About Tax Exempt Bonds
Tax Exempt Bonds (TEB) is a division of the Governmental Entities (GE) division of the Tax Exempt and Governmental Entities Division (TE/GE) of the Internal Revenue Service.
The mission of TEB is to administer Federal tax laws applicable to tax-exempt bonds and to provide our customers with top quality service by applying the tax laws with integrity and fairness.
Our Field Operation (FO) and Compliance and Program Management (CPM) programs focus on providing participants in the municipal bond industry with quality service and to assist members of the bond community in understanding their tax responsibilities by developing a tailored education program focused on bond industry segments; monitoring non-compliance trends to design pro-active education and outreach products; and designing and implementing compliance programs and projects that foster voluntary resolution of infractions of the tax rules related to bonds.
Clifford J. Gannett, Director
TEB under the direction of Clifford J. Gannett, TEB works closely with the Office of Associate Chief Counsel (TE/GE), other offices within the Internal Revenue Service, other regulatory agencies, state and local government officials, and others in the tax-exempt bond community to encourage and achieve the highest degree of voluntary compliance with the law.
Steven A. Chamberlin, CPM Manager
The Compliance and Program Management Program (formerly, Outreach, Planning, and Review), under the direction of Steven A. Chamberlin, is primarily responsible for the development and coordination of the Tax Exempt Bond Voluntary Compliance/Closing Agreement Program (TEB VCAP) as well as the development of ongoing outreach programs designed to effectively identify, provide guidance to, and address the needs of the various customer groups that comprise the tax-exempt bond community. The CPM program also develops project initiatives; updates the Internal Revenue Manual (IRM) and Revenue Procedures; prepares taxpayer and employee education and training materials; handles general information requests and referrals; coordinates with the Office of Associate Chief Counsel to provide legal guidance; and performs program planning and evaluation functions.
Robert Henn, FO Manager
The Field Operations Program, under the direction of Robert Henn, is primarily responsible for identifying and correcting noncompliance with Federal tax laws applicable to tax-exempt bonds. Examinations are conducted, with fairness and the highest level of integrity, at the issuer level. The goal of the program is to pro-actively assist issuers in their tax-exempt bond compliance with the Federal tax laws. FO personnel throughout the country are active not only in conducting examinations but also in assisting with the delivery of outreach programs to the tax-exempt bond community. FO concentrates its efforts on the many emerging issues and focus areas in the tax-exempt bond community.
Voluntary Compliance Agreement Program
To promote voluntary compliance with the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code relating to tax-exempt bonds, TEB has expanded its pre-existing voluntary closing agreement program (TEB VCAP) . In expanding TEB VCAP, the Service seeks to encourage issuers, conduit borrowers and other parties to bond transactions to exercise due diligence and to attempt to correct any issuance and post-issuance infractions of the applicable sections of the Internal Revenue Code and regulations. This expansion reflects the Services continuing policy of taxing bondholders only as a last resort and TEBs desire to resolve tax-exempt bond infractions with other parties to the bond transactions.
Voluntary closing agreement requests from anonymous parties as well as requests on behalf of multiple issuers and issues are encouraged if a sufficient description of the appropriate facts and circumstances leading to the infraction are provided to the Service.
We welcome your interest in the CPM function and participation in the TEB VCAP program. We also welcome your suggestions about how we can improve the program and encourage up-front voluntary compliance. If you have any questions about the TEB VCAP or wish to discuss or submit a closing agreement request, please contact Steven A. Chamberlin, Manager, Compliance and Program Management by phone at (636) 255-1290 or FAX your inquiry to (636) 255-1447. You may also mail closing agreement requests to CPM at the following address:
Internal Revenue Service
SE:T:GE:TEB:CPM
TEB Room 128
1122 Town & Country Commons
Chesterfield, MO 63017-8293
It is our highest priority to communicate effectively with the diverse membership of the Municipal Bond Community. We look forward to working in partnership with state and local government officials, regulatory agencies, national governmental, industry, and professional associations, as well as your state and local affiliates and members. Please let us know if you have any requests for technical assistance or if you would like a speaker or panelist for your meeting, workshop, seminar or conference. We would also welcome the opportunity to assign a staff person to coordinate with your task forces or subcommittees or provide information for your newsletters or similar publications. Please feel free to link any of our materials to your websites as well. We welcome your suggestions concerning the type of materials you would like to see on this website in the future and the type of newsletters or publications that would be useful to you.
We welcome your suggestions concerning how we can better serve our customers.
