26 U.S.C. § 7212
Section 7212 · Attempts to interfere with administration of internal revenue laws
Amended 1 time on record
Applied in 380 court decisions — leading case United States v. North (1990)
Most recently applied in United States v. Sullivan (March 2025)
Applied most in the Ninth Circuit Circuit (28 decisions)
Cases citing this section usually also cite 26 U.S.C. § 7206 · 18 U.S.C. § 371 · 26 U.S.C. § 7201
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.
Whoever corruptly or by force or threats of force (including any threatening letter or communication) endeavors to intimidate or impede any officer or employee of the United States acting in an official capacity under this title, or in any other way corruptly or by force or threats of force (including any threatening letter or communication) obstructs or impedes, or endeavors to obstruct or impede, the due administration of this title, shall, upon conviction thereof, be fined not more than $5,000, or imprisoned not more than 3 years, or both, except that if the offense is committed only by threats of force, the person convicted thereof shall be fined not more than $3,000, or imprisoned not more than 1 year, or both. The term “threats of force”, as used in this subsection, means threats of bodily harm to the officer or employee of the United States or to a member of his family.
Any person who forcibly rescues or causes to be rescued any property after it shall have been seized under this title, or shall attempt or endeavor so to do, shall, excepting in cases otherwise provided for, for every such offense, be fined not more than $500, or not more than double the value of the property so rescued, whichever is the greater, or be imprisoned not more than 2 years.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Cross References
Effective date of this chapter, see section 7851 of this title.
Entry of premises for examination of taxable objects, see section 7606 of this title.
Penalty for refusal to permit entry or examination, see section 7342 of this title.
Period of limitation on criminal prosecution for offense under this section, see section 6531 of this title.
Punishment for assaulting, resisting or impeding certain federal officers and employees, see section 111 of Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure.