Ezel / IRS Rulings / 200939028

CCA 200939028: IRS could accept one spouse's signature on Form 870-LT

Number
200939028
Outcome
Advice
Document type
Chief Counsel Advice
IRS subject
Settlement Agreement
Topics
Procedure, penalties, and administration
Code sections
§ 6224
Ruling dated
July 31, 2009
Publicly released
September 25, 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

An IRS attorney withdrew earlier advice about several Form 870-LT agreements signed by only one spouse. The attorney explained that the form's instructions had already been changed to state that the IRS could accept one spouse's signature, because the agreement would bind that spouse even if the other spouse did not sign. The earlier advice was therefore no longer applicable.

Ruling snapshot

  • Question: Could the IRS accept a Form 870-LT signed by only one spouse?
  • Outcome: Advice given, with earlier advice withdrawn.
  • Key authorities: IRC § 6224; Form 870-LT.

Full text (IRS public release)

ID: CCA_2009073111012237 Number: 200939028
Release Date: 9/25/2009
Office: --------------
UILC: 6224.01-01

From: -------------------
Sent: Friday, July 31, 2009 11:01:24 AM
To: --------------------
Cc: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: RE: Several 870-LTs signed by one spouse net adj is 0 ---------

Please disregard the advice below. Based on the case I mentioned below we already changed the instructions in the Form 870-LT to clarify that we may accept the signature of only one spouse. I had forgotten that we already fixed the problem when we last revised this form.

From:
Sent: Wednesday, July 29, 2009 4:20:36 PM
To:
Cc:
Subject: RE: Several 870-LTs signed by one spouse net adj is 0

No. Other than the fact that language should be included that states that the husband agrees that we can cosign the agreement and it will be binding on him notwithstanding that his spouse does not also sign. One court interpreted the form as including a condition precedent to having a binding agreement that both spouses sign. So we would need to disclaim this potential treatment of only one signature.

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