IRS Tax Attorneys Realign Organization Structure

The IRS Office of Chief Counsel employs the IRS’s own tax attorneys.  These attorneys handle most of the civil tax court matters for the IRS. 

Whenever the IRS implements changes to its organizational structure or management team for this function, it warrants close attention and analysis from taxpayers, tax professionals, and other stakeholders. Such changes have far-reaching implications and can affect the agency’s operations, policies, and procedures.

This brings us to the IRS Office of Chief Counsel’s Notice CC-2007-012. This notice says that the Procedure and Administration Section of the Office of Chief Counsel subsidiary legal divisions has been reorganized into seven new branches. This is important as this is the group that has the most direct impact on cases that taxpayers are trying to work through the IRS’s bureaucratic system. You’ll hardly ever see or hear about them, but they are there and they are likely working on the more difficult aspects of your case.

As the adage goes, you often win or lose your case based on procedure, not on challenges to substantiative tax laws.

IRS Office of Chief Counsel Mission

The stated mission of the IRS Office of Chief Counsel helps explain what this department does for the IRS:

1. The mission of the Office of the Chief Counsel is to serve America’s taxpayers fairly and with integrity by providing correct and impartial interpretation of the internal revenue laws and the highest quality legal advice and representation for the Internal Revenue Service.
2. This mission encompasses providing the correct legal interpretation of the internal revenue laws, representing the IRS in litigation, and providing all other legal support needed by the IRS to carry out its mission of serving America’s taxpayers. In carrying out these responsibilities, Counsel must interpret the law with complete impartiality so that the American public will have confidence that the tax law is being applied with integrity and fairness.

As this mission implies, this office is the in-house counsel for the IRS.

About the IRS Office of Chief Counsel

As in-house counsel, the Office of Chief Counsel is the top legal advisor to the IRS and is responsible for providing tax guidance and support to the agency in all matters related to the interpretation, administration, and enforcement of our tax laws.

The Chief Counsel’s office prepares legislative proposals, regulations, revenue rulings, and procedures, as well as other legal advice and public guidance materials. The office also coordinates with other government agencies and international organizations on these matters.

In addition, the Chief Counsel’s office represents the IRS in litigation, coordinating with the IRS and the Department of Justice to ensure that the agency takes consistent and appropriate technical positions in court. The office also reviews and coordinates all legal documents prepared in connection with U.S. Tax Court litigation.

The Chief Counsel’s office also develops policies and procedures to provide a uniform application of law and regulation and provides support and guidance in connection with the development of Internal Revenue Manual provisions. The office also issues letter rulings and general technical information letters in response to requests from taxpayers and provides guidance on legal matters involving the IRS in the areas of claims, labor and personnel law, ethics and general government law, and public contracts and technology law.

The Procedure and Administration Section

The Procedure and Administration Section of the IRS Office of Chief Counsel is responsible for providing legal support and guidance to the IRS on various administrative and procedural matters related to tax laws.

The Associate Chief Counsel, Procedure & Administration, located in the National Office in Washington, DC, is comprised of approximately 100 attorneys.

This section handles a broad range of issues, including returns, information returns, withholding, statutes of limitations, interest, penalties, sanctions, ethics, practice before the IRS, Circular 230, innocent spouse, electronic tax administration, powers of attorney, payment, assessment, collection, liens, levies, collection due process, period of limitations on collections, trust fund recovery penalty, jeopardy and termination assessments, refunds, erroneous refunds, joint committee, bankruptcy, installment agreements, offers in compromise, receiverships, closing agreements, attorney fees, low income tax clinics, user fees, court procedure, confidentiality of return information, privacy act, FOIA, summonses, burden of proof, disaster relief, combat zone, examinations, informants, arbitration, mediation and alternative dispute resolution, Appeals, rules of evidence, mitigation and equitable doctrines, discover, Fed/State issues, judicial doctrines, privileges, Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and Right to Financial Privacy Act.

The Procedure and Administration Section also provides guidance and support to the IRS in matters related to the development of administrative and procedural policies and procedures. Additionally, the section provides legal representation to the IRS in U.S. Tax Court litigation, working closely with the Office of Chief Counsel’s litigating divisions to ensure that the agency takes consistent and appropriate technical positions in court.

The Organizational Changes

The organization of the IRS Office of Chief Counsel has changed quite a bit over time. It was previously focused on regional areas. Then it realigned to specialty or focus areas or groups. This brings us to the Procedure and Administration Section which is the subject of this notice.

With this latest change, it continues this change by dividing its employees into branches. The notice lists these branches of the Procedure and Administration Section and their subject matter:

Branches 1 and 2

Subject areas: Returns, information returns, withholding, statutes of limitations, interest, penalties, sanctions, ethics, practice before the IRS, Circular 230, innocent spouse, electronic tax administration, powers of attorney.

Branches 3 and 4

Subject areas: Payment, assessment, collection, liens, levies, collection due process, period of limitations on collections, trust fund recovery penalty, jeopardy and termination assessments, refunds, erroneous refunds, joint committee.

Branch 5

Subject Areas: Bankruptcy, installment agreements, offers in compromise, receiverships, closing agreements, attorney fees, low income tax clinics, user fees.

Branches 6 and 7

Subject Areas: Court procedure, confidentiality of return information, privacy act, FOIA, summonses, burden of proof, disaster relief, combat zone, examinations, informants, arbitration, mediation and alternative dispute resolution, Appeals, rules of evidence, mitigation and equitable doctrines, discover, Fed/State issues, judicial doctrines, privileges, Religious Freedom Restoration Act, Right to Financial Privacy Act.

The Notice goes on to provide new contact information for each branch.

Taxpayers should take note of this new contact information, as contacting IRS tax attorneys directly is probably the most overlooked avenue for addressing the more challenging procedural tax issues.

The Takeaway

The IRS Office of Chief Counsel plays a vital role in providing legal guidance and support to the agency in matters related to tax laws, representing the IRS in litigation, and developing policies and procedures to ensure the fair and impartial application of the law. Changes to its organizational structure or management team, such as the recent reorganization of the Procedure and Administration Section into seven new branches, can have far-reaching implications for taxpayers, tax professionals, and other stakeholders. It is important for taxpayers to stay informed about such changes and to utilize the resources available, including contacting IRS tax attorneys directly, to address procedural tax issues.