Representation before the IRS · Legal Authority and References
Internal Revenue Manual
tax year · reviewed 2026-08-18 · I. Ohu
The Internal Revenue Manual is the IRS telling its own employees how to do their jobs. It is not on the authority list in Reg. § 1.6662-4(d)(3)(iii), it does not have the force of law, and it confers no rights on taxpayers. And it is still one of the most useful documents a representative can read — because it tells you exactly what the person across the table has been instructed to do, and because non-compliance with it is a statutory ground for relief in one specific place.
The rule
What it is. See the figures table (IRM 1.11.1.2.1). The IRS designates the IRM as “the single, official compilation of IRS policies, procedures, and guidelines,” and “program offices must place instructions to staff in the IRM, which employees use to carry out their responsibilities in administering tax laws, performing duties, and executing IRS operations” (IRM 1.11.1.3).
What sits beside it. The IRM is one of several internal management documents. The others include Servicewide and business unit Delegation Orders — “specific delegations of authority issued by the Commissioner … to subordinate officials, with or without restrictions,” published in IRM 1.2.2 and the 1.2.6X series — and Policy Statements, “official IRS statements of IRS values, objectives, and/or IRS principles,” authorised by the Commissioner or Deputy Commissioner.
Interim guidance. See the figures table (IRM 1.11.1.3). Where “there is insufficient time to update and publish the IRM,” program offices must use interim guidance to convey new, changed, pilot or temporary procedure, or a deviation from procedure.
Why it is public. FOIA § 552(a)(2)(C) requires “administrative staff manuals and instructions to staff that affect a member of the public” to be available to the public, and the 1996 E-FOIA amendments require that in electronic form. “The IRS takes a proactive disclosure approach … by making most IMDs available for public viewing,” and the IRM is posted to the FOIA Library on irs.gov (IRM 1.11.1.3.1).
What gets held back. See the figures table (IRM 1.11.1.3.1.3). Of the nine FOIA exemptions, “generally only 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(7)(E) applies to instructions to staff” — content whose disclosure “could reasonably be expected to risk circumvention of the law.” That content is marked official use only and redacted; the rest stays accessible.
When something must be posted. See the figures table for the three E-FOIA criteria (IRM 1.11.1.3.1.2). And “if the document restates procedures already available in full on the FOIA Library, then it is not necessary to post the document.”
Where things are. See the figures table for the parts a representative uses. The IRM runs to numbered parts, chapters and sections, cited as part.chapter.section with subsections appended.
It is not authority. The closed list in Reg. § 1.6662-4(d)(3)(iii) does not include the Internal Revenue Manual. It is not a statute, not a regulation, and not an IRB pronouncement.
But there is one place where it bites. “In cases where any Internal Revenue Service employee is not following applicable published administrative guidance (including the Internal Revenue Manual), the National Taxpayer Advocate shall construe the factors taken into account in determining whether to issue a Taxpayer Assistance Order in the manner most favorable to the taxpayer” (IRC § 7811(a)(3)).
Current figures
| Item | Rule | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| What the IRM is | the single official source of instructions to staff — based on and including the policies, delegated authorities, procedures, instructions and guidelines relating to the organization, functions, administration and operations of the IRSTY2026 | IRM 1.11.1.2.1 |
| Parts used in representation | the parts most used in representation are 4 Examining Process, 5 Collecting Process, 8 Appeals, 13 Taxpayer Advocate Service, 20 Penalty and Interest, 21 Customer Account Services and 25 Special Topics; parts 30 to 39 are the Chief Counsel Directives ManualTY2026 | IRS, Internal Revenue Manual |
| Interim guidance | used to convey new, changed, pilot or temporary procedure, or a deviation from procedure, where there is insufficient time to update and publish the IRM — so an IRM section can be current on its face and superseded by an interim guidance memorandumTY2026 | IRM 1.11.1.3 |
| E-FOIA posting criteria | 3 conditions — the guidance must be procedural and communicate directions, guidelines or standards to employees in performing their duties; affect how a member of the public files, pays, complies or interacts with the IRS; and not be exempt under 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)TY2026 | IRM 1.11.1.3.1.2 |
| What is withheld | instructions to staff affecting the public must be made public unless exempt under 5 U.S.C. § 552(b); generally only § 552(b)(7)(E) applies — content whose disclosure could reasonably be expected to risk circumvention of the law, designated official use only and redacted before posting, with the remaining content accessibleTY2026 | IRM 1.11.1.3.1.3 |
| Taxpayer Assistance Order effect | an immediate threat of adverse action; a delay of more than 30 days in resolving taxpayer account problems; the incurring of significant costs, including fees for professional representation, if relief is not granted; or irreparable injury to, or a long-term adverse impact on, the taxpayer if relief is not grantedTY2026 | IRC § 7811(a)(3) |
How it works in practice
Read it to know what they were told to do. The IRM’s value to a representative is not authority — it is intelligence. It sets out what an examiner, a revenue officer or an Appeals officer has been instructed to do at each step: what to request, what to consider, when to escalate, what tolerances apply. A representative who knows the applicable IRM section knows what should happen next and can tell when it has not.
