26 U.S.C. § 6342
Section 6342 · Application of proceeds of levy
Amended 4 times on record
Applied in 43 court decisions — leading case United States v. Whiting Pools, Inc. (1983)
Most recently applied in Gold Forever Music, Inc. v. U.S. (April 2019)
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.
Any money realized by proceedings under this subchapter (whether by seizure, by surrender under section 6332 (except pursuant to subsection (d)(2) thereof), or by sale of seized property) or by sale of property redeemed by the United States (if the interest of the United States in such property was a lien arising under the provisions of this title) shall be applied as follows:
First, against the expenses of the proceedings;
If the property seized and sold is subject to a tax imposed by any internal revenue law which has not been paid, the amount remaining after applying paragraph (1) shall then be applied against such tax liability (and, if such tax was not previously assessed, it shall then be assessed);
The amount, if any, remaining after applying paragraphs (1) and (2) shall then be applied against the liability in respect of which the levy was made or the sale was conducted.
Any surplus proceeds remaining after the application of subsection (a) shall, upon application and satisfactory proof in support thereof, be credited or refunded by the Secretary to the person or persons legally entitled thereto.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Amendments
2018—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 115–141 substituted “subsection (d)(2)” for “subsection (c)(2)”.
1976—Pub. L. 94–455 struck out “or his delegate” after “Secretary” wherever appearing.
1966—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 89–719 inserted in introductory provisions, references to an exception in the case of surrender under section 6332(c)(2) and to sale of property redeemed by the United States if the interest of the United States in such property was a lien arising under the provisions of this title, struck out “under this subchapter” after “proceedings” in par. (1), and inserted “or the sale was conducted” after “levy was made” in par. (3).
Effective Date of 1966 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 89–719 applicable after Nov. 2, 1966, regardless of when title or lien of United States arose or when lien or interest of another person was acquired, with certain exceptions, see section 114(a)–(c) of Pub. L. 89–719, set out as a note under section 6323 of this title.