Ezel / IRS Rulings / 201008047

Advice on who may sign Form 872-P for a TMP

Number
201008047
Outcome
Advice
Document type
Chief Counsel Advice
IRS subject
Extension by Agreement
Topics
Procedure, penalties, and administration
Code sections
§ 6229, § 6110
Ruling dated
January 27, 2010
Publicly released
February 26, 2010
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 2010, 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 2010
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 person signing Form 872-P for a tax matters partner must be authorized under the law governing the tax matters partner's entity. For a limited partnership, the signer should be a general partner, and for an LLC, the signer should be a manager under state law. The advice noted that signing as a general partner or manager of the underlying TEFRA partnership would not by itself establish authority to sign for the tax matters partner, and the facts provided were insufficient to determine whether the proposed signer was authorized.

Ruling snapshot

  • Question: Who may sign Form 872-P for a tax matters partner that is a state-law entity?
  • Outcome: Advice given
  • Key authorities: IRC § 6229

Full text (IRS public release)

ID: CCA_2010012711514737 Number: 201008047
Release Date: 2/26/2010
Office: ----------
UILC: 6229.02-00

From: -------------------
Sent: Wednesday, January 27, 2010 11:51:53 AM
To: ------------------------------------------
Cc: --------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: RE: FORM 872-P

When a TMP is a state law entity, only a person authorized under state law can sign on behalf of the TMP. If the TMP is a limited partnership, then only a general partner can sign on behalf of the TMP. If the TMP is an LLC, then only a manager under state law can sign for the LLC TMP. The partnership agreement should specify the general partners as would the Schedules K-1 of the tier TMP entity. The operating agreement of the LLC should specify its manager under state law.

The signature line would look like this: ABC Limited Partnership as TMP of XYZ partnership by John Doe, general partner of ABC Limited Partnership.

ABC LLC as TMP of XYZ Partnership by John Does, manager of ABC LLC.

You state that the person signing the forms also signed the partnership returns as general partner -- but he would need to be a general partner/manage of the TMP entity, not of the source TEFRA partnership.

So I can't tell from your facts whether he is the proper person.

What does the Code say today, for your facts?

This advice was written for IRS staff and cannot be cited. Ezel checks the current Internal Revenue Code and IRS guidance against your situation, with citations.

Opens in Ezel Pro.

  • Checks the law as it stands today, not only this page
  • Cites every source it relies on, so you can verify it
  • Chat, drafting and research in one workspace