II 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7227 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 20, 2018 

Received 

AN ACT 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to modernize 

and improve the Internal Revenue Service, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
2 

HR 7227 RDS

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; ETC. 

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

3 ‘‘Taxpayer First Act of 2018’’. 

4 (b) AMENDMENT OF 1986 CODE.—Except as other5 wise expressly provided, whenever in this Act an amend6 ment or repeal is expressed in terms of an amendment 

7 to, or repeal of, a section or other provision, the reference 

8 shall be considered to be made to a section or other provi9 sion of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

10 (c) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

11 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; etc. 

TITLE I—PUTTING TAXPAYERS FIRST 

Subtitle A—Independent Appeals Process 

Sec. 1001. Establishment of Internal Revenue Service Independent Office of 

Appeals. 

Subtitle B—Improved Service 

Sec. 1101. Comprehensive customer service strategy. 

Sec. 1102. IRS Free File Program. 

Sec. 1103. Low-income exception for payments otherwise required in connection 

with a submission of an offer-in-compromise. 

Subtitle C—Sensible Enforcement 

Sec. 1201. Internal Revenue Service seizure requirements with respect to structuring transactions. 

Sec. 1202. Exclusion of interest received in action to recover property seized by 

the Internal Revenue Service based on structuring transaction. 

Sec. 1203. Clarification of equitable relief from joint liability. 

Sec. 1204. Modification of procedures for issuance of third-party summons. 

Sec. 1205. Private debt collection and special compliance personnel program. 

Sec. 1206. Reform of notice of contact of third parties. 

Sec. 1207. Modification of authority to issue designated summons. 

Sec. 1208. Limitation on access of non-Internal Revenue Service employees to 

returns and return information. 

Subtitle D—Organizational Modernization 

Sec. 1301. Office of the National Taxpayer Advocate. 

Sec. 1302. Modernization of Internal Revenue Service organizational structure. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
3 

HR 7227 RDS

Subtitle E—Other Provisions 

Sec. 1401. Return preparation programs for applicable taxpayers. 

Sec. 1402. Provision of information regarding low-income taxpayer clinics. 

Sec. 1403. Notice from IRS regarding closure of taxpayer assistance centers. 

Sec. 1404. Rules for seizure and sale of perishable goods restricted to only perishable goods. 

Sec. 1405. Whistleblower reforms. 

Sec. 1406. Customer service information. 

Sec. 1407. Misdirected tax refund deposits. 

TITLE II—21ST CENTURY IRS 

Subtitle A—Cybersecurity and Identity Protection 

Sec. 2001. Public-private partnership to address identity theft refund fraud. 

Sec. 2002. Recommendations of Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee regarding identity theft refund fraud. 

Sec. 2003. Information sharing and analysis center. 

Sec. 2004. Compliance by contractors with confidentiality safeguards. 

Sec. 2005. Report on electronic payments. 

Sec. 2006. Identity protection personal identification numbers. 

Sec. 2007. Single point of contact for tax-related identity theft victims. 

Sec. 2008. Notification of suspected identity theft. 

Sec. 2009. Guidelines for stolen identity refund fraud cases. 

Sec. 2010. Increased penalty for improper disclosure or use of information by 

preparers of returns. 

Subtitle B—Development of Information Technology 

Sec. 2101. Management of Internal Revenue Service information technology. 

Sec. 2102. Internet platform for Form 1099 filings. 

Sec. 2103. Streamlined critical pay authority for information technology positions. 

Subtitle C—Modernization of Consent-Based Income Verification System 

Sec. 2201. Disclosure of taxpayer information for third-party income 

verification. 

Sec. 2202. Limit redisclosures and uses of consent-based disclosures of tax return information. 

Subtitle D—Expanded Use of Electronic Systems 

Sec. 2301. Electronic filing of returns. 

Sec. 2302. Uniform standards for the use of electronic signatures for disclosure 

authorizations to, and other authorizations of, practitioners. 

Sec. 2303. Payment of taxes by debit and credit cards. 

Sec. 2304. Requirement that electronically prepared paper returns include scannable code. 

Sec. 2305. Authentication of users of electronic services accounts. 

Subtitle E—Other Provisions 

Sec. 2401. Repeal of provision regarding certain tax compliance procedures and 

reports. 

Sec. 2402. Comprehensive training strategy. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
4 

HR 7227 RDS

TITLE III—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 

Subtitle A—Reform of Laws Governing Internal Revenue Service Employees 

Sec. 3001. Electronic record retention. 

Sec. 3002. Prohibition on rehiring any employee of the Internal Revenue Service who was involuntarily separated from service for misconduct. 

Sec. 3003. Notification of unauthorized inspection or disclosure of returns and 

return information. 

Subtitle B—Provisions Relating to Exempt Organizations 

Sec. 3101. Mandatory e-filing by exempt organizations. 

Sec. 3102. Notice required before revocation of tax exempt status for failure to 

file return. 

Subtitle C—Tax Court 

Sec. 3301. Disqualification of judge or magistrate judge of the Tax Court. 

Sec. 3302. Opinions and judgments. 

Sec. 3303. Title of special trial judge changed to magistrate judge of the Tax 

Court. 

Sec. 3304. Repeal of deadwood related to Board of Tax Appeals. 

1 TITLE I—PUTTING TAXPAYERS 

2 FIRST 

3 Subtitle A—Independent Appeals 

4 Process 

5 SEC. 1001. ESTABLISHMENT OF INTERNAL REVENUE SERV6 ICE INDEPENDENT OFFICE OF APPEALS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7803 is amended by add8 ing at the end the following new subsection: 

9 ‘‘(e) INDEPENDENT OFFICE OF APPEALS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in 

11 the Internal Revenue Service an office to be known 

12 as the ‘Internal Revenue Service Independent Office 

13 of Appeals’. 

14 ‘‘(2) CHIEF OF APPEALS.— 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
5 

HR 7227 RDS

1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Internal Revenue 

2 Service Independent Office of Appeals shall be 

3 under the supervision and direction of an offi4 cial to be known as the ‘Chief of Appeals’. The 

5 Chief of Appeals shall report directly to the 

6 Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service 

7 and shall be entitled to compensation at the 

8 same rate as the highest rate of basic pay es9 tablished for the Senior Executive Service under 

10 section 5382 of title 5, United States Code. 

11 ‘‘(B) APPOINTMENT.—The Chief of Ap12 peals shall be appointed by the Commissioner of 

13 the Internal Revenue Service without regard to 

14 the provisions of title 5, United States Code, re15 lating to appointments in the competitive serv16 ice or the Senior Executive Service. 

17 ‘‘(C) QUALIFICATIONS.—An individual ap18 pointed under subparagraph (B) shall have ex19 perience and expertise in— 

20 ‘‘(i) administration of, and compliance 

21 with, Federal tax laws, 

22 ‘‘(ii) a broad range of compliance 

23 cases, and 

24 ‘‘(iii) management of large service or25 ganizations. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
6 

HR 7227 RDS

1 ‘‘(3) PURPOSES AND DUTIES OF OFFICE.—It 

2 shall be the function of the Internal Revenue Service 

3 Independent Office of Appeals to resolve Federal tax 

4 controversies without litigation on a basis which— 

5 ‘‘(A) is fair and impartial to both the Gov6 ernment and the taxpayer, 

7 ‘‘(B) promotes a consistent application and 

8 interpretation of, and voluntary compliance 

9 with, the Federal tax laws, and 

10 ‘‘(C) enhances public confidence in the in11 tegrity and efficiency of the Internal Revenue 

12 Service. 

13 ‘‘(4) RIGHT OF APPEAL.—The resolution proc14 ess described in paragraph (3) shall be generally 

15 available to all taxpayers. 

16 ‘‘(5) LIMITATION ON DESIGNATION OF CASES

17 AS NOT ELIGIBLE FOR REFERRAL TO INDEPENDENT

18 OFFICE OF APPEALS.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If any taxpayer which 

20 is in receipt of a notice of deficiency authorized 

21 under section 6212 requests referral to the In22 ternal Revenue Service Independent Office of 

23 Appeals and such request is denied, the Com24 missioner of the Internal Revenue Service shall 

25 provide such taxpayer a written notice which— 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
7 

HR 7227 RDS

1 ‘‘(i) provides a detailed description of 

2 the facts involved, the basis for the deci3 sion to deny the request, and a detailed ex4 planation of how the basis of such decision 

5 applies to such facts, and 

6 ‘‘(ii) describes the procedures pre7 scribed under subparagraph (C) for pro8 testing the decision to deny the request. 

9 ‘‘(B) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Com10 missioner of the Internal Revenue Service shall 

11 submit a written report to Congress on an an12 nual basis which includes the number of re13 quests described in subparagraph (A) which 

14 were denied and the reasons (described by cat15 egory) that such requests were denied. 

16 ‘‘(C) PROCEDURES FOR PROTESTING DE17 NIAL OF REQUEST.—The Commissioner of the 

18 Internal Revenue Service shall prescribe proce19 dures for protesting to the Commissioner of the 

20 Internal Revenue Service a denial of a request 

21 described in subparagraph (A). 

