CCA 201028033: Rejected settlement form could not be signed until returned

Number
201028033
Outcome
Advice
Document type
Chief Counsel Advice
IRS subject
Settlement Agreement
Code sections
§ 6224
Ruling dated
June 9, 2010
Publicly released
July 16, 2010

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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 considered whether the IRS could sign a returned copy of Form 870-PT after rejecting the taxpayer's original settlement offer. The advice states that the IRS could have cosigned the original form, and that the agreement would have bound the beneficiaries even if the pass-through partner was a grantor trust or another disregarded entity. Because returning the original constituted rejection of the offer, the IRS could not sign the copy and would have to wait for the original to be returned. The memorandum could not determine whether Form 4549 provided an independent basis for assessment without seeing it.

Ruling snapshot

  • Question: Could the IRS sign a copy of Form 870-PT after returning and rejecting the original settlement offer?
  • Outcome: advice given
  • Key authorities: IRC § 6224; Forms 870-PT and 4549

Full text (IRS public release)

ID: CCA_2010060911222137 Number: 201028033
Release Date: 7/16/2010
Office: ----------
UILC: 6224.01-01

From: -------------------
Sent: Wednesday, June 09, 2010 11:22:24 AM
To: -------------------------
Cc: -----------
Subject: RE: Rejected agreements

We could have cosigned the original Form 870-PT and it would have been binding on the beneficiaries, even if the pass-thru partner is a grantor trust or otherwise treated as a disregarded entity. I don't think we can sign the copy since our actions in returning the original constituted a rejection of the taxpayer's offer to settle. We will have to wait for the original to be returned in order to sign it.

Without seeing the Form 4549 I cannot say whether that would provided an independent basis for making the assessment.

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