This Internal Revenue Manual (IRM) contains Servicewide procedures for event planning and approval according to the Treasury Directive 12-70 (Policy and Guidance for Conference Approval, Planning, and Reporting).

Purpose: The purpose of this IRM is to provide guidance on the review and approval process for all Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) hosted and non-hosted events. The IRS has a responsibility to act as a careful steward of taxpayer dollars, ensuring Federal funds are used for purposes that are appropriate, cost effective, and necessary to fulfill the core mission of the IRS.

Scope: This guidance applies to all events including, but not limited to conferences, training, meetings, and others cited in this IRM; and covers planning, attendance, and approval requirements.

Audience: All operating divisions and business units.

Policy Owner: The HCO, Office of HR Strategy (OHRS), Policy and Audits & Division, and Enterprise Training and Development (ETD) Division are responsible for the administration, policy development and updates related to IRM 6.410.10.

Program Owner: ETD Servicewide Training and Event Management (STEM) Office is responsible for the administration, policy development and updates related to IRM 6.410.10.

Primary Stakeholders: All Servicewide Learning and Education (SL&E) organizations are primary stakeholders.

Business unit - An IRS business operating division or functional operating division.

Conference - A pre-arranged formal event with at least some of the following characteristics: designated participants, registration fee, a published substantive agenda, scheduled speakers or discussion panels on a topic, and involves IRS expenses (other than the salaries of attendees), such as expenses for refreshments, meals, mementos, or travel (including transportation, lodging, or other expenses authorized under the FTR). A conference may include, but is not limited to, a retreat, convention, seminar or symposium. A conference typically is not a:

Convention - A formal meeting of members or representatives of a profession or industry.

Event - An all-inclusive term to include a conference, meeting, training occurrence, award ceremony, or other similar gathering that involves expenses of the attendees, such as for travel, meals or refreshments.

Exempted event - An event submitted by the IRS and exempted from the TD 12-70 approval process. Also known as an excluded event.

Gift - Anything of monetary value, including transportation, local travel, lodging, and meals, whether provided in-kind, by purchase of a ticket, payment in advance, or reimbursement after the expense has been incurred.

Government facility - An IRS or other federal, state, or municipal building, room or facility.

Head of office - Any of the following IRS officials: IRS Commissioner; Deputy Commissioners; Division Commissioners; Chiefs; Chief Counsel; Chief of Staff; Directors reporting directly to the Commissioner or Deputy Commissioners; National Taxpayer Advocate.

Hosted/ Co-hosted event - An event arranged either in total or in part by the IRS, Treasury, or another Treasury bureau, held in either a government or commercial facility, which may include both employees and non-employees as attendees. The bureau provides or arranges for resources required to hold the event.

Internal order code - A data element in the Integrated Financial System (IFS) that collects expenditure data for a specific project; used to track training and event-related costs, and to track planning and expenditure data for projects within IFS.

Light refreshments - Include, but are not limited to coffee, tea, milk, juice, soft drinks, ice cream, donuts, bagels, muffins, fruit, vegetable trays, cheese trays, pretzels, cookies and chips.

Meeting - A gathering of people with a purpose to discuss business matters, which may include strategizing, planning, and resolving specific issues or areas of concern.

Memento - An object kept as a reminder of a person, place or event. This includes award trophies, speaker’s gifts, and any other item that commemorates an event.

Non-government facility - A building, room or space owned by a private-sector organization or entity.

Office - See Business unit.

Off-site - A location not on IRS premises, including other government facilities and privately-owned buildings, such as hotels.

Promotional item - An article of merchandise used in marketing and communications programs. It is often branded with a logo or motto, used to promote an office, idea or image, and provided as a memento of an event. The article may have an association with an event or be provided independently as a marketing tool.

Processing Lead Time - Amount of time required to complete the TD 12-70 review and approval process.

Seminar - A lecture or presentation delivered to an audience on a topic or set of topics that may be educational in nature.

Sponsored event - An event in which the IRS, Treasury or another Treasury bureau pays another entity to host an event, such as through a contract or grant. Paying an established per-attendee fee does not constitute sponsorship.

Symposium - A gathering of several experts in a field at which papers are presented by specialists on subjects and discussed with a view to making recommendations.

