Title 26Internal Revenue CodeRelease 119-73

§4424 Disclosure of wagering tax information

Title 26 › Subtitle Subtitle D— - Miscellaneous Excise Taxes › Chapter CHAPTER 35— - TAXES ON WAGERING › Subchapter Subchapter C— - Miscellaneous Provisions › § 4424

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Stops Treasury employees from revealing any wagering-tax returns, payments, registrations, records used to make them, or information learned from those documents. They may share that information only to run the tax system or to carry out civil or criminal tax enforcement. If they do share it for those reasons, they cannot then tell anyone else about it except for tax administration or enforcement, and it cannot be used to prosecute crimes that happened before the law was enacted. Also protects three specific things unless used for tax administration or enforcement: the special tax payment stamp, a taxpayer’s own copies of returns/payments/registrations, and any information taken from those items. Rules in section 6103(f) apply to these returns, payments, and registrations.

Full Legal Text

Title 26, §4424

Internal Revenue Code — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Except as otherwise provided in this section, neither the Secretary nor any other officer or employee of the Treasury Department may divulge or make known in any manner whatever to any person—
(1)any original, copy, or abstract of any return, payment, or registration made pursuant to this chapter,
(2)any record required for making any such return, payment, or registration, which the Secretary is permitted by the taxpayer to examine or which is produced pursuant to section 7602, or
(3)any information come at by the exploitation of any such return, payment, registration, or record.
(b)A disclosure otherwise prohibited by subsection (a) may be made in connection with the administration or civil or criminal enforcement of any tax imposed by this title. However, any document or information so disclosed may not be—
(1)divulged or made known in any manner whatever by any officer or employee of the United States to any person except in connection with the administration or civil or criminal enforcement of this title, nor
(2)used, directly or indirectly, in any criminal prosecution for any offense occurring before the date of enactment of this section.
(c)Except in connection with the administration or civil or criminal enforcement of any tax imposed by this title—
(1)any stamp denoting payment of the special tax under this chapter,
(2)any original, copy, or abstract possessed by a taxpayer of any return, payment, or registration made by such taxpayer pursuant to this chapter, and
(3)any information come at by the exploitation of any such document,
(d)section 6103(f) shall apply with respect to any return, payment, or registration made pursuant to this chapter.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1976—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 94–455, § 1906(b)(13)(A), struck out “or his delegate” after “Secretary” wherever appearing. Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 94–455, § 1202(h)(6), substituted “6103(f)” for “6103(d)”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 1976 AmendmentAmendment by section 1202(h)(6) of Pub. L. 94–455 effective Jan. 1, 1977, see section 1202(i) of Pub. L. 94–455, set out as a note under section 6103 of this title.

Effective Date

Section effective Dec. 1, 1974, and applicable only with respect to wagers placed on or after such date, see section 3(d)(1) of Pub. L. 93–499, set out as an

Effective Date

of 1974 Amendment note under section 4401 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

26 U.S.C. § 4424

Title 26Internal Revenue Code

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73