Ezel / IRS Rulings / 200952038

CCA 200952038: Partnership entities generally cannot settle for their partners in TEFRA proceedings

Number
200952038
Outcome
Advice
Document type
Chief Counsel Advice
IRS subject
Extension by Agreement
Topics
Procedure, penalties, and administration
Code sections
§ 6224, § 6229, § 6501
Ruling dated
October 16, 2009
Publicly released
December 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

Chief Counsel Advice addresses settlement authority and statute-of-limitations extensions in TEFRA partnership proceedings. It explains that partnerships generally cannot settle on behalf of their partners because the proceedings are essentially class actions involving the partners, while the TEFRA entity is not itself a party and has no settlement authority. The advice states that Form 872-P extends each partner's section 6501 period for partnership items when obtained by the partners' agent, typically the tax matters partner. It also concludes that the IRS may obtain Forms 872-i directly from the partners rather than through the partnership.

Ruling snapshot

  • Question: Could a partnership settle for its partners or provide Forms 872-P as the source of the partners' statute extensions in a TEFRA proceeding?
  • Outcome: Advice given
  • Key authorities: IRC §§ 6224(c), 6229, and 6501

Full text (IRS public release)

ID: CCA_2009101616072437 Number: 200952038
Release Date: 12/24/2009
Office: ----------
UILC: 6229.02-00

From: -------------------
Sent: Friday, October 16, 2009 4:07:27 PM
To: -----------------
Cc: -----------
Subject: RE: Tefra & Statute of Limitations issues ---------

Essentially correct. But partnerships generally cannot settle on behalf of their partners since TEFRA proceedings are essentially class actions of the partners in which the TEFRA entity is not itself a party and has no settlement authority. I.R.C. 6224(c).

There is no downside to getting Forms 872-i. The Form 872-P is nothing more than an extension of each partner's section 6501 period for partnership items by the agent for the partners, their TMP. There is nothing that prohibits us from getting an extension directly from the principals rather than through their agent. It is a misnomer to say we are getting the Form 872-P "from the partnership." We aren't. We get it from the agent for the partners. Typically the TMP.

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