§ 57-38-57 — Secrecy as to returns - Penalty

The secrecy of returns must be guarded except as follows:
1. a. Except as is otherwise specifically provided by law, the tax commissioner, the tax
commissioner's deputies, agents, clerks, and other officers and employees, may
not divulge nor make known, in any manner, whether or not any report or return
required under this chapter has been filed, the amount of income, or any
particulars set forth or disclosed in any report or return required under this
chapter, including the copy or any portion thereof or information reflected in the
taxpayer's federal income tax return that the tax commissioner may require to be
attached to, furnished with, or included in the taxpayer's state income tax return.
This provision may not be construed to prohibit the publication of statistics, so
classified as to prevent the identification of particular reports or returns, and the
items thereof, or the inspection by the attorney general or other legal
representatives of the state of the report or return of any taxpayer who shall bring
action to set aside or review the tax based thereon, or against whom an action or
proceeding has been instituted to recover any tax or any penalty imposed by this
chapter. This section does not prohibit disclosure of the fact that a report or return
required under this chapter has not been filed if the disclosure is made to further
a tax investigation being conducted by the tax commissioner. Reports and returns
must be preserved for three years and thereafter until the tax commissioner
orders them to be destroyed.
b. A court of competent jurisdiction may issue an order or subpoena directing the tax
commissioner to disclose state tax return information to a local, state, or federal
law enforcement official conducting a criminal investigation if the court determines
that the facts submitted by the applicant satisfy the following:
(1) There is probable cause to believe that a specific criminal act has been
committed and that the return or return information constitutes evidence of a
criminal offense or may be relevant to a matter relating to the commission of
the criminal offense;
(2) The return or return information is sought exclusively for use in a criminal
investigation or proceeding concerning such act; and
(3) The information sought to be disclosed cannot reasonably be obtained
under the circumstances, from another source.
c. Before obtaining an order under this subsection, a law enforcement official may
request information from the tax commissioner as to whether a taxpayer, which is
the subject of a criminal investigation for which a return or return information is or
may be relevant to the commission of a criminal offense, has complied with the
requirements of this chapter. For purposes of this request, the tax commissioner
is limited to stating that the taxpayer has or has not complied with these
requirements.
d. Except as required during court proceedings, tax return information disclosed to
law enforcement under this section remains confidential during an active criminal
investigation, after the investigation, after prosecution concludes, or until the time
period for appeals has expired, whichever is later.
2. Repealed by S.L. 1975, ch. 106, § 673.
3. The tax commissioner, however, may permit the commissioner of internal revenue of
the United States or the proper officer of any state or of the District of Columbia or of
any territory of the United States, imposing an income tax similar to that imposed by
this chapter, or the authorized representative of any such officer or the authorized
agent of the multistate tax commission, to inspect the income tax returns of any
taxpayer, or may furnish to such officer or the officer's authorized representative an
abstract or copy of the return of income of any taxpayer, or supply the officer or
representative with information concerning any item contained in any return, or

disclosed by the report of any investigation of the income, or return of income, of any
taxpayer, but such permission may be granted, or such information furnished, to such
officers or representatives only if the statutes of the United States or of such other
state or of the District of Columbia or of a territory of the United States, as the case
may be, grant substantially similar privileges to the proper officer of this state charged
with the administration of this chapter; provided, that any information furnished or
made available by the tax commissioner to any other person pursuant to this
subsection may be used by such person only for tax administration purposes; and
provided, further, that similar information furnished or made available to the tax
commissioner by a representative or officer of the United States or of any other state
or of the District of Columbia or a territory of the United States may be used by the tax
commissioner only for tax administration purposes.
4. The tax commissioner is hereby authorized to furnish to workforce safety and
insurance, to job service North Dakota, or to the secretary of state, upon their request
a list or lists of employers showing only the names, addresses, and the tax department
file identification numbers of such employers; provided, that any such list may be used
only for the purpose of administering the duties of the requesting governmental unit.
5. Notwithstanding any other provision of law relating to confidentiality of information
contained on returns, the tax commissioner may use information for income and
withholding tax compliance purposes contained on any federal form W-2 or federal
form 1099 filed under subsection 3 or 4 of section 57-38-60, a fiduciary return filed
under section 57-38-07, a return filed by a subchapter S corporation under section
57-38-32, or an information at the source return filed under section 57-38-42.
6. Upon request, the tax commissioner may furnish to the unclaimed property division of
the board of university and school lands, a taxpayer's name, address, and federal
identification number for identifying the taxpayer as the owner of an unclaimed
voucher authorized by the tax commissioner or to locate the apparent owner of
unclaimed property as provided under chapter 47-30.2.
7. The tax commissioner, upon written request from the director of the North Dakota
lottery, may provide a written statement to the director, employees, or agents of the
North Dakota lottery, in which the tax commissioner is limited to stating that the lottery
retailer applicant has complied or not complied with the requirements of this chapter.
The information obtained under this subsection is confidential and may be used for the
sole purpose of determining whether the applicant meets the requirements of
subsections 3, 4, and 5 of section 53-12.1-07.
8. The tax commissioner, upon written request from the secretary of commerce of the
United States, may furnish officers and employees of the bureau of census an
individual taxpayer's identification number and county of residence as reported on the
individual's return. However, any information obtained may be used only for the
purpose of establishing migration methodologies in estimating the annual shifts in the
state's population. A person who receives return information under this subsection may
not disclose the return information to any person other than the taxpayer to whom it
relates except in a form that cannot be associated with, or otherwise identify, directly or
indirectly, a particular taxpayer.
9. The tax commissioner may disclose a taxpayer's name, address, and identification
number to the Bank of North Dakota for the sole purpose of administering the tax
deduction for contributions to the North Dakota higher education savings plan.
10. The tax commissioner may disclose confidential tax information to the insurance
commissioner to be used for the sole purpose of suspending, revoking, placing on
probation, refusing to continue or refusing to issue an insurance producer license,
assessing a civil penalty, or investigating fraudulent insurance acts under the
insurance laws of this state. The tax information may be disclosed only upon written
request that provides the taxpayer's name, federal identification number, and address.
The insurance commissioner may make a written request only if the insurance
commissioner has started an investigation of an applicant or licensee on grounds other
than failure to comply with chapter 57-38 or has started an investigation of a

suspected or actual fraudulent insurance act. Upon receipt of the request, the tax
commissioner may disclose whether the taxpayer has complied with the requirements
of this chapter. If the taxpayer has not complied with these requirements, the tax
commissioner may provide the tax type, the tax period for which a return has not been
filed, and if the taxpayer has failed to pay any tax, the amount of tax, penalty, and
interest owed. The information obtained under this subsection is confidential and may
be used only for the purposes identified in this subsection. For the purposes of this
subsection, a taxpayer is deemed in compliance with this chapter if the taxpayer has
entered an agreement with the tax commissioner to cure the taxpayer's
noncompliance and the taxpayer is current with those obligations under the
agreement.
11. The tax commissioner may provide the department of commerce information obtained
in the administration of the income tax under this chapter. A request by the department
of commerce for information must be in writing and must be limited to information
necessary to evaluate the degree of success and compliance with statutory or
contractual performance standards established for employers who received North
Dakota state economic development assistance. A request under this subsection does
not require the tax commissioner to compile or create a record, including compiling or
creating a record from electronically stored information, which does not exist.
Information received by the department of commerce under this subsection may not
be divulged by the department of commerce except in an aggregate format that does
not permit taxpayer identification and any information contained in the returns or
reports filed by a taxpayer.