Ezel / IRS Rulings / 200911034

CCA 200911034: Volunteer arrangements require a factual employee-status review

Number
200911034
Outcome
Advice
Document type
Chief Counsel Advice
IRS subject
Common Law Tests
Topics
Employment taxes
Code sections
§ 3121
Ruling dated
February 10, 2009
Publicly released
March 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 addressed benefits provided under volunteer arrangements. It advised that the facts of those arrangements must be known before deciding whether the volunteers are common-law employees. That employee classification is necessary to evaluate the taxability of the benefits provided.

Ruling snapshot

  • Question: What must be determined when evaluating benefits provided under volunteer arrangements?
  • Outcome: Advice given: review the facts to decide whether the volunteers are common-law employees before evaluating the benefits' taxability.
  • Key authorities: IRC § 3121; common-law employee tests.

Full text (IRS public release)

ID: CCA_2009021009261541 Number: 200911034
Release Date: 3/13/2009
Office: -----------------------------
UILC: 3121.04-01

From: ---------------
Sent: Tuesday, February 10, 2009 9:26:18 AM
To: ---------------
Cc: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: RE: questions about benefits to non-employees

Thanks.

--------------------- -- You would need to know the facts of the volunteer arrangements to see if they are
common law employees for purposes of evaluating the taxability of the benefits provided.

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