Ezel / IRS Rulings / 201526014
Chief Counsel Advice 201526014 Released June 26, 2015 Advice

Partnership withholding claim required an AAR

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This page covers one taxpayer's ruling from 2015, which can't be cited as precedent. Ezel answers your situation under the current Code and IRS guidance, 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 resolved one taxpayer's situation on its specific facts, 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 section 1446 withholding is a partnership item governed by the administrative adjustment request procedures. The partnership should have filed its claim on Form 8082 or Form 1065X under section 6227, and the abatement forms it used likely did not substantially comply. A proper AAR would allow the IRS to issue a refund, open a TEFRA proceeding, or take no action. The advice suggested no action might be appropriate because the partnership did not appear entitled to a refund on the merits. Foreign partners could still pursue separate refund claims based on their individual tax circumstances.

Ruling snapshot

  • Question: How should a partnership seek an adjustment or refund of section 1446 withholding?
  • Outcome: Advice given that the partnership claim required an AAR, while individual foreign partners might file separate refund claims.
  • Key authorities: IRC §§ 1446 and 6227(c)(2)(A).

Full text (IRS public release)

ID: CCA_2015060308384201 [Third Party Communication:

UILC: 6227.00-00 Date of Communication: Month DD, YYYY]

Number: 201526014
Release Date: 6/26/2015
From:
Sent: Wednesday, June 03, 2015 8:38:42 AM
To:
Cc:
Bcc:
Subject: RE: claim for abatement form 8804

Section 1446 withholding is a partnership item subject to the AAR procedures. The
partnership’s claim should have been filed on a Form 8082 or 1065X under section
6227. If they followed this procedure (the abatement forms they used likely did not
substantially comply with the required procedure) section 6227(c)(2)(A) would allow the
Service to: (1) issue a refund; (2) open a TEFRA proceeding; or (3) take no action. This
last action may be appropriate since it does not appear that a refund is warranted on the
merits.

But it appears that the foreign partners may be entitled to refunds depending on their
individual tax postures. They would need to file their own separate refund claims based
on these separate partner-level considerations.

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