Third-party event planner - An individual or an organization that is in the business of providing advice on planning, organizing, and conducting events, often with many participants.

Training - A planned, prepared and coordinated program, course, curriculum, subject or program of instruction or education that improves individual and organizational performance and helps achieve the agency’s mission and performance goals.

Unique internal order code (UIOC) - A five or eight-digit, alphanumeric financial code that tracks the costs of specific events for IRS training courses and meetings. It is required for training or meetings with a total estimated or reimbursable cost of $20,000 or more.

Workshop - A gathering for educational and/or work purposes to concentrate on defined areas of concern. Workshops emphasize the exchange of ideas and the demonstration and application of techniques and skills.

In this IRM, the acronyms below have the following meanings:

This section provides responsibilities for the following individuals and positions and offices:

Single Entry Time Reporting (SETR) Code 800-54890, Event Spending Approval Process, was established for business units to document the time spent preparing requests for the approval of event-related spending for conferences, meetings, and training, as well as the time spent preparing information for required reporting to Treasury. The SETR code is available if the business unit chooses to track the time spent on event spending approval process requirements.

Business units administering the event spending approval process, including reviewing and packaging requests for approval by the IRS or Treasury officials, and maintaining records of event spending requests, may also use this SETR code.

As required by this IRM and Executive Order 11348, establishing funding and determining work plans are an annual process. As part of the process, all business units must include training in their work plans.

Each year, the business units will develop an Annual Training Plan based on a training needs assessment for the following fiscal year.

Embedded Learning and Education staff will meet with their business unit’s contacts and coordinators to determine their annual training resource requirements and input their training plan, which includes all training, into the Servicewide Training Events Tracking System (STETS).

All first quarter training events must be added to STETS by the first business day of July and include all October, November and December events. The complete Annual Training Plan is due by September 15th.

Each plan will include the training events and development elements shown in the table below.

The STEM staff will consolidate all business units’ input into the IRS Servicewide Training Plan. The plan will cover a 12-month period from October 1 through September 30. It will be completed, approved and submitted for posting in the STETS no later than the first business day after September 15th.

An internal order code (IOC) is a five or eight-digit, alphanumeric financial code that tracks the costs of specific projects or costs across IRS travel, procurement, and financial systems. It must be used for events with costs between $0 and $19,999. IOCS are business unit specific and are not used by other business units.

The business unit’s finance or budget staff establishes IOCs following Corporate Budget Office guidance.

If an event has a dual training and operational purpose, the business unit must assign a training IOC for the training portion and an operational IOC to capture the operational portion of the event.

A unique internal order code (UIOC) is a five or eight-digit, alphanumeric financial code that tracks the costs of specific events for IRS training courses and meetings. The UIOC is required for training or meetings with a total estimated or reimbursable cost of $20,000 or more.

Business units must contact their finance or budget office to request establishment of a UIOC for events with a total estimated or reimbursable cost of $20,000 or greater. Once an event has been approved, the CFO/FM cost unit will activate the established UIOC for use.

Travelers must use the UIOC when attending an approved training or meeting; this ensures the IRS can capture the full cost of an event.

The Servicewide Training and Event Tracking System (STETS) is used by the STEM and business units to coordinate and manage the Service’s events.

The STETS also:

Business units and operating divisions must enter all training and events into the STETS for database tracking. However, meeting events with costs less than $20,000 are exempt from STETS input.

Business units must ensure that monthly ad hoc events are marked “Ready” in the STETS by the first business day of the month and meet all training plan and TD 12-70 requirements to be considered for ad hoc processing which includes all required supporting documentation.

Business units must enter only the actual event start and end dates of the class into the STETS. Do not include travel dates for the event. Travel dates only apply to the itemized expense template to estimate travel.

Business units must submit and input course design and development training for approval into the STETS, with the following estimated costs as necessary:

The STAC Lock is a STETS feature that freezes (locks) these fields: cost, participant, and Objective and ROI statements, for events with estimated or reimbursable costs of $20,000 and more. A “pending” event is locked before the STAC’s review. The lock feature minimizes the need for re-work during the STAC review process and subsequent event package preparation. It also:

The STETS Input form (spreadsheet) is primarily used to request an import for a large quantity of events and it is not necessary when entering training and events directly into the STETS. Reminder: The current edition of the STETS Input form is located in the STEM’s SharePoint site.

