Draft a private tax ruling request with Claude

A private tax ruling protects you only as far as the question you asked. Ask something general and you get a general answer that an auditor can set aside; ask about your exact transaction and the ruling binds the authority on that point. Claude is well suited to the hard part, phrasing questions that leave no room for a vague reply, and to supporting your position with references to the law. Allow about 40 minutes.

What makes a good ruling question

Compare two versions. "How is VAT applied to services provided to foreign companies?" invites a summary of the rules. "Is the place of supply for consulting services provided by [NAME] to a company registered abroad, under a contract where the services are used at the client's foreign office, outside our country under section {{X}}?" can only be answered yes or no, with reasoning. The second form is what you want: specific parties (as placeholders), specific facts, a specific provision.

Prepare the facts and your position

Describe the transaction with dates and the documents behind it: contracts, invoices, correspondence that shows how the services are used. Then write your position: what you believe the correct tax treatment is and which tax code sections support it. A ruling request that states a position and asks the authority to confirm it is easier to answer and easier to rely on later.

The prompt

Role: you are a tax consultant preparing requests for private tax rulings under {{the relevant tax code provision}}. Context: transaction: {{description of the transaction without names}}. Our position: {{position}}. Provisions we rely on: {{tax code sections}}. Task: phrase one to three questions so the tax authority must give an unambiguous answer about our transaction. Support our position with references to the law. Mark the places for details as [NAME], [REGISTRATION NUMBER], [ADDRESS]. Format: the text of the request in business language: an introduction describing the situation, the questions as a numbered list, the reasoning for our position, a request to issue the ruling. No long dashes.

Upload the sections you rely on to a Claude Project so the reasoning quotes them instead of recalling them. Check every reference in the draft against the current text anyway.

Formal requirements

Each jurisdiction has its own rules for ruling requests: required taxpayer details, how the substance of the question must be described, who signs, sometimes a fee. Check them before submitting. A request rejected on form costs weeks. The model does not know your authority's current procedure reliably, so take it from the official site or the taxpayer portal.

What to do

1. Describe the transaction and the question with dates and supporting documents.
2. Write your position with references to the tax code.
3. Run the prompt in Claude with the provisions uploaded to a Project.
4. Check that each question can only be answered yes or no with reasoning.
5. Check your jurisdiction's formal requirements for a ruling request.
6. Add company details and amounts locally in Word, outside the AI service.
7. Submit through the taxpayer portal and set a reminder for the reply deadline.

When it is ready to submit

The request has one or more questions answerable only with yes or no and reasoning, your position rests on the law, details were added locally, and the reply deadline is in your calendar.

Plans

Pro at 20 USD per month (17 with annual billing) adds Projects and extended reasoning, which helps when you keep the provisions and past rulings for a client in one place. Team at 25 USD per seat with annual billing, from five seats, keeps team data out of training by default. See Claude pricing. Check Settings, Privacy on personal plans. The tax consultant's version of this task is on the private ruling request page, and Claude vs ChatGPT compares the two for formal documents.