Ezel / IRS Rulings / 201114022

CCA 201114022: A husband may act as his wife's power of attorney, subject to Circular 230 duties

Number
201114022
Outcome
Advice
Document type
Chief Counsel Advice
IRS subject
ATTORNEYS
Topics
Income and deductions
Code sections
§ No specific Code section stated in the document
Ruling dated
February 28, 2011
Publicly released
April 8, 2011
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 2011, 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 2011
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 considered whether a husband could act as his wife's power of attorney during an examination. The advice stated that a husband can serve as his wife's power of attorney, but he must cooperate with the examination and pass information to his wife under Circular 230. If he does not cooperate, the agent should consider the bypass procedures in the Internal Revenue Manual and may summon the wife to testify. The advice also stated that the agent may ask about written informed consent for a conflict of interest only when an actual conflict exists, not when there is merely a potential conflict.

Ruling snapshot

  • Question: May a husband represent his wife as power of attorney, and what may the agent do if cooperation or conflict-of-interest concerns arise?
  • Outcome: Advice given.
  • Key authorities: Circular 230; Internal Revenue Manual bypass procedures.

Full text (IRS public release)

ID: CCA_2011022810433726 Number: 201114022
Release Date: 4/8/2011
Office: --------------
UILC: 06.00.00-00

From: ----------------------------
Sent: Monday, February 28, 2011 10:43:38 AM
To: --------------------
Cc: ------------------------------------------
Subject: FW: POA Question

This e-mail follows up on our earlier conversation. As we discussed, a husband can be a POA for a wife. Courts are loath to deny a person the representative of their choice. That said, the husband, as POA, has an obligation under Circular 230 to cooperate with exam and pass information on to his wife. If husband is not cooperating, including delaying the procedures, the agent should consider whether the by-pass procedures outlined in the IRM may be used. If there is any question as to the truthfulness of the information being provided by the husband, the agent has the ability to summons the wife and have her personally testify to the matters at issue.

Due to potential conflict of interest between the husband and wife with regard to certain of their business ventures, you also asked whether we could insist on the wife signing a waiver of the conflict of interest. As a POA, the husband is bound by Circular 230 and the conflict of interest provisions thereunder. The agent can ask the husband if he has received informed consent and ask for it in writing, but only if there is an actual conflict not the potential for a conflict. -------
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Please let me know if you have any further questions,

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