Disclosure of information in possession of Social Security Administration or Department of Health and Human Services

No disclosure of any return or portion of a return (including information returns and other written statements) filed with the Commissioner of Internal Revenue under title VIII of the Social Security Act or under subchapter E of chapter 1 or subchapter A of chapter 9 of the Internal Revenue Code [of 1939], or under regulations made under authority thereof, which has been transmitted to the head of the applicable agency by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, or of any file, record, report, or other paper, or any information, obtained at any time by the head of the applicable agency or by any officer or employee of the applicable agency in the course of discharging the duties of the head of the applicable agency under this chapter, and no disclosure of any such file, record, report, or other paper, or information, obtained at any time by any person from the head of the applicable agency or from any officer or employee of the applicable agency, shall be made except as the head of the applicable agency may by regulations prescribe and except as otherwise provided by Federal law. Any person who shall violate any provision of this section shall be deemed guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding $10,000 for each occurrence of a violation, or by imprisonment not exceeding 5 years, or both.

( Aug. 14, 1935, ch. 531 , title XI, § 1106, as added Aug. 10, 1939, ch. 666 , title VIII, § 802, 53 Stat. 1398 ; amended Aug. 28, 1950, ch. 809 , title IV, § 403(d), 64 Stat. 559 ; Pub. L. 85–840, title VII, § 701 , Aug. 28, 1958 , 72 Stat. 1055 ; Pub. L. 89–97, title I, § 108(c) , title III, § 340, July 30, 1965 , 79 Stat. 339 , 411; Pub. L. 90–248, title I, § 168 , title II, § 241(c)(1), Jan. 2, 1968 , 81 Stat. 875 , 917; Pub. L. 92–603, title II, § 249C(a) , Oct. 30, 1972 , 86 Stat. 1428 ; Pub. L. 93–647, § 101(d) , Jan. 4, 1975 , 88 Stat. 2360 ; Pub. L. 97–35, title XXII, § 2207 , Aug. 13, 1981 , 95 Stat. 838 ; Pub. L. 98–369, div. B, title VI, § 2663(j)(2)(D)(ii) , ( l ), July 18, 1984 , 98 Stat. 1170 , 1171; Pub. L. 103–296, title I, § 108(b)(2) –(5), title III, §§ 311(a), 313(a), Aug. 15, 1994 , 108 Stat. 1481 , 1482, 1525, 1530; Pub. L. 116–260, div. N, title II, § 283(a) , div. FF, title I, § 102(a), Dec. 27, 2020 , 134 Stat. 1984 , 3083.)