Exhibit 420

Deficit Reduction Act of 1984, Conference Report, H. Rept. 98-861 (church audits, title X, sec. 1033)

Exhibit 420 · Conference report

Deficit Reduction Act of 1984, Conference Report, H. Rept. 98-861 (church audits, title X, sec. 1033)

No special requirements are imposed before commencing an investigation or inquiry regarding church tax liabilities.

The explanation of the church-audit provisions that became §7611: reasonable belief of a regional commissioner or higher official recorded in writing, written inquiry notice, examination limits. States that informant information "must not be known to be unreliable."

Source: U.S. House of Representatives, Committee of Conference
Date: 23 June 1984
Quoted from: H. Rept. 98-861, p. 1102 (present-law statement, item 6, "Church audits")
Grade: Primary record
Document: https://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Conf-98-861.pdf
Accessed: 2026-11-09
Cited by: Findings citing this exhibit

Cited by

Finding REL-4.2: Primary record The Church Audit Procedures Act of 1984 (26 U.S.C. § 7611) permits the IRS to begin a church tax inquiry only on a written reasonable belief held by an appropriate high-level Treasury official and written notice to the church, and requires written approval of regional counsel before a revocation, deficiency notice or assessment. Congress enacted it after a 1983 Senate hearing at which the chairman cited constitutional entanglement and the harm of extended examinations to small congregations.