Treasury regulations
Final and Interpretive Regulations
Final and Interpretive Regulations
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Under this authority, the Secretary of the Treasury can promulgate **final regulations**. In the process of enacting final regulations, the Treasury issues proposed or temporary regulations. **Proposed regulations** do not become effective until after comments and testimony are received ("notice and comment"), and a final regulation is issued. Proposed Regulations may offer guidance for a specific section of the Code, and are useful in determining a taxpayer's liability for the given year, although they have limited precedent value.Samuel A. Donaldson, *Federal Income Taxation of Individuals: Cases, Problems and Materials*, 3 (2nd Ed. 2007\) **Interpretive Regulations** may be dismissed if they are determined to be at variance with the statute; it is not unknown, however, for courts to accord interpretive regulations with "force of law" status.*Helvering v. Winmill*, 305 U.S. 79 (1938\); *Crane v. Commissioner*, 331 U.S. 1 (1947\). In 2011, the [Supreme Court of the United States](/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States "Supreme Court of the United States") decision in *[Mayo Foundation v. United States](/wiki/Mayo_Foundation_v._United_States "Mayo Foundation v. United States")* effected a shift away from the distinction between "Interpretive Regulations," under 7805 and regulations specifically authorized by their corresponding Internal Revenue Code sections. Courts now evaluate Treasury Regulations based on the standard laid out in the 1984 decision *[Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc.](/wiki/Chevron_U.S.A.%2C_Inc._v._Natural_Resources_Defense_Council%2C_Inc. "Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc.")*.

**Temporary regulations** are effective upon publication in the [Federal Register](/wiki/Federal_Register "Federal Register") and may be valid for no more than three years from their date of issuance. Because the notice and comment process can take several months or even years, if the Treasury wants a regulation to become effective more quickly, it will often issue a proposed regulation simultaneously as a temporary regulation.


How long can temporary regulations be valid for?