The Internal Revenue Code provides a taxpayer with a cause of action to recover damages where the taxpayer’s tax returns or tax return information allegedly have been disclosed or inspected contrary to the Internal Revenue Code’s strict privacy requirements. See 26 U.S.C. §§ 6103, 6110(j), 7431. The Civil Trial Section, Southern Region, reviews these cases. When the plaintiff serves the United States Attorney’s Office with a complaint in a wrongful disclosure suit, the United States Attorney’s Office should immediately notify both the Chief of the Southern Region and the appropriate IRS counsel.

[updated February 2018]