; Rev. Proc. 2007-17, § 6; IRM 4.30.1.

Full text (IRS public release)

ID: CCA-123122-09 Number: 200910031
Release Date: 3/6/2009
Office: ------------------------
UILC: 7121.00-00

From:------------------
Sent: Friday, January 23, 2009 12:27 PM
To: --------------------------------------------------------------------- Cc: -------------------------- Subject: FW: PFA timeline ----------

[_________
From: ------------------------------------Sent: Friday, January 23, 2009 11:29 AM To: ------------------------Subject: RE: PFA timeline

I checked Rev Proc 2007-17. It doesn't list a specific time that the PFA has to be processed in. Under Section 6, entitled "Processing a Request for a PFA," it says that an orientation meeting must be held after the request for a PFA is accepted. Then it provides that "[i]mmediately after the orientation meeting, the taxpayer and the Service should meet to formulate a plan and timeline that will result in a thorough development of the facts and a successful resolution of the issues before any associated returns are due." IRM 4.30.1 contains a "suggested time line," which lists 120 days to "develop issue/complete PFA closing agreement." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------It also says that the total time from receipt of the PFA request to the executed PFA closing agreement is approximately 35 weeks.

Thanks,

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