What is the exact hierarchy of sources of tax law for IRS disputes?

Thanks for this! What about technical advice memorandums versus private letter rulings? Do they have the same authority level or is one considered more persuasive than the other? Also, where do IRS notices fit in?

Private Letter Rulings (PLRs) and Technical Advice Memoranda (TAMs) are both considered informal guidance and have similar levels of authority - which is to say, not much binding authority at all. They only apply to the specific taxpayers involved and cannot be cited as precedent by other taxpayers, though they can give insight into how the IRS might interpret similar situations. That said, TAMs are slightly more formal as they're issued by the IRS National Office to resolve disputes during audits or appeals. IRS Notices fall under the broader category of IRS pronouncements and generally rank below Revenue Rulings and Revenue Procedures in authority, but above PLRs and TAMs. They're often used to provide guidance on new legislation or to announce changes in tax procedures.

How accurate is this tool compared to consulting with a tax attorney? I'm in a similar situation where I'm trying to figure out if a Revenue Procedure trumps some contradictory info in an IRS Publication.

Sounds interesting but I'm skeptical. Does it actually cite the specific hierarchy? I've found so many contradictory explanations online that I don't trust anything anymore without seeing the legal basis.

It's surprisingly accurate - I verified the results with my tax attorney afterward, and he was impressed with how comprehensive it was. The tool specifically identified the Treasury Regulations that applied to my situation and explained why they carried more weight than the IRS Publication I was initially relying on. In your case, a Revenue Procedure definitely carries more authority than information in an IRS Publication. Publications are just educational and explanatory, while Revenue Procedures are official guidance on internal practices that have much higher standing in the hierarchy.

Wait, how does this actually work? Do they just call the IRS for you or something? I don't understand how they get through when nobody else can.

Yeah right. The IRS wait time is like 2+ hours minimum. There's no way they're getting through in under an hour unless they have some special backdoor access, which sounds sketchy. What's the real story here?

They use a technology that basically waits on hold for you. You register your phone number, and when they reach an actual IRS agent, you get a call connecting you directly to that agent. No more sitting on hold for hours! They don't have any special access or backdoor - they're just using a system that does the waiting for you. It's completely legitimate and has been featured in major news outlets. What impressed me was that I got to speak with someone who actually knew about the hierarchy of tax authorities and could explain how it applied to my specific situation.

This is super helpful! Does this ordering change at all depending on whether you're dealing with federal vs. state tax issues? I'm trying to figure out where state tax court decisions fit in this hierarchy.

Great question! For state tax issues, you'd have a parallel hierarchy, starting with the State Constitution, then State Statutes, State Regulations, State Revenue Rulings, etc. For conflicts between federal and state tax law, federal law generally prevails due to the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, but states have significant autonomy in creating their own tax systems. State tax court decisions would only be authoritative for that state's tax laws and wouldn't impact federal tax law interpretation.

IRS Notices and Announcements generally fall below Revenue Procedures in the hierarchy. They're considered "official pronouncements of tax policy" but don't have the same weight as Revenue Rulings or Revenue Procedures. That said, Notice 2020-75 specifically is pretty influential regarding state and local tax (SALT) workarounds since it announced the Treasury's intent to issue regulations on a particular matter. If your tax preparer is citing it, it's probably relevant to your situation, but just know that if it ever directly conflicted with a statute or regulation, those higher sources would prevail.