Ezel / IRS Rulings / 201509034

Representative may receive information but not attend witness interview

Number
201509034
Outcome
Advice
Document type
Chief Counsel Advice
IRS subject
Disclosure of Return to Attorney-in-Fact; Disclosure of Return Information; Disclosure for Investigative Purposes
Topics
Procedure, penalties, and administration
Code sections
§ 6103
Ruling dated
March 17, 2014
Publicly released
February 27, 2015
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 2015, 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 2015
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 explained that sections 6103(e)(6) and (e)(7) permit the IRS to disclose a taxpayer's return information to a properly designated legal representative when the disclosure falls within the representation. Those provisions do not give the representative a right to attend an IRS interview with a witness. Section 6103(k)(6) also provides no such entitlement.

Ruling snapshot

  • Question: Does authority to disclose return information to a legal representative entitle that representative to attend a witness interview?
  • Outcome: Advice given, no attendance right exists under the cited provisions
  • Key authorities: IRC § 6103(e)(6), (e)(7), and (k)(6)

Full text (IRS public release)

ID: CCA-03170211-14 [Third Party Communication:

UILC: 6103.05-11, 6103.05-12, 6103.11- Date of Communication: Month DD, YYYY]

06
Number: 201509034
Release Date: 2/27/2015
From: ----------------
Sent: Mon 3/17/2014 2:11 PM
To: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cc: ----------------------------------------------------------------------
Bcc:
Subject: RE: Concerns about disclosure in a third party summons interview

I should note that 6103(e)(6) and (e)(7) together authorize IRS to disclose the
taxpayer’s return information to the taxpayer’s properly designated legal rep to the
extent it is within the parameters of the representation. However, neither (e)(6)/(7) nor
(k)(6) give the taxpayer’s rep any entitlement to attend an IRS interview with a witness.

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