22 ‘‘(D) NOT APPLICABLE TO FRIVOLOUS PO23 SITIONS.—This paragraph shall not apply to a 

24 request for referral to the Internal Revenue 

25 Service Independent Office of Appeals which is 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
8 

HR 7227 RDS

1 denied on the basis that the issue involved is a 

2 frivolous position (within the meaning of section 

3 6702(c)). 

4 ‘‘(6) STAFF.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—All personnel in the 

6 Internal Revenue Service Independent Office of 

7 Appeals shall report to the Chief of Appeals. 

8 ‘‘(B) ACCESS TO STAFF OF OFFICE OF

9 THE CHIEF COUNSEL.—The Chief of Appeals 

10 shall have authority to obtain legal assistance 

11 and advice from the staff of the Office of the 

12 Chief Counsel. The Chief Counsel shall ensure 

13 that such assistance and advice is provided by 

14 staff of the Office of the Chief Counsel who 

15 were not involved in the case with respect to 

16 which such assistance and advice is sought and 

17 who are not involved in preparing such case for 

18 litigation. 

19 ‘‘(7) ACCESS TO CASE FILES.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In any case in which 

21 a conference with the Internal Revenue Service 

22 Independent Office of Appeals has been sched23 uled upon request of a specified taxpayer, the 

24 Chief of Appeals shall ensure that such tax25 payer is provided access to the nonprivileged 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
9 

HR 7227 RDS

1 portions of the case file on record regarding the 

2 disputed issues (other than documents provided 

3 by the taxpayer to the Internal Revenue Serv4 ice) not later than 10 days before the date of 

5 such conference. 

6 ‘‘(B) TAXPAYER ELECTION TO EXPEDITE

7 CONFERENCE.—If the taxpayer so elects, sub8 paragraph (A) shall be applied by substituting 

9 ‘the date of such conference’ for ‘10 days before 

10 the date of such conference’. 

11 ‘‘(C) SPECIFIED TAXPAYER.—For pur12 poses of this paragraph— 

13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘speci14 fied taxpayer’ means— 

15 ‘‘(I) in the case of any taxpayer 

16 who is a natural person, a taxpayer 

17 whose adjusted gross income does not 

18 exceed $400,000 for the taxable year 

19 to which the dispute relates, and 

20 ‘‘(II) in the case of any other 

21 taxpayer, a taxpayer whose gross re22 ceipts do not exceed $5,000,000 for 

23 the taxable year to which the dispute 

24 relates. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
10 

HR 7227 RDS

1 ‘‘(ii) AGGREGATION RULE.—Rules 

2 similar to the rules of section 448(c)(2) 

3 shall apply for purposes of clause (i)(II).’’. 

4 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

5 (1) The following provisions are each amended 

6 by striking ‘‘Internal Revenue Service Office of Ap7 peals’’ and inserting ‘‘Internal Revenue Service 

8 Independent Office of Appeals’’: 

9 (A) Section 6015(c)(4)(B)(ii)(I). 

10 (B) Section 6320(b)(1). 

11 (C) Subsections (b)(1) and (d)(3) of sec12 tion 6330. 

13 (D) Section 6603(d)(3)(B). 

14 (E) Section 6621(c)(2)(A)(i). 

15 (F) Section 7122(e)(2). 

16 (G) Subsections (a), (b)(1), (b)(2), and 

17 (c)(1) of section 7123. 

18 (H) Subsections (c)(7)(B)(i), and (g)(2)(A) 

19 of section 7430. 

20 (I) Section 7522(b)(3). 

21 (J) Section 7612(c)(2)(A). 

22 (2) Section 7430(c)(2) is amended by striking 

23 ‘‘Internal Revenue Service Office of Appeals’’ each 

24 place it appears and inserting ‘‘Internal Revenue 

25 Service Independent Office of Appeals’’. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
11 

HR 7227 RDS

1 (3) The heading of section 6330(d)(3) is 

2 amended by inserting ‘‘INDEPENDENT’’ after ‘‘IRS’’. 

3 (c) OTHER REFERENCES.—Any reference in any pro4 vision of law, or regulation or other guidance, to the Inter5 nal Revenue Service Office of Appeals shall be treated as 

6 a reference to the Internal Revenue Service Independent 

7 Office of Appeals. 

8 (d) SAVINGS PROVISIONS.—Rules similar to the rules 

9 of paragraphs (2) through (6) of section 1001(b) of the 

10 Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act 

11 of 1998 shall apply for purposes of this section (and the 

12 amendments made by this section). 

13 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro15 vided in this subsection, the amendments made by 

16 this section shall take effect on the date of the en17 actment of this Act. 

18 (2) ACCESS TO CASE FILES.—Section 

19 7803(e)(7) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as 

20 added by subsection (a), shall apply to conferences 

21 occurring after the date which is 1 year after the 

22 date of the enactment of this Act. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
12 

HR 7227 RDS

1 Subtitle B—Improved Service 

2 SEC. 1101. COMPREHENSIVE CUSTOMER SERVICE STRAT3 EGY. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than the date which is 

5 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

6 Secretary of the Treasury shall submit to Congress a writ7 ten comprehensive customer service strategy for the Inter8 nal Revenue Service. Such strategy shall include— 

9 (1) a plan to provide assistance to taxpayers 

10 that is secure, designed to meet reasonable taxpayer 

11 expectations, and adopts appropriate best practices 

12 of customer service provided in the private sector, 

13 including online services, telephone call back serv14 ices, and training of employees providing customer 

15 services; 

16 (2) a thorough assessment of the services that 

17 the Internal Revenue Service can co-locate with 

18 other Federal services or offer as self-service op19 tions; 

20 (3) proposals to improve Internal Revenue Serv21 ice customer service in the short term (the current 

22 and following fiscal year), medium term (approxi23 mately 3 to 5 fiscal years), and long term (approxi24 mately 10 fiscal years); 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
13 

HR 7227 RDS

1 (4) a plan to update guidance and training ma2 terials for customer service employees of the Internal 

3 Revenue Service, including the Internal Revenue 

4 Manual, to reflect such strategy; and 

5 (5) identified metrics and benchmarks for quan6 titatively measuring the progress of the Internal 

7 Revenue Service in implementing such strategy. 

8 (b) UPDATED GUIDANCE AND TRAINING MATE9 RIALS.—Not later than 2 years after the date of the enact10 ment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury (or the 

11 Secretary’s delegate) shall make available the updated 

12 guidance and training materials described in subsection 

13 (a)(4) (including the Internal Revenue Manual). Such up14 dated guidance and training materials (including the In15 ternal Revenue Manual) shall be written in a manner so 

16 as to be easily understood by customer service employees 

17 of the Internal Revenue Service and shall provide clear 

18 instructions. 

19 SEC. 1102. IRS FREE FILE PROGRAM. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

21 (1) The Secretary of the Treasury, or the Sec22 retary’s delegate, shall continue to operate the IRS 

23 Free File Program as established by the Internal 

24 Revenue Service and published in the Federal Reg25 ister on November 4, 2002 (67 Fed. Reg. 67247), 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
14 

HR 7227 RDS

1 including any subsequent agreements and governing 

2 rules established pursuant thereto. 

3 (2) The IRS Free File Program shall continue 

4 to provide free commercial-type online individual in5 come tax preparation and electronic filing services to 

6 the lowest 70 percent of taxpayers by adjusted gross 

7 income. The number of taxpayers eligible to receive 

8 such services each year shall be calculated by the In9 ternal Revenue Service annually based on prior year 

10 aggregate taxpayer adjusted gross income data. 

11 (3) In addition to the services described in 

12 paragraph (2), and in the same manner, the IRS 

13 Free File Program shall continue to make available 

14 to all taxpayers (without regard to income) a basic, 

15 online electronic fillable forms utility. 

16 (4) The IRS Free File Program shall continue 

17 to work cooperatively with the private sector to pro18 vide the free individual income tax preparation and 

19 the electronic filing services described in paragraphs 

20 (2) and (3). 

21 (5) The IRS Free File Program shall work co22 operatively with State government agencies to en23 hance and expand the use of the program to provide 

24 needed benefits to the taxpayer while reducing the 

25 cost of processing returns. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
15 

HR 7227 RDS

1 (b) INNOVATIONS.—The Secretary of the Treasury, 

2 or the Secretary’s delegate, shall work with the private 

3 sector through the IRS Free File Program to identify and 

4 implement, consistent with applicable law, innovative new 

5 program features to improve and simplify the taxpayer’s 

6 experience with completing and filing individual income 

7 tax returns through voluntary compliance. 

8 SEC. 1103. LOW-INCOME EXCEPTION FOR PAYMENTS OTH9 ERWISE REQUIRED IN CONNECTION WITH A 

10 SUBMISSION OF AN OFFER-IN-COMPROMISE. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7122(c) is amended by 

12 adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

13 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTION FOR LOW-INCOME TAX14 PAYERS.—Paragraph (1), and any user fee otherwise 

15 required in connection with the submission of an 

16 offer-in-compromise, shall not apply to any offer-in17 compromise with respect to a taxpayer who is an in18 dividual with adjusted gross income, as determined 

19 for the most recent taxable year for which such in20 formation is available, which does not exceed 250 

21 percent of the applicable poverty level (as deter22 mined by the Secretary).’’. 

