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Issue Tiering - LB&I

IMPORTANT NOTICE: As of August 17, 2012, the Issue Tiering Process is no longer in effect, per directive from LB&I Commissioner Heather C. Maloy. Tiered Issue pages and resources will remain on the IRS.GOV website temporarily for historical / reference purposes only.

What's New:

Related Links:

Issue Tiering Resources Toolkit - includes IRM cites and other tools

Tier I - Active Status Requires a continued level of coordination across the enterprise
Tier I - Listed Transactions	Tier I - High Risk Transactions Pose the highest compliance risk across multiple LB&I Industries and generally include large numbers of taxpayers, significant dollar risk, substantial compliance risk, or are high visibility.
Listed Transactions - LB&I Tier I Issues in Alphabetical Order Listed Transactions - LB&I Tier I Issues in Chronological Order	§118 Abuse (Note: Environmental Remediation, Universal Service Fund and BioEnergy Payments sub-issues are moved to monitoring - see below) Foreign Earnings Repatriation Foreign Tax Credit Generators Mixed Service Costs (Note: Phase I has moved to monitoring - see below) Repairs vs. Capitalization Change in Accounting Method (CAM) Research Credit Claims Transfer of Intangibles/Offshore Cost Sharing US Withholding Agents - §1441: Reporting and Withholding on US Source FDAP Income
Tier I - Monitoring Status Can be evaluated & resolved pursuant to guidance from the Issue Management Team
§118 - BioEnergy Payments §118 - Environmental Remediation §118 - Universal Service Fund §936 Exit Strategies Backdated Stock Options §199 Domestic Production Deduction Government Settlements International Hybrid Instrument Transactions Mixed Service Costs - Phase I

Tier II - Active Status
Tier II - Significant Compliance Risks Reflect areas of potential high non-compliance and/or significant compliance risk to LB&I or an industry, including emerging issues with fairly well-established law that need further development, clarification, direction, and guidance on LB&I's position.
Casualty Loss: Single Identifiable Property/Capital vs. Repairs Cost-Sharing Stock-Based Compensation Gift Cards Deferral of Income Interchange and Merchant Discount Fees Non-Performing Loans Super Completed Contract Method
Tier II - Monitoring Status Can be evaluated & resolved pursuant to guidance from the Issue Management Team Enhanced Oil Recovery Credit §43 Extraterritorial Income Exclusion Effective Date and Transition Rules Healthcare Accounting Issues: Contractual Allowance Specified Liability Losses §172(f) Upfront Fees, Milestone Payments, and Royalties in Biotech and Pharmaceutical Industries

Tier III - Active Status

Tier III Issues - Industry Risks
Represent the highest compliance risk for a particular industry and require unique treatment for an industry.

Communications, Technology & Media

Financial Services

Heavy Manufacturing & Transportation

Natural Resources & Construction

Retailers, Food, Pharmaceuticals & Healthcare

Cost Segregation Studies

Tier III - Monitoring Status
Can be evaluated & resolved pursuant to guidance from the Issue Management Team

Page Last Reviewed or Updated: 2012-09-10