4.48.2. Valuation Assistance for Cases Involving Works of Art

(1) The Specialized Examination Programs & Referrals (SEPR) organization (under Appeals) includes AAS which provides valuation assistance concerning works of art and cultural property. The primary objective of AAS is to support the mission of the IRS by providing professional valuation expertise to IRS employees in Examination and Appeals handling cases involving valuations of personal property or works of art. AAS also assists the Office of Chief Counsel and the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) with federal tax cases involving valuation issues for trial or pretrial settlement.

(2) AAS accomplishes its objectives by ensuring its employees act in accord with the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TBOR) in every interaction with taxpayers.

(3) AAS may provide assistance to employees and managers of Appeals, IRS Compliance functions, Criminal Investigation, Chief Counsel, and the United States Department of Justice Tax Division (DOJ) and to taxpayers and their representatives.

(4) Requesters may contact the AAS Supervisory Appraiser by telephone or e-mail to discuss a pending referral and/or questions about unusual property not captured on the list of specialties outlined in IRM 4.48.2.3(1). See also the IRS internal Art Appraisal Services page, accessible from Appeals’ SEPR page.

(5) All referrals made to AAS are required to be submitted via the Specialist Referral System (SRS). See https://srs.web.irs.gov/.

(1) The Commissioner’s Art Advisory Panel (Panel) is chartered under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA). See 41 CFR 102, Part 102-3, Federal Advisory Committee Management.

(1) The SEPR Director is responsible for working a variety of specialized examination workstreams, providing oversight of the Panel, providing technical and procedural guidance to the field on domestic and international issues as well as providing computational support. See IRM 1.1.7.6, Specialized Examination Programs and Referrals (AP:SPR).

(2) The Supervisory Appraiser leads a staff of professional art appraisers who value art or other objects with a claimed value of $50,000 or more, managing the Panel process and other responsibilities (see IRM 1.1.7.6.2, Art Appraisal Services (AAS)).

(1) The IRS manages all referrals to AAS for art valuation assistance using the Specialist Referral System (SRS).

(2) The Panel assists AAS with advisory opinions on value. The IRS reports annually on the Panel activities and posts each annual report in Publication 5392 on irs.gov.

(1) The table lists commonly used acronyms and terms and their definitions:

(1) The IRS internal Art Appraisal Services page, accessible from Appeals’ SEPR page

(2) The IRS external Art Appraisal Services page at https://www.irs.gov/appeals/art-appraisal-services

(3) The IRS Specialist Referral System (SRS) at https://srs.web.irs.gov/

(4) The Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TBOR) lists rights that already existed in the tax code, putting them in simple language and grouping them into 10 fundamental rights. Employees are responsible for being familiar with and acting in accord with taxpayer rights. See IRC 7803(a)(3), Execution of Duties in Accord with Taxpayer Rights. For additional information about the TBOR, see https://www.irs.gov/taxpayer-bill-of-rights.

(5) Pub 5392, The Art Advisory Panel of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue Annual Summary Report

(6) The following table lists related IRM sections:

(1) The Commissioner maintains an Art Advisory Panel of nationally prominent art museum curators, scholars, and art dealers to aid the IRS in the review of the selected cases involving taxpayer valuations on art objects, principally American and European paintings and sculpture.

(2) AAS provides the staff support and coordination of the Panel's functions.

(3) The Panel members, after reviewing photographs along with relevant documentation provided by the taxpayers and research by the staff appraisers, make recommendations on the acceptability of the claimed values. If unacceptable, the Panelists make alternate value recommendations. Such recommendations are advisory only; however, after review by AAS, these recommendations become the position of the IRS.

(1) If a taxpayer or representative does not agree with the determination of AAS, the taxpayer may request a reconsideration with the submission of a rebuttal report that addresses the AAS Appraisal Review Report and/or a new appraisal report. A request for reconsideration should include substantial new evidence which may affect the valuation of the item. (Public sales data, such as comparable sales, are not new evidence if they were previously available at the time of the AAS Review.)