Cite it for the § 7811 effect, not for the law. Section 7811(a)(3) is the one provision that turns IRM non-compliance into a legal consequence — and it is a rule of construction, not an automatic remedy. On a borderline hardship case, quoting the IRM provision the employee did not follow, by number, in a Form 911 is the single most effective thing a representative can do. Elsewhere, citing the IRM as if it were binding invites a correct rebuttal.
Do not tell a client the IRM gives them a right. It does not. The Manual is internal direction, and a failure to follow it does not by itself invalidate an assessment or entitle a taxpayer to relief. What it does is give the representative something concrete to raise with a manager, with the Taxpayer Advocate, or in a protest.
An IRM section can be current on its face and superseded in fact. Interim guidance exists precisely for changes made faster than the Manual can be republished. So the section as posted may not reflect current procedure. Check for interim guidance memoranda and IPUs before relying on a section — the transmittal at the top of each section lists the IPUs incorporated, which is the first place to look.
Delegation Orders answer “could this person do that?” When the question is whether a particular officer had authority to take an action, the answer is usually in a Delegation Order in IRM 1.2.2 or the 1.2.6X series rather than in the procedural IRM section. That is a different document type and a different search.
Official use only is narrow, and knowing that is useful. Only one FOIA exemption generally applies to instructions to staff — § 552(b)(7)(E), risk of circumvention of the law. So a redaction in a published IRM section should be a technique or threshold that would help someone game the system, not general procedure. A representative told that a procedure is not public should be sceptical.
Redaction is partial, not total. Where a section contains both OUO and non-OUO material, only the OUO material is removed and the rest stays accessible. The same segregability principle that governs a FOIA request governs the published Manual.
Know the parts you actually use. Part 4 is examination, part 5 collection, part 8 Appeals, part 20 penalty and interest, part 13 the Taxpayer Advocate Service. Parts 30 to 39 are the Chief Counsel Directives Manual and are a different animal — Chief Counsel’s own instructions, including part 32 on published guidance and part 36 on actions on decisions.
The IRM section in the Form 911
A collection case has proceeded in a way the representative believes departs from a specific IRM instruction on contacting a representative of record. The client's hardship is real but not dramatic, and the representative doubts the Taxpayer Advocate will take the case.
Analysis. Cite the IRM section by number. IRC § 7811(a)(3) provides that where an IRS employee is not following applicable published administrative guidance including the Internal Revenue Manual, the National Taxpayer Advocate shall construe the factors bearing on whether to issue a Taxpayer Assistance Order in the manner most favourable to the taxpayer. On a borderline case that provision is what moves it. Quote the instruction, identify it by number, and say what the employee did instead.
The section that had been overtaken
A representative relies on an IRM procedure found on irs.gov, dated eighteen months ago, and advises the client accordingly. The revenue officer follows a different process and says the guidance changed last year.
Analysis. Both may be right. IRM 1.11.1.3 requires program offices to use interim guidance to convey new, changed, pilot or temporary procedure "in situations where there is insufficient time to update and publish the IRM." A posted section can therefore be current on its face and superseded in practice. Before relying on a section, check the transmittal for incorporated IPUs and ask the officer to identify the interim guidance they are working from.
The argument that went too far
In a protest, a representative argues that because the examiner did not follow an IRM step, the proposed adjustment is invalid and must be withdrawn.
Analysis. Overstated, and it weakens the rest of the protest. The IRM is not on the Reg. § 1.6662-4(d)(3)(iii) authority list, has no force of law, and confers no rights on taxpayers; non-compliance does not invalidate an assessment. The right use is narrower and still worth making — raise it with the examiner's manager, and hold it for a Form 911 where IRC § 7811(a)(3) gives it real weight. Argue the law on the merits and the IRM on the process, separately.
The procedure that was not published
A representative asks for the IRM section governing a particular selection step and is told the material is official use only and not available.
Analysis. Possible, but the exemption is narrow. IRM 1.11.1.3.1.3 records that of the nine FOIA exemptions "generally only 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(7)(E) applies to instructions to staff" — content whose disclosure could reasonably be expected to risk circumvention of the law. Selection tolerances plausibly qualify; general procedure does not. And redaction is partial: where a section holds both OUO and non-OUO content, only the OUO part is removed. Ask for the published section with the redactions, not for nothing.
