Challenges to Summonses After 'Polselli v. IRS'

July 20, 2023  |  New York Law Journal

The Internal Revenue Service has broad authority to issue summonses for financial records. When it is attempting to collect amounts owed by delinquent taxpayers, the IRS can issue summonses for records of financial accounts held by third parties with whom the taxpayers do business. In Polselli v. Internal Revenue Service, 143 S. Ct. 1231 (May 18, 2023), the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously rejected an attempt to require the IRS to notify affected third parties that their records have been summoned in connection with efforts to collect a delinquent taxpayer’s obligations. While the Court sided with the IRS, the unanimous decision by Chief Justice Roberts and a concurring opinion by Justice Jackson make clear that the ability to issue summonses without notice in the collection arena is not boundless. In this article for the New York Law Journal, Morvillo Abramowitz partner Jeremy Temkin discusses Polselli and how it leaves open an avenue for third parties to challenge summonses where the records being sought are not clearly tied to the liability to be collected. 

Challenges to Summonses After 'Polselli v. IRS' (pdf | 135.99 KB)