The Internal Revenue Service has issued its annual guidance regarding the procedures for issuing letter rulings, determination letters, and technical advice. For the 2026 cycle, practitioners must familiarize themselves with Revenue Procedure 2026-1, Revenue Procedure 2026-2, Revenue Procedure 2026-3, Revenue Procedure 2026-4, and Revenue Procedure 2026-5. These documents collectively establish the administrative framework for tax administration, delineating the jurisdiction of Associate Chief Counsel offices, the rights of taxpayers during examination and appeals, and the specific areas where the Service will decline to issue private guidance. The following analysis details the legal basis for these procedures and highlights the significant changes affecting tax practice for the upcoming year.

Procedures for Letter Rulings and Information Letters

Revenue Procedure 2026-1 explains the forms of advice provided by the Associate Chief Counsel offices, including letter rulings, closing agreements, determination letters, and information letters. The legal authority for these procedures rests largely on 26 CFR § 601.201, which governs rulings and determination letters. A "letter ruling" is defined as a "written determination issued to a taxpayer by an Associate office in response to the taxpayer’s written inquiry, filed prior to the filing of returns or reports that are required by the tax laws, about its status for tax purposes or the tax effects of its acts or transactions".

The Service has identified specific modifications in Rev. Proc. 2026-1 compared to its predecessor. Notably, the IRS clarified the jurisdiction regarding tax-advantaged bonds. Sections 3.04 and 5.12 were amended to specify that the "Associate Chief Counsel (Financial Institutions and Products) has jurisdiction over status rulings for entities that issue tax-advantaged bonds".

Furthermore, the Service updated procedures regarding generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax exemptions. The revenue procedure now clarifies that for § 2642(g) letter ruling requests—which involve extensions of time to allocate GST exemption—submitted by married taxpayers qualifying under section 15.07(2), "the Associate office generally issues a separate letter ruling for each requester". Accordingly, Appendix A was amended to reflect the applicable user fees for these specific requests.

Technical Advice Memorandum Procedures

Revenue Procedure 2026-2 outlines the process for furnishing technical advice to field offices. Technical advice is "advice furnished by an Associate office in a memorandum that responds to any request... for assistance on any technical or procedural question that develops during any proceeding before the Internal Revenue Service". The procedure clarifies that while a taxpayer may request that a field office refer an issue for technical advice, "it is the field office that determines whether to request it".

If a taxpayer’s request for referral is denied, the taxpayer may appeal the decision by submitting a written statement of reasons to the field office. The revenue procedure establishes that the decision of the Director (or Program Manager in the case of Tax Exempt Bonds) regarding this denial "may be reviewed but not appealed". If the Director determines a TAM is not warranted, "the taxpayer will be informed in writing of the proposed denial of the request and the reasons for the denial (unless doing so would prejudice the Government’s interests)".

Domestic No-Rule Areas

Revenue Procedure 2026-3 provides the revised list of areas under the jurisdiction of various Associate Chief Counsel offices where the Service will not issue letter rulings or determination letters. The Service explains that "whenever appropriate in the interest of sound tax administration, it is the policy of the Service to answer inquiries... prior to the filing of returns," but explicitly carves out exceptions due to the "factual nature of the problem" or other reasons.

For 2026, the Service has added several significant areas to the no-rule list, particularly regarding clean energy credits and estate tax matters. New no-rule areas include:

Clean Energy Credits: The Service will not issue rulings on the "application of the beginning of construction requirement" under § 30C (Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit), § 45V (Credit for Production of Clean Hydrogen), § 45Y (Clean Electricity Production Credit), § 48D (Advanced Manufacturing Investment Credit), and § 48E (Clean Electricity Investment Credit).
Pension Assets: Rulings will not be issued under § 420 regarding the "tax consequences to a qualified retirement plan of a transfer under § 420 of excess pension assets to one or more retiree health accounts".
Estate and Gift Tax: The Service added several areas regarding trust income and deductions under §§ 661, 662, and 671, and gift tax under § 2501. Specifically, the Service will not rule on whether "the distribution of property by a trustee from an irrevocable trust to another irrevocable trust (sometimes referred to as a ’decanting’) or the modification of the terms of an irrevocable trust resulting in a change in beneficial interests" constitutes a taxable distribution or gift.
Employment Taxes: A new section was added regarding rulings under §§ 3102, 3121, 3306, 3401, and 3402 concerning the "tax treatment of arrangements where employees have access to earned but unpaid wages before their regularly scheduled pay dates".

Employee Plans Rulings and Agreements

Revenue Procedure 2026-4 sets forth the procedures for advice from the Commissioner, Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division, Employee Plans Rulings and Agreements Office. This includes determination letters on the qualified status of pension, profit-sharing, and stock bonus plans.

A critical procedural change for 2026 involves the submission of determination letter applications. The Service has mandated that "all Form 5300 series applications must be submitted electronically on www.pay.gov". The procedure explicitly states, "Do not submit any documents on paper, including the Form 8717... Any applications submitted on paper will be returned to the applicant, including any paper checks".

Additionally, the Service revised its refund policy regarding user fees. The revenue procedure now states that user fees for letter rulings "will generally not be returned if Employee Plans Rulings and Agreements later discovers an omission of material facts in the original submission that, had Employee Plans Rulings and Agreements known of the omission at the time of submission, would have resulted in it declining to rule on all the issues".

Exempt Organizations Determinations

Revenue Procedure 2026-5 outlines the procedures for issuing determination letters on tax-exempt status under §§ 501 and 521. This includes initial qualification, private foundation status classification, and other determinations.

The 2026 update includes revisions regarding group exemption letters. The procedure notes that section 3.02(11) has been revised to "address requests for a group exemption letter pursuant to publication of the final revenue procedure proposed in Notice 2020-36". Furthermore, to modernize communication, the Service has revised section 6.08 to "encourage taxpayers to use fax and the IRS Document Upload Tool when submitting additional information for letter ruling requests".

Regarding terminations of private foundation status, the Service revised section 7.05 to "remove the notice an organization must submit in seeking to terminate its private foundation status under § 507". Finally, the procedure clarifies the scope of appellate review, noting that "in certain circumstances, the Independent Office of Appeals will not consider a matter or issue," citing Treas. Reg. § 301.7803-2(c) for a list of exceptions.

Prepared with assistance from NotebookLM.