31 U.S.C. § 3713
Section 3713 · Priority of Government claims
Amended 1 time on record
Applied in 185 court decisions — leading case United States v. Estate of Romani (1998)
Most recently applied in United States v. James D. Paulson (May 2023)
Cases citing this section usually also cite 26 U.S.C. § 6321 · 15 U.S.C. § 1012 · 26 U.S.C. § 6323
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.
(a)(1) A claim of the United States Government shall be paid first when—
(A) a person indebted to the Government is insolvent and—
(i) the debtor without enough property to pay all debts makes a voluntary assignment of property;
(ii) property of the debtor, if absent, is attached; or
(iii) an act of bankruptcy is committed; or
(B) the estate of a deceased debtor, in the custody of the executor or administrator, is not enough to pay all debts of the debtor.
(2) This subsection does not apply to a case under title 11.
(b) A representative of a person or an estate (except a trustee acting under title 11) paying any part of a debt of the person or estate before paying a claim of the Government is liable to the extent of the payment for unpaid claims of the Government.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
In the section, the word “claim” is substituted for “debts” for consistency. The word “due” is omitted as unnecessary.
In subsection (a)(1), before clause (A), the word “paid” is substituted for “satisfied” for consistency. In clause (A)(i), the words “and the priority established shall extend as well to cases in which” are omitted because of the restatement. In clause (A)(ii), the word “property” is substituted for “estate and effects” to eliminate unnecessary words. The words “absconding, concealed, or” and “by process of law” are omitted as surplus.
In subsection (a)(2), the words “The priority established under . . . however” are omitted as surplus.
In subsection (b), the words “A representative of a person or an estate” are substituted for “executor, administrator, or assignee, or other” for clarity and to eliminate unnecessary words. The words “for whom or for which he acts”, “satisfies and”, and “from such person or estate” are omitted as surplus. The word “liable” is substituted for “answerable in his own person and estate” for consistency.