RubinBrown Team Member Manual

Circular 230 Regulations 1211

Policy Title: Policy Number:

Section:

Risk Management

Effective Date:

Supersedes Policy Dated:

06/01/2024

06/01/2023

Background: Circular 230 contains a set of regulations issued by the Treasury Department which represent the rules of conduct to be followed by those who practice before the Internal Revenue Service in the area of federal income, estate and gift taxes. Failure to follow the rules of Circular 230 can result in suspension of practice before the IRS, censorship and/or fines. Further, the standards of conduct under Circular 230 can be expected to be used by civil litigants in actions brought against a tax professional or his/her firm. Certain sections of Circular 230 were revised by regulations that became effective on June 21, 2005. The revisions to Circular 230 impose significant new requirements in connection with any written tax advice to clients (including advice by e-mails). Regulations further amending Circular 230 were issued on June 12, 2014. These regulations recognized that the Covered Opinion Rules are no longer necessary, and instead the Covered Opinion Rules have been replaced with new standards for issuing written tax advice (including advice by e-mails). Policy: All federal tax advice provided by RubinBrown personnel, whether written or not, should meet the “best practice” guidelines of Circular 230. Accordingly, all RubinBrown personnel are expected to communicate clearly with clients regarding the terms of the federal tax advisory engagement, including confirmation of the client’s purpose and use of the federal tax advice. The advice should be based on a careful matching of relevant tax law authorities to the facts, assumptions and representations we have been given. Facts, assumptions and representations should be identified and understood and their reasonableness should be evaluated. The possibility of a transaction or its tax treatment being examined by the IRS should not be a consideration in the conclusions we reach or in the advice we provide. All written communication containing federal tax advice should have the following language included on the communication: • Any federal tax advice contained in this communication (including any attachments): (i) is intended for your use only; (ii) is based on the accuracy and completeness of the facts you have provided us; and (3) may not be relied upon to avoid penalties." RubinBrown expects all team members to understand and satisfy all obligations provided for under Circular 230 in its entirety.

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