26 U.S.C. § 7201

Section 7201 is the principal federal felony tax-evasion provision. It criminalizes any willful attempt in any manner to evade or defeat any tax imposed by the Internal Revenue Code or the payment thereof, and prescribes a fine, imprisonment of up to five years, or both, together with the costs of prosecution.

Citation: 26 U.S.C. § 7201Jurisdiction: United StatesEffective: 1954-08-16

Codified text.

Any person who willfully attempts in any manner to evade or defeat any tax imposed by this title or the payment thereof shall, in addition to other penalties provided by law, be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $100,000 ($500,000 in the case of a corporation), or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both, together with the costs of prosecution.

Editorial note — Source credits

Editorial commentary — not part of the primary text.

Editorial note. Source credits are preserved as editorial metadata derived from the official Office of the Law Revision Counsel publication.

Editorial note. Aug. 16, 1954, ch. 736, 68A Stat. 851; Pub. L. 97–248, title III, § 329(a), Sept. 3, 1982, 96 Stat. 618.

Revision history

1954-08-16 — Enacted as part of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (ch. 736, 68A Stat. 851).
1982-09-03 — Amended by § 329(a) of the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982 (Pub. L. 97-248, 96 Stat. 618) to increase the maximum fines.

Canonical source: Office of the Law Revision Counsel, United States Code (https://uscode.house.gov).