Tax Evasion Statute Of Limitations Runs From The Latest Of Last Act Of Evasion Or Date Of Return Filing

Generally, the 6-year statute of limitations prescribed by 26 U.S.C. § 6531(2) for tax evasion offenses under 26 U.S.C. § 7201 runs in cases involving a filed, but false, return -- one that underreports income -- from the date the return was filed with the IRS. But the tax evasion statute comprises two types of evasion offenses: evasion of the determination of the correct tax due and evasion of the payment of taxes. In the former case, which goes to the IRS's assessment function, the filing date of the false return triggers the statute of limitations.

But what of an evasion of payment case, where the allegations focus on steps taken by a taxpayer to evade paying the IRS that which is acknowledged to be owed, and which implicates the IRS's collection activity? Recently, in United States v. Irby, 703 F.3d 280 (5th Cir. 2012), the Fifth Circuit joined every other court of appeal in holding that in such cases the statute of...