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How would I obtain a private letter ruling?
Q) How would I obtain a private letter ruling?
A) According to the IRS: The procedures and user fees for obtaining a letter ruling are published annually in the first revenue procedure of each calendar year.
- The current procedures are in Revenue Procedure 2014-1 which can be found in Internal Revenue Bulletin 2014-1.
- The Revenue Procedure and the Internal Revenue Bulletin can be downloaded from the Electronic Reading Room on the IRS Freedom of Information website.
A request for a letter ruling, including the applicable user fee should be sent pursuant to the instructions in Revenue Procedure 2014-1, section 7. See also Revenue Procedure 2014-1, Appendix A for a schedule of current user fees.
Because the IRS processes the first return it receives, if another person claims your dependent first, the IRS will reject your return. The IRS won’t tell you who claimed your dependent. But if you don’t suspect anyone who could have claimed the dependent, your dependent may be a victim of tax identity theft. You’ll need to take some steps to protect your right to claim the dependent and your refund if you don’t think that the other person was eligible to claim your dependent. First, double check that you meet all of the requirements to claim the dependent.
The IRS may delay your refund while the IRS looks into the issue, but you should still receive your refund. File a paper return. Note that when you file a paper return, it can take six to eight weeks for the IRS to process. This includes things like birth certificates and proof of identity, but also documents that show that your dependent lived with you at the same address for more than half of the year. This doesn’t mean that you can’t correct the situation. Don’t panic. The most important thing to remember is to prove with proper documentation that you are entitled to claim the dependent. Document your case as the IRS rules for claiming a dependent can get complicated.