Business units must:

For all events under $20,000, the business unit:

Business units must upload requests for training, meetings, conferences, etc., with costs of $20,000 and greater in the STETS. STEM will prepare all such training, meeting and conference requests for review by the Servicewide Training Advisory Council. They will recommend the events to the Commissioner for his review, who, at his discretion, will either approve or disapprove them.

Business units must ensure that UIOCs are created for any event cost expenditure of $20,000 and more.

Business units are responsible for ensuring actual costs for the preceding fiscal year are finalized and reported to CFO prior to November 15th to ensure any events over $100,000 can be reported to Treasury for public reporting by November 30th.

For events greater than $10,000 but less than $20,000, business units are required to maintain documentation related to the event, including the title and purpose, date, number of employees attending, and estimated costs for attending. A record of the approval by the appropriate executive must also be maintained.

Business units should establish a consistent recordkeeping practices that will ensure proper storage and access to the business unit commissioner’s approvals, especially if requested during a TIGTA audit. Also, they must report all actual costs for events $20,000 and more in accordance with the requirements of TD 12-70 to *cfo.event.request@irs.gov.

When scheduling events, business units must:

For events that require approval through the TD 12-70 process, the following threshold levels and criteria apply:

The processing lead time for training or events marked “Ready” begins on the 2nd business day of the month.

The TD 12-70 approval process requires these specific criteria and time frames:

For monthly ad hoc requests, please refer to the Process Lead Table above and follow the submission guidelines outlined in the table.

See Exhibit 6.410.10-2 TD 12-70 Life Cycle chart, which is a timeline of the event review and approval process.

All training requests must follow the business unit’s training approval guidelines to ensure timely processing. The DCOS issued “Revised Event Approval Requirements,” on April 4, 2014, which delegates approval authority to first level executives for events under $10,000. The new approval thresholds reduce significantly the time required to obtain approvals.

The business unit’s executives are authorized to approve local, no-cost training outside of the TD 12-70 review process. However, the no-cost training event must be added to the STETS, because all planned training and events require tracking via the database which is associated with the Annual Training Plan. See Exhibit 6.410.10 -3
 

When two or more business units attend the same event, in the same city, and in the same time frame, it is defined as a cross-business unit (Cross-BU) event. For STETS input and tracking purposes, only one record is active in the system once the host record is identified by the STEM business unit’s liaison.

The business unit with the greater overall cost will be the host for the event, unless otherwise identified by the STEM staff. The host business unit is responsible for:

Before submitting an event for approval, the business unit’s point of contact should conduct a cross-business unit search or check and validate it with their STEM business unit’s liaison.

For reference, the STEM staff publishes a Cross-BU Event List, which contains the following identifiers for a previously approved event:

For additional information, visit the:

If two or more events are scheduled on the same date and in the same location, they are submitted for approval separately. The previous practice of submitting an “aggregate cost” event is rescinded and no longer in effect.

Speaking engagements at a conference or outreach assignments, which are no cost to the Service and are included within the scope of ongoing programs, do not require TD 12-70 approval or input to the STETS.

The following conditions apply to reimbursement for fees or travel when attending conferences or non-training events:

Vouchers and coupons are purchased for a service and are exempt from the TD 12-70 process until they are used. When the coupons or vouchers are used, the event is entered in the STETS with the cost of the vouchers entered in the “Costs other than Travel/Per diem” field with an explanation.

The purchase of training services through establishment of a Blanket Purchase Agreement contract does not meet the requirements of TD 12-70 and should not be entered in STETS.

The total estimated cost projections for an event (before any reimbursement) must be approved in accordance with the thresholds established in TD 12- 70 policy. All costs to be paid with Treasury Department funds or by another government agency must be included in the total, namely:

Business units cannot reduce the estimated event costs by the amounts of any interagency or reimbursable agreements that have been entered. The only expenses that must not be included would be travel costs paid for by another agency for their employees to attend an event.

Site refers to both the geographic location and specific facility selected for an event. IRS employees must exercise good judgment when selecting an event site, considering both projected costs and public perception (optics).

Training events receive a higher priority for CLS training room reservations over non-training events. For training events, CLS uses the web-based Resource Scheduler database to schedule CLS training space; and they will work with the office to provide specific needs for the event. If space is not available, CLS will explore other options with the office such as alternative dates.

