26 U.S.C. § 6001
Section 6001 · Notice or regulations requiring records, statements, and special returns
Amended 4 times on record
Applied in 161 court decisions — leading case California Bankers Assn. v. Shultz (1974)
Most recently applied in United States v. Grigsby (November 2023)
Cases citing this section usually also cite 26 U.S.C. § 6651 · 26 U.S.C. § 6653 · 26 U.S.C. § 7482
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
Every person liable for any tax imposed by this title, or for the collection thereof, shall keep such records, render such statements, make such returns, and comply with such rules and regulations as the Secretary may from time to time prescribe. Whenever in the judgment of the Secretary it is necessary, he may require any person, by notice served upon such person or by regulations, to make such returns, render such statements, or keep such records, as the Secretary deems sufficient to show whether or not such person is liable for tax under this title. The only records which an employer shall be required to keep under this section in connection with charged tips shall be charge receipts, records necessary to comply with section 6053(c), and copies of statements furnished by employees under section 6053(a).
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Amendments
1982—Pub. L. 97–248 inserted “, records necessary to comply with section 6053(c),” after “charge receipts”.
1978—Pub. L. 95–600 inserted provision at end relating to only records which an employer shall be required to keep in connection with charged tips.
1976—Pub. L. 94–455 struck out “or his delegate” after “Secretary” wherever appearing.
Effective Date of 1982 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 97–248 applicable to calendar years beginning after Dec. 31, 1982, see section 314(e) of Pub. L. 97–248, set out as a note under section 6053 of this title.
Effective Date of 1978 Amendment
Section 501(c) of Pub. L. 95–600 provided that: “The amendments made by this section [amending this section and section 6041 of this title] shall apply to payments made after December 31, 1978.”
Cross References
Methods of accounting for taxable income, see section 446 et seq. of this title.