§6708 — Failure to maintain lists of advisees with respect to reportable transactions

Statute Text — 26 U.S.C. §6708

Treasury Regulations

• Treas. Reg. §301.6708-1Failure to maintain lists of advisees with respect to reportable transactions Show full text ▾ Collapse ▴

  (a) In general. Any person who is required to maintain a list under section 6112 who, upon written request for the list, fails to make the list available to the Secretary within 20 business days after the date of the request shall be subject to a penalty in the amount of $10,000 for each subsequent calendar day on which the person fails to furnish a list containing the information and in the form required by section 6112 and its corresponding regulations. The penalty will not be imposed on any particular day or days for which the person establishes that the failure to comply on that day is due to reasonable cause.

  (b) Calculation of the 20-business-day period. The 20-business-day period shall begin on the first business day after the earliest of the date that the IRS—

  (1) Mails a request for the list required to be maintained under section 6112(a) by certified or registered mail to the person required to maintain the list;

  (2) Hand delivers the written request to the person required to maintain the list; or

  (3) Leaves the written request with an individual 18 years old or older at the usual place of business of the person required to maintain the list.

  (c) Making a list available. (1) A person who is required to maintain a list required by section 6112 may make the list available by mailing or delivering it to the IRS within 20 business days after the date of the list request. Section 7502 and the regulations thereunder shall apply to this section.

  (2) A person who is required to maintain a list required by section 6112 may also make the list available to the IRS by making it available for inspection and copying during normal business hours, as provided by section 6112, or by another agreed-upon method, on an agreed-upon date that falls within the 20-business-day period following the list request.

  (3) Extension—(i) In general. Upon a showing of good cause by the person prior to the expiration of the 20-business-day period following a list request, the IRS may, in its discretion, agree to extend the period within which to make all or part of the list available. For purposes of this paragraph, “good cause” is shown if the person establishes that the 20-business-day deadline cannot reasonably be met despite diligent efforts by the person to maintain the materials constituting a list and to make that list available to the IRS in the time and manner required by the Secretary under section 6112.

  (ii) Requesting an extension. Any request for an extension of the 20-business-day period must be made in writing to the person at the IRS who requested the list. The person requesting an extension must briefly describe the information and documents that comprise the list as required by section 6112; explain the circumstances that would warrant additional time; propose a schedule to complete the production of the list; state that to the best of the person's knowledge, as of the date of the list request, all information and records relating to the list under the person's possession, custody, or control had been maintained in accordance with procedures and policies that are consistent with sections 6001 and 6112 of the Internal Revenue Code; and state that the extension request is not being made to avoid the person's list maintenance obligations imposed by section 6112 and its corresponding regulations. The IRS may, in its discretion, grant the person's extension request in full or in part. The IRS will consider whether granting an extension may impair its ability to make a timely assessment against any of the participants in the transaction associated with the requested list. The IRS will not grant an extension if it determines that a significant reason for the extension request is to delay producing the list. A pending extension request by itself does not constitute reasonable cause for purposes of section 6708.

  (4) Examples. The following examples illustrate paragraph (c)(3)(i) and (ii) of this section. These examples are intended to illustrate how the facts and circumstances in paragraph (c)(3)(i) and (ii) of this section may apply; in any given case, however, all of the facts and circumstances must be analyzed.

  (d) Failure to make list available. A failure to make the list available includes any failure to furnish the requested list to the IRS in a timely manner and in the form required under section 6112 and its corresponding regulations. Examples of failures to make a list available include instances in which a person fails to furnish any list; furnishes an incomplete list; or furnishes a list, whether or not complete, after the time required by this section.

  (e) Computation of penalty—(1) In general. The penalty imposed by section 6708 accrues daily, beginning on the first calendar day after the expiration of the 20-business-day period following a written list request, and continues for each calendar day thereafter until the person's failure to furnish a list in the form required by section 6112 and its corresponding regulations ends. If the list is delivered or mailed to the IRS outside of the 20-business-day period, the penalty shall not apply on the day the list is delivered to the IRS or, if the list is mailed, the day the list is received by the IRS.