The business unit will need to let CLS know the level of support needed for a training event for planning its staff assignments and resources accordingly. CLS needs this notice at least four (4) weeks prior to the training event. CLS does not provide support staff at training events that do not meet CLS criteria.

For non-training events, the office should work with CLS to determine if there are any suitable IRS facilities available. If no IRS space is available or meets the requirements for the event, the business unit should contact their Procurement representative and follow appropriate procurement procedures for finding an approved location according to: Policy and Procedures Memorandum No. 70-24, Acquiring Training, Meeting, and Conference Services and Facilities Space, dated December 30, 2014.

To start the site selection process, the business unit needs to gather the following information:

If sleeping rooms are required, IRS employees are prohibited from soliciting for upgraded sleeping rooms (i.e., suites, etc.) as a part of the site selection and Letter of Intent (LOI) process.

If no-cost upgrades are offered as a part of the hotel’s bid, business unit executive approval is required. Additional guidance may be found in Policy and Procedures Memorandum No. 70-24, Acquiring Training, Meeting, and Conference Services and Facilities Space.

This section discusses training or events that are approved by the Commissioner or Treasury officials.

The expectation is that any postponed training or event will be held within one year of the originally scheduled and approved start date. If a business unit cannot reschedule and hold the training or event within one year of the originally scheduled date approved, it will be considered cancelled and a new approval will be required for future scheduling.

If the training or event has commenced and is cancelled or interrupted while in progress (e.g. severe weather or other extenuating circumstances), a business unit should track those costs and report against the approval with good documentation, (e.g. class cancelled due to weather issues). If necessary, the business unit can later submit a duplicate request for approval with the new dates. These remedial steps will provide for the appropriate documentation, if an internal audit is ever conducted.

If approval for training or an event is not received, processed, and approved in time to deliver it during the current fiscal year, the business unit need not re-submit a request during the next fiscal year; however, funds must be allocated to deliver the training or event in the new fiscal year.

An approval of a cancelled event may not be applied to another event.

If an approved event is not canceled and then converted to online with a revised estimated or reimbursable cost that is less than $20,000, you must:

Conditions that trigger a reapproval of an event are listed in the table below.

Business units should know that updating their approval and marking it ready In the STETS will not automatically result in an ad hoc pull, simply because the event is entered as an approval. The STEM staff must receive a notification to mark the event NULL. Doing so will ensure the event is processed for the Commissioner’s approval.

The Treasury administers a tracking database for events over $19,999 and oversees internal or external requests for data related to event spending. For all events (including those excluded in Exhibit 6.410.10-1 of this IRM and cited below), which have total or reimbursable costs of $20,000 or greater, the following details must be submitted by the business units via email to cfo.event.request@irs.gov within ten days of the event completion date:

Within 40 days of the completion of the event, the following actual event cost information must be submitted by the business units via email to cfo.event.request@irs.gov:

CFO will enter information reported by the business units at ten days and 40 days post event into the Treasury online tracking database. Prior to November 15, business units are responsible for ensuring actual costs for the preceding fiscal year are finalized and reported. Each November, CFO will provide Treasury with detailed information on events costing more than $100,000 for the preceding year for public reporting. Treasury must publish all events over $100,000 publicly by January 31 each year. This report is available at: Reports on Conference Spending To Support Agency Operations in Accordance with OMB M-12-12, As Amended.

Business units are responsible for notifying the CFO at cfo.event.request@irs.gov of any cancellations, postponements, or significant changes to events that require reporting to the Treasury. Case travel related to the examination of tax returns or the collection of taxes does not require reporting of actual expenses to the Treasury.

Effective April 1, 2019, the TD 12-70 approval process for IRS hosted and non-hosted meeting events (with costs greater than $19,999) was transferred from the CFO to HCO (Enterprise Talent Development Division). The STETS database is used for this purpose to facilitate the approval process and reduce the burden on business units.

The STETS database is used for requesting and receiving consolidated requirements to facilitate the approval process and reduce the burden on business units. This applies to approvals for meetings with total costs greater than $19,999 hosted or not hosted by the IRS. See Exhibit 6.410.10-3.

