revenue ruling

Ruling

An official opinion by the IRS on how it interprets U.S. tax law. The IRS may make a ruling, for example, after seeing taxpayers apply a deduction or credit to an unusual, but still relevant situation. The IRS determines whether or not it will accept the situation, and, afterward, applies the ruling to all comparable situations. It is also called a revenue ruling, a letter ruling, or a private letter ruling.

revenue ruling

The written guidance that is provided taxpayers by the Internal Revenue Service. Although revenue rulings apply to individual situations, they are often of general interest because of the manner in which the IRS interprets a particular tax problem. Also called letter ruling, ruling.

revenue ruling

Advice from the IRS national office regarding application of the law to a particular fact situation on which a taxpayer has requested guidance.Any taxpayer may rely on a revenue ruling as guidance for similar conduct,but courts are not bound by them if a court thinks the IRS was wrong.Contrast with private letter rulings (also called letter rulings) which issue from a local IRS office and which can be relied upon only by the taxpayer to whom the letter was addressed. Contrast also with a technical advice memorandum issued under different rules but still binding on the IRS only as regards one particular taxpayer.