IRS Continues to Issue Audit Technique Guides & Technical Guides to Replace IRM Sections

The IRS is replacing entire sections of the Internal Revenue Manual with new Audit Technique Guides (ATGs) and Technical Guides (TGs). Most recently it announced publication online of the following three TGs:

• TG 0 Technical Guide Overview
• TG 3-4 Exempt Purpose, Scientific Organizations 501(c)(3)
• TG 17 Supplemental Unemployment Benefit Trusts

The first TG listed above explains that the IRS initially promulgated internal Technical Resource Guides (TRGs) to replace previous IRM sections 7.25, 7.26, and 7.27, and ATGs to replace previous IRM section 4.76. The IRS is now creating publicly available TGs based on the TRGs and ATGs, and retiring the related TRGs and ATGs as the TGs become available. The full  set of TGs and at least some of the ATGs (but not any of the TRGs) can be found at this IRS webpage.

I first noticed this change when I attempted to located the IRM section addressing a particular topic, only to discover it was no longer available. Unfortunately it appears the topic I was interested in is still stuck in TRG limbo, available internally at the IRS but not to the public. Hopefully it, and the rest of the topics still only in TRGs, will soon become publicly available again.

Lloyd Mayer