Ind. Code § 6-8.1-7-1 Confidentiality of tax information; court orders; persons eligible to receive tax information
Sec. 1. (a) This subsection does not apply to the disclosure of information concerning a conviction on a tax evasion charge. Unless in accordance with a judicial order or as otherwise provided in this chapter, the department, its employees, former employees, counsel, agents, or any other person may not divulge the amount of tax paid by any taxpayer, terms of a settlement agreement executed between a taxpayer and the department, investigation records, investigation reports, or any other information disclosed by the reports filed under the provisions of the law relating to any of the listed taxes, including required information derived from a federal return, except to any of the following when it is agreed that the information is to be confidential and to be used solely for official purposes:
(1) Members and employees of the department.
(2) The governor, including the governor's designee within the governor's office.
(3) A member of the general assembly or an employee of the house of representatives or the senate when acting on behalf of a taxpayer located in the member's legislative district who has provided sufficient information to the member or employee for the department to determine that the member or employee is acting on behalf of the taxpayer.
(4) An employee of the legislative services agency to carry out the responsibilities of the legislative services agency under IC 2-5-1.1-7 or another law.
(5) The attorney general or any other legal representative of the state in any action in respect to the amount of tax due under the provisions of the law relating to any of the listed taxes.
(6) Any authorized officers of the United States.
(b) The information described in subsection (a) may be revealed upon the receipt of a written request from any of the following:
(1) Any designated officer of the state tax department of any other state, district, territory, or possession of the United States when:
(A) the state, district, territory, or possession permits the exchange of like information with the taxing officials of the state; and
(B) it is agreed that the information is to be confidential and to be used solely for tax collection purposes.
(2) The administrative head of a state agency of Indiana when:
(A) the state agency shows an official need for the information; and
(B) the administrative head of the state agency agrees that any information released will be kept confidential and will be used solely for official purposes.
(3) The chief law enforcement officer of a state or local law enforcement agency in Indiana when it is agreed that the information is to be confidential and to be used solely for official purposes.
The department may also proactively provide to the entities listed in this subsection the name, address, and federal identification number or other identification number assigned by the department for a taxpayer in order to facilitate the investigation of a taxpayer suspected of a criminal matter in connection with a listed tax, so long as it is agreed that any further information provided is to be kept confidential and used solely for official purposes.
(c) The information described in subsection (a) relating to a person on public welfare or a person who has made application for public welfare may be revealed to the office of the secretary of family and social services for purposes of IC 12-15-1-24, the director of the division of family resources, and to any director of a county office of the division of family resources located in Indiana, upon receipt of a written request from either director for the information. The information shall be treated as confidential by the office and the directors. In addition, the information described in subsection (a) relating to a person who has been designated as an absent parent by the state Title IV-D agency shall be made available to the state Title IV-D agency upon request. The information shall be subject to the information safeguarding provisions of the state and federal Title IV-D programs.
(d) The following taxpayer information may be revealed in connection with a taxpayer's tax or other delinquency:
(1) All information relating to the delinquency or evasion of an innkeeper's tax shall be provided to the appropriate innkeeper's tax board, bureau, or commission that a taxpayer is delinquent in remitting innkeeper's taxes under IC 6-9.
(2) All information relating to the delinquency or evasion of the vehicle excise tax may be disclosed to the bureau of motor vehicles in Indiana and may be disclosed to another state, if the information is disclosed for the purpose of the enforcement and collection of the taxes imposed by IC 6-6-5.
(3) All information relating to the delinquency or evasion of commercial vehicle excise taxes payable to the bureau of motor vehicles in Indiana may be disclosed to the bureau and may be disclosed to another state, if the information is disclosed for the purpose of the enforcement and collection of the taxes imposed under IC 6-6-5.5.
(4) All information relating to the delinquency or evasion of commercial vehicle excise taxes payable under the International Registration Plan may be disclosed to another state, if the information is disclosed for the purpose of the enforcement and collection of the taxes imposed by IC 6-6-5.5.
(5) All information relating to the delinquency or evasion of the excise taxes imposed on recreational vehicles and truck campers that are payable to the bureau of motor vehicles in Indiana may be disclosed to the bureau and may be disclosed to another state if the information is disclosed for the purpose of the enforcement and collection of the taxes imposed by IC 6-6-5.1.