23 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

24 this section shall apply to offers-in-compromise submitted 

25 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
16 

HR 7227 RDS

1 Subtitle C—Sensible Enforcement 

2 SEC. 1201. INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE SEIZURE RE3 QUIREMENTS WITH RESPECT TO STRUC4 TURING TRANSACTIONS. 

5 Section 5317(c)(2) of title 31, United States Code, 

6 is amended— 

7 (1) by striking ‘‘Any property’’ and inserting 

8 the following: 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any property’’; and 

10 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(B) INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE SEI12 ZURE REQUIREMENTS WITH RESPECT TO

13 STRUCTURING TRANSACTIONS.— 

14 ‘‘(i) PROPERTY DERIVED FROM AN IL15 LEGAL SOURCE.—Property may only be 

16 seized by the Internal Revenue Service 

17 pursuant to subparagraph (A) by reason of 

18 a claimed violation of section 5324 if the 

19 property to be seized was derived from an 

20 illegal source or the funds were structured 

21 for the purpose of concealing the violation 

22 of a criminal law or regulation other than 

23 section 5324. 

24 ‘‘(ii) NOTICE.—Not later than 30 

25 days after property is seized by the InterVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:50 Dec 27, 2018 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7227.RDS H7227

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
17 

HR 7227 RDS

1 nal Revenue Service pursuant to subpara2 graph (A), the Internal Revenue Service 

3 shall— 

4 ‘‘(I) make a good faith effort to 

5 find all persons with an ownership in6 terest in such property; and 

7 ‘‘(II) provide each such person so 

8 found with a notice of the seizure and 

9 of the person’s rights under clause 

10 (iv). 

11 ‘‘(iii) EXTENSION OF NOTICE UNDER

12 CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES.—The Internal 

13 Revenue Service may apply to a court of 

14 competent jurisdiction for one 30-day ex15 tension of the notice requirement under 

16 clause (ii) if the Internal Revenue Service 

17 can establish probable cause of an immi18 nent threat to national security or personal 

19 safety necessitating such extension. 

20 ‘‘(iv) POST-SEIZURE HEARING.—If a 

21 person with an ownership interest in prop22 erty seized pursuant to subparagraph (A) 

23 by the Internal Revenue Service requests a 

24 hearing by a court of competent jurisdic25 tion within 30 days after the date on which 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
18 

HR 7227 RDS

1 notice is provided under subclause (ii), 

2 such property shall be returned unless the 

3 court holds an adversarial hearing and 

4 finds within 30 days of such request (or 

5 such longer period as the court may pro6 vide, but only on request of an interested 

7 party) that there is probable cause to be8 lieve that there is a violation of section 

9 5324 involving such property and probable 

10 cause to believe that the property to be 

11 seized was derived from an illegal source or 

12 the funds were structured for the purpose 

13 of concealing the violation of a criminal 

14 law or regulation other than section 

15 5324.’’. 

16 SEC. 1202. EXCLUSION OF INTEREST RECEIVED IN ACTION 

17 TO RECOVER PROPERTY SEIZED BY THE IN18 TERNAL REVENUE SERVICE BASED ON 

19 STRUCTURING TRANSACTION. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part III of subchapter B of chap21 ter 1 is amended by inserting before section 140 the fol22 lowing new section: 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
19 

HR 7227 RDS

1 ‘‘SEC. 139H. INTEREST RECEIVED IN ACTION TO RECOVER 

2 PROPERTY SEIZED BY THE INTERNAL REV3 ENUE SERVICE BASED ON STRUCTURING 

4 TRANSACTION. 

5 ‘‘Gross income shall not include any interest received 

6 from the Federal Government in connection with an action 

7 to recover property seized by the Internal Revenue Service 

8 pursuant to section 5317(c)(2) of title 31, United States 

9 Code, by reason of a claimed violation of section 5324 of 

10 such title.’’. 

11 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

12 for part III of subchapter B of chapter 1 is amended by 

13 inserting before the item relating to section 140 the fol14 lowing new item: 

‘‘Sec. 139H. Interest received in action to recover property seized by the Internal Revenue Service based on structuring transaction.’’. 

15 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

16 this section shall apply to interest received on or after the 

17 date of the enactment of this Act. 

18 SEC. 1203. CLARIFICATION OF EQUITABLE RELIEF FROM 

19 JOINT LIABILITY. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 6015 is amended— 

21 (1) in subsection (e), by adding at the end the 

22 following new paragraph: 

23 ‘‘(7) STANDARD AND SCOPE OF REVIEW.—Any 

24 review of a determination made under this section 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
20 

HR 7227 RDS

1 shall be reviewed de novo by the Tax Court and shall 

2 be based upon— 

3 ‘‘(A) the administrative record established 

4 at the time of the determination, and 

5 ‘‘(B) any additional newly discovered or 

6 previously unavailable evidence.’’; and 

7 (2) by amending subsection (f) to read as fol8 lows: 

9 ‘‘(f) EQUITABLE RELIEF.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Under procedures pre11 scribed by the Secretary, if— 

12 ‘‘(A) taking into account all the facts and 

13 circumstances, it is inequitable to hold the indi14 vidual liable for any unpaid tax or any defi15 ciency (or any portion of either), and 

16 ‘‘(B) relief is not available to such indi17 vidual under subsection (b) or (c), 

18 the Secretary may relieve such individual of such li19 ability. 

20 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—A request for equitable re21 lief under this subsection may be made with respect 

22 to any portion of any liability that— 

23 ‘‘(A) has not been paid, provided that such 

24 request is made before the expiration of the apVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:50 Dec 27, 2018 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7227.RDS H7227

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
21 

HR 7227 RDS

1 plicable period of limitation under section 6502, 

2 or 

3 ‘‘(B) has been paid, provided that such re4 quest is made during the period in which the 

5 individual could submit a timely claim for re6 fund or credit of such payment.’’. 

7 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

8 this section shall apply to petitions or requests filed or 

9 pending on or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

10 SEC. 1204. MODIFICATION OF PROCEDURES FOR ISSUANCE 

11 OF THIRD-PARTY SUMMONS. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7609(f) is amended by 

13 adding at the end the following flush sentence: 

14 ‘‘The Secretary shall not issue any summons described in 

15 the preceding sentence unless the information sought to 

16 be obtained is narrowly tailored to information that per17 tains to the failure (or potential failure) of the person or 

18 group or class of persons referred to in paragraph (2) to 

19 comply with one or more provisions of the internal revenue 

20 law which have been identified for purposes of such para21 graph.’’. 

22 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

23 this section shall apply to summonses served after the date 

24 of the enactment of this Act. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
22 

HR 7227 RDS

1 SEC. 1205. PRIVATE DEBT COLLECTION AND SPECIAL COM2 PLIANCE PERSONNEL PROGRAM. 

3 (a) CERTAIN TAX RECEIVABLES NOT ELIGIBLE FOR

4 COLLECTION UNDER TAX COLLECTION CONTRACTS.— 

5 Section 6306(d)(3) is amended by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end 

6 of subparagraph (C) and by inserting after subparagraph 

7 (D) the following new subparagraphs: 

8 ‘‘(E) a taxpayer substantially all of whose 

9 income consists of disability insurance benefits 

10 under section 223 of the Social Security Act or 

11 supplemental security income benefits under 

12 title XVI of the Social Security Act (including 

13 supplemental security income benefits of the 

14 type described in section 1616 of such Act or 

15 section 212 of Public Law 93–66), or 

16 ‘‘(F) a taxpayer who is an individual with 

17 adjusted gross income, as determined for the 

18 most recent taxable year for which such infor19 mation is available, which does not exceed 200 

20 percent of the applicable poverty level (as deter21 mined by the Secretary).’’. 

22 (b) DETERMINATION OF INACTIVE TAX RECEIV23 ABLES ELIGIBLE FOR COLLECTION UNDER TAX COLLEC24 TION CONTRACTS.—Section 6306(c)(2)(A)(ii) is amended 

by striking ‘‘more than 1 25 ⁄3 of the period of the applicable 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
23 

HR 7227 RDS

1 statute of limitation has lapsed’’ and inserting ‘‘more than 

2 2 years has passed since assessment’’. 

3 (c) MAXIMUM LENGTH OF INSTALLMENT AGREE4 MENTS OFFERED UNDER TAX COLLECTION CON5 TRACTS.—Section 6306(b)(1)(B) is amended by striking 

6 ‘‘5 years’’ and inserting ‘‘7 years’’. 

7 (d) CLARIFICATION THAT SPECIAL COMPLIANCE

8 PERSONNEL PROGRAM ACCOUNT MAY BE USED FOR

9 PROGRAM COSTS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 6307(b) is amend11 ed— 

12 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking all that 

13 follows ‘‘under such program’’ and inserting a 

14 period; and 

15 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking all that 

16 follows ‘‘out of such account’’ and inserting 

17 ‘‘for other than program costs’’. 

