IRS discipline and sanctions

People usually arrive at this question in one of two ways. Either a tax professional has behaved in a way that felt wrong, or a name has turned up on a list somewhere and it is not clear what the list means. Both come down to the same thing: the practice rules set out what the IRS can do about a practitioner, and the IRS publishes a record of what it has done.

Three sanctions exist under the practice regulation, and they are not the same. Censure allows practice to continue subject to conditions. Suspension stops practice for a stated period. Disbarment stops practice until the IRS authorises it again. Reading a record therefore means reading which sanction it records, and when.

A scoped rule is not a rule about everyone

Several of these rules are written with a scope: they reach certain persons, certain conduct, or certain returns. The scope is part of the rule, so we state who a provision reaches rather than turning it into a rule about everyone.

Part 10 sanctions reach practitioners and the other persons Part 10 names. The separate money penalties in the Internal Revenue Code reach tax return preparers. They are different consequences reached by different processes, and one does not imply the other.

What the authority says

The Secretary may censure, suspend or disbar any practitioner from practice before the Internal Revenue Service if the practitioner is shown to be incompetent or disreputable, fails to comply with any regulation in Part 10, or with intent to defraud wilfully and knowingly misleads or threatens a client or prospective client.
A monetary penalty may be imposed on a practitioner, and on an employer, firm or other entity where the conduct was engaged in on its behalf and it knew or reasonably should have known of the conduct.
Incompetence and disreputable conduct for which a practitioner may be sanctioned under § 10.50 includes, but is not limited to, the categories the section then lists.
The listed categories include conviction of a criminal offence under the federal tax laws, conviction of an offence involving dishonesty or breach of trust, giving false or misleading information to the Treasury, wilfully failing to file a federal return or evading tax, wilfully assisting a client to violate a federal tax law, and misappropriating or failing to remit funds received from a client for the payment of taxes.
Where it is determined that a practitioner violated the laws governing practice before the Internal Revenue Service or the regulations in Part 10, the practitioner may be reprimanded or made subject to a proceeding for the sanctions described in § 10.50.
Except in the expedited case § 10.82 provides for, a proceeding will not be instituted unless the proposed respondent has previously been advised in writing of the law, facts and conduct warranting the action and has been given an opportunity to dispute facts, assert additional facts and make arguments.
Where the final decision is for disbarment, the respondent will not be permitted to practise before the Internal Revenue Service unless and until authorized to do so under § 10.81.
Where the final decision is for suspension, the respondent will not be permitted to practise before the Internal Revenue Service during the period of suspension.
Where the final decision is for censure, the respondent will be permitted to practise before the Internal Revenue Service, and future representations may be subject to conditions the section authorizes.
After suspension or censure, a sanctioned practitioner's future representations are subject to specified conditions imposed for a reasonable period in light of the gravity of the violations.
A practitioner disbarred or suspended under § 10.60, a practitioner suspended under § 10.82, or a disqualified appraiser may petition for reinstatement after the expiration of five years following the disbarment, suspension or disqualification, or immediately following the expiration of a shorter suspension or disqualification period.
Reinstatement will not be granted unless the Internal Revenue Service is satisfied that the petitioner is not likely to engage thereafter in conduct contrary to Part 10 and that granting reinstatement would not be contrary to the public interest.

Every source on this page shows the body that issued it and the date we read it. The text behind this centre was last read on 2026-08-24.

Where this comes from

31 C.F.R. § 10.50 — SanctionsElectronic Code of Federal Regulations. Read for: The Secretary may censure, suspend or disbar any practitioner from practice before the Internal Revenue Service if the practitioner is shown to be incompetent or disreputable, fails to comply with any regulation in Part 10, or with intent to defraud wilfully and knowingly misleads or threatens a client or prospective client. Read on 2026-08-16.
31 C.F.R. § 10.51 — Incompetence and disreputable conductElectronic Code of Federal Regulations. Read for: Incompetence and disreputable conduct for which a practitioner may be sanctioned under § 10.50 includes, but is not limited to, the categories the section then lists. Read on 2026-08-24.
31 C.F.R. § 10.60 — Institution of proceedingElectronic Code of Federal Regulations. Read for: Where it is determined that a practitioner violated the laws governing practice before the Internal Revenue Service or the regulations in Part 10, the practitioner may be reprimanded or made subject to a proceeding for the sanctions described in § 10.50. Read on 2026-08-24.
31 C.F.R. § 10.79 — Effect of disbarment, suspension, or censureElectronic Code of Federal Regulations. Read for: Where the final decision is for disbarment, the respondent will not be permitted to practise before the Internal Revenue Service unless and until authorized to do so under § 10.81. Read on 2026-08-24.
31 C.F.R. § 10.81 — Petition for reinstatementElectronic Code of Federal Regulations. Read for: A practitioner disbarred or suspended under § 10.60, a practitioner suspended under § 10.82, or a disqualified appraiser may petition for reinstatement after the expiration of five years following the disbarment, suspension or disqualification, or immediately following the expiration of a shorter suspension or disqualification period. Read on 2026-08-24.

