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IR-2020-193, Aug. 27, 2020

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service announced today the opening of the application period for the 2021 Compliance Assurance Process program. The application period runs Sept. 1 to Nov. 13, 2020. The IRS will inform applicants if they’re accepted into the program in February 2021.

Launched in 2005, CAP employs real-time issue resolution, through transparent and cooperative interaction between taxpayers and the IRS, to improve federal tax compliance by resolving issues prior to the filing of a tax return.

To be eligible to apply for CAP, new applicants must:

• Have assets of $10 million or more,
• Be a U.S. publicly traded corporation with a legal requirement to prepare and submit SEC Forms 10-K, 10-Q, and 8-K, and
• Not be under investigation by, or in litigation with, any government agency that would limit the IRS’s access to current tax records.

To be eligible to participate in CAP, taxpayers must adhere to CAP program limits on the number of open years. For 2021, the IRS modified the open-year criteria, updated its requirements for the Tax Control Framework Questionaire and established a limit on the duration of the Bridge phase.

Program details are available on the CAP webpage. A draft of the 2021 CAP Memorandum of Understanding has also been posted on the CAP webpage, and stakeholders can offer any feedback on the MOU by sending it to the CAP Mailbox at lbi.irs.cap.program@IRS.gov by November 13, 2020.