(6) The name, address, Social Security number, and place of employment relating to any individual who is delinquent in paying educational loans owed to a postsecondary educational institution may be revealed to that institution if it provides proof to the department that the individual is delinquent in paying for educational loans. This information shall be provided free of charge to approved postsecondary educational institutions (as defined by IC 21-7-13-6(a)). The department shall establish fees that all other institutions must pay to the department to obtain information under this subsection. However, these fees may not exceed the department's administrative costs in providing the information to the institution.
(e) The name and address of a taxpayer may be released under the following circumstances:
(1) Retail merchants, including township, as specified in IC 6-2.5-8-1(k) solely for tax collection purposes to township assessors and county assessors.
(2) Retail merchants within each county that sell tobacco products, solely for the purpose of the list prepared under IC 6-2.5-6-14.2 to the division of mental health and addiction and the alcohol and tobacco commission.
(3) A person licensed by the department under IC 6-6 or IC 6-7, or issued a registered retail merchant's certificate under IC 6-2.5, for the purpose of reporting the status of the person's license or certificate.
(4) All persons, corporations, or other entities that qualify or have qualified for an exemption from sales tax under IC 6-2.5-5-16, IC 6-2.5-5-25, or IC 6-2.5-5-26, or otherwise provide information regarding a person's, corporation's, or entity's exemption status under IC 6-2.5-5-16, IC 6-2.5-5-25, or IC 6-2.5-5-26. Such information may be published as a list by the department. In addition to the name and address of the entity, information that may be published also includes:
(A) any federal identification number or other identification number for the entity assigned by the department;
(B) any expiration date of an exemption under IC 6-2.5-5-25;
(C) whether any sales tax exemption has expired or has been revoked by the department; and
(D) any other information reasonably necessary for a recipient of an exemption certificate to determine if an exemption certificate is valid.
(5) A taxpayer where the department suspects that a fraudulent return has been filed on their behalf and that the system of a taxpayer's previous year tax preparer or tax preparation software provider has been breached for the purposes of sharing with the tax preparer or tax preparation software provider in such cases. Additionally, any reasonable information needed to identify the taxpayer may be shared.
(6) A person that submits a request related to a vehicle registered with the department under the International Registration Plan or IC 9-18.1-13-3, as long as the use of the information will be strictly limited to at least one (1) of the reasons listed in IC 9-14-13-7.
(f) This section does not apply to:
(1) the beer excise tax, including brand and packaged type (IC 7.1-4-2);
(2) the liquor excise tax (IC 7.1-4-3);
(3) the wine excise tax (IC 7.1-4-4);
(4) the hard cider excise tax (IC 7.1-4-4.5);
(5) the vehicle excise tax (IC 6-6-5);
(6) the commercial vehicle excise tax (IC 6-6-5.5); and
(7) the fees under IC 13-23.
(g) The department may release compiled tax information under the following circumstances:
(1) Information reports submitted under IC 6-6-1.1-502 concerning the number of gallons of gasoline sold by a distributor, and IC 6-6-2.5 concerning the number of gallons of special fuel sold by a supplier, the number of gallons of special fuel exported by a licensed exporter, or the number of gallons imported by a licensed transporter, may be released by the commissioner upon receipt of a written request for the information.
(2) The total incremental tax amounts under:
(A) IC 5-28-26;
(B) IC 36-7-13;
(C) IC 36-7-26;
(D) IC 36-7-27;
(E) IC 36-7-31;
(F) IC 36-7-31.3; or
(G) any other statute providing for the calculation of incremental state taxes that will be distributed to or retained by a political subdivision or other entity;
to the fiscal officer of the political subdivision or other entity that established the district or area from which the incremental taxes were received if that fiscal officer enters into an agreement with the department specifying that the political subdivision or other entity will use the information solely for official purposes.
(3) The aggregate amounts of any of the listed taxes collected on a particular date or within a date range may be released upon written request.
(h) The department may release the following information as required by statute:
(1) Information pursuant to IC 6-8.1-3-7.1 concerning:
(A) an innkeeper's tax, a food and beverage tax, or an admissions tax under IC 6-9;
(B) the supplemental auto rental excise tax under IC 6-6-9.7; and
(C) the covered taxes allocated to a professional sports development area fund, sports and convention facilities operating fund, or other fund under IC 36-7-31 and IC 36-7-31.3.