  (2) Computation of penalty after grant of extension. If the IRS grants an extension of the 20-business-day period pursuant to paragraph (c)(3) of this section, the penalty imposed by section 6708 accrues daily, beginning on the first calendar day after the extension period expires, and continues for each calendar day thereafter until the person's failure to furnish a list in the form required by section 6112 and its corresponding regulations ends. If the list is delivered or mailed to the IRS outside of the period of extension, the penalty shall not apply on the day the list is delivered to the IRS or, if the list is mailed, the day the list is received by the IRS.

  (3) Designation agreements and concurrent application of penalty. If material advisors with respect to the same reportable transaction enter into a designation agreement pursuant to section 6112(b)(2) and § 301.6112-1(f), separate penalties will be imposed on designated material advisors and nondesignated material advisors who are parties to the designation agreement for their respective periods of failure or noncompliance with a list request. A penalty will continue to accrue against a material advisor who is a party to a designation agreement until such time when a list complying with the requirements of section 6112 and its corresponding regulations is furnished by that material advisor or any other material advisor who is a party to the designation agreement.

  (4) Example. The following example illustrates paragraph (e) of this section.

  (f) Definitions. For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:

  (1) Material advisor means a person described in section 6111 and § 301.6111-3(b).

  (2) Business day means every calendar day other than a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday within the meaning of section 7503.

  (3) Reportable transaction means a transaction described in section 6707A(c)(1) and section 1.6011-4(b)(1).

  (4) Listed transaction means a transaction described in section 6707A(c)(2) and § 1.6011-4(b)(2) of this chapter.

  (g) Reasonable cause—general applicability—(1) Overview. The section 6708 penalty will not be imposed for any day or days for which the person shows that the failure to make a complete list available to the IRS was due to reasonable cause. The determination of whether a person had reasonable cause is made on a case-by-case and day-by-day basis, taking into account all the relevant facts and circumstances. Facts and circumstances relevant to a material advisor's reasonable cause for failing to make available the list on a specific day include facts and circumstances arising after the request for the list. The person's showing of reasonable cause should relate to each specific day or days for which the person failed to make available the requested list. Factors establishing reasonable cause include, but are not limited to, factors identified in paragraphs (g) and (h) of this section.

  (2) Good-faith factors. The most important factors to establish reasonable cause are those that reflect the extent of the person's good-faith efforts to comply with section 6112. The following factors, which are not exclusive, will be considered in determining whether a person has made a good-faith effort to comply with the section 6112 requirements:

  (i) The person's efforts to determine or assess its status as a material advisor as defined by section 6111;

  (ii) The person's efforts to determine the information and documentation required to be maintained under section 6112;

  (iii) The person's efforts to meet its obligations to maintain a readily producible list as required by section 6112;

  (iv) The person's efforts, upon receiving the list request, to make the list available to the IRS within the 20-business-day period (or extended period) under paragraphs (a), (b), and (c)(3) of this section; and

  (v) The person's efforts to ensure that the list furnished to the IRS is accurate and complete.

  (3) Ordinary business care. The exercise of ordinary business care may constitute reasonable cause. To show ordinary business care, the person may, for example, show that the person established, and adhered to, procedures reasonably designed and implemented to ensure compliance with the section 6112 requirements. In all instances when ordinary business care is claimed as constituting reasonable cause, a person must show that the person took immediate steps, upon discovering any failure relating to the list, to correct the failure. A person's failure to take immediate steps to correct a failure related to the list upon discovering the failure is a factor weighing against a conclusion that the person exercised ordinary business care. Notwithstanding the occurrence of an isolated and inadvertent failure, a person still may be able to demonstrate that the person exercised ordinary business care, considering all the relevant facts and circumstances, but only if the person had established and adhered to procedures reasonably designed and implemented to ensure compliance with the section 6112 requirements.

  (4) Supervening events. A person may establish reasonable cause for one or more days for which, considering all the relevant facts and circumstances, the failure to timely furnish the list required by section 6112 was due solely to a supervening event beyond the person's control. Events beyond a person's control may include fire, flood, storm, or other casualty; illness; theft; or other similarly unexpected event that damages or impairs the person's relevant business records or system for processing and providing these records, or that affects the person's ability to maintain the section 6112 list or make it available to the IRS. Reasonable cause may be established only for the period that a person who exercised ordinary business care would need to provide the list from alternative records in existence, or make the list available, under the specific facts and circumstances.

