APAs: Navigating Uncertainty in the Pursuit of Certainty

On May 1, 2023, the acting IRS Director of Treaty and Transfer Pricing Operations (TTPO) published interim guidance to TTPO employees on the review and acceptance of APA requests, (the “Interim Guidance”). This Interim Guidance describes a “Procedural Change” that will need to be followed before a taxpayer will be formally accepted into the APA program. Taxpayers that submit an APA prefiling memorandum or APA request may receive a recommendation to pursue what the IRS characterizes as “alternative workstreams” to an APA, including joint audit, IRS Transfer Pricing Practice (TPP) examination, or the International Compliance Assurance Program (ICAP). ...