Tax Litigation Branch

Tax Litigation Branch attorneys enforce the nation’s tax laws fully, fairly, and consistently, through civil litigation, to promote voluntary compliance with the tax laws, maintain public confidence in the integrity of the tax system, and promote the sound development of the law. Their work covers a broad spectrum of litigation in United States District Courts, United States Bankruptcy Courts, United States Circuit Courts of Appeals, and state courts. The civil trial work performed by the Branch is handled by regional trial sections and the Court of Federal Claims Section, while its Appellate Section handles tax appeals.

The Branch handles most affirmative and defensive civil litigation arising under the internal revenue laws in federal district and bankruptcy courts and in state courts. The work of the civil trial attorneys includes defending the United States in tax refund and civil damages suits, representing IRS and Justice Department employees in lawsuits for damages allegedly caused in the performance of their official duties, and defending the Secretary of the Treasury, the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, and other officials against lawsuits testing the validity of federal tax regulations and rulings. Civil trial attorneys also bring suits to collect unpaid tax assessments, to foreclose federal tax liens or to determine the priority of such liens, to collect penalties imposed under the Bank Secrecy Act for failures to report foreign bank accounts, to obtain judgments against delinquent taxpayers, to defend or enforce IRS administrative summonses, to enjoin fraudulent return preparers and promoters of abusive tax schemes, and to establish tax claims in bankruptcy, receivership and probate proceedings.

The Civil Trial Sections also represent other federal departments and agencies in cases involving the immunity of the Federal Government from state and local taxation.

These cases present a variety of legal issues involving federal tax law, bankruptcy law, constitutional law, commercial law and state property law, as well as a panoply of evidentiary, procedural, and jurisdictional issues.

The Branch’s civil trial attorneys are responsible for every phase of their assigned cases from initial pleadings through discovery and trial, including briefing and arguing motions and conducting jury and non-jury trials.

In addition to the money collected and retained as a result of the Branch's cases, the judicial rulings in the cases handled impact other cases and serve to deter potential violators of the tax laws. Individual cases therefore often have tremendous significance beyond the amount directly at stake in the case.

The Tax Litigation Branch’s Appellate Section is responsible for handling appeals in all civil tax cases. Appellate Section attorneys prepare briefs and present oral arguments in the United States Circuit Courts of Appeals and the various state appellate courts when an appeal is taken from a decision of the Court of Federal Claims, a state trial court, a United States District Court, or the United States Tax Court; assist the Office of the Solicitor General in the United States Supreme Court; and prepare recommendations to the Solicitor General about whether to file appeals.  When the United States is not a party in cases that may affect the interests of the United States on tax-related issues, Appellate Section attorneys may, in appropriate cases, prepare amicus curiae (friend of the court) briefs setting forth the Government's position on those issues.

The Tax Litigation Branch’s Office of Review evaluates settlement offers considering litigating potential and policy considerations, furnishes advice and assistance to the trial sections in complex cases, takes final action on settlements within its authority, and advises the Assistant Attorney General on settlements that require final action at a higher level. The Office of Review also assists in resolving disagreements between the litigating sections and the IRS, so that the positions of the Division and the IRS remain consistent. The Office of Review includes the Financial Litigation Unit, a centralized unit which collects on judgments in favor of the United States and monitors post-settlement debts owed to the United States.