Where the official records are

Two official records exist, and they answer different questions. The Office of Professional Responsibility publishes a searchable look-up file of censures, suspensions, disbarments and appraiser disqualifications for Circular 230 misconduct, covering the last twenty-five years. The same office also publishes each announcement of discipline in the Internal Revenue Bulletin, indexed by bulletin and announcement number.

Start with the look-up file, because it is the record the office keeps current, including reinstatements after a suspension or disbarment ends.
The file is a spreadsheet that opens in full rather than a box that answers one name at a time. It carries the date it was last updated, and one row per practitioner: last name, first name, middle initial, city, state, designation, the sanction, the date the discipline took effect and any reinstatement date. Note the update date before reading anything, because every answer is only true of that edition.
Search it on the surname first, then narrow on the city and state, because the file records the city and state as at the time the sanction was imposed rather than today.
Two people can share a surname. Treat a row as the person being checked only when the first name, the city, the state and the designation all agree; otherwise it is a different person and is set aside, not counted as a near miss.
Read the sanction type, the effective date and any ending date together. Those three fields are what separate a closed matter from an open one.
Use the bulletin index when the announcement itself is wanted, and note the office's own caution that eligibility may have been reinstated since publication.
A separate question is whether someone may represent a taxpayer at all. That is eligibility plus authorization, and it lives on the representation page rather than here.

Where this comes from

Search for disciplined tax professionalsInternal Revenue Service, Office of Professional Responsibility. Read for: The Office of Professional Responsibility publishes a searchable disciplinary look-up file covering censures of practitioners, suspensions and disbarments from practice before the IRS, and disqualifications of appraisers, for Circular 230 misconduct. Read on 2026-08-24.
Announcements of disciplinary sanctions in the Internal Revenue BulletinInternal Revenue Service, Office of Professional Responsibility. Read for: The Office of Professional Responsibility publishes disciplinary actions in the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and the published sanctions include censure, suspension and disbarment from practice before the IRS. Read on 2026-08-24.

A record of the past is not a statement about today

This is the part that goes wrong most often. A disciplinary record is a record of something that was imposed on a date. It is not a live status field.

A suspension runs for a stated period, so a suspension that appears in an old announcement may long since have ended.
A disbarred or suspended practitioner may petition for reinstatement on the terms the regulation states, and the look-up file is updated when a reinstatement happens.
A censure leaves practice permitted, subject to conditions, so a censure is not an inability to practise.
Entries drop out of the published file once a sanction passes the twenty-five-year mark, so an empty result can mean an old matter rather than no matter.
Absence from these records is not a clearance. They cover Circular 230 sanctions, and nothing else.

What we are not saying here

Nothing on this page should be read as saying Disciplinary posture only. Individual disciplinary case commentary is out of scope.; The list is stated as not exhaustive, so it does not mark the outer edge of sanctionable conduct.; It states what conduct may be sanctioned. It decides nothing about any particular person.; A reprimand and a sanction under § 10.50 are not the same outcome.; The existence of a proceeding is not a finding, and this section states process rather than result.; The three sanctions have different effects, so naming a sanction is not the same as stating a person cannot practise.; A suspension is stated as a period, so a past suspension does not describe a present status.; Reinstatement is available on stated conditions, so a recorded sanction does not by itself describe a permanent bar.; The section states who may petition and on what terms. It predicts no outcome.; We cannot answer this from the facts given..

Where to go next

Whether the preparer definition reaches what I didConduct and compensation, in the order the text asks about them.
What a preparer identifying number isWhen the Code requires it, and what holding one does not settle.
How electronic filing participation worksA firm-level programme with a firm-level identifier.
Who may deal with the IRS for a taxpayerEligibility and authorization are two separate requirements.
What enrolled agent, CPA and attorney each meanSide by side, in the regulation's order, with no ranking.
Whether the practice rules reach mePart 10 is written with a scope, and the scope is part of the rule.
What due diligence requiresThe professional standard and the statutory requirement are not one rule.
What each preparer penalty reachesTrigger, standard and defence, stated separately for each one.
When client information may be disclosed or usedDefined terms, consent, and the exceptions the rules state.
Where bookkeeping ends and preparation beginsWhat the federal definitions look at, which is not the job title.
How this centre works and where it stopsThe limits we hold ourselves to, including the state boundary.
The authority behind all of itEvery source, what it was read for, and the date it was read.

This is general education for people who work in tax, not legal or tax advice, and not a determination about anyone's status or obligations. Rules change and facts matter. For a decision about your own situation or your own practice, take advice from a licensed professional.