  (5) Reliance on opinion or advice—(i) In general. A person may rely on an independent tax professional's advice to establish reasonable cause. The reliance, however, must be reasonable and in good faith, in light of all the other facts and circumstances. For a person to be considered to have relied on the advice, the advice must have been received by the person before the date the list is required to be made available to the IRS. If the person received advice from an independent tax professional, the person's reliance on that advice will be considered reasonable only if the independent tax professional reasonably believed that it is more likely than not that the person does not have an obligation imposed by section 6112. For example, this advice may conclude that the person is not a material advisor; that the transaction upon which the person provided material aid, assistance, or advice is not a reportable transaction for which a list was required to be maintained as of the date of the advice; that the information and documents to be produced constitute the required list; or that the information or documents withheld by the person are not required to be produced. The advice must also take into account and consider all relevant facts and circumstances, not rely on unreasonable legal or factual assumptions, not rely on or take into account the possibility that a list request may not be made, and not rely on unreasonable representations or statements of the person seeking the advice. Advice from a tax professional who is not independent may be considered in determining reasonable cause if, in light of and in relation to all the other facts and circumstances, taking into account such advice is reasonable. However, by itself, advice from a tax professional who is not independent is not sufficient to establish reasonable cause. Independent tax professional advice is not required to establish reasonable cause and the failure to obtain advice from an independent tax professional does not preclude a finding of reasonable cause if, based on the totality of all of the relevant facts and circumstances, reasonable cause has been established.

  (ii) Independent tax professional. For purposes of this section, an independent tax professional is a person who is knowledgeable in the relevant aspects of Federal tax law and who is not a material advisor with respect to the specific transaction that is the subject of the list request. For advice related to a listed transaction, a person who is a material advisor with respect to any transaction that is the same as or substantially similar to the type of transaction that is the subject of the list request will not be considered an independent tax professional.

  (6) Examples. The following examples illustrate this paragraph (g). These examples are intended to illustrate how the facts and circumstances in paragraphs (g)(2) through (g)(5) of this section may apply; in any given case, however, all of the facts and circumstances must be analyzed.

  (h) Reasonable cause—special considerations—(1) Material advisor no longer in existence. If a material advisor has dissolved, been liquidated, or otherwise is no longer in existence, the person required by section 6112 to maintain the list (the “responsible person”) is subject to the penalty for failing to make the list available. In considering whether a responsible person or successor in interest has reasonable cause for any failure to timely make the list available to the IRS, the IRS will consider all of the facts and circumstances, including those facts and circumstances relating to the dissolution, liquidation, and winding up of the original material advisor's business and any efforts the original material advisor made to comply with the section 6112 requirements before the dissolution or liquidation. When appropriate or applicable, due diligence, if any, performed by a responsible person or successor in interest will be considered, and due consideration will be given for acts taken by that person to minimize the potential for violating the section 6112 requirements.

  (2) Review by IRS. Whether reasonable cause exists for a period of time will be determined based on all the relevant facts and circumstances, including facts and circumstances arising after the request for the list. If a material advisor establishes that, in its efforts to comply with the provisions of section 6112 and its corresponding regulations, it acted in good faith, as defined in paragraph (g)(2) of this section, the material advisor will be deemed to have reasonable cause for the periods of time the IRS takes to review a furnished list for compliance with the section 6112 requirements and to inform the material advisor of any identified failures in the list. If the material advisor does not establish that it acted in good faith the IRS will not consider the time it takes to review the list or inform the material advisor of identified failures as a factor in determining whether the material advisor has reasonable cause for that period.

  (3) Examples. The following examples illustrate paragraph (h)(2) of this section.

  (i) Effective/applicability date. This section applies to all requests for lists required to be maintained under section 6112, including lists that persons were required to maintain under section 6112(a) as in effect before October 22, 2004, made on or after April 28, 2016.

• Treas. Reg. §301.6708-1(a)In general. Show full text ▾ Collapse ▴

  In general. Any person who is required to maintain a list under section 6112 who, upon written request for the list, fails to make the list available to the Secretary within 20 business days after the date of the request shall be subject to a penalty in the amount of $10,000 for each subsequent calendar day on which the person fails to furnish a list containing the information and in the form required by section 6112 and its corresponding regulations. The penalty will not be imposed on any particular day or days for which the person establishes that the failure to comply on that day is due to reasonable cause.

