Civil damages for certain unauthorized collection actions

26 U.S.C. § 7433
in effect
Sign in to generate a plain English summaryAsk Belisarius Agent
(a) In generalIf, in connection with any collection of Federal tax with respect to a taxpayer, any officer or employee of the Internal Revenue Service recklessly or intentionally, or by reason of negligence, disregards any provision of this title, or any regulation promulgated under this title, such taxpayer may bring a civil action for damages against the United States in a district court of the United States. Except as provided in section 7432, such civil action shall be the exclusive remedy for recovering damages resulting from such actions. (b) DamagesIn any action brought under subsection (a) or petition filed under subsection (e), 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 lesser of $1,000,000 ($100,000, in the case of negligence) or the sum of—(1) actual, direct economic damages sustained by the plaintiff as a proximate result of the reckless or intentional or negligent actions of the officer or employee, and (2) the costs of the action. (c) Payment authorityClaims pursuant to this section shall be payable out of funds appropriated under section 1304 of title 31, United States Code. (d) Limitations(1) Requirement that administrative remedies be exhaustedA judgment for damages shall not be awarded under subsection (b) unless the court determines that the plaintiff has exhausted the administrative remedies available to such plaintiff within the Internal Revenue Service. (2) Mitigation of damagesThe amount of damages awarded under subsection (b)(1) shall be reduced by the amount of such damages which could have reasonably been mitigated by the plaintiff. (3) Period for bringing actionNotwithstanding any other provision of law, an action to enforce liability created under this section may be brought without regard to the amount in controversy and may be brought only within 2 years after the date the right of action accrues. (e) Actions for violations of certain bankruptcy procedures(1) In generalIf, in connection with any collection of Federal tax with respect to a taxpayer, any officer or employee of the Internal Revenue Service willfully violates any provision of section 362 (relating to automatic stay) or 524 (relating to effect of discharge) of title 11, United States Code (or any successor provision), or any regulation promulgated under such provision, such taxpayer may petition the bankruptcy court to recover damages against the United States. (2) Remedy to be exclusive(A) In generalExcept as provided in subparagraph (B), notwithstanding section 105 of such title 11, such petition shall be the exclusive remedy for recovering damages resulting from such actions. (B) Certain other actions permittedSubparagraph (A) shall not apply to an action under section 362(h) of such title 11 for a violation of a stay provided by section 362 of such title; except that—(i) administrative and litigation costs in connection with such an action may only be awarded under section 7430; and (ii) administrative costs may be awarded only if incurred on or after the date that the bankruptcy petition is filed.