26 USC § 7216 - Disclosure or use of information by preparers of returns | Title 26 - Internal Revenue Code | U.S. Code

USCPrelim is a preliminary release and may be subject to further revision before it is released again as a final version.

Current through Pub. L. 112-143, except 112-141. (See Public Laws for the current Congress.)

(a) General rule

Any person who is engaged in the business of preparing, or providing services in connection with the preparation of, returns of the tax imposed by chapter 1, or any person who for compensation prepares any such return for any other person, and who knowingly or recklessly—

(1) discloses any information furnished to him for, or in connection with, the preparation of any such return, or

(2) uses any such information for any purpose other than to prepare, or assist in preparing, any such return,

shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $1,000, or imprisoned not more than 1 year, or both, together with the costs of prosecution.

(b) Exceptions

(1) Disclosure

Subsection (a) shall not apply to a disclosure of information if such disclosure is made—

(A) pursuant to any other provision of this title, or

(B) pursuant to an order of a court.

(2) Use

Subsection (a) shall not apply to the use of information in the preparation of, or in connection with the preparation of, State and local tax returns and declarations of estimated tax of the person to whom the information relates.

(3) Regulations

Subsection (a) shall not apply to a disclosure or use of information which is permitted by regulations prescribed by the Secretary under this section. Such regulations shall permit (subject to such conditions as such regulations shall provide) the disclosure or use of information for quality or peer reviews.

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(a) General rule

Any person who is engaged in the business of preparing, or providing services in connection with the preparation of, returns of the tax imposed by chapter 1, or any person who for compensation prepares any such return for any other person, and who knowingly or recklessly—

(1) discloses any information furnished to him for, or in connection with, the preparation of any such return, or

(2) uses any such information for any purpose other than to prepare, or assist in preparing, any such return,

shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $1,000, or imprisoned not more than 1 year, or both, together with the costs of prosecution.

(b) Exceptions

(1) Disclosure

Subsection (a) shall not apply to a disclosure of information if such disclosure is made—

(A) pursuant to any other provision of this title, or

(B) pursuant to an order of a court.

(2) Use

Subsection (a) shall not apply to the use of information in the preparation of, or in connection with the preparation of, State and local tax returns and declarations of estimated tax of the person to whom the information relates.

(3) Regulations

Subsection (a) shall not apply to a disclosure or use of information which is permitted by regulations prescribed by the Secretary under this section. Such regulations shall permit (subject to such conditions as such regulations shall provide) the disclosure or use of information for quality or peer reviews.

Source

(Added Pub. L. 92–178, title III, § 316(a),Dec. 10, 1971, 85 Stat. 529; amended Pub. L. 94–455, title XIX, § 1906(b)(13)(A),Oct. 4, 1976, 90 Stat. 1834; Pub. L. 98–369, div. A, title IV, § 412(b)(10),July 18, 1984, 98 Stat. 792; Pub. L. 100–647, title VI, § 6242(b),Nov. 10, 1988, 102 Stat. 3749; Pub. L. 101–239, title VII, § 7739(a),Dec. 19, 1989, 103 Stat. 2404.)

Amendments

1989—Subsec. (b)(3). Pub. L. 101–239inserted at end “Such regulations shall permit (subject to such conditions as such regulations shall provide) the disclosure or use of information for quality or peer reviews.”

1988—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 100–647substituted “and who knowingly or recklessly” for “and who”.

1984—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 98–369struck out from introductory text “or declarations or amended declarations of estimated tax under section 6015,” after “chapter 1,” and struck out “or declaration” after “such return” in three places.

1976—Subsec. (b)(3). Pub. L. 94–455struck out “or his delegate” after “Secretary”.

Effective Date of 1989 Amendment

Section 7739(b) ofPub. L. 101–239provided that: “The amendment made by subsection (a) [amending this section] shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 19, 1989].”

Effective Date of 1988 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 100–647applicable to disclosures or uses after Dec. 31, 1988, see section 6242(d) ofPub. L. 100–647, set out as an Effective Date note under section 6712 of this title.

Effective Date of 1984 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 98–369applicable with respect to taxable years beginning after Dec. 31, 1984, see section 414(a)(1) ofPub. L. 98–369, set out as a note under section 6654 of this title.

Effective Date

Section 316(c) ofPub. L. 92–178provided that: “The amendments made by this section [enacting this section] shall take effect on the first day of the first month which begins after the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 10, 1971].”

The table below lists the classification updates, since Jan. 3, 2012, for this section. Updates to a broader range of sections may be found at the update page for containing chapter, title, etc.

The most recent Classification Table update that we have noticed was Wednesday, February 6, 2013

An empty table indicates that we see no relevant changes listed in the classification tables. If you suspect that our system may be missing something, please double-check with the Office of the Law Revision Counsel.

How To Use

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The Session Year indicates which session of Congress was responsible for the changes classified. The Congress number forms the first part of the Public Law number; each Congress has two sessions.

Abbreviations used in the Description of Change column:

An empty field implies a standard amendment.
"new" means a new section or new note, or all new text of an existing section or note.
"nt" means note.
"nt [tbl]" means note [table].
"prec" means preceding.
"fr" means a transfer from another section.
"to" means a transfer to another section.
"omitted" means the section is omitted.
"repealed" means the section is repealed.
"nt ed change" and "ed change" - See the Editorial Classification Change Table [pdf].

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General Reference

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26 USC	Description of Change	Session Year	Public Law	Statutes at Large

This is a list of parts within the Code of Federal Regulations for which this US Code section provides rulemaking authority.

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26 CFR - Title 26—Internal Revenue

26 CFR 301 - PROCEDURE AND ADMINISTRATION

26 USC § 7216 - Disclosure or use of information by preparers of returns

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