The penalty all but hands the title to arch-rivals Celtic who, prior to any deduction, were four points clear at the top of the table.
On Monday, Rangers began preparations to go into administration and said a final decision would be taken in ten working days.
But their hand was forced following a short legal battle with Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs and the Edinburgh Court of Session gave the club until 15.30 GMT on Tuesday to appointment their own administrators, or the tax authority would do it for them.
Rangers appointed their preferred administrator, Duff & Phelps, with around 45 minutes to spare and they later confirmed HMRC had taken action over an unpaid tax bill of £9 million - accrued since Craig Whyte's takeover.
They said in a statement: "The appointment follows a petition for administration presented to the Court of Session in Edinburgh today by HMRC following the non-payment of circa £9 million PAYE and VAT following the takeover of the club in May 2011.''
The Scottish champions' perilous financial state is underlined by the fact that they are still awaiting the verdict of a tax tribunal which Whyte claims could cost them £75 million.
If this continues into April, Rangers may even be barred from European competition. Even with the points reduction they're still comfortably ahead for the second UEFA Champions League berth from Scotland.
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