18 (2) COMMUNICATIONS, SOFTWARE, AND TECH19 NOLOGY COSTS TREATED AS PROGRAM COSTS.—Sec20 tion 6307(d)(2)(B) is amended by striking ‘‘tele21 communications’’ and inserting ‘‘communications, 

22 software, technology’’. 

23 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

24 6307(d)(2) is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end 

25 of subparagraph (A), by striking the period at the 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
24 

HR 7227 RDS

1 end of subparagraph (B) and inserting ‘‘, and’’, and 

2 by inserting after subparagraph (B) the following 

3 new subparagraph: 

4 ‘‘(C) reimbursement of the Internal Rev5 enue Service or other government agencies for 

6 the cost of administering the qualified tax col7 lection program under section 6306.’’. 

8 (e) EFFECTIVE DATES.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro10 vided in this subsection, the amendments made by 

11 this section shall apply to tax receivables identified 

12 by the Secretary (or the Secretary’s delegate) after 

13 December 31, 2019. 

14 (2) MAXIMUM LENGTH OF INSTALLMENT

15 AGREEMENTS.—The amendment made by subsection 

16 (c) shall apply to contracts entered into after the 

17 date of the enactment of this Act. 

18 (3) USE OF SPECIAL COMPLIANCE PERSONNEL

19 PROGRAM ACCOUNT.—The amendment made by sub20 section (d) shall apply to amounts expended from 

21 the special compliance personnel program account 

22 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
25 

HR 7227 RDS

1 SEC. 1206. REFORM OF NOTICE OF CONTACT OF THIRD 

2 PARTIES. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7602(c)(1) is amended to 

4 read as follows: 

5 ‘‘(1) GENERAL NOTICE.—An officer or em6 ployee of the Internal Revenue Service may not con7 tact any person other than the taxpayer with respect 

8 to the determination or collection of the tax liability 

9 of such taxpayer unless such contact occurs during 

10 a period (not greater than 1 year) which is specified 

11 in a notice which— 

12 ‘‘(A) informs the taxpayer that contacts 

13 with persons other than the taxpayer are in14 tended to be made during such period, and 

15 ‘‘(B) except as otherwise provided by the 

16 Secretary, is provided to the taxpayer not later 

17 than 45 days before the beginning of such pe18 riod. 

19 Nothing in the preceding sentence shall prevent the 

20 issuance of notices to the same taxpayer with respect 

21 to the same tax liability with periods specified there22 in that, in the aggregate, exceed 1 year. A notice 

23 shall not be issued under this paragraph unless 

24 there is an intent at the time such notice is issued 

25 to contact persons other than the taxpayer during 

26 the period specified in such notice. The preceding 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
26 

HR 7227 RDS

1 sentence shall not prevent the issuance of a notice 

2 if the requirement of such sentence is met on the 

3 basis of the assumption that the information sought 

4 to be obtained by such contact will not be obtained 

5 by other means before such contact.’’. 

6 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

7 this section shall apply to notices provided, and contacts 

8 of persons made, after the date which is 45 days after 

9 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

10 SEC. 1207. MODIFICATION OF AUTHORITY TO ISSUE DES11 IGNATED SUMMONS. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (1) of section 6503(j) 

13 is amended by striking ‘‘coordinated examination pro14 gram’’ and inserting ‘‘coordinated industry case pro15 gram’’. 

16 (b) REQUIREMENTS FOR SUMMONS.—Clause (i) of 

17 section 6503(j)(2)(A) is amended to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘(i) the issuance of such summons is 

19 preceded by a review and written approval 

20 of such issuance by the Commissioner of 

21 the relevant operating division of the Inter22 nal Revenue Service and the Chief Counsel 

23 which— 

24 ‘‘(I) states facts clearly estab25 lishing that the Secretary has made 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
27 

HR 7227 RDS

1 reasonable requests for the informa2 tion that is the subject of the sum3 mons, and 

4 ‘‘(II) is attached to such sum5 mons,’’. 

6 (c) ESTABLISHMENT THAT REASONABLE REQUESTS

7 FOR INFORMATION WERE MADE.—Subsection (j) of sec8 tion 6503 is amended by adding at the end the following 

9 new paragraph: 

10 ‘‘(4) ESTABLISHMENT THAT REASONABLE RE11 QUESTS FOR INFORMATION WERE MADE.—In any 

12 court proceeding described in paragraph (3), the 

13 Secretary shall establish that reasonable requests 

14 were made for the information that is the subject of 

15 the summons.’’. 

16 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

17 this section shall apply to summonses issued after the date 

18 of the enactment of this Act. 

19 SEC. 1208. LIMITATION ON ACCESS OF NON-INTERNAL REV20 ENUE SERVICE EMPLOYEES TO RETURNS 

21 AND RETURN INFORMATION. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7602 is amended by add23 ing at the end the following new subsection: 

24 ‘‘(f) LIMITATION ON ACCESS OF PERSONS OTHER

25 THAN INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE OFFICERS AND EMVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:50 Dec 27, 2018 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7227.RDS H7227

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
28 

HR 7227 RDS

1 PLOYEES.—The Secretary shall not, under the authority 

2 of section 6103(n), provide any books, papers, records, or 

3 other data obtained pursuant to this section to any person 

4 authorized under section 6103(n), except when such per5 son requires such information for the sole purpose of pro6 viding expert evaluation and assistance to the Internal 

7 Revenue Service. No person other than an officer or em8 ployee of the Internal Revenue Service or the Office of 

9 Chief Counsel may, on behalf of the Secretary, question 

10 a witness under oath whose testimony was obtained pursu11 ant to this section.’’. 

12 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

13 this section— 

14 (1) shall take effect on the date of the enact15 ment of this Act; and 

16 (2) shall not fail to apply to a contract in effect 

17 under section 6103(n) of the Internal Revenue Code 

18 of 1986 merely because such contract was in effect 

19 before the date of the enactment of this Act. 

20 Subtitle D—Organizational 

21 Modernization 

22 SEC. 1301. OFFICE OF THE NATIONAL TAXPAYER ADVO23 CATE. 

24 (a) TAXPAYER ADVOCATE DIRECTIVES.— 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
29 

HR 7227 RDS

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 7803(c) is amended 

2 by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

3 ‘‘(5) TAXPAYER ADVOCATE DIRECTIVES.—In 

4 the case of any Taxpayer Advocate Directive issued 

5 by the National Taxpayer Advocate pursuant to a 

6 delegation of authority from the Commissioner of 

7 the Internal Revenue Service— 

8 ‘‘(A) the Commissioner or a Deputy Com9 missioner shall modify, rescind, or ensure com10 pliance with such directive not later than 90 

11 days after the issuance of such directive, and 

12 ‘‘(B) in the case of any directive which is 

13 modified or rescinded by a Deputy Commis14 sioner, the National Taxpayer Advocate may 

15 (not later than 90 days after such modification 

16 or rescission) appeal to the Commissioner and 

17 the Commissioner shall (not later than 90 days 

18 after such appeal is made) ensure compliance 

19 with such directive as issued by the National 

20 Taxpayer Advocate or provide the National 

21 Taxpayer Advocate with a detailed description 

22 of the reasons for any modification or rescission 

23 made or upheld by the Commissioner pursuant 

24 to such appeal.’’. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
30 

HR 7227 RDS

1 (2) REPORT TO CERTAIN COMMITTEES OF CON2 GRESS REGARDING DIRECTIVES.—Section 

3 7803(c)(2)(B)(ii) is amended by redesignating sub4 clauses (VIII) through (XI) as subclauses (IX) 

5 through (XII), respectively, and by inserting after 

6 subclause (VII) the following new subclause: 

7 ‘‘(VIII) identify any Taxpayer 

8 Advocate Directive which was not 

9 honored by the Internal Revenue 

10 Service in a timely manner, as speci11 fied under paragraph (5),’’. 

12 (b) NATIONAL TAXPAYER ADVOCATE ANNUAL RE13 PORTS TO CONGRESS.— 

14 (1) INCLUSION OF MOST SERIOUS TAXPAYER

15 PROBLEMS.—Section 7803(c)(2)(B)(ii)(III) is 

16 amended by striking ‘‘at least 20 of the’’ and insert17 ing ‘‘the 10’’. 

18 (2) COORDINATION WITH TREASURY INSPECTOR

19 GENERAL FOR TAX ADMINISTRATION.—Section 

20 7803(c)(2) is amended by adding at the end the fol21 lowing new subparagraph: 

22 ‘‘(E) COORDINATION WITH TREASURY IN23 SPECTOR GENERAL FOR TAX ADMINISTRA24 TION.—Before beginning any research or study, 

25 the National Taxpayer Advocate shall coordiVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:50 Dec 27, 2018 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7227.RDS H7227

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
31 

HR 7227 RDS

1 nate with the Treasury Inspector General for 

2 Tax Administration to ensure that the National 

3 Taxpayer Advocate does not duplicate any ac4 tion that the Treasury Inspector General for 

5 Tax Administration has already undertaken or 

6 has a plan to undertake.’’. 

