IRS Obsoletes 83 Pieces of Old Guidance as Part of Major Deregulatory Review

The IRS has released Notice 2025-36, a sweeping update that officially obsoletes 83 Internal Revenue Bulletin (IRB) guidance documents. This move is part of the federal government's broader deregulatory initiative under Executive Orders 14192 and 14219, which direct agencies to reduce outdated, unnecessary, or duplicative guidance to simplify compliance for taxpayers and practitioners.

This initiative marks one of the largest single cleanups of IRS guidance in recent years, removing documents that no longer apply because underlying Code sections were repealed, regulations were finalized, or the guidance was only relevant to prior tax years.

At a high level, here’s what the IRS is eliminating and why it matters in day to day practice.

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1. Background, The Executive Orders Driving the Cleanup

Two executive orders issued in early 2025 set the stage for this overhaul:

• Executive Order 14192, Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation, directs agencies to repeal ten existing regulations for every new regulation issued.

• Executive Order 14219, Ensuring Lawful Governance, focuses on eliminating "overbearing" guidance and reducing federal overreach.

In response, Treasury and the IRS began a systematic review of all IRS guidance, starting with Notice 2025-22 and now continuing with this larger repeal under Notice 2025-36.

The stated goals include:

• Reducing compliance burdens

• Removing obsolete information

• Narrowing the volume of guidance practitioners must check

• Increasing clarity in the tax law

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2. 83 Guidance Documents Now Obsolete

The notice identifies 83 revenue rulings, notices, announcements, and revenue procedures that are officially obsolete. These fall into several categories:

A. Guidance Linked to Repealed Code Sections

Many eliminated documents relate to provisions that no longer exist, such as:

• Section 341, Collapsible Corporations

• Section 965, the former dividends received deduction

• Section 1201, alternative tax on corporations

• Section 1034, rollover of gain on sale of a personal residence

• Section 29, nonconventional fuel source credits

These rules were repealed years or decades ago, but the related guidance remained on the books until now.

B. Guidance Superseded by Final Regulations

Some guidance is eliminated because final regulations now address the issues more comprehensively, including:

• Portability guidance for deceased spousal unused exclusion amount

• Information reporting for securities futures contracts

• Education expense reporting under section 6050S

• Real estate investment trust asset classification

• Valuation rules for estate and partnership interests

C. Transitional Relief or One-Time Provisions Now Expired

The IRS is also clearing out notices that only applied to specific tax years, such as:

• Relief for small employers claiming the section 45R health insurance credit in 2014 to 2016

• Guidance on Qualified Zone Academy Bonds allocations for 2012 to 2016

• Extensions related to estate tax returns for 2010 decedents

• Suspension of AHYDO rules during the 2008 to 2010 market crisis

D. Announcements and Rulings No Longer Relevant

A number of older announcements from the 1950s to 1990s are removed because the business practices or statutes they addressed have been repealed or replaced.

At the end of the notice, the IRS lists each obsolete document individually, covering more than six decades of cleanup.

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3. Why the Eliminations Matter for Tax Professionals

Although most of the obsoleted guidance has not been practically relevant for years, officially declaring it obsolete offers several benefits:

• Clearer research paths, with fewer outdated documents appearing in searches

• Less risk of relying on superseded rules, especially for legacy corporate structures or vintage transactions

• Streamlined compliance, reducing the need to check whether old guidance still applies

• Alignment with up-to-date regulations, particularly for REITs, estate valuation, and information reporting

The IRS also notes that more guidance will be revoked in upcoming notices as the deregulatory review continues.

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How Margen Helps You Navigate Guidance Changes

When the IRS eliminates or replaces guidance, it can be difficult to know which rules still apply, which notices are obsolete, and how current regulations interact with older transactions. Margen helps tax professionals stay compliant by answering questions such as:

• "Is this 1980s or 1990s revenue ruling still valid, or has the IRS marked it obsolete?"

• "Does a repealed Code section still affect legacy transactions on our books?"

• "Where do the final regulations now reside for the topic this old guidance used to cover?"

• "What should we cite instead of the repealed guidance for our client's filing?"

Margen uses the latest IRS notices, Treasury regulations, and historical guidance tracking to ensure you rely only on current, authoritative rules, even when researching issues that span many decades of tax law.

For full details, see IRS Notice 2025-36.