IRS collection of tax restitution
Little v. United States
In brief
- Where it stands
- Petition Pending
Awaiting an order on the petition
- What it’s about
- Michael Little asks whether he may challenge a criminal restitution order after serving his sentence and whether the IRS may separately collect restitution for a tax offense, potentially recovering the same tax loss twice.
- What's at stake
- The questions affect Little's ability to challenge his restitution order and whether the IRS can collect tax-related restitution outside the sentencing court's order; the Supreme Court has not resolved them.
Summary: written with AI from the case record.
What it's about
The Supreme Court has sent his petition for conference consideration but has not agreed to hear the case.
Little's petition raises questions about challenging criminal restitution after a sentence ends and the IRS's authority to collect tax-related restitution.
Question presented
1. Whether a writ of error coram nobis is available to challenge a criminal restitution order after the petitioner’s sentence has been fully served, an issue this Court has not resolved and on which the courts of appeals are divided. 2. Whether 26 U.S.C. § 6201(a)(4)(A) authorizes the Internal Revenue Service to assess and collect criminal restitution for a tax-related offense under Title 18 as an avenue independent of the sentencing court’s restitution order—and, if so, whether a restitution order calculated without accounting for that independent assessment authority may result in duplicative recovery for the same tax loss, in light of the Seventh Circuit’s intervening decision in Daugerdas v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, No. 25-1055 (7th Cir. Mar. 30, 2026), which conflicts with the premise underlying the decision below.
What happens next
The Court must decide whether to hear the petition, which was distributed for a Nov. 13, 2026, conference. That distribution does not guarantee an order date, and no oral argument or decision date is set.
Documents
Docket activity
New analysis added
AI analysis generated: Case Briefing
Case data updated: summary, question_presented, generation_metadata
Case data updated: question_presented, extraction_metadata
Brief added: Petition
Sources
Primary materials plus reporting. Best-effort analysis: this explainer relies on a mix of primary materials and trusted secondary sources. Official filings and opinions remain authoritative.