7 (3) STATISTICAL SUPPORT.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 6108 is amend9 ed by adding at the end the following new sub10 section: 

11 ‘‘(d) STATISTICAL SUPPORT FOR NATIONAL TAX12 PAYER ADVOCATE.—The Secretary shall, upon request of 

13 the National Taxpayer Advocate, provide the National 

14 Taxpayer Advocate with statistical support in connection 

15 with the preparation by the National Taxpayer Advocate 

16 of the annual report described in section 

17 7803(c)(2)(B)(ii). Such statistical support shall include 

18 statistical studies, compilations, and the review of infor19 mation provided by the National Taxpayer Advocate for 

20 statistical validity and sound statistical methodology.’’. 

21 (B) DISCLOSURE OF REVIEW.—Section 

22 7803(c)(2)(B)(ii), as amended by subsection 

23 (a), is amended by redesignating subclause 

24 (XII) as subclause (XIII) and by inserting after 

25 subclause (XI) the following new subclause: 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
32 

HR 7227 RDS

1 ‘‘(XII) with respect to any statis2 tical information included in such re3 port, include a statement of whether 

4 such statistical information was re5 viewed or provided by the Secretary 

6 under section 6108(d) and, if so, 

7 whether the Secretary determined 

8 such information to be statistically 

9 valid and based on sound statistical 

10 methodology.’’. 

11 (C) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

12 7803(c)(2)(B)(iii) is amended by adding at the 

13 end the following: ‘‘The preceding sentence 

14 shall not apply with respect to statistical infor15 mation provided to the Secretary for review, or 

16 received from the Secretary, under section 

17 6108(d).’’. 

18 (c) SALARY OF NATIONAL TAXPAYER ADVOCATE.— 

19 Section 7803(c)(1)(B)(i) is amended by striking ‘‘, or, if 

20 the Secretary of the Treasury so determines, at a rate 

21 fixed under section 9503 of such title’’. 

22 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro24 vided in this subsection, the amendments made by 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
33 

HR 7227 RDS

1 this section shall take effect on the date of the en2 actment of this Act. 

3 (2) SALARY OF NATIONAL TAXPAYER ADVO4 CATE.—The amendment made by subsection (c) 

5 shall apply to compensation paid to individuals ap6 pointed as the National Taxpayer Advocate after the 

7 date of the enactment of this Act. 

8 SEC. 1302. MODERNIZATION OF INTERNAL REVENUE SERV9 ICE ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than September 30, 

11 2020, the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service 

12 shall submit to Congress a comprehensive written plan to 

13 redesign the organization of the Internal Revenue Service. 

14 Such plan shall— 

15 (1) ensure the successful implementation of the 

16 priorities specified by Congress in this Act; 

17 (2) prioritize taxpayer services to ensure that 

18 all taxpayers easily and readily receive the assistance 

19 that they need; 

20 (3) streamline the structure of the agency in21 cluding minimizing the duplication of services and 

22 responsibilities within the agency; 

23 (4) best position the Internal Revenue Service 

24 to combat cybersecurity and other threats to the In25 ternal Revenue Service; and 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
34 

HR 7227 RDS

1 (5) address whether the Criminal Investigation 

2 Division of the Internal Revenue Service should re3 port directly to the Commissioner. 

4 (b) REPEAL OF RESTRICTION ON ORGANIZATIONAL

5 STRUCTURE OF INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE.—Para6 graph (3) of section 1001(a) of the Internal Revenue Serv7 ice Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 shall cease to 

8 apply beginning 1 year after the date on which the Com9 missioner of the Internal Revenue Service submits to Con10 gress the plan described in subsection (a). 

11 Subtitle E—Other Provisions 

12 SEC. 1401. RETURN PREPARATION PROGRAMS FOR APPLI13 CABLE TAXPAYERS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 77 is amended by insert15 ing after section 7526 the following new section: 

16 ‘‘SEC. 7526A. RETURN PREPARATION PROGRAMS FOR AP17 PLICABLE TAXPAYERS. 

18 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF VOLUNTEER INCOME TAX

19 ASSISTANCE MATCHING GRANT PROGRAM.—The Sec20 retary shall establish a Community Volunteer Income Tax 

21 Assistance Matching Grant Program under which the Sec22 retary may, subject to the availability of appropriated 

23 funds, make grants to provide matching funds for the de24 velopment, expansion, or continuation of qualified return 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
35 

HR 7227 RDS

1 preparation programs assisting applicable taxpayers and 

2 members of underserved populations. 

3 ‘‘(b) USE OF FUNDS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Qualified return prepara5 tion programs may use grants received under this 

6 section for— 

7 ‘‘(A) ordinary and necessary costs associ8 ated with program operation in accordance with 

9 cost principles under the applicable Office of 

10 Management and Budget circular, including— 

11 ‘‘(i) wages or salaries of persons co12 ordinating the activities of the program, 

13 ‘‘(ii) developing training materials, 

14 conducting training, and performing qual15 ity reviews of the returns prepared under 

16 the program, 

17 ‘‘(iii) equipment purchases, and 

18 ‘‘(iv) vehicle-related expenses associ19 ated with remote or rural tax preparation 

20 services, 

21 ‘‘(B) outreach and educational activities 

22 described in subsection (c)(2)(B), and 

23 ‘‘(C) services related to financial education 

24 and capability, asset development, and the esVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:50 Dec 27, 2018 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00035 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7227.RDS H7227

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
36 

HR 7227 RDS

1 tablishment of savings accounts in connection 

2 with tax return preparation. 

3 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT OF MATCHING FUNDS.—A 

4 qualified return preparation program must provide 

5 matching funds on a dollar-for-dollar basis for all 

6 grants provided under this section. Matching funds 

7 may include— 

8 ‘‘(A) the salary (including fringe benefits) 

9 of individuals performing services for the pro10 gram, 

11 ‘‘(B) the cost of equipment used in the 

12 program, and 

13 ‘‘(C) other ordinary and necessary costs 

14 associated with the program. 

15 Indirect expenses, including general overhead of any 

16 entity administering the program, shall not be 

17 counted as matching funds. 

18 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each applicant for a grant 

20 under this section shall submit an application to the 

21 Secretary at such time, in such manner, and con22 taining such information as the Secretary may rea23 sonably require. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
37 

HR 7227 RDS

1 ‘‘(2) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this 

2 section, the Secretary shall give priority to applica3 tions which demonstrate— 

4 ‘‘(A) assistance to applicable taxpayers, 

5 with emphasis on outreach to, and services for, 

6 such taxpayers, 

7 ‘‘(B) taxpayer outreach and educational 

8 activities relating to eligibility and availability 

9 of income supports available through this title, 

10 including the earned income tax credit, and 

11 ‘‘(C) specific outreach and focus on one or 

12 more underserved populations. 

13 ‘‘(3) AMOUNTS TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT.—In de14 termining matching grants under this section, the 

15 Secretary shall only take into account amounts pro16 vided by the qualified return preparation program 

17 for expenses described in subsection (b). 

18 ‘‘(d) PROGRAM ADHERENCE.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab20 lish procedures for, and shall conduct not less fre21 quently than once every 5 calendar years during 

22 which a qualified return preparation program is op23 erating under a grant under this section, periodic 

24 site visits— 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
38 

HR 7227 RDS

1 ‘‘(A) to ensure the program is carrying out 

2 the purposes of this section, and 

3 ‘‘(B) to determine whether the program 

4 meets such program adherence standards as the 

5 Secretary shall by regulation or other guidance 

6 prescribe. 

7 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR GRANT

8 RECIPIENTS NOT MEETING PROGRAM ADHERENCE

9 STANDARDS.—In the case of any qualified return 

10 preparation program which— 

11 ‘‘(A) is awarded a grant under this section, 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(B) is subsequently determined— 

14 ‘‘(i) not to meet the program adher15 ence standards described in paragraph 

16 (1)(B), or 

17 ‘‘(ii) not to be otherwise carrying out 

18 the purposes of this section, 

19 such program shall not be eligible for any additional 

20 grants under this section unless such program pro21 vides sufficient documentation of corrective meas22 ures established to address any such deficiencies de23 termined. 

24 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section— 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
39 

HR 7227 RDS

1 ‘‘(1) QUALIFIED RETURN PREPARATION PRO2 GRAM.—The term ‘qualified return preparation pro3 gram’ means any program— 

4 ‘‘(A) which provides assistance to individ5 uals, not less than 90 percent of whom are ap6 plicable taxpayers, in preparing and filing Fed7 eral income tax returns, 

8 ‘‘(B) which is administered by a qualified 

9 entity, 

10 ‘‘(C) in which all volunteers who assist in 

11 the preparation of Federal income tax returns 

12 meet the training requirements prescribed by 

13 the Secretary, and 

14 ‘‘(D) which uses a quality review process 

15 which reviews 100 percent of all returns. 

16 ‘‘(2) QUALIFIED ENTITY.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified 

18 entity’ means any entity which— 

19 ‘‘(i) is an eligible organization, 

20 ‘‘(ii) is in compliance with Federal tax 

21 filing and payment requirements, 

22 ‘‘(iii) is not debarred or suspended 

23 from Federal contracts, grants, or coopera24 tive agreements, and 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
40 

HR 7227 RDS

1 ‘‘(iv) agrees to provide documentation 

2 to substantiate any matching funds pro3 vided pursuant to the grant program under 

4 this section. 

