Scope of IRS Tax Collection Authority

Internal Revenue Service

Please find below proof documents showing the authority of the Internal Revenue Service to enforce provisions of the Internal Revenue Code.  If you have questions or comments please leave them in the “Comment” section for this post.

Exhibit A

Title 26, U.S. Code, Internal Revenue Code     https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26

The Internal Revenue Code (IRC) is the body of law that codifies all federal tax laws, including income, estate, gift, excise, alcohol, tobacco, and employment taxes.  Jul 18, 2017.

Please note that there are five different kinds of taxes, Subtitle A – E, and only one Procedure and Administration Subtitle, Subtitle F.  How do we know which subsections of Subtitle F apply to each of the five different kinds of taxes?

U.S. Code: Title 26 – INTERNAL REVENUE CODE

 

Exhibit B

Tax Code, Regulations

https://www.irs.gov/privacy-disclosure/tax-code-regulations-and-official-guidance

Internal Revenue Code

Federal tax law begins with the Internal Revenue Code (IRC), enacted by Congress in Title 26 of the United States Code (26 U.S.C.).

Treasury (Tax) Regulations

Treasury regulations (26 C.F.R.)–commonly referred to as Federal tax regulations–pick up where the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) leaves off by providing the official interpretation of the IRC by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

 

Exhibit C

Internal Revenue Service – Procedural Rules

https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/26/601.101

26 CFR 601.101 – Introduction.

  • 601.101 Introduction.

(a)General. The Internal Revenue Service is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue. The Commissioner has general superintendence of the assessment and collection of all taxes imposed by any law providing internal revenue. The Internal Revenue Service is the agency by which these functions are performed. Within an internal revenue district the internal revenue laws are administered by a district director of internal revenue. The Director, Foreign Operations District, administers the internal revenue laws applicable to taxpayers residing or doing business abroad, foreign taxpayers deriving income from sources within the United States, and taxpayers who are required to withhold tax on certain payments to nonresident aliens and foreign corporations, provided the books and records of those taxpayers are located outside the United States. For purposes of these procedural rules any reference to a district director or a district office includes the Director, Foreign Operations District, or the District Office, Foreign Operations District, if appropriate. Generally, the procedural rules of the Service are based on the Internal Revenue Code of 1939 and the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, and the procedural rules in this part apply to the taxes imposed by both Codes except to the extent specifically stated or where the procedure under one Code is incompatible with the procedure under the other Code. Reference to sections of the Code are references to the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, unless otherwise expressly indicated.

(b)Scope. This part sets forth the procedural rules of the Internal Revenue Service respecting all taxes administered by the Service, and supersedes the previously published statement (26 CFR (1949 ed., Part 300-End) Parts 600 and 601) with respect to such procedural rules. Subpart A provides a descriptive statement of the general course and method by which the Service’s functions are channeled and determined, insofar as such functions relate generally to the assessment, collection, and enforcement of internal revenue taxes. Certain provisions special to particular taxes are separately described in Subpart D of this part. Conference and practice requirements of the Internal Revenue Service are contained in Subpart E of this part. Specific matters not generally involved in the assessment, collection, and enforcement functions are separately described in Subpart B of this part. A description of the rule making functions of the Department of the Treasury with respect to internal revenue tax matters is contained in Subpart F of this part.Subpart G of this part relates to matters of official record in the Internal Revenue Service and the extent to which records and documents are subject to publication or open to public inspection. This part does not contain a detailed discussion of the substantive provisions pertaining to any particular tax or the procedures relating thereto, and for such information it is necessary that reference be made to the applicable provisions of law and the regulations promulgated thereunder. The regulations relating to the taxes administered by the Service are contained in title 26 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

[ 38 FR 4955, Feb. 23, 1973 and 41 FR 20880, May 21, 1976, as amended at 45 FR 7251, Feb. 1, 1980; 49 FR 36498, Sept. 18, 1984; T.D. 8685, 61 FR 58008, Nov. 12, 1996]

If you want to determine which parts of the IRC the IRS has authority to administer, you must first determine where the regulations for that section of the IRC are found.  If the regulations are not found in Title 26 of the Code of Federal Regulations then the IRS has no authority to administer that section.

The Parallel Table of Authorities and Rules will allow you to determine which Sections of the IRC the IRS has authority to enforce.

Exhibit D

Parallel Table of Authorities and Rules

https://www.law.cornell.edu/ptoa/uscode

Please note:

  1. The column at the left is the Subsection of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) in question.
  2. The center column shows the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Title that interprets the corresponding section of the IRC.
  3. The column to the right shows the part of the CFR Title that relates to the IRC Subsection in question.
%d bloggers like this: