Deck 4: Administrative Regulations and Rulings

Question 1

Most official IRS pronouncements are written by:

A)The IRS Office of Chief Counsel
B)The IRS Commissioner
C)The Treasury Secretary
D)IRS Field Office Staff Members

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Which of the following Regulations deals with estate taxes?

A)Reg. §1.162-21(a) (2)
B)Reg. §20.2503-4
C)Reg. §1.6662-5T
D)Reg. §31.3121(a)-2
E)None of these are correct.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Which statement is INCORRECT regarding Proposed Regulations?

A)They donot have the same effect as law.
B)Proposed Regulations are useful for understanding the IRS's current position on an issue but generally should not be relied on by a taxpayer unless the IRS provides explicit advice on doing so.
C)Proposed Regulations carry the same authority as Final Regulations.
D)None of these are correct.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

All of the following types of tax documents are published in the Internal Revenue Bulletin EXCEPT:

A)IRS Revenue Procedures
B)IRS Letter Rulings
C)Treasury decisions
D)new tax treaties
E)all of these documents are published in the Internal Revenue Bulletin

Question 5

Which of the following IRS pronouncements has the highest weight of authority?

A)IRS Revenue Rulings
B)IRS Taxpayer Publications
C)IRS Announcements
D)All of these IRS pronouncements have equal weight of authority.

Question 6

The IRS, as an administrative agency, is responsible for:

A)formulating and interpreting the tax laws
B)interpreting and enforcing the tax laws
C)formulating and evaluating the tax laws
D)planning and formulating the tax laws

Question 7

Regulations may have retroactive effect in which of the following circumstances:

A)The Regulation is designed toprevent abuse by taxpayers.
B)The Regulation relates tointernal Treasury Department policies, practices, or procedures.
C)The Regulation may apply retroactively by Congressional directive.
D)All of these are correct.

Question 8

In the citation Reg. §1.162-2(a) (1), the number "162" stands for the:

A)type of Regulation
B)related Code section
C)Code of Federal Regulations
D)Regulation paragraph

Question 9

Which of the following statements is INCORRECT with regard toIRS Revenue Rulings?

A)Revenue Rulings apply the Code and Regulations toa specific factual situation.
B)Revenue Rulings are published chiefly togive guidance totaxpayers.
C)A Revenue Ruling is an official pronouncement of Congress.
D)All of these are correct.

Question 10

In the citation Rev Rul. 87-90, 1987-1 CB 198, the number "90" is the:

A)ruling number for the year
B)year of ruling
C)paragraph number in the CB
D)volume number in the CB

Question 11

Which of the following is CORRECT with respect toPrivate Letter Rulings?

A)They are issued by the IRS National Office in response toa specific taxpayer request.
B)They can be cited as precedent by other taxpayers.
C)They are published weekly by the IRS in the Internal Revenue Bulletin.
D)They are alsoknown as Technical Advice Memoranda.
E)None of these are correct.

Question 12

Revenue Procedures deal with:

A)specific taxpayer requests for the IRS's position on a tax issue
B)applying the Code and Regulations toa specific factual situation
C)the internal practice and procedures of the IRS in the administration of the tax laws
D)all of these are correct

Question 13

Which citation represents the CORRECT numbering scheme for identification of IRS written determinations?

A)9538005, where "95" is the year, "38" is the week of the year, and "005" is the number of the ruling/memoranda that week
B)LTR 2010-43, where "2010" is the year and "43" is the number of the ruling or memoranda for that year
C)1996 C.B. 6, where 1996 is the year and 6 is the page number for the ruling or memoranda
D)200917024 where "2009" is the year, "17" is the week of the year, and "024" is the number of the ruling/memoranda for that week

Question 14

The IRS's general authority toissue binding rules and regulations comes from which source?

A)the U.S. Constitution
B)an Executive Order of the President
C)a section of the Internal Revenue Code itself
D)none of these are correct

Question 15

Temporary Regulations expire:

A)after an IRS hearing on the regulations
B)at the end of the public comment period
C)five years after issuance pursuant tothe statute
D)three years after issuance pursuant tothe statute
E)Temporary Regulations never expire

Question 16

The Commissioner of the IRS is appointed by the:

A)The Treasury Secretary
B)The President of the United States
C)The Chief Counsel of the IRS
D)General Counsel of the Treasury Department

Question 17

Determination Letters are:

A)issued by the National Office of the IRS on proposed transactions
B)issued by a local IRS office, usually on completed transactions
C)published first in the Internal Revenue Bulletin
D)issued toIRS field agents as audit guidance

Question 18

Which of the following statements is INCORRECT regarding the effective date of Regulations?

A)A Regulation becomes effective 18 months after the statute on which it is based was enacted.
B)A Regulation is effective on the date on which the Regulation is filed with the Federal Register.
C)Temporary Regulations are effective immediately upon publication.
D)All of these are correct.

Question 19

Treasury Decisions are published first , officially, in:

A)the Internal Revenue Bulletin
B)first in the Internal Revenue Bulletin and then in the Federal Register
C)the Federal Register
D)Congressional Committee Reports

Question 20

Which of the following regulations bears the greatest precedential value?

A)Legislative regulations
B)Interpretive r egulations
C)Both legislative and interpretive regulations are about the same.
D)Regulations cannot have precedential value.

Question 21

Which of the following IRS pronouncement citations is INCORRECT?

A)Notice 07-10, 2007 C.B. 324
B)Publication 519
C)Rev. Proc. 2011-14, 2011 I.R.B. 532
D)Action on Decision 2010-002
E)all of these citations are correct

Question 22

Proposed Regulations have the effect of law.

Question 23

A _____ indicates that the IRS disagrees with the adverse decision in the case and will follow the decision only for the specific taxpayer whose case resulted in the adverse ruling.

A)nonacquiescence
B)acquiescence
C)noncommittal
D)none of these are correct

Question 24

Technical Advice Memoranda are issued in response toa request by an IRS agent.

Question 25

The IRS, under nocircumstances, has the authority todecline toissue Letter Rulings.

Question 26

If a taxpayer disagrees with the scope or language of a Regulation, he or she has the burden of proving that the Regulation is improper.

Question 27

Both Revenue Rulings and Letter Rulings have the same precedential value as far as authority in tax matters is concerned.

Question 28

The U.S. Treasury Department is a part of the Internal Revenue Service.

Question 29

The IRS issues General Regulations under the general authority granted tothe IRS tointerpret the language of the Code, usually under a specific Code (or committee report)directive of Congress.

Question 30

Temporary Regulations must be followed by taxpayers until they are superseded or until they expire.

Question 31

T.D. 9479 refers toa Treasury Determination letter.

Question 32

The IRS disclaims responsibility for damages that a taxpayer may suffer in erroneously relying on its taxpayer publications.

Question 33

The Internal Revenue Bulletin would include:

A)new tax laws issued by Congress
B)actions on decisions
C)tax treaties
D)IRS notices
E)all of these are correct

Question 34

A Regulation can never be made effective retroactively.

Question 35

An acquiescence indicates that a court decision will be:

A)appealed by the IRS
B)followed in similar situations only if it favors the IRS
C)followed in similar situations, even if it is adverse tothe IRS
D)ignored by the IRS

Question 36

The Internal Revenue Bulletin is currently published in twice-yearly bound volumes as the Cumulative Bulletin.

Question 37

An IRS Technical Advice Memorandum applies strictly tothe taxpayer for whose audit it was requested and cannot be relied upon by other taxpayers.

Question 38

IRS General Counsel Memoranda:

A)convey the IRS decision toacquiesce/nonacquiesce in a court decision
B)summarize and explain published IRS Regulations
C)have been replaced with chief counsel advice after 2002
D)have only short-term value

Question 39

Field Service Advice (FSAs)are binding guidance provided by the IRS National Office toIRS service centers.

Question 40

IRS publications are published in the monthly Internal Revenue Bulletin as well as on the IRS website.

Question 41

Define general and legislative regulations, and explain the distinction.

Question 42

The courts may invalidate IRS Regulations if they are found toconflict with the Code.

Question 43

A nonacquiescence indicates that the IRS disagrees with the adverse decision in the case and will follow the decision only for the specific taxpayer whose case resulted in the adverse ruling.

Question 44

IRS Technical Memoranda summarize and explain regulations.

Question 45

List the three types of IRS written determinations and briefly explain the differences.

Question 46

Actions on Decision are published by the IRS in the Internal Revenue Bulletin and before 2009 in semiannual Cumulative Bulletins.

Question 47

The IRS's official publication for its pronouncements is the Internal Revenue Manual.

Question 48

Describe the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and identify the types of documents published in the Bulletin. Explain when it is published and the citations used toreference the Bulletin.

Question 49

Compare and contrast IRS Proposed Regulations, IRS Temporary Regulations, and IRS Final Regulations. Explain the weight of authority and citations for each type of regulation.