• Treas. Reg. §301.6708-1(b)Calculation of the 20-business-day period. Show full text ▾ Collapse ▴

  Calculation of the 20-business-day period. The 20-business-day period shall begin on the first business day after the earliest of the date that the IRS—

  (1) Mails a request for the list required to be maintained under section 6112(a) by certified or registered mail to the person required to maintain the list;

  (2) Hand delivers the written request to the person required to maintain the list; or

  (3) Leaves the written request with an individual 18 years old or older at the usual place of business of the person required to maintain the list.

• Treas. Reg. §301.6708-1(c)Making a list available. Show full text ▾ Collapse ▴

  Making a list available. (1) A person who is required to maintain a list required by section 6112 may make the list available by mailing or delivering it to the IRS within 20 business days after the date of the list request. Section 7502 and the regulations thereunder shall apply to this section.

  (2) A person who is required to maintain a list required by section 6112 may also make the list available to the IRS by making it available for inspection and copying during normal business hours, as provided by section 6112, or by another agreed-upon method, on an agreed-upon date that falls within the 20-business-day period following the list request.

  (3) Extension—(i) In general. Upon a showing of good cause by the person prior to the expiration of the 20-business-day period following a list request, the IRS may, in its discretion, agree to extend the period within which to make all or part of the list available. For purposes of this paragraph, “good cause” is shown if the person establishes that the 20-business-day deadline cannot reasonably be met despite diligent efforts by the person to maintain the materials constituting a list and to make that list available to the IRS in the time and manner required by the Secretary under section 6112.

  (ii) Requesting an extension. Any request for an extension of the 20-business-day period must be made in writing to the person at the IRS who requested the list. The person requesting an extension must briefly describe the information and documents that comprise the list as required by section 6112; explain the circumstances that would warrant additional time; propose a schedule to complete the production of the list; state that to the best of the person's knowledge, as of the date of the list request, all information and records relating to the list under the person's possession, custody, or control had been maintained in accordance with procedures and policies that are consistent with sections 6001 and 6112 of the Internal Revenue Code; and state that the extension request is not being made to avoid the person's list maintenance obligations imposed by section 6112 and its corresponding regulations. The IRS may, in its discretion, grant the person's extension request in full or in part. The IRS will consider whether granting an extension may impair its ability to make a timely assessment against any of the participants in the transaction associated with the requested list. The IRS will not grant an extension if it determines that a significant reason for the extension request is to delay producing the list. A pending extension request by itself does not constitute reasonable cause for purposes of section 6708.

  (4) Examples. The following examples illustrate paragraph (c)(3)(i) and (ii) of this section. These examples are intended to illustrate how the facts and circumstances in paragraph (c)(3)(i) and (ii) of this section may apply; in any given case, however, all of the facts and circumstances must be analyzed.

• Treas. Reg. §301.6708-1(d)Failure to make list available. Show full text ▾ Collapse ▴

  Failure to make list available. A failure to make the list available includes any failure to furnish the requested list to the IRS in a timely manner and in the form required under section 6112 and its corresponding regulations. Examples of failures to make a list available include instances in which a person fails to furnish any list; furnishes an incomplete list; or furnishes a list, whether or not complete, after the time required by this section.

• Treas. Reg. §301.6708-1(e)Computation of penalty—(1) In general. Show full text ▾ Collapse ▴

  Computation of penalty—(1) In general. The penalty imposed by section 6708 accrues daily, beginning on the first calendar day after the expiration of the 20-business-day period following a written list request, and continues for each calendar day thereafter until the person's failure to furnish a list in the form required by section 6112 and its corresponding regulations ends. If the list is delivered or mailed to the IRS outside of the 20-business-day period, the penalty shall not apply on the day the list is delivered to the IRS or, if the list is mailed, the day the list is received by the IRS.

  (2) Computation of penalty after grant of extension. If the IRS grants an extension of the 20-business-day period pursuant to paragraph (c)(3) of this section, the penalty imposed by section 6708 accrues daily, beginning on the first calendar day after the extension period expires, and continues for each calendar day thereafter until the person's failure to furnish a list in the form required by section 6112 and its corresponding regulations ends. If the list is delivered or mailed to the IRS outside of the period of extension, the penalty shall not apply on the day the list is delivered to the IRS or, if the list is mailed, the day the list is received by the IRS.

