Assess a trust fund recovery penalty notice and the time to respond
Key facts
- Human involvement
- YellowClose supervision
- How AI is used
- Build a timeline from the notice and the employment-tax filings: who had authority over payment, what was withheld, what was paid, and the date of the notice. Write no advice and no protest.
- What the lawyer must review
- 26 U.S.C. § 6672(a) imposes the penalty on a person required to collect, truthfully account for, and pay over tax who wilfully fails to do so, or who wilfully tries to evade or defeat the tax. Subsection (b) requires written notice before notice and demand, and that notice must precede notice and demand by at least 60 days. Subsection (e) limits the penalty for an unpaid volunteer board member of a tax-exempt organisation in the circumstances the subsection states, and you read it before treating anyone as outside the penalty. You decide who is a responsible person and whether the failure was wilful. You write anything that is sent to the IRS.
- Written for / version
- United States versionUS
Who does what
| Role | What they do |
|---|---|
| Assistance | Potential support includes organising research leads. Confirm the tool’s capability and permitted scope. |
| Lawyer | Set the scope, supervise the work closely, verify every part relied on, resolve omissions and exceptions, and approve the exact output. |
Checklist
- Confirm the output against the client’s instructions and the complete relevant source material, including omissions or contradictions.
- Resolve exceptions and record the responsible lawyer’s approval of the exact output and intended use.