Taxpayers may be suitable to use IRS constantly Asked Questions( FAQs) to reduce or avoid penalties, according to a recent American Bar Association( ABA) meeting. still, taxpayers can't calculate on FAQs when determining duty liability. 

 A panel at the ABA duty Section crossbred 2022 May Tax Meeting reviewed the IRS’s adding reliance on FAQs. The panel also mooted ethical issues that may arise in relation to FAQs. 

 FAQs give quick informal guidance 

 FAQs have several advantages over more traditional forms of guidance. Because they are not reviewed as intensively, the IRS can issue FAQs truly snappily( but the panelists noted that IRS Chief Counsel does review utmost FAQS that are not strictly procedural). FAQs also give the IRS more strictness to add or change information as the situation concurrences. 

 These features made FAQs especially precious during the COVID epidemic, when the IRS had to snappily give information about several new types of duty relief, ranging from Paycheck Protection Plan( PPP) loans, to complex new employer credits, to new and expanded credits and rejections for individualities. 

The IRS continues to use FAQs for new particulars, analogous as Schedules K- 2 and K- 3 for alliances and S pots. multitudinous other recent FAQs explain how to report epidemic relief vittles on 2021 duty returns. 

 But FAQs have some disadvantages 

 These FAQ advantages can also be disadvantages. Getting FAQs out snappily means the IRS does not have time to solicit or consider input from taxpayers and duty professionals. The IRS can also modify FAQs without any kind of announcement or record. thus, FAQs may produce confusion and undermine public confidence in the IRS. 

 For illustration, some FAQs, including bones 

 for virtual currency deals and certain good peacemakers in arrangements with foreign alliances, have been on the IRS website for times. The panelists concluded that the IRS has no reason for counting on FAQs when it has had time to give further substantial guidance. 

 Also, the IRS recently used a Field Memorandum, News Release, and FAQs to announce significant new procedural conditions for filing amended returns that claim the disquisition credit. The panelists agreed that the IRS should use more formal guidance to make such an important change.IRS has bettered FAQs 

 The panelists noted that the IRS has taken some effective way to ameliorate FAQs. 

Most importantly, the IRS now generally publishes FAQs as a Fact distance that's issued with an Internal Revenue News Release, rather than just posting the questions and answers on the IRS website. FAQ changes and updates are also generally issued as Fact wastes, with any changes noted and dated. And these Fact wastes are archived, so they remain available on the IRS website. 

 These changes mean that FAQ guidance no longer just disappears into the ether when the IRS changes its mind. rather, there's a record of what an FAQ said and when it said it. 

FAQs may help taxpayers avoid penalties 

 Given all these factors, what do FAQs mean for taxpayers and their counsels? 

 First, the panelists agreed that taxpayers can not calculate on FAQ guidance when they determine their duty liability. For illustration, if an FAQ leads a taxpayer to believe they may claim a duty credit, the IRS may deny the credit if the FAQ conflicts with further substantial guidance – the Code, regulations, or rulings published in the Internal Revenue Bulletin. 

 still, FAQs may help a taxpayer reduce or avoid penalties. The most common penalties for understating duty liability, similar as the negligence penalty and other delicacy- related penalties, aren't assessed if the taxpayer had reasonable cause for the understatement. Reliance on FAQs may constitute reasonable cause. 

But are FAQs substantial authority? 

 A penalty may also be waived if the taxpayer had substantial authority for a return position. This is a more objective test that reasonable cause. The substantial authority test requires the taxpayer to point to some independent authority for their position, while the reasonable cause test looks more at the taxpayer’s private belief. 

It isn't clear if an FAQ or other subregulatory relief can be substantial authority for determining a particular taxpayer’s duty liability. 

 FAQs can raise ethical issues 

 Eventually, the ABA panelists reviewed some ethical issues that duty professionals might face with FAQs. Anyhow of the particular data, the panelists agrees on two guiding principles 

 The professional must completely inform the taxpayer of all options and their possible consequences. 

 The taxpayer, rather than the professional, must be the bone

 who decides what to do.