Deck 4: Administrative Regulations and Rulings

Question 1

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

Answer 1

B

Question 2

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 2

A

Question 3

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

Answer 3

B

Question 4

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 5

Which of the following is CORRECT with respect to Private Letter Rulings?

A)They are issued by the IRS National Office in response to a 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 also known as Technical Advice Memoranda.
E)None of these are correct.

Question 6

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

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

Question 7

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 8

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

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

Question 9

Which statement is INCORRECT regarding Proposed Regulations?

A)They do not 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.

Question 10

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 to the statute
D)three years after issuance pursuant to the statute
E)Temporary Regulations never expire

Question 11

The IRS's general authority to issue 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 12

Revenue Procedures deal with:

A)specific taxpayer requests for the IRS's position on a tax issue
B)applying the Code and Regulations to a 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

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.

Question 15

Which of the following Regulations bears the greatest precedential value?

A)Legislative Regulations
B)Proposed Regulations
C)General Regulations
D)Income Tax Regulations

Question 16

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 17

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 18

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 to IRS field agents as audit guidance

Question 19

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 20

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 21

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

Question 22

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

Question 23

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

Question 24

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 25

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

Question 26

IRS General Counsel Memoranda:

A)convey the IRS decision to acquiesce/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 27

T.D. 9479 refers to a Treasury Determination letter.

Question 28

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

Question 29

A Regulation can never be made effective retroactively.

Question 30

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

Question 31

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 32

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 to the IRS
D)ignored by the IRS

Question 33

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

Question 34

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 35

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 36

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

Question 37

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

Question 38

Proposed Regulations have the effect of law.

Question 39

The IRS, under no circumstances, has the authority to decline to issue Letter Rulings.

Question 40

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

Question 41

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

Question 42

Define General and Legislative Regulations and explain the distinction.

Question 43

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

Question 44

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

Question 45

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

Question 46

IRS Technical Memoranda summarize and explain regulations.

Question 47

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.

Question 48

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

Question 49

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.