Ezel / IRS Rulings / 200922031

CCA 200922031: Draft closing agreement was predecisional deliberative material

Number
200922031
Outcome
Advice
Document type
Chief Counsel Advice
IRS subject
(B)(5) Deliberative Process, Attorney Client, Attorney Work Product
Topics
Other topics
Code sections
§ 5 U.S.C. 552
Ruling dated
April 15, 2009
Publicly released
May 29, 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 the IRS would withhold a draft closing agreement as deliberative material if the taxpayer requested it under the Freedom of Information Act. The draft reflected what the agency was thinking about and considering, rather than its final decision. The email explained that disclosure could confuse the recipient if the draft differed from the final determination. It characterized the document as both predecisional and deliberative, while portions of the response were redacted.

Ruling snapshot

  • Question: Would a draft closing agreement be disclosed in response to the taxpayer's FOIA request?
  • Outcome: Advice given: withhold the draft as predecisional deliberative material.
  • Key authorities: Freedom of Information Act; deliberative-process protection discussed in the email.

Full text (IRS public release)

ID: CCA_2009041507215132 Number: 200922031
Release Date: 5/29/2009
Office: --------------
UILC: 0552.06-05

From: --------------------
Sent: Wednesday, April 15, 2009 7:22:03 AM
To: -------------------
Cc:
Subject: RE: question on providing draft of closing agreement to taxpayer

Sorry I did not get back to you until now. I was out of the office last week.

Your second intuition is spot on. If the taxpayer were to make a FOIA request for the information, we would withhold the draft as deliberative. The draft shows nothing other than what the IRS was thinking about and considering, not its final decision, and may serve only to confuse the recipient if different from any final determination the IRS made on the matter. It is the very definition of predecisional and deliberative. --------------------------------------------------

Let me know if you have any more questions.

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