  (3) Designation agreements and concurrent application of penalty. If material advisors with respect to the same reportable transaction enter into a designation agreement pursuant to section 6112(b)(2) and § 301.6112-1(f), separate penalties will be imposed on designated material advisors and nondesignated material advisors who are parties to the designation agreement for their respective periods of failure or noncompliance with a list request. A penalty will continue to accrue against a material advisor who is a party to a designation agreement until such time when a list complying with the requirements of section 6112 and its corresponding regulations is furnished by that material advisor or any other material advisor who is a party to the designation agreement.

  (4) Example. The following example illustrates paragraph (e) of this section.

• Treas. Reg. §301.6708-1(f)Definitions. Show full text ▾ Collapse ▴

  Definitions. For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:

  (1) Material advisor means a person described in section 6111 and § 301.6111-3(b).

  (2) Business day means every calendar day other than a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday within the meaning of section 7503.

  (3) Reportable transaction means a transaction described in section 6707A(c)(1) and section 1.6011-4(b)(1).

  (4) Listed transaction means a transaction described in section 6707A(c)(2) and § 1.6011-4(b)(2) of this chapter.

• Treas. Reg. §301.6708-1(g)Reasonable cause—general applicability—(1) Overview. Show full text ▾ Collapse ▴

  Reasonable cause—general applicability—(1) Overview. The section 6708 penalty will not be imposed for any day or days for which the person shows that the failure to make a complete list available to the IRS was due to reasonable cause. The determination of whether a person had reasonable cause is made on a case-by-case and day-by-day basis, taking into account all the relevant facts and circumstances. Facts and circumstances relevant to a material advisor's reasonable cause for failing to make available the list on a specific day include facts and circumstances arising after the request for the list. The person's showing of reasonable cause should relate to each specific day or days for which the person failed to make available the requested list. Factors establishing reasonable cause include, but are not limited to, factors identified in paragraphs (g) and (h) of this section.

  (2) Good-faith factors. The most important factors to establish reasonable cause are those that reflect the extent of the person's good-faith efforts to comply with section 6112. The following factors, which are not exclusive, will be considered in determining whether a person has made a good-faith effort to comply with the section 6112 requirements:

• Treas. Reg. §301.6708-1(h)Reasonable cause—special considerations—(1) Material advisor no longer in existence. Show full text ▾ Collapse ▴

  Reasonable cause—special considerations—(1) Material advisor no longer in existence. If a material advisor has dissolved, been liquidated, or otherwise is no longer in existence, the person required by section 6112 to maintain the list (the “responsible person”) is subject to the penalty for failing to make the list available. In considering whether a responsible person or successor in interest has reasonable cause for any failure to timely make the list available to the IRS, the IRS will consider all of the facts and circumstances, including those facts and circumstances relating to the dissolution, liquidation, and winding up of the original material advisor's business and any efforts the original material advisor made to comply with the section 6112 requirements before the dissolution or liquidation. When appropriate or applicable, due diligence, if any, performed by a responsible person or successor in interest will be considered, and due consideration will be given for acts taken by that person to minimize the potential for violating the section 6112 requirements.

  (2) Review by IRS. Whether reasonable cause exists for a period of time will be determined based on all the relevant facts and circumstances, including facts and circumstances arising after the request for the list. If a material advisor establishes that, in its efforts to comply with the provisions of section 6112 and its corresponding regulations, it acted in good faith, as defined in paragraph (g)(2) of this section, the material advisor will be deemed to have reasonable cause for the periods of time the IRS takes to review a furnished list for compliance with the section 6112 requirements and to inform the material advisor of any identified failures in the list. If the material advisor does not establish that it acted in good faith the IRS will not consider the time it takes to review the list or inform the material advisor of identified failures as a factor in determining whether the material advisor has reasonable cause for that period.

  (3) Examples. The following examples illustrate paragraph (h)(2) of this section.

• Treas. Reg. §301.6708-1(i)Effective/applicability date. Show full text ▾ Collapse ▴

  Effective/applicability date. This section applies to all requests for lists required to be maintained under section 6112, including lists that persons were required to maintain under section 6112(a) as in effect before October 22, 2004, made on or after April 28, 2016.

