26 U.S.C. § 6751
Section 6751 · Procedural requirements
Amended 3 times on record
Applied in 46 court decisions — leading case Chai v. Commissioner (2017)
Most recently applied in Edward Bachner, IV v. CIR (January 2025)
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.
The Secretary shall include with each notice of penalty under this title information with respect to the name of the penalty, the section of this title under which the penalty is imposed, and a computation of the penalty.
(1) In general
No penalty under this title shall be assessed unless the initial determination of such assessment is personally approved (in writing) by the immediate supervisor of the individual making such determination or such higher level official as the Secretary may designate.
(2) Exceptions
Paragraph (1) shall not apply to—
(A) any addition to tax under section 6651, 6654, 6655, or 6662 (but only with respect to an addition to tax by reason of paragraph (9) or (10) of subsection (b) thereof); or
(B) any other penalty automatically calculated through electronic means.
For purposes of this section, the term "penalty" includes any addition to tax or any additional amount.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Editorial Notes
Codification
Another section 212(b) of div. EE of Pub. L. 116–260 amended section 63 of this title.
Amendments
2022—Subsec. (b)(2)(A). Pub. L. 117–328 substituted "paragraph (9) or (10) of subsection (b)" for "subsection (b)(9)".
2020—Subsec. (b)(2)(A). Pub. L. 116–260 substituted "6655, or 6662 (but only with respect to an addition to tax by reason of subsection (b)(9) thereof)" for "or 6655".
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date of 2022 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 117–328 applicable to contributions made after Dec. 29, 2022, see section 605(c)(1) of Pub. L. 117–328, set out as a note under section 170 of this title.
Effective Date of 2020 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 116–260 applicable to taxable years beginning after Dec. 31, 2020, see section 212(d) of div. EE of Pub. L. 116–260, set out as a note under section 62 of this title.
Effective Date
Pub. L. 105–206, title III, §3306(c), July 22, 1998, 112 Stat. 744, as amended by Pub. L. 106–554, §1(a)(7) [title III, §302(b)], Dec. 21, 2000, 114 Stat. 2763, 2763A–632, provided that: "The amendments made by this section [enacting this subchapter] shall apply to notices issued, and penalties assessed, after June 30, 2001. In the case of any notice of penalty issued after June 30, 2001, and before July 1, 2003, the requirements of section 6751(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 shall be treated as met if such notice contains a telephone number at which the taxpayer can request a copy of the taxpayer's assessment and payment history with respect to such penalty."