Question

Why do some revenue ruling citations refer to the Internal Revenue Bulletin (I.R.B.) and others to a Cumulative Bulletin (C.B.)?

A. Some of the Internal Revenue Bulletin's are never published in the Cumulative Bulletin, so these rulings continue to be cited under I.R.B. references.
B. When first issued, revenue rulings appear in a weekly Cumulative Bulletin. Twice each year, they are bound together and published in the Internal Revenue Bulletin.
C. When first issued, revenue rulings appear in a weekly Internal Revenue Bulletin. Twice each year, they are bound together and published in the Cumulative Bulletin.
D. The purpose of why the IRS publishes the revenue rulings will depend on if it's an Internal Revenue Bulletin or Cumulative Bulletin.

Answer 1

Revenue rulings are first published in the weekly Internal Revenue Bulletin and then compiled and republished semi-annually in the Cumulative Bulletin. The I.R.B provides immediate availability, while the C.B offers a more permanent archive.

Step-by-step explanation:

The citations for revenue rulings refer to different bulletins based on their publication timeline. Option C is the correct answer. Revenue rulings are first released in the Internal Revenue Bulletin (I.R.B.), which is published weekly. These bulletins serve as a disseminating tool for the rulings, providing immediate notification to the public. Subsequently, these rulings are compiled, along with other important IRS pronouncements, and are published semi-annually in the Cumulative Bulletin (C.B.). The C.B. serves as a more permanent and easily referenced compilation of the rulings that were issued over the course of six months. This two-step publication process ensures that rulings are both promptly made available to taxpayers and tax professionals, and also archived in an organized and accessible format for future reference.