OPR publishes letter to request tax information in case files

The IRS Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR), which is responsible for discipline imposed on CPAs and other individuals who practice before the IRS, has created a standard letter for requesting tax information in OPR case files that was obtained as part of an inquiry into Circular 230 violations.

The letter functions as a request under Sec. 6103 for access to tax returns and related tax information, the OPR said in a release Thursday.

A practitioner, or an authorized representative on a practitioner’s behalf, can use the letter to request copies of the practitioner’s own tax information; relevant tax information of other taxpayers, such as clients or former clients of the practitioner; or both the practitioner’s tax information and the tax information of third parties, depending on the case, the OPR said.

OPR is responsible for all matters relating to the regulation of individuals’ practice before the IRS under Treasury Circular 230, Regulations Governing Practice Before the Internal Revenue Service (31 C.F.R. Part 10). Its jurisdiction includes censures, suspensions or disbarments from practice, and appraiser disqualifications.

The OPR release noted that a Sec. 6103 information-request letter is not the same as a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. An information-request letter generally will be an easier and faster way to obtain the information and most often will result in greater release of information than a FOIA request because OPR handles the Sec. 6103 requests directly, the OPR release said. In addition, no third-party tax information can be obtained through a FOIA request.

However, the release noted, a Sec. 6103 request “will only yield responsive documents held by the OPR itself, not documents maintained in files elsewhere in the IRS.”

— To comment on this article or to suggest an idea for another article, contact Martha Waggoner at Martha.Waggoner@aicpa-cima.com.