• Treas. Reg. §301.6708-1(v)The person's efforts to ensure that the list furnished to the IRS is accurate and complete. Show full text ▾ Collapse ▴

  The person's efforts to ensure that the list furnished to the IRS is accurate and complete.

  (3) Ordinary business care. The exercise of ordinary business care may constitute reasonable cause. To show ordinary business care, the person may, for example, show that the person established, and adhered to, procedures reasonably designed and implemented to ensure compliance with the section 6112 requirements. In all instances when ordinary business care is claimed as constituting reasonable cause, a person must show that the person took immediate steps, upon discovering any failure relating to the list, to correct the failure. A person's failure to take immediate steps to correct a failure related to the list upon discovering the failure is a factor weighing against a conclusion that the person exercised ordinary business care. Notwithstanding the occurrence of an isolated and inadvertent failure, a person still may be able to demonstrate that the person exercised ordinary business care, considering all the relevant facts and circumstances, but only if the person had established and adhered to procedures reasonably designed and implemented to ensure compliance with the section 6112 requirements.

  (4) Supervening events. A person may establish reasonable cause for one or more days for which, considering all the relevant facts and circumstances, the failure to timely furnish the list required by section 6112 was due solely to a supervening event beyond the person's control. Events beyond a person's control may include fire, flood, storm, or other casualty; illness; theft; or other similarly unexpected event that damages or impairs the person's relevant business records or system for processing and providing these records, or that affects the person's ability to maintain the section 6112 list or make it available to the IRS. Reasonable cause may be established only for the period that a person who exercised ordinary business care would need to provide the list from alternative records in existence, or make the list available, under the specific facts and circumstances.

  (5) Reliance on opinion or advice—(i) In general. A person may rely on an independent tax professional's advice to establish reasonable cause. The reliance, however, must be reasonable and in good faith, in light of all the other facts and circumstances. For a person to be considered to have relied on the advice, the advice must have been received by the person before the date the list is required to be made available to the IRS. If the person received advice from an independent tax professional, the person's reliance on that advice will be considered reasonable only if the independent tax professional reasonably believed that it is more likely than not that the person does not have an obligation imposed by section 6112. For example, this advice may conclude that the person is not a material advisor; that the transaction upon which the person provided material aid, assistance, or advice is not a reportable transaction for which a list was required to be maintained as of the date of the advice; that the information and documents to be produced constitute the required list; or that the information or documents withheld by the person are not required to be produced. The advice must also take into account and consider all relevant facts and circumstances, not rely on unreasonable legal or factual assumptions, not rely on or take into account the possibility that a list request may not be made, and not rely on unreasonable representations or statements of the person seeking the advice. Advice from a tax professional who is not independent may be considered in determining reasonable cause if, in light of and in relation to all the other facts and circumstances, taking into account such advice is reasonable. However, by itself, advice from a tax professional who is not independent is not sufficient to establish reasonable cause. Independent tax professional advice is not required to establish reasonable cause and the failure to obtain advice from an independent tax professional does not preclude a finding of reasonable cause if, based on the totality of all of the relevant facts and circumstances, reasonable cause has been established.

  (ii) Independent tax professional. For purposes of this section, an independent tax professional is a person who is knowledgeable in the relevant aspects of Federal tax law and who is not a material advisor with respect to the specific transaction that is the subject of the list request. For advice related to a listed transaction, a person who is a material advisor with respect to any transaction that is the same as or substantially similar to the type of transaction that is the subject of the list request will not be considered an independent tax professional.

  (6) Examples. The following examples illustrate this paragraph (g). These examples are intended to illustrate how the facts and circumstances in paragraphs (g)(2) through (g)(5) of this section may apply; in any given case, however, all of the facts and circumstances must be analyzed.

• Treas. Reg. §301.6708-1TFailure to maintain list of investors in potentially abusive tax shelters Show full text ▾ Collapse ▴

  The following questions and answers issued under section 6708 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as added by section 142 of the Tax Reform Act of 1984 (Pub. L. 98-369; 98 Stat. 683), relate to the penalty for failure to maintain a list of investors in potentially abusive tax shelters.

  Q-1: What penalties are provided with respect to the failure properly to maintain a list of persons who acquire interests in potentially abusive tax shelters?