5 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBLE ORGANIZATION.—The term 

6 ‘eligible organization’ means— 

7 ‘‘(i) an institution of higher education 

8 which is described in section 102 (other 

9 than subsection (a)(1)(C) thereof) of the 

10 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

11 1002), as in effect on the date of the en12 actment of this section, and which has not 

13 been disqualified from participating in a 

14 program under title IV of such Act, 

15 ‘‘(ii) an organization described in sec16 tion 501(c) and exempt from tax under 

17 section 501(a), 

18 ‘‘(iii) a local government agency, in19 cluding— 

20 ‘‘(I) a county or municipal gov21 ernment agency, and 

22 ‘‘(II) an Indian tribe, as defined 

23 in section 4(13) of the Native Amer24 ican Housing Assistance and Self-De25 termination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
41 

HR 7227 RDS

1 4103(13)), including any tribally des2 ignated housing entity (as defined in 

3 section 4(22) of such Act (25 U.S.C. 

4 4103(22))), tribal subsidiary, subdivi5 sion, or other wholly owned tribal en6 tity, 

7 ‘‘(iv) a local, State, regional, or na8 tional coalition (with one lead organization 

9 which meets the eligibility requirements of 

10 clause (i), (ii), or (iii) acting as the appli11 cant organization), or 

12 ‘‘(v) in the case of applicable tax13 payers and members of underserved popu14 lations with respect to which no organiza15 tions described in the preceding clauses are 

16 available— 

17 ‘‘(I) a State government agency, 

18 or 

19 ‘‘(II) an office providing Cooper20 ative Extension services (as estab21 lished at the land-grant colleges and 

22 universities under the Smith-Lever 

23 Act of May 8, 1914). 

24 ‘‘(3) APPLICABLE TAXPAYERS.—The term ‘ap25 plicable taxpayer’ means a taxpayer whose income 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
42 

HR 7227 RDS

1 for the taxable year does not exceed an amount 

2 equal to the completed phaseout amount under sec3 tion 32(b) for a married couple filing a joint return 

4 with three or more qualifying children, as deter5 mined in a revenue procedure or other published 

6 guidance. 

7 ‘‘(4) UNDERSERVED POPULATION.—The term 

8 ‘underserved population’ includes populations of per9 sons with disabilities, persons with limited English 

10 proficiency, Native Americans, individuals living in 

11 rural areas, members of the Armed Forces and their 

12 spouses, and the elderly. 

13 ‘‘(f) SPECIAL RULES AND LIMITATIONS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) DURATION OF GRANTS.—Upon application 

15 of a qualified return preparation program, the Sec16 retary is authorized to award a multi-year grant not 

17 to exceed 3 years. 

18 ‘‘(2) AGGREGATE LIMITATION.—Unless other19 wise provided by specific appropriation, the Sec20 retary shall not allocate more than $30,000,000 per 

21 fiscal year (exclusive of costs of administering the 

22 program) to grants under this section. 

23 ‘‘(g) PROMOTION OF PROGRAMS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall pro25 mote tax preparation through qualified return prepaVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:50 Dec 27, 2018 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00042 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7227.RDS H7227

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
43 

HR 7227 RDS

1 ration programs through the use of mass commu2 nications and other means. 

3 ‘‘(2) PROVISION OF INFORMATION REGARDING

4 QUALIFIED RETURN PREPARATION PROGRAMS.—The 

5 Secretary may provide taxpayers information regard6 ing qualified return preparation programs receiving 

7 grants under this section. 

8 ‘‘(3) VITA GRANTEE REFERRAL.—Qualified re9 turn preparation programs receiving a grant under 

10 this section are encouraged, in appropriate cases, 

11 to— 

12 ‘‘(A) advise taxpayers of the availability of, 

13 and eligibility requirements for receiving, advice 

14 and assistance from qualified low-income tax15 payer clinics receiving funding under section 

16 7526, and 

17 ‘‘(B) provide information regarding the lo18 cation of, and contact information for, such 

19 clinics.’’. 

20 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

21 for chapter 77 is amended by inserting after the item re22 lating to section 7526 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 7526A. Return preparation programs for applicable taxpayers.’’. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
44 

HR 7227 RDS

1 SEC. 1402. PROVISION OF INFORMATION REGARDING LOW2 INCOME TAXPAYER CLINICS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7526(c) of the Internal 

4 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end 

5 the following new paragraph: 

6 ‘‘(6) PROVISION OF INFORMATION REGARDING

7 QUALIFIED LOW-INCOME TAXPAYER CLINICS.—Not8 withstanding any other provision of law, officers and 

9 employees of the Department of the Treasury may— 

10 ‘‘(A) advise taxpayers of the availability of, 

11 and eligibility requirements for receiving, advice 

12 and assistance from one or more specific quali13 fied low-income taxpayer clinics receiving fund14 ing under this section, and 

15 ‘‘(B) provide information regarding the lo16 cation of, and contact information for, such 

17 clinics.’’. 

18 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

19 this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment 

20 of this Act. 

21 SEC. 1403. NOTICE FROM IRS REGARDING CLOSURE OF 

22 TAXPAYER ASSISTANCE CENTERS. 

23 Not later than 90 days before the date that a pro24 posed closure of a Taxpayer Assistance Center would take 

25 effect, the Secretary of the Treasury (or the Secretary’s 

26 delegate) shall— 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
45 

HR 7227 RDS

1 (1) make publicly available (including by non2 electronic means) a notice which— 

3 (A) identifies the Taxpayer Assistance 

4 Center proposed for closure and the date of 

5 such proposed closure; and 

6 (B) identifies the relevant alternative 

7 sources of taxpayer assistance which may be 

8 utilized by taxpayers affected by such proposed 

9 closure; and 

10 (2) submit to Congress a written report that in11 cludes— 

12 (A) the information included in the notice 

13 described in paragraph (1); 

14 (B) the reasons for such proposed closure; 

15 and 

16 (C) such other information as the Sec17 retary may determine appropriate. 

18 SEC. 1404. RULES FOR SEIZURE AND SALE OF PERISHABLE 

19 GOODS RESTRICTED TO ONLY PERISHABLE 

20 GOODS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 6336 of the Internal Rev22 enue Code of 1986 is amended by striking ‘‘or become 

23 greatly reduced in price or value by keeping, or that such 

24 property cannot be kept without great expense’’. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
46 

HR 7227 RDS

1 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

2 this section shall apply to property seized after the date 

3 of the enactment of this Act. 

4 SEC. 1405. WHISTLEBLOWER REFORMS. 

5 (a) MODIFICATIONS TO DISCLOSURE RULES FOR

6 WHISTLEBLOWERS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 6103(k) is amended 

8 by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

9 ‘‘(13) DISCLOSURE TO WHISTLEBLOWERS.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 

11 disclose, to any individual providing information 

12 relating to any purpose described in paragraph 

13 (1) or (2) of section 7623(a), return informa14 tion related to the investigation of any taxpayer 

15 with respect to whom the individual has pro16 vided such information, but only to the extent 

17 that such disclosure is necessary in obtaining 

18 information, which is not otherwise reasonably 

19 available, with respect to the correct determina20 tion of tax liability for tax, or the amount to be 

21 collected with respect to the enforcement of any 

22 other provision of this title. 

23 ‘‘(B) UPDATES ON WHISTLEBLOWER IN24 VESTIGATIONS.—The Secretary shall disclose to 

25 an individual providing information relating to 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
47 

HR 7227 RDS

1 any purpose described in paragraph (1) or (2) 

2 of section 7623(a) the following: 

3 ‘‘(i) Not later than 60 days after a 

4 case for which the individual has provided 

5 information has been referred for an audit 

6 or examination, a notice with respect to 

7 such referral. 

8 ‘‘(ii) Not later than 60 days after a 

9 taxpayer with respect to whom the indi10 vidual has provided information has made 

11 a payment of tax with respect to tax liabil12 ity to which such information relates, a no13 tice with respect to such payment. 

14 ‘‘(iii) Subject to such requirements 

15 and conditions as are prescribed by the 

16 Secretary, upon a written request by such 

17 individual— 

18 ‘‘(I) information on the status 

19 and stage of any investigation or ac20 tion related to such information, and 

21 ‘‘(II) in the case of a determina22 tion of the amount of any award 

23 under section 7623(b), the reasons for 

24 such determination. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
48 

HR 7227 RDS

1 Clause (iii) shall not apply to any information 

2 if the Secretary determines that disclosure of 

3 such information would seriously impair Fed4 eral tax administration. Information described 

5 in clauses (i), (ii), and (iii) may be disclosed to 

6 a designee of the individual providing such in7 formation in accordance with guidance provided 

8 by the Secretary.’’. 

9 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

10 (A) CONFIDENTIALITY OF INFORMA11 TION.—Section 6103(a)(3) is amended by strik12 ing ‘‘subsection (k)(10)’’ and inserting ‘‘para13 graph (10) or (13) of subsection (k)’’. 

