1. 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
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
3. 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
4. Which statement is CORRECT regarding Proposed Regulations?
a. They cannot become final until the expiration of at least 30 days after they are published in proposed form.
b. The IRS cannot make changes to Proposed Regulations before they become final.
c. The public must be given an opportunity to comment on Proposed Regulations before they become final.
d. Only (a) and (c) are correct.
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 the above IRS pronouncements have equal weight of authority.
6. 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
7. The IRS’s general authority to issue binding rules and regulations comes from which source?
a. The United States Constitution
b. An Executive Order of the President
c. A section of the Internal Revenue Code itself.
d. None of the above.
8. Which of the following Regulations bears the greatest precedential value?
a. Legislative Regulations
b. Proposed Regulations
c. General Regulations
d. Income Tax Regulations
9. 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.
10. 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 the above statements are correct.
11. Which of the following Regulations deals with estate taxes?
a. Reg. §1.162-21(a)(2)
b. Reg. §25.2503-4
c. Reg. §1.6662-5T
d. Reg. §31.3121(a)-2
e. None of the above.
12. 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. Both (a) and (b).
d. Regulations can never be effective retroactively.
13. 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.
14. 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 the above documents are published in the Internal Revenue Bulletin.
15. 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 the IRS National Office.
d. All of the above statements are correct.
16. 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.
17. 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 the above.
18. 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 the above statements is correct.
19. 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.
20. 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.
21. 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.
22. 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 the above citations are correct.
23. IRS General Counsel Memoranda are legal analyses which:
a. convey the IRS decision to acquiesce/nonacquiesce in a court decision.
b. summarize and explain published IRS Regulations.
c. assist in preparation of both Revenue Rulings and Private Letter Rulings.
d. have only short-term value.
24. Which of the following statements is INCORRECT regarding Actions on Decisions (AODs)?
a. AODs are prepared when the IRS loses a case in a court.
b. AODs are published in the Internal Revenue Bulletin.
c. AODs are published when the IRS wins a case in court.
d. The IRS’s decisions on AODs are driven by litigation costs, revenue effects, and administrative and policy
directives.
e. All of the above statements are correct.
25. With regard to IRS Announcements and Notices, which of the following statements is CORRECT?
a. IRS Notices contain guidance on substantive interpretations of the Code.
b. IRS Announcements and Notices are published in the weekly Internal Revenue Bulletin.
c. IRS Announcements contain guidance on substantive interpretations of the law.
d. Only (a) and (b) are correct.
e. All of the above statements are correct.
26. The U.S. Treasury Department is a part of the Internal Revenue Service.
a. True
b. False
27. Proposed Regulations do not have the effect of law.
a. True
b. False
28. 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.
a. True
b. False
29. Temporary Regulations must be followed by taxpayers until they are superseded or until they expire.
a. True
b. False
30. A Regulation can never be made effective retroactively.
a. True
b. False
31. The IRS disclaims responsibility for damages that a taxpayer may suffer in erroneously relying on its Taxpayer
Publications.
a. True
b. False
32. 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.
a. True
b. False
33. Field Service Advice (FSAs) are binding guidance provided by the IRS National Office to IRS service centers.
a. True
b. False
34. The Internal Revenue Bulletin also is published in twice-yearly, bound volumes as the Cumulative Bulletin.
a. True
b. False
35. IRS Publications are published in the monthly Internal Revenue Bulletin as well as on the IRS website.
a. True
b. False
36. The IRS, under no circumstances, has the authority to decline to issue Letter Rulings.
a. True
b. False
37. An IRS Technical Advice Memorandum applies strictly to the taxpayer for whose audit it was requested and cannot
be relied upon by other taxpayers.
a. True
b. False
38. Technical Advice Memoranda are issued in response to a request by an IRS agent.
a. True
b. False
39. T.D. 9479 refers to a Treasury Determination letter.
a. True
b. False
40. Both Revenue Rulings and Letter Rulings have the same precedential value as far as authority in tax matters is
concerned.
a. True
b. False
41. IRS Technical Memoranda summarize and explain regulations.
a. True
b. False
42. 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.
a. True
b. False
43. Actions on Decision are published by the IRS in the Internal Revenue Bulletin and before 2009 in semiannual
Cumulative Bulletins.
a. True
b. False
45. The courts may invalidate IRS Regulations if they are found to conflict with the Code.
a. True
b. False
46. Define General and Legislative Regulations and explain the distinction.
47. List the three types of IRS written determinations and briefly explain the differences.
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 to reference the Bulletin.
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 and tell where the regulations are published by the
IRS.