• Maintaining and updating the list of examiners assigned to market segments
• Coordinating ATG development
• Communicating with industry representatives, as appropriate
• Providing administrative assistance and guidance to market segment and issue coordinators
• Maintaining the district library of ATGs and other resource materials
• Securing necessary copyright permissions when writing an ATG
• Coordinating market segment return classification
• Accessing the MSSP bulletin board and sharing information with examiners
• Coordinating the ordering and distribution of trade publications and other reference materials
• Participating on district steering committees
• Coordinating with the district counsel during the drafting stage and securing counsel's agreement before submitting the proposed ATG to the national office for final approval
• Coordinating with other IRS functions, including taxpayer service, disclosure, appeals, collection, and public affairs
• Monitoring the effectiveness of examinations and audit techniques.

The national and regional offices and the Office of Chief Counsel oversee the process, which to date has resulted in 55 audit guides (see Exhibit 2 on the next page).

Recent Audit Guides

Audit guides have been released on a number of topics, some of broad relevance, others more specific. One recently developed audit guide with widespread application is "Alternative Minimum Tax for Individuals," issued in December 1999. More specific guides include "Garden Supplies," issued in February 2000, and "Gas Retailers," which, although the IRS website indicates it was issued in December 1999, has been available since the mid-1990s. The gas retailers guide has now been removed from the website.

Alternative minimum tax audit guide. The alternative minimum tax (AMT) guide begins with a discussion of the history of the AMT and the current law. Chapter 2 includes a line-by-line discussion of Form 6251, "Alternative Minimum Tax: Individuals," including the adjustment or computation and a list of specific audit techniques for each line. Chapter 3 discusses other areas of law that may affect the computation of the AMT, such as the passive loss limitations and the at-risk limitations. Chapter 4 discusses the minimum tax credit, and Chapter 5 discusses prior law.

Garden supplies guide. This highly targeted guide discusses garden centers and equipment dealers, greenhouses, nurseries, and mulch and compost companies. The background material focuses on accounting methods, inventory, income recognition, and capitalization and depreciation. The primary audit technique discussed consists of a list of interview questions for each type of gardening business.

The guide also discusses employment and excise taxes, changes in accounting methods, and nonfilers. A section on collections concerns points out that the business should have an installment payout agreement that takes into account the seasonality of the market segment.

Gas retailers guide. Unlike the two ATGs discussed above, this guide's position on underreported income seems to be "guilty until proven innocent." Almost every chapter focuses on the likelihood that a gas retailer underreports income. Chapter 2 discusses the gas retailing market segment in general and ways to determine whether income was properly reported. Chapter 3 discusses pre-audit techniques, underreported income, and the legal steps (such as a summons) necessary to ensure that the proper amount of gross receipts is reported. Chapter 4 discusses audit techniques and describes in detail issues such as site visitations, fraud, bankruptcy, and the basic issues of special income and deductions available to gas retailers. Chapter 5 discusses nationwide retailer issues.

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