The CFO will maintain responsibility for reporting actual costs for all events that meet the requirements in Internal Revenue Manual 1.32.10, Approval Process for Event Related Spending. Approvals must be obtained before making any non-refundable financial commitments on behalf of the IRS or otherwise obligating the IRS to host, cohost, or sponsor an event.

In general, a third-party event planner may not be used. If it is absolutely necessary to use one, business units must comply with the approval requirements in Procurement Policy and Procedures memorandum No. 70.24, Acquiring Training, Meeting, and Conference Services and Facilities/Space for Training, Meetings or Conferences.

In these exceptional cases, approval must be obtained in advance from the DCOS a minimum of 60 days in advance of any procurement action. The request must contain projected costs, a detailed explanation as to why the business unit cannot use internal resources for planning and logistics, and a justification for the request.

Business units must ensure costs for meals and light refreshments are commensurate with the nature and purpose of the event. Excessive costs or the appearance of excessive costs must be avoided.

A meal provided for an employee who is attending an event at their official duty station may be taxable to the employee. The IRS may only pay for food at IRS-hosted formal conferences, as defined in IRM 6.410.10.2(2), so long as:

The IRS may only pay for food at trainings, as defined in IRM 6.410.10.2(23), so long as the food is necessary to obtain the full benefit of the training.

The IRS may only pay for food at award ceremonies so long as the recipient of the award is publicly recognized and the DCOS has determined that the food advances the recognition of the awardee.
See Delegation Order 1-68. Authorization and Approval to Use Appropriated Funds to Purchase Meals and Light Refreshments (published February 5, 2020) for guidance on the approval of meals and light refreshments.

When planning an event, business units must consider alternative means of collaboration, maximizing the use of conference calls and web-based communications, whenever possible, to minimize non-mission-critical travel and event-related expenses.

When physical co-location is mandatory, business units must first look to host or sponsor their event in space controlled by the federal government to reduce cost. GSA has a Federal Meeting Facilities Tool, fedmeetingspace.cfo.gov, which provides pertinent information on federal meeting space available at little to no cost as well as information on:

Business units cannot collect conference fees, including exhibitor fees and individual attendance fees, to reimburse the appropriation from which an event was funded without statutory authority to do so, such as implementing a user fee regulation.

In accordance with Governmentwide Standards of Conduct, 5 CFR., Part 2635, IRS employees generally cannot accept any gift from an entity that is seeking action by the IRS, doing business or trying to do business with the Service, conducting activities that the Service regulates, or engaged in interests that may be substantially affected by the performance or nonperformance of an employee’s official duties. However, gifts of $20 or less per occasion, and not exceeding $50 per year from a single source, may be accepted. Other exceptions also sometimes apply, as listed in 5 CFR 2635.204. IRS employees cannot accept any gifts from a vendor unless its value is de minimis (for example, a cardboard coaster on which to put a coffee cup). This includes accepting free travel and lodging for site visits, as might be offered in a familiarization tour of a potential site, or under any other circumstances. Additionally, soliciting for room suite upgrades is also prohibited. If room upgrades are offered at no cost to the IRS, they require the approval of the applicable business unit first level executive.

IRS employees are prohibited from accepting payments from non-Federal sources to reimburse themselves or the IRS for travel costs. There is one exception to this prohibition for Chief Counsel employees who, with appropriate approval, may continue to accept travel payments from non-Federal sources in certain situations in accordance with 5 USC 4111, Acceptance of Contributions, Awards, and Other Payments.

A business unit may not purchase any promotional items or mementos that include logos or customized slogans. This includes mementos, pens, mouse pads, mugs, and lanyards unique to an organization or event.

The DCOS or DCSE must approve any exceptions to this policy.

The Chief Counsel has final approval authority for all exceptions to this policy for all their events.

Business units must comply with FTR Bulletin 10-06, Guidance for Sustainable Temporary Duty (TDY) Travel Policies and Practices and maximize travel cost savings by utilizing green meeting strategies for event hosting (for example: use of video conferences and web-based tools in lieu of travel).

The purpose and description and the impact of not having the meeting will be furnished to Treasury for any meeting event with estimated costs of $50,000 and above. Detailed itemization of the meeting and travel expenses may include but is not limited to local and non-local travel costs, Audiovisual equipment costs and facility costs.