Ezel / IRS Rulings / 200910052

CCA 200910052: A casino levy could reach winnings only after the taxpayer won

Number
200910052
Outcome
Advice
Document type
Chief Counsel Advice
IRS subject
Levy Procedure
Topics
Procedure, penalties, and administration
Code sections
§ 6331
Ruling dated
January 23, 2009
Publicly released
March 6, 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 a taxpayer had no property right in potential casino winnings before actually winning. A revenue officer seeking to levy the winnings would therefore have to be present or correctly time the levy. The advice also suggested identifying and potentially levying the source of the funds the taxpayer used to participate.

Ruling snapshot

  • Question: Could the IRS levy a taxpayer's potential casino winnings before the taxpayer won?
  • Outcome: Advice given: no, but the IRS could time a levy after a win or consider levying the source funds.
  • Key authorities: IRC § 6331.

Full text (IRS public release)

ID: CCA-123115-09 Number: 200910052
Release Date: 3/6/2009
Office: -------------
UILC: 6331.18-00

From: ---------------------
Sent: [Friday, January 23, 2009 11:57 AM]
To: ---------------------
Cc: -----------------------------
Subject: [RE: legal question]

No. The taxpayer doesn't have any property rights until he/she actually wins. So the
RO would have to hang out at the casino the whole time or hope he/she times it right.
Do we know the source of the funds taxpayer is using to participate? We may want to
levy that.

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