14 (B) PENALTY FOR UNAUTHORIZED DIS15 CLOSURE.—Section 7213(a)(2) is amended by 

16 striking ‘‘(k)(10)’’ and inserting ‘‘(k)(10) or 

17 (13)’’. 

18 (C) COORDINATION WITH AUTHORITY TO

19 DISCLOSE FOR INVESTIGATIVE PURPOSES.— 

20 Section 6103(k)(6) is amended by adding at the 

21 end the following new sentence: ‘‘This para22 graph shall not apply to any disclosure to an in23 dividual providing information relating to any 

24 purpose described in paragraph (1) or (2) of 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
49 

HR 7227 RDS

1 section 7623(a) which is made under paragraph 

2 (13)(A).’’. 

3 (b) PROTECTION AGAINST RETALIATION.—Section 

4 7623 is amended by adding at the end the following new 

5 subsection: 

6 ‘‘(d) CIVIL ACTION TO PROTECT AGAINST RETALIA7 TION CASES.— 

8 ‘‘(1) ANTI-RETALIATION WHISTLEBLOWER PRO9 TECTION FOR EMPLOYEES.—No employer, or any of10 ficer, employee, contractor, subcontractor, or agent 

11 of such employer, may discharge, demote, suspend, 

12 threaten, harass, or in any other manner discrimi13 nate against an employee in the terms and condi14 tions of employment (including through an act in the 

15 ordinary course of such employee’s duties) in re16 prisal for any lawful act done by the employee— 

17 ‘‘(A) to provide information, cause infor18 mation to be provided, or otherwise assist in an 

19 investigation regarding underpayment of tax or 

20 any conduct which the employee reasonably be21 lieves constitutes a violation of the internal rev22 enue laws or any provision of Federal law relat23 ing to tax fraud, when the information or as24 sistance is provided to the Internal Revenue 

25 Service, the Secretary of Treasury, the TreasVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:50 Dec 27, 2018 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00049 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7227.RDS H7227

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
50 

HR 7227 RDS

1 ury Inspector General for Tax Administration, 

2 the Comptroller General of the United States, 

3 the Department of Justice, the United States 

4 Congress, a person with supervisory authority 

5 over the employee, or any other person working 

6 for the employer who has the authority to inves7 tigate, discover, or terminate misconduct, or 

8 ‘‘(B) to testify, participate in, or otherwise 

9 assist in any administrative or judicial action 

10 taken by the Internal Revenue Service relating 

11 to an alleged underpayment of tax or any viola12 tion of the internal revenue laws or any provi13 sion of Federal law relating to tax fraud. 

14 ‘‘(2) ENFORCEMENT ACTION.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A person who alleges 

16 discharge or other reprisal by any person in vio17 lation of paragraph (1) may seek relief under 

18 paragraph (3) by— 

19 ‘‘(i) filing a complaint with the Sec20 retary of Labor, or 

21 ‘‘(ii) if the Secretary of Labor has not 

22 issued a final decision within 180 days of 

23 the filing of the complaint and there is no 

24 showing that such delay is due to the bad 

25 faith of the claimant, bringing an action at 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
51 

HR 7227 RDS

1 law or equity for de novo review in the ap2 propriate district court of the United 

3 States, which shall have jurisdiction over 

4 such an action without regard to the 

5 amount in controversy. 

6 ‘‘(B) PROCEDURE.— 

7 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—An action under 

8 subparagraph (A)(i) shall be governed 

9 under the rules and procedures set forth in 

10 section 42121(b) of title 49, United States 

11 Code. 

12 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—Notification made 

13 under section 42121(b)(1) of title 49, 

14 United States Code, shall be made to the 

15 person named in the complaint and to the 

16 employer. 

17 ‘‘(iii) BURDENS OF PROOF.—An ac18 tion brought under subparagraph (A)(ii) 

19 shall be governed by the legal burdens of 

20 proof set forth in section 42121(b) of title 

21 49, United States Code, except that in ap22 plying such section— 

23 ‘‘(I) ‘behavior described in para24 graph (1)’ shall be substituted for ‘be25 havior described in paragraphs (1) 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
52 

HR 7227 RDS

1 through (4) of subsection (a)’ each 

2 place it appears in paragraph (2)(B) 

3 thereof, and 

4 ‘‘(II) ‘a violation of paragraph 

5 (1)’ shall be substituted for ‘a viola6 tion of subsection (a)’ each place it 

7 appears. 

8 ‘‘(iv) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.—A 

9 complaint under subparagraph (A)(i) shall 

10 be filed not later than 180 days after the 

11 date on which the violation occurs. 

12 ‘‘(v) JURY TRIAL.—A party to an ac13 tion brought under subparagraph (A)(ii) 

14 shall be entitled to trial by jury. 

15 ‘‘(3) REMEDIES.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An employee pre17 vailing in any action under paragraph (2)(A) 

18 shall be entitled to all relief necessary to make 

19 the employee whole. 

20 ‘‘(B) COMPENSATORY DAMAGES.—Relief 

21 for any action under subparagraph (A) shall in22 clude— 

23 ‘‘(i) reinstatement with the same se24 niority status that the employee would 

25 have had, but for the reprisal, 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
53 

HR 7227 RDS

1 ‘‘(ii) the sum of 200 percent of the 

2 amount of back pay and 100 percent of all 

3 lost benefits, with interest, and 

4 ‘‘(iii) compensation for any special 

5 damages sustained as a result of the re6 prisal, including litigation costs, expert wit7 ness fees, and reasonable attorney fees. 

8 ‘‘(4) RIGHTS RETAINED BY EMPLOYEE.—Noth9 ing in this section shall be deemed to diminish the 

10 rights, privileges, or remedies of any employee under 

11 any Federal or State law, or under any collective 

12 bargaining agreement. 

13 ‘‘(5) NONENFORCEABILITY OF CERTAIN PROVI14 SIONS WAIVING RIGHTS AND REMEDIES OR REQUIR15 ING ARBITRATION OF DISPUTES.— 

16 ‘‘(A) WAIVER OF RIGHTS AND REM17 EDIES.—The rights and remedies provided for 

18 in this subsection may not be waived by any 

19 agreement, policy form, or condition of employ20 ment, including by a predispute arbitration 

21 agreement. 

22 ‘‘(B) PREDISPUTE ARBITRATION AGREE23 MENTS.—No predispute arbitration agreement 

24 shall be valid or enforceable, if the agreement 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
54 

HR 7227 RDS

1 requires arbitration of a dispute arising under 

2 this subsection.’’. 

3 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amendments made by 

5 subsection (a) shall apply to disclosures made after 

6 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

7 (2) CIVIL PROTECTION.—The amendment made 

8 by subsection (b) shall take effect on the date of the 

9 enactment of this Act. 

10 SEC. 1406. CUSTOMER SERVICE INFORMATION. 

11 The Secretary of the Treasury (or the Secretary’s 

12 delegate) shall provide helpful information to taxpayers 

13 placed on hold during a telephone call to any Internal Rev14 enue Service help line, including the following: 

15 (1) Information about common tax scams. 

16 (2) Information on where and how to report tax 

17 scams. 

18 (3) Additional advice on how taxpayers can pro19 tect themselves from identity theft and tax scams. 

20 SEC. 1407. MISDIRECTED TAX REFUND DEPOSITS. 

21 Section 6402 is amended by adding at the end the 

22 following new subsection: 

23 ‘‘(n) MISDIRECTED DIRECT DEPOSIT REFUND.—Not 

24 later than the date which is 6 months after the date of 

25 the enactment of the Taxpayer First Act of 2018, the SecVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:50 Dec 27, 2018 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00054 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7227.RDS H7227

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
55 

HR 7227 RDS

1 retary shall prescribe regulations to establish procedures 

2 to allow for— 

3 ‘‘(1) taxpayers to report instances in which a 

4 refund made by the Secretary by electronic funds 

5 transfer was erroneously delivered to an account at 

6 a financial institution for which the taxpayer is not 

7 the owner; 

8 ‘‘(2) coordination with financial institutions for 

9 the purpose of— 

10 ‘‘(A) identifying erroneous payments de11 scribed in paragraph (1); and 

12 ‘‘(B) recovery of the erroneously trans13 ferred amounts; and 

14 ‘‘(3) the refund to be delivered to the correct 

15 account of the taxpayer.’’. 

16 TITLE II—21ST CENTURY IRS 

17 Subtitle A—Cybersecurity and 

18 Identity Protection 

19 SEC. 2001. PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP TO ADDRESS 

20 IDENTITY THEFT REFUND FRAUD. 

21 The Secretary of the Treasury (or the Secretary’s 

22 delegate) shall work collaboratively with the public and 

23 private sectors to protect taxpayers from identity theft re24 fund fraud. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
56 

HR 7227 RDS

1 SEC. 2002. RECOMMENDATIONS OF ELECTRONIC TAX AD2 MINISTRATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE RE3 GARDING IDENTITY THEFT REFUND FRAUD. 

