---
title: "Assess a trust fund recovery penalty notice and the time to respond"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/practice/taxation/assess-a-director-penalty-notice-and-act-within-the-21-days/united-states"
type: "task_jurisdiction_version"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A26-X20261018-1-US"
practice_area: "Taxation"
tier: "yellow"
lawyer_review: "required"
jurisdictions: ["US"]
last_reviewed: "2026-10-22"
---

# Assess a trust fund recovery penalty notice and the time to respond

> 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.

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/practice/taxation/assess-a-director-penalty-notice-and-act-within-the-21-days/united-states  
Last reviewed: 2026-10-22

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Practice area | [Taxation](https://ailawframework.com/practice/taxation.md) |
| Human involvement | Yellow: Lawyer and AI draft together |
| 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 | United States |
| Applies to | [Assess a director penalty notice and act within the 21 days](https://ailawframework.com/practice/taxation/assess-a-director-penalty-notice-and-act-within-the-21-days.md) |

## Checking plan

- What the AI does: 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.
- Basis: Checked against the linked sources on 22 October 2026. Confirm the current instrument before reliance.

## Notes

- Do not use the Australian director-penalty period of 21 days. The pre-demand notice period in § 6672(b) is at least 60 days.
- Take the response date from the notice in the file, and read § 6672(c) before advising on a refund suit.

## Sources

- [26 U.S.C. § 6672, Failure to collect and pay over tax](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/6672) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [IRS: Preparing a request for Appeals](https://www.irs.gov/appeals/preparing-a-request-for-appeals) (checked 2026-10-22)

## Forms and precedents for this task

| Form or precedent | Kind | AI level | Summary |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Director penalty notice: 21-day remission checklist](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/taxation/director-penalty-notice-21-days.md) | Checklist | Yellow | A checklist for the 21 days after a director penalty notice, and for whether the penalty can be remitted only by payment, using the Australian Taxation Office director-penalty page. |

Signed-in accounts can read the full text of each one.

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*