The IRS does not have to come to you for your records. IRC 7602(a) lets it summon "any person" with relevant information, and banks, brokers, credit card companies, employers, accountants and attorneys are common targets. Congress added a safeguard in IRC 7609: in most cases, the person whose records are sought gets notice and the right to ask a court to quash the summons.

This page covers that notice right, its exceptions and its deadline. For a summons served directly on you, see what to do when you receive a summons.

When you are entitled to notice

IRC 7609(a)(1) applies when a summons requires testimony or records about a person, other than the person summoned, who is identified in the summons. That identified person must be given notice within 3 days of service of the summons, and no later than the 23rd day before the date set for examining the records. The notice must include a copy of the summons and an explanation of the right to bring a proceeding to quash.

Under IRC 7609(a)(2), notice is sufficient if it is served in the manner used for a summons, mailed by certified or registered mail to your last known address, or, if there is no last known address, left with the person summoned. Mailed notice to your last known address is valid even if you never see it, which is one more reason to keep your address current with the IRS.

The IRM's summons form packet includes separate parts for this purpose. IRM 25.5.2 describes Part C as the noticee's copy and Part D as the notice explaining the right to contest the summons, with IRC 7609 reprinted.

The 20-day petition to quash

IRC 7609(b)(2)(A) gives anyone entitled to notice the right to begin a proceeding to quash the summons no later than the 20th day after notice is given. Under IRC 7609(b)(2)(B), within that same 20-day period you must mail, by registered or certified mail, a copy of the petition to the person summoned and to the IRS office specified in the notice.

IRC 7609(h)(1) gives jurisdiction to the federal district court for the district where the person summoned resides or is found. Note that it is the summoned party's location, such as the bank branch or the accountant's office, that determines the court, not yours.

The deadline is strict. In Polselli, the Supreme Court described the district court jurisdiction in IRC 7609(h)(1) as a waiver of the United States' sovereign immunity, which means the right to quash exists only on the terms the statute sets. If you receive a notice, count the days immediately.

What filing does, and what it costs

A timely petition with proper mailing stops the examination of the records. Under IRC 7609(d), the IRS cannot examine the summoned records before the close of the 23rd day after notice, and if a proper petition is filed, it cannot examine them except under a court order or with the petitioner's consent.

IRC 7609(b)(2)(A) also lets the IRS seek to compel compliance in the same proceeding, and IRC 7609(b)(2)(C) gives the summoned party the right to intervene and binds it by the result.

There is a trade-off. Under IRC 7609(e)(1), if the taxpayer whose liability is at issue, or that taxpayer's agent or nominee, brings a proceeding to quash, the statute of limitations on assessment and on criminal prosecution is suspended while the proceeding and appeals are pending. A petition that is filed only to delay can extend the IRS's time to assess. Even without a petition, IRC 7609(e)(2) suspends those limitations periods if the summoned party's response is not resolved within 6 months after service, until it is resolved.

If you are the bank or accountant that was summoned

The statute also speaks to the summoned party. Under IRC 7609(i)(1), a summoned party must assemble the requested records and be prepared to produce them on the examination date. Under IRC 7609(i)(2), the IRS may issue a certificate that the period to begin a proceeding to quash has expired with no proceeding begun, or that the taxpayer consents. And IRC 7609(i)(3) protects a summoned party that discloses in good-faith reliance on that certificate or on a court order from liability to the customer for the disclosure. Third parties can also ask for reimbursement of certain search and reproduction costs under IRC 7610.

When there is no notice and no right to quash

IRC 7609(c)(2) lists summonses that do not trigger notice. The most important for collection cases is IRC 7609(c)(2)(D): a summons issued in aid of collecting an assessment made or judgment rendered against the person whose liability the summons concerns, or the liability of a transferee or fiduciary of that person.

The Supreme Court read that exception broadly in Polselli v. IRS, 598 U.S. 432 (2023). A revenue officer collecting more than $2 million in assessed taxes from one taxpayer summoned bank records of his wife and of law firms, without notice. The Court held unanimously that the exception does not require the delinquent taxpayer to have a legal interest in the accounts or records summoned. A summons that helps the IRS find assets to collect an assessed liability can qualify even if the records belong to someone else. The concurring justices emphasized that the power is not unlimited and that notice is the default rule.

Other exceptions in IRC 7609(c)(2) cover summonses served on the taxpayer or the taxpayer's own officers or employees, summonses only to determine whether records of an identified person's transactions exist, summonses only to identify the holder of a numbered account, and certain criminal investigation summonses served on persons who are not third-party recordkeepers. John Doe summonses under IRC 7609(f) and summonses excused from notice by a court under IRC 7609(g) follow their own procedures.

If you did not get notice, check which exception applies. The collection exception is explained further in collection summonses.

Grounds for quashing

A petition to quash is not a vehicle to argue that you do not owe the tax. The court looks at whether the summons is enforceable. The government's burden starts with the standards from United States v. Powell, 379 U.S. 48 (1964): a legitimate purpose, possible relevance, information not already in the IRS's possession, and compliance with required administrative steps. If the government makes that showing, you must show an abuse of process or another valid defense.

Typical arguments include defective notice or service, a summons that is overbroad or not described with reasonable certainty, records already in the IRS's possession, a summons issued while a Justice Department referral was in effect, privilege, or an improper purpose such as harassment. Those standards are covered in summons enforcement and Powell.

Third-party contact notice is separate

Serving a summons on a third party is also a third-party contact. IRC 7602(c)(1) requires the IRS, absent an exception, to give you advance notice at least 45 days before the beginning of a period, of no more than one year, during which it intends to contact third parties. IRM 5.17.6.7 says the IRS should verify that the advance notice was given before serving a third-party summons. The statute also requires the IRS to give you a record of persons contacted, periodically and on request.

If the IRS contacted your bank or accountant without that advance notice, it is worth raising.

Practical steps when the notice arrives

Write down the date notice was given and count 20 days. Read the summons to see who issued it and why. Decide quickly whether there is a real defense or whether the better course is to provide the information yourself and negotiate the scope. Sometimes a conversation with the issuing officer narrows a broad request without litigation.

If you file, file in the right district, mail the copies by registered or certified mail within the 20 days, and understand the effect on limitations periods. The firm's main site covers IRS audits, where many third-party summonses originate. Twenty days is not long. Treat the notice like a court deadline, because that is what it is.