§ 6676 Erroneous claim for refund or credit

OLRC 119-134 · eCFR 2026-10-19 · 4 amending Acts

Enacted 2007 · Pub. L. 110-28 Amended · 4 Acts

20072010201520182025(a) Civil penalty(b) Excessive amount(c) Noneconomic substance transactions treated as lacking reasonable cause(d) Coordination with other penalties
Prior provisions 1
  • A prior section 6676, added Pub. L. 87–397, § 1(b), Oct. 5, 1961, 75 Stat. 828; amended Pub. L. 91–172, title I, § 101(j)(52), Dec. 30, 1969, 83 Stat. 531; Pub. L. 93–406, title II, § 1016(a)(20), Sept. 2, 1974, 88 Stat. 931; Pub. L. 97–248, title III, § 316(a), Sept. 3, 1982, 96 Stat. 607; Pub. L. 98–67, title I, § 105(a), Aug. 5, 1983, 97 Stat. 380; Pub. L. 98–369, div. A, title IV, § 422(c), July 18, 1984, 98 Stat. 798; Pub. L. 99–514, title XV, §§ 1501(b), 1523(b)(3), 1524(b), Oct. 22, 1986, 100 Stat. 2736, 2748, 2749; Pub. L. 100–647, title I, § 1015(g), Nov. 10, 1988, 102 Stat. 3570, related to failure to supply identifying numbers, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 101–239, title VII, § 7711(b)(1), (c), Dec. 19, 1989, 103 Stat. 2393, applicable to returns and statements the due date for which (determined without regard to extensions) is after Dec. 31, 1989.
Connections Cited by 0 · Cites 1
    § 6676 Erroneous claim for refund or credit

    Cases: Rand v. Commissioner, 141 T.C. 376 (2013); Exxon Mobil Corp. v. United States (N.D. Tex. 2021)

    Final rules 1

      (a) Civil penalty If a claim for refund or credit with respect to income or employment tax is made for an excessive amount, unless it is shown that the claim for such excessive amount is due to reasonable cause, the person making such claim shall be liable for a penalty in an amount equal to 20 percent of the excessive amount.

      Amended 2015, 2025
      • 2025 Pub. L. 119-21 Pub. L. 119–21 substituted “income or employment tax” for “income tax”.
      • 2015 Pub. L. 114-113 Pub. L. 114–113, § 209(c)(1), substituted “is due to reasonable cause” for “has a reasonable basis”.
      • 2015 Pub. L. 114-113 Pub. L. 114–113, § 209(b), struck out “(other than a claim for a refund or credit relating to the earned income credit under section 32)” after “income tax”.

      Cases: Stevens v. Commissioner (T.C. 2025)

      (b) Excessive amount For purposes of this section, the term “excessive amount” means in the case of any person the amount by which the amount of the claim for refund or credit for any taxable year exceeds the amount of such claim allowable under this title for such taxable year.

      Cited by 1

        (c) Noneconomic substance transactions treated as lacking reasonable cause For purposes of this section, any excessive amount which is attributable to any transaction described in section 6662(b)(6) shall not be treated as due to reasonable cause.

        Amended 2010, 2015, 2018
        • 2018 Pub. L. 115-141 Pub. L. 115–141 substituted “reasonable cause” for “reasonable basis” in heading.
        • 2015 Pub. L. 114-113 Pub. L. 114–113, § 209(c)(2), substituted “due to reasonable cause” for “having a reasonable basis”.
        • 2010 Pub. L. 111-152 Pub. L. 111–152 added subsec. (c) and redesignated former subsec. (c) as (d). See Codification note above.

        (d) Coordination with other penalties This section shall not apply to any portion of the excessive amount of a claim for refund or credit which is subject to a penalty imposed under part II of subchapter A of chapter 68.

        Amended 2010
        • 2010 Pub. L. 111-152 Pub. L. 111–152 added subsec. (c) and redesignated former subsec. (c) as (d). See Codification note above.
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