(2) Information concerning state gross retail tax exemption certificates that relate to a person who is exempt from the state gross retail tax under IC 6-2.5-4-5 may be disclosed to a power subsidiary (as defined in IC 6-2.5-1-22.5) or a person selling the services or commodities listed in IC 6-2.5-4-5 for the purpose of enforcing and collecting the state gross retail and use taxes under IC 6-2.5.
(i) The department may release a statement of tax withholding or other tax information statement provided on behalf of a taxpayer to the department to:
(1) the taxpayer on whose behalf the tax withholding or other tax information statement was provided to the department;
(2) the taxpayer's spouse, if:
(A) the taxpayer is deceased or incapacitated; and
(B) the taxpayer's spouse is filing a joint income tax return with the taxpayer; or
(3) an administrator, executor, trustee, or other fiduciary acting on behalf of the taxpayer if the taxpayer is deceased.
(j) Information related to a listed tax regarding a taxpayer may be disclosed to an individual without a power of attorney under IC 6-8.1-3-8(a)(2) if:
(1) the individual is authorized to file returns and remit payments for one (1) or more listed taxes on behalf of the taxpayer through the department's online tax system before September 8, 2020;
(2) the information relates to a listed tax described in subdivision (1) for which the individual is authorized to file returns and remit payments;
(3) the taxpayer has been notified by the department of the individual's ability to access the taxpayer's information for the listed taxes described in subdivision (1) and the taxpayer has not objected to the individual's access;
(4) the individual's authorization or right to access the taxpayer's information for a listed tax described in subdivision (1) has not been withdrawn by the taxpayer; and
(5) disclosure of the information to the individual is not prohibited by federal law.
Except as otherwise provided by this article, this subsection does not authorize the disclosure of any correspondence from the department that is mailed or otherwise delivered to the taxpayer relating to the specified listed taxes for which the individual was given authorization by the taxpayer. The department shall establish a date, which may be earlier but not later than September 1, 2023, after which a taxpayer's information concerning returns and remittances for a listed tax may not be disclosed to an individual without a power of attorney under IC 6-8.1-3-8(a)(2) by providing notice to the affected taxpayers and previously authorized individuals, including notification published on the department's website. After the earlier of the date established by the department or September 1, 2023, the department may not disclose a taxpayer's information concerning returns and remittances for a listed tax to an individual unless the individual has a power of attorney under IC 6-8.1-3-8(a)(2) or the disclosure is otherwise allowed under this article.
As added by Acts 1980, P.L.61, SEC.1. Amended by P.L.95-1983, SEC.1; P.L.42-1984, SEC.5; P.L.57-1985, SEC.3; P.L.6-1987, SEC.12; P.L.65-1988, SEC.2; P.L.335-1989(ss), SEC.21; P.L.2-1992, SEC.72; P.L.4-1993, SEC.11; P.L.5-1993, SEC.23; P.L.71-1993, SEC.20; P.L.277-1993(ss), SEC.52; P.L.1-1994, SEC.31; P.L.85-1995, SEC.33; P.L.67-1996, SEC.1; P.L.119-1998, SEC.18; P.L.181-1999, SEC.7; P.L.177-1999, SEC.2; P.L.215-2001, SEC.12; P.L.204-2001, SEC.14; P.L.254-2003, SEC.12; P.L.145-2006, SEC.19; P.L.111-2006, SEC.5; P.L.2-2007, SEC.129; P.L.219-2007, SEC.92; P.L.146-2008, SEC.359; P.L.131-2008, SEC.29; P.L.1-2009, SEC.58; P.L.44-2009, SEC.2; P.L.182-2009(ss), SEC.254; P.L.205-2013, SEC.131; P.L.227-2013, SEC.20; P.L.261-2013, SEC.38; P.L.293-2013(ts), SEC.29; P.L.2-2014, SEC.31; P.L.242-2015, SEC.37; P.L.256-2017, SEC.87; P.L.269-2017, SEC.7; P.L.86-2018, SEC.80; P.L.234-2019, SEC.32; P.L.285-2019, SEC.2; P.L.146-2020, SEC.43; P.L.156-2020, SEC.30; P.L.159-2021, SEC.34; P.L.137-2022, SEC.87; P.L.194-2023, SEC.32; P.L.118-2024, SEC.21; P.L.126-2025, SEC.2; P.L.128-2026, SEC.74.