The Department of Treasury and Internal Revenue Service invite public comment on recommendations for items that should be included on the 2016–2017 Priority Guidance Plan.

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The Department of Treasury and Internal Revenue Service (Service) invite public comment on recommendations for items that should be included on the 2016–2017 Priority Guidance Plan.

The Treasury Department’s Office of Tax Policy and the Service use the Priority Guidance Plan each year to identify and prioritize the tax issues that should be addressed through regulations, revenue rulings, revenue procedures, notices, and other published administrative guidance. The 2016–2017 Priority Guidance Plan will identify guidance projects that the Treasury Department and the Service intend to work on as priorities during the period from July 1, 2016, through June 30, 2017. The Treasury Department and the Service recognize the importance of public input in formulating a Priority Guidance Plan that focuses resources on guidance items that are most important to taxpayers and tax administration. Published guidance plays an important role in increasing voluntary compliance by helping to clarify ambiguous areas of the tax law. The published guidance process is most successful if the Treasury Department and the Service have the benefit of the experience and knowledge of taxpayers and practitioners who must apply the rules implementing the internal revenue laws.

As is the case whenever significant legislation is enacted, the Treasury Department and the Service have continued to dedicate substantial resources during the current plan year to published guidance projects necessary to implement the provisions of various tax legislative acts that have been enacted over the past several years. The Treasury Department and the Service will continue to evaluate the priority of each guidance project taking into account this tax legislation, as well as other developments occurring during the 2016–2017 plan year.

In reviewing recommendations and selecting projects for inclusion on the 2016–2017 Priority Guidance Plan, the Treasury Department and the Service will consider the following:

# 1.

Whether the recommended guidance resolves significant issues relevant to many taxpayers;

# 2.

Whether the recommended guidance promotes sound tax administration;

# 3.

Whether the recommended guidance can be drafted in a manner that will enable taxpayers to easily understand and apply the guidance;

# 4.

Whether the recommended guidance involves regulations that are outmoded, ineffective, insufficient, or excessively burdensome and that should be modified, streamlined, expanded, or repealed;

# 5.

Whether the Service can administer the recommended guidance on a uniform basis; and

# 6.

Whether the recommended guidance reduces controversy and lessens the burden on taxpayers or the Service.

Please submit recommendations by May 16, 2016, for possible inclusion on the original 2016–2017 Priority Guidance Plan. Taxpayers may, however, submit recommendations for guidance at any time during the year. The Treasury Department and the Service may update the 2016–2017 Priority Guidance Plan periodically to reflect additional guidance that the Treasury Department and the Service intend to publish during the plan year. The periodic updates allow the Treasury Department and the Service to respond to the need for additional guidance that may arise during the plan year.

Taxpayers are not required to submit recommendations for guidance in any particular format. Taxpayers should, however, briefly describe the recommended guidance and explain the need for the guidance. In addition, taxpayers may include an analysis of how the issue should be resolved. It would be helpful if taxpayers suggesting more than one guidance project prioritize the projects by order of importance. If a large number of projects are being suggested, it would be helpful if the projects were grouped in terms of high, medium, or low priority. Requests for guidance in the form of petitions for rulemaking will be considered with other recommendations for guidance in accordance with the considerations described in this notice.

Taxpayers may mail comments to:

Internal Revenue Service
Attn: CC:PA:LPD:PR (Notice 2016–26)
Room 5203
P.O. Box 7604
Ben Franklin Station
Washington, D.C. 20044

or hand deliver comments Monday through Friday between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. to:

Courier’s Desk
Internal Revenue Service
Attn: CC:PA:LPD:PR (Notice 2016–26)
1111 Constitution Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20224

Alternatively, taxpayers may submit comments electronically via the Federal eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov (type IRS–2016–0012 in the search field on the regulations.gov homepage to find this notice and submit comments). All recommendations for guidance submitted by the public in response to this notice will be available for public inspection and copying in their entirety.

For further information regarding this notice, contact Charles A. Hall of the Office of Associate Chief Counsel (Procedure and Administration) at (202) 317-3400 (not a toll-free number).

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