The Section 7525 Tax Practitioner-Taxpayer Privilege and Related Issues (Portfolio 5511)

Description

This Portfolio, The Section 7525 Tax Practitioner-Taxpayer Privilege and Related Issues, No. 5511, discusses Section 7525 of the Internal Revenue Code, a statutory privilege applicable to communications between federally-authorized tax practitioners and taxpayers relating to tax advice. A federally-authorized tax practitioner is anyone who is authorized to practice before the I.R.S., including attorneys, CPAs, enrolled agents, enrolled actuaries, and others. With certain important exceptions, the Section 7525 privilege is co-extensive with the attorney-client privilege and thus incorporates a rather extensive body of law that has developed in the federal courts. The Portfolio discusses in detail the statute, its purpose and legislative history, the attorney-client privilege, and judicial and administrative guidance on the meaning and application of Section 7525. The Portfolio also covers related issues including state-created accountant privileges and the work product doctrine, both of which may be available to protect communications and documents made or created by non-attorney tax practitioners.

The Worksheets include the Section 7525 statute, articles and statements reflecting the public debate over the statute’s enactment, legislative history, excerpts from 31 C.F.R. Part 10, i.e., Circular 230, concerning the scope of practice before the I.R.S., portions of the Internal Revenue Manual relevant to Section 7525, articles regarding the I.R.S. policy toward tax accrual workpapers, and sample privilege log entries.

This Portfolio may be cited as Bloomberg Tax and Accounting Portfolio 5511, Boylan, Erwin, and Froelich, The Section 7525 Tax Practitioner-Taxpayer Privilege and Related Issues (Accounting Policy and Practice Series).

Table of Contents

I. Introduction
II. Privileges and Protections
III. Potential Privileges Available in the Life of a Tax Matter
IV. Special Considerations
V. State Privileges