Competent Authority Assistance

If you are a U.S. citizen or resident, you can request assistance from the U.S. competent authority if you think that the actions of the United States, a treaty country, or both, cause or will cause a tax situation not intended by the treaty between the two countries. You should read any specific treaty articles, including the mutual agreement procedure article, that apply in your situation.

If your request provides a basis for competent authority assistance, the U.S. competent authority will consult with the treaty country competent authority on how to resolve the situation.

The U.S. competent authority cannot consider requests involving countries with which the United States does not have an applicable tax treaty.

It is important that you make your request for competent authority consideration as soon as either of the following occurs.

• You are denied treaty benefits.
• Actions taken by both the United States and the foreign country result in double taxation or will result in taxation not intended by the treaty.

In addition to making a request for assistance, you should take steps so that any agreement reached by the competent authorities is not barred by administrative, legal, or procedural barriers. Some of the steps you should consider taking include the following.

1. Filing a protective claim for credit or refund of U.S. taxes.
2. Delaying the expiration of any period of limitations on the making of a refund or other tax adjustment.
3. Avoiding the lapse or termination of your right to appeal any tax determination.
4. Complying with all applicable procedures for invoking competent authority consideration.
5. Contesting any adjustment or seeking an appropriate correlative adjustment with respect to the U.S. or treaty country tax.

Taxpayers can consult with the U.S. competent authority to determine whether they need to take protective steps and when any required steps need to be taken.

Your request for competent authority consideration should be addressed to: Internal Revenue Service Director, International LM:IN:T 950 L'Enfant Plaza South, SW Washington, DC 20024.

The request should contain all essential items of information, including the following items.

• The facts from which the issue arises.
• The amounts of income and tax involved.
• A description of the issue and identification of the relevant treaty provisions.
• The respective positions taken by you and the foreign country.
• Copies of any protests, briefs, or other pertinent documents.

Additional details on the procedures for requesting competent authority assistance are included in Revenue Procedure 96-13, which is in Cumulative Bulletin 1996-1.

More information on treaties and problems. Publication 901 contains an explanation of treaty provisions that apply to amounts received by teachers, students, workers, and government employees and pensioners who are alien nonresidents or residents of the United States. Since treaty provisions generally are reciprocal, you can usually substitute "United States" for the name of the treaty country whenever it appears, and vice versa when "U.S." appears in the treaty exemption discussions in Publication 901.

Publication 597 contains an explanation of a number of frequently used provisions of the United States-Canada income tax treaty.

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