Restitution is assessable because it was ordered under a Title 26 plea agreement (not a Westbrooks case)

Number

202141008

Outcome

Advice

Document type

Chief Counsel Advice

IRS subject

Assessment authority; criminal restitution

Topics

Procedure, penalties, and administration

Code sections

§ 6201

Ruling dated

May 11, 2020

Publicly released

October 15, 2021

Source

View Official PDF

Apply this to your situation

This page covers legal advice the IRS Office of Chief Counsel wrote for IRS staff, issued in 2021, which can't be cited as precedent. Ask about your situation and see what the current Code and IRS guidance say, with citations.

Not precedent. Under 26 U.S.C. § 6110(k)(3), this written determination may not be used or cited as precedent. It is advice from the IRS Office of Chief Counsel to IRS personnel on the facts they presented, and identifying details were redacted by the IRS before release. The official IRS release (linked on this page as a PDF) is the authoritative source.

About this page: The plain-English summary and ruling snapshot below were written by Ezel based on the official IRS release. The full text is the IRS's own document.

View official IRS release (PDF)

Plain-English summary

Under section 6201(a)(4), the IRS can assess court-ordered criminal restitution for a Title 26 tax as if it were a tax, but only when the restitution was ordered as an independent part of the sentence rather than solely as a condition of supervised release (the question these advisories call a "Westbrooks" case). This short Chief Counsel email advises that a particular case is not a Westbrooks case: the defendant pleaded guilty to a Title 26 crime under a plea agreement, and restitution was ordered under that plea agreement. So the restitution is assessable.

Ruling snapshot

Question: Is the ordered restitution assessable, or is this a "Westbrooks" case?
Outcome: Advice given (not a Westbrooks case; restitution assessable)
Key authorities: IRC § 6201(a)(4); United States v. Westbrooks

Full text (IRS public release)

ID: CCA_2020051114130344
UILC: 6201.01-06

Number: 202141008
Release Date: 10/15/2021
From: ----------------------
Sent: Monday, May 11, 2020 2:13:03 PM
To: -----------------------
Cc: --------------------
Bcc:
Subject: RE: Counsel opinion - --------

This is not a Westbrooks case. The defendant pleaded guilty to a Title 26 crime under a
plea agreement, and restitution was ordered under the plea agreement. Please call if
you have any further questions about this matter.

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