The Taxpayer First Act of 2019, put into effect in July, increased penalties for unauthorized disclosure or use of tax return information under Internal Revenue Code (IRC) section 6713.
The penalty for a single instance of improper use or disclosure is now $1,000 with a maximum penalty of $50,000 per person per calendar year.
Tax return preparers are required to protect taxpayer information and ensure that use of such information is done according to the law.