  A-1: Any organizer (as defined in A-5 of § 301.6112-1T) of a tax shelter (as defined in A-3 of § 301.6112-1T) or seller (as defined in A-6 of § 301.6112-1T) of interests in a tax shelter who fails to meet any requirement imposed by section 6112 regarding the requirement to maintain a list of persons who have acquired interests in a tax shelter shall pay a penalty of $50 for each investor with respect to whom there is such a failure, unless it is shown that the failure is due to reasonable cause and not due to willful neglect. For example, if an organizer who is required to maintain a list identifying each of 100 persons who acquired interests in a tax shelter fails to maintain the list, the organizer will be liable for a penalty of $5,000 ($50 × 100 persons), unless the organizer can show the failure was due to reasonable cause and not due to willful neglect. As another example, if a seller is required to maintain a list identifying each of 100 persons who acquired interests in a tax shelter from the seller and fails properly to maintain such list by omitting the TIN of each person, the seller will be liable for a penalty of $5,000 ($50 × 100 persons), unless the seller can show the failure was due to reasonable cause and not due to willful neglect.

  Q-2: If an organizer or seller properly maintains a list, but fails to make the list available to the Internal Revenue Service upon request, will the organizer or seller be subject to a penalty?

  A-2: Yes. A penalty applies if an organizer or seller fails to meet any requirement imposed by section 6112, including the requirement, upon request, to make the list available to the Internal Revenue Service as soon as practicable, but in any event within 10 calendar days. (See A-21 of § 301.6112-1T). The amount of the penalty is $50 for each person required to be on the list at the time of the request by the Internal Revenue Service. Assume, for example, that an organizer of a tax shelter properly maintains a list of 200 persons who have acquired interests in a tax shelter and that the Internal Revenue Service requests the organizer to provide the list. If the organizer fails to provide the list to the Internal Revenue Service as soon as practicable (as required by A-21 of § 301.6112-1T), or in a form that enables the Internal Revenue Service to obtain the required information without undue delay or difficulty (as required by A-16 of § 301.6112-1T), the organizer will be liable for a penalty of $10,000 ($50 × 200 persons), unless the organizer can show that the failure to provide the list was due to reasonable cause and not to willful neglect.

  Q-3: If an organizer or seller is required to maintain lists for more than one tax shelter in which the same person has acquired interests, how does the penalty apply if the organizer or seller fails to identify the person on each of the lists?

  A-3: A separate $50 penalty applies with respect to the list for each tax shelter on which the person who acquired interests is not identified.

  Q-4: Is there a limitation on the amount of the penalty imposed on a seller or organizer required to maintain a list of persons who have acquired interests in a tax shelter?

  A-4: Yes. The maximum penalty that may be imposed on a person for any calendar year may not exceed $50,000.

  Q-5: How does the calendar year limitation apply?

  A-5: A separate $50,000 limitation applies to each calendar year in which a failure occurs, and to each tax shelter for which a list is required to be maintained. See A-6 of this section for special rules for determining how the $50,000 limitation applies to a designated person who fails properly to maintain a list of investors.

  Q-6: How does the penalty apply to a designated person?

  A-6: Separate penalties, each with its own $50,000 calendar year limitation, apply with respect to the portion of the list kept by the designated person in that person's capacity as organizer and to each portion of the list kept by the designated person in that person's capacity as the designated person with respect to each organizer and seller who signed the agreement under A-12 of § 301.6112-1T and for whom the designated person is responsible for complying with the requirements of section 6112.

  Q-7: If an organizer or seller is subject to a penalty with respect to a tax shelter under section 6708, may the organizer or seller also be liable for other fines or penalties with respect to the tax shelter?

  A-7: Yes. The penalty imposed by section 6708 is in addition to any other penalty provided by law. If, for example, an organizer of a tax shelter is subject to a penalty under section 6700 for promoting an abusive tax shelter, the organizer also would be liable for any applicable penalties for failing properly to maintain a list for the tax shelter. Similarly, if an organizer or seller fails to furnish a list upon request by the Internal Revenue Service, the organizer or seller may be subject both to the fine under section 7203 for the willful failure to supply information, and to the penalty for failing properly to maintain a list for the tax shelter.

  Q-8: When is the penalty under section 6708 effective?

  A-8: The penalty under section 6708 applies with respect to any interest in a tax shelter which is required to be included on a list under section 6112. See A-22 of § 301.6112-1T.