Chief Counsel advice says TEFRA notices should be sent to foreign partners

Number
201218012
Outcome
Advice
Document type
Chief Counsel Advice
IRS subject
Notice to Partners of Proceedings
Code sections
§ 1441, § 6223
Ruling dated
April 4, 2012
Publicly released
May 4, 2012

Apply this to your situation

This page covers legal advice the IRS Office of Chief Counsel wrote for IRS staff, issued in 2012, 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 2012
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 addressed whether TEFRA partnership notices should be sent to foreign partners. The response said that foreign partners are generally taxable on U.S.-sourced income absent treaty exceptions, and that the partnership should withhold tax under IRC § 1441 et seq. It also stated that a foreign partner filing Form 1040-NR may claim a credit for tax withheld.

Ruling snapshot

  • Question: Should TEFRA partnership notices be sent to foreign partners?
  • Outcome: advice given
  • Key authorities: IRC §§ 6223 and 1441 et seq.

Full text (IRS public release)

ID: CCA_2012040410474537 Number: 201218012
Release Date: 5/4/2012
Office: ----------
UILC: 6223.00-00

From: -------------------
Sent: Wednesday, April 04, 2012 10:47:55 AM
To: -------------------------
Cc: -----------
Subject: RE: FPAA - foreign partners

TEFRA partnership notices should be sent to foreign partners. They are generally taxable for U.S.
sourced income absent treaty exceptions. Furthermore, the partnership is supposed to withhold tax
under 1441 et seq for these partners for U.S. sourced income. If the foreign partner decides to file a
Form 1040 NR, they can claim a credit for the withheld amount.

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