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26 U.S.C. § 7434

Civil damages for fraudulent filing of information returns

United States · Title 26 — INTERNAL REVENUE CODE · Status: effective

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26 U.S.C. § 7434, Civil damages for fraudulent filing of information returns, United States, version 1 as recorded 2026-07-09, yourstate.us, https://yourstate.us/provision/464451
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If any person willfully files a fraudulent information return with respect to payments purported to be made to any other person, such other person may bring a civil action for damages against the person so filing such return. In any action brought under subsection (a), upon a finding of liability on the part of the defendant, the defendant shall be liable to the plaintiff in an amount equal to the greater of $5,000 or the sum of— Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an action to enforce the liability created under this section may be brought without regard to the amount in controversy and may be brought only within the later of— Any person bringing an action under subsection (a) shall provide a copy of the complaint to the Internal Revenue Service upon the filing of such complaint with the court. The decision of the court awarding damages in an action brought under subsection (a) shall include a finding of the correct amount which should have been reported in the information return. For purposes of this section, the term “information return” means any statement described in section 6724(d)(1)(A).

Legislative history

The public laws that enacted or amended this section. Tallies are for the whole bill as it passed each chamber — often an omnibus covering far more than this provision — not a vote on this section alone.

  • Enacted byPub. L. 104-168(H.R. 2337)1996-07-30
    Taxpayer Bill of Rights 2
    House: no recorded tallySenate: no recorded tally
  • Amended byPub. L. 105-206(H.R. 2676)1998-07-22
    Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998