ArticleIn a recent decision, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California held that the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) did not violate Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”) Section 7433 or related regulations when it sent a notice of levy to the address shown on the Plaintiff’s most recently filed tax return.[1]
IRC Section 7433 permits taxpayers to bring a civil action for damages against the United States if any officer or employee of the IRS, in connection with the collection of federal tax, recklessly or intentionally, or by reason of negligence, disregards any provision of the IRC or any regulation. In this case, the notice was returned as undeliverable; however, the IRS was not on notice of a change in address at the time of mailing. The court held that the IRS complied with the statutory and regulatory requirements by simply sending the notice to the Plaintiff’s last known address.[2] A taxpayer’s last known address is the most recent address that the IRS has on record, typically through the taxpayer’s most recently filed return or separate notice provided by the taxpayer.
Clients are often surprised to learn that the IRS is generally not obligated to confirm that its notices and letters, including those relating to additional tax assessments and/or enforced collection activity have been received. They are even more surprised when a significant refund check that they are expecting is sent to an old or wrong address, requiring us to initiate a refund trace. There are, however, several ways for taxpayers to advise the IRS that an address change has occurred.[3] It is important that these requests be submitted promptly, as it can take four to six weeks for a change of address request to be fully processed.
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[1] Mihalcheon v. United States, No. 2:24-cv-00749-MCS-JC (C.D. Cal. Mar. 26, 2025).
[2] 26 CFR § 301.6212-2
[3] Rev. Proc. 2010-16; See also: Address changes | Internal Revenue Service