The IRM is not authority. It is absent from the closed list in Reg. § 1.6662-4(d)(3)(iii) and confers no rights on taxpayers.
IRC § 7811(a)(3) is the exception. Non-compliance with the IRM requires the National Taxpayer Advocate to construe the Taxpayer Assistance Order factors most favourably to the taxpayer.
A posted IRM section may be superseded by interim guidance. Check the transmittal and ask what IG the employee is working from.
Only one FOIA exemption generally applies to instructions to staff — § 552(b)(7)(E). Redaction is partial, and the rest of the section stays public.
How this has changed
Electronic publication is a 1996 requirement, not a courtesy. FOIA § 552(a)(2)(C) has long required administrative staff manuals and instructions to staff affecting the public to be available; the E-FOIA amendments of 1996 required that availability to be electronic. The IRM’s presence on irs.gov is compliance with a statute, which is why the Service describes its approach as proactive disclosure rather than discretionary release.
Section 7811(a)(3) is a 1996 addition and remains under-used. It came in with the second Taxpayer Bill of Rights. It is the only provision that attaches a defined consequence to an employee’s departure from the Manual, and in practice it is rarely cited in a Form 911.
The Manual is being revised under executive orders. The IRS records on its IRM index that the Manual “is continually being updated to comply with Executive Orders 14151 and 14168,” and that current versions “are provided to meet Electronic Freedom of Information Act requirements and may not yet reflect these updates.” That is an unusual, and unusually explicit, warning that posted content may lag. Treat any section read now as provisional on that point.
The IMD framework has been formalised. IRM 1.11.1, in its 29 August 2025 revision, sets out the whole internal management document system — IRM, delegation orders, policy statements, interim guidance — with named programme owners and approval authorities under Delegation Order 1-69. Older material treating the IRM as a standalone manual misses the structure around it, which is where delegation and authority questions are answered.
Exam focus
Know that the IRM is the single official source of instructions to staff and is not authority — it does not appear on the Reg. § 1.6662-4(d)(3)(iii) list and confers no rights on taxpayers.
Know the one exception: IRC § 7811(a)(3) requires the National Taxpayer Advocate to construe the Taxpayer Assistance Order factors most favourably to the taxpayer where an employee is not following published guidance including the IRM.
Know that it is public because FOIA § 552(a)(2)(C) requires administrative staff manuals and instructions to staff affecting the public to be available, electronically since E-FOIA 1996.
Know that generally only § 552(b)(7)(E) — risk of circumvention of the law — supports withholding, that such content is marked official use only, and that redaction is partial.
Know that interim guidance carries changes the IRM has not yet absorbed, so a posted section can be out of date.
Know the parts: 4 examination, 5 collection, 8 Appeals, 13 Taxpayer Advocate Service, 20 penalty and interest; 30–39 are the Chief Counsel Directives Manual.
Check yourself
1. What is the status of the Internal Revenue Manual as authority? (A) It has the force of a Treasury regulation (B) It is on the Reg. § 1.6662-4 authority list (C) It is not authority and confers no rights on taxpayers (D) It binds taxpayers but not the IRS Answer: C. It is the IRS’s instructions to its own staff.
2. An IRS employee does not follow an applicable IRM instruction. What does IRC § 7811(a)(3) require? (A) Automatic issuance of a Taxpayer Assistance Order (B) That the National Taxpayer Advocate construe the TAO factors in the manner most favorable to the taxpayer (C) Abatement of the tax (D) Nothing — the IRM is internal Answer: B. A rule of construction, not an automatic remedy — which is why the IRM section should be cited by number in a Form 911.
3. Why is the IRM published on irs.gov? (A) As a courtesy (B) Because FOIA requires administrative staff manuals and instructions to staff affecting the public to be available, electronically since 1996 (C) Because the Code requires it (D) Because Congress directed it in 2019 Answer: B. 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(2)(C), with the E-FOIA amendments requiring electronic form.
4. Which FOIA exemption generally supports withholding part of an IRM section? (A) § 552(b)(1), classified national defense material (B) § 552(b)(4), trade secrets (C) § 552(b)(7)(E), risk of circumvention of the law (D) § 552(b)(6), personal privacy Answer: C. Such content is marked official use only and redacted, leaving the rest accessible.
5. A representative finds an IRM section on irs.gov dated last year. What should they check before relying on it? (A) Nothing — posted sections are current (B) Whether interim guidance has changed the procedure since (C) Whether the section is on the authority list (D) Whether a Delegation Order supersedes it Answer: B. Interim guidance conveys changes where there is insufficient time to update and publish the IRM.
Change log
- Initial publication from IRM 1.11.1 (effective 29 August 2025), IRC § 7811, Reg. § 1.6662-4 and 5 U.S.C. § 552, each opened at source.