4 The Secretary of the Treasury shall ensure that the 

5 advisory group convened by the Secretary pursuant to sec6 tion 2001(b)(2) of the Internal Revenue Service Restruc7 turing and Reform Act of 1998 (commonly known as the 

8 Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee) stud9 ies (including by providing organized public forums) and 

10 makes recommendations to the Secretary regarding meth11 ods to prevent identity theft and refund fraud. 

12 SEC. 2003. INFORMATION SHARING AND ANALYSIS CENTER. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treasury (or 

14 the Secretary’s delegate) may participate in an informa15 tion sharing and analysis center to centralize, standardize, 

16 and enhance data compilation and analysis to facilitate 

17 sharing actionable data and information with respect to 

18 identity theft tax refund fraud. 

19 (b) DEVELOPMENT OF PERFORMANCE METRICS.— 

20 The Secretary of the Treasury (or the Secretary’s dele21 gate) shall develop metrics for measuring the success of 

22 such center in detecting and preventing identity theft tax 

23 refund fraud. 

24 (c) DISCLOSURE.— 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
57 

HR 7227 RDS

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 6103(k), as amend2 ed by this Act, is amended by adding at the end the 

3 following new paragraph: 

4 ‘‘(14) DISCLOSURE OF RETURN INFORMATION

5 FOR PURPOSES OF CYBERSECURITY AND THE PRE6 VENTION OF IDENTITY THEFT TAX REFUND

7 FRAUD.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Under such proce9 dures and subject to such conditions as the Sec10 retary may prescribe, the Secretary may dis11 close specified return information to specified 

12 ISAC participants to the extent that the Sec13 retary determines such disclosure is in further14 ance of effective Federal tax administration re15 lating to the detection or prevention of identity 

16 theft tax refund fraud, validation of taxpayer 

17 identity, authentication of taxpayer returns, or 

18 detection or prevention of cybersecurity threats. 

19 ‘‘(B) SPECIFIED ISAC PARTICIPANTS.—For 

20 purposes of this paragraph— 

21 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘speci22 fied ISAC participant’ means— 

23 ‘‘(I) any person designated by 

24 the Secretary as having primary re25 sponsibility for a function performed 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
58 

HR 7227 RDS

1 with respect to the information shar2 ing and analysis center described in 

3 section 2003(a) of the Taxpayer First 

4 Act of 2018, and 

5 ‘‘(II) any person subject to the 

6 requirements of section 7216 and 

7 which is a participant in such infor8 mation sharing and analysis center. 

9 ‘‘(ii) INFORMATION SHARING AGREE10 MENT.—Such term shall not include any 

11 person unless such person has entered into 

12 a written agreement with the Secretary 

13 setting forth the terms and conditions for 

14 the disclosure of information to such per15 son under this paragraph, including re16 quirements regarding the protection and 

17 safeguarding of such information by such 

18 person. 

19 ‘‘(C) SPECIFIED RETURN INFORMATION.— 

20 For purposes of this paragraph, the term ‘spec21 ified return information’ means— 

22 ‘‘(i) in the case of a return which is 

23 in connection with a case of potential iden24 tity theft refund fraud— 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
59 

HR 7227 RDS

1 ‘‘(I) in the case of such return 

2 filed electronically, the internet pro3 tocol address, device identification, 

4 email domain name, speed of comple5 tion, method of authentication, refund 

6 method, and such other return infor7 mation related to the electronic filing 

8 characteristics of such return as the 

9 Secretary may identify for purposes of 

10 this subclause, and 

11 ‘‘(II) in the case of such return 

12 prepared by a tax return preparer, 

13 identifying information with respect to 

14 such tax return preparer, including 

15 the preparer taxpayer identification 

16 number and electronic filer identifica17 tion number of such preparer, 

18 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a return which is 

19 in connection with a case of a identity 

20 theft refund fraud which has been con21 firmed by the Secretary (pursuant to such 

22 procedures as the Secretary may provide), 

23 the information referred to in subclauses 

24 (I) and (II) of clause (i), the name and 

25 taxpayer identification number of the taxVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:50 Dec 27, 2018 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00059 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7227.RDS H7227

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
60 

HR 7227 RDS

1 payer as it appears on the return, and any 

2 bank account and routing information pro3 vided for making a refund in connection 

4 with such return, and 

5 ‘‘(iii) in the case of any cybersecurity 

6 threat to the Internal Revenue Service, in7 formation similar to the information de8 scribed in subclauses (I) and (II) of clause 

9 (i) with respect to such threat. 

10 ‘‘(D) RESTRICTION ON USE OF DISCLOSED

11 INFORMATION.— 

12 ‘‘(i) DESIGNATED THIRD PARTIES.— 

13 Any return information received by a per14 son described in subparagraph (B)(i)(I) 

15 shall be used only for the purposes of and 

16 to the extent necessary in— 

17 ‘‘(I) performing the function such 

18 person is designated to perform under 

19 such subparagraph, 

20 ‘‘(II) facilitating disclosures au21 thorized under subparagraph (A) to 

22 persons described in subparagraph 

23 (B)(i)(II), and 

24 ‘‘(III) facilitating disclosures au25 thorized under subsection (d) to parVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:50 Dec 27, 2018 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00060 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7227.RDS H7227

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
61 

HR 7227 RDS

1 ticipants in such information sharing 

2 and analysis center. 

3 ‘‘(ii) RETURN PREPARERS.—Any re4 turn information received by a person de5 scribed in subparagraph (B)(i)(II) shall be 

6 treated for purposes of section 7216 as in7 formation furnished to such person for, or 

8 in connection with, the preparation of a re9 turn of the tax imposed under chapter 1. 

10 ‘‘(E) DATA PROTECTION AND SAFE11 GUARDS.—Return information disclosed under 

12 this paragraph shall be subject to such protec13 tions and safeguards as the Secretary may re14 quire in regulations or other guidance or in the 

15 written agreement referred to in subparagraph 

16 (B)(ii). Such written agreement shall include a 

17 requirement that any unauthorized access to in18 formation disclosed under this paragraph, and 

19 any breach of any system in which such infor20 mation is held, be reported to the Treasury In21 spector General for Tax Administration.’’. 

22 (2) APPLICATION OF CIVIL AND CRIMINAL PEN23 ALTIES.— 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
62 

HR 7227 RDS

1 (A) Section 6103(a)(3), as amended by 

2 this Act, is amended by striking ‘‘or (13)’’ and 

3 inserting ‘‘(13), or (14)’’. 

4 (B) Section 7213(a)(2), as amended by 

5 this Act, is amended by striking ‘‘or (13)’’ and 

6 inserting ‘‘(13), or (14)’’. 

7 SEC. 2004. COMPLIANCE BY CONTRACTORS WITH CON8 FIDENTIALITY SAFEGUARDS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 6103(p) is amended by 

10 adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

11 ‘‘(9) DISCLOSURE TO CONTRACTORS AND

12 OTHER AGENTS.—Notwithstanding any other provi13 sion of this section, no return or return information 

14 shall be disclosed to any contractor or other agent 

15 of a Federal, State, or local agency unless such 

16 agency, to the satisfaction of the Secretary— 

17 ‘‘(A) has requirements in effect which re18 quire each such contractor or other agent which 

19 would have access to returns or return informa20 tion to provide safeguards (within the meaning 

21 of paragraph (4)) to protect the confidentiality 

22 of such returns or return information, 

23 ‘‘(B) agrees to conduct an on-site review 

24 every 3 years (or a mid-point review in the case 

25 of contracts or agreements of less than 3 years 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
63 

HR 7227 RDS

1 in duration) of each contractor or other agent 

2 to determine compliance with such require3 ments, 

4 ‘‘(C) submits the findings of the most re5 cent review conducted under subparagraph (B) 

6 to the Secretary as part of the report required 

7 by paragraph (4)(E), and 

8 ‘‘(D) certifies to the Secretary for the most 

9 recent annual period that such contractor or 

10 other agent is in compliance with all such re11 quirements. 

12 The certification required by subparagraph (D) shall 

13 include the name and address of each contractor or 

14 other agent, a description of the contract or agree15 ment with such contractor or other agent, and the 

16 duration of such contract or agreement. The require17 ments of this paragraph shall not apply to disclo18 sures pursuant to subsection (n) for purposes of 

19 Federal tax administration.’’. 

20 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

21 6103(p)(8)(B) is amended by inserting ‘‘or paragraph 

22 (9)’’ after ‘‘subparagraph (A)’’. 

23 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

24 this section shall apply to disclosures made after Decem25 ber 31, 2022. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
64 

HR 7227 RDS

1 SEC. 2005. REPORT ON ELECTRONIC PAYMENTS. 

2 Not later than 2 years after the date of the enact3 ment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury (or the 

4 Secretary’s delegate), in coordination with the Bureau of 

5 Fiscal Service and the Internal Revenue Service, and in 

6 consultation with private sector financial institutions, shall 

7 submit a written report to Congress describing how the 

8 government can utilize new payment platforms to increase 

9 the number of tax refunds paid by electronic funds trans10 fer. Such report shall weigh the interests of reducing iden11 tity theft tax refund fraud, reducing the Federal Govern12 ment’s costs in delivering tax refunds, the costs and any 

13 associated fees charged to taxpayers (including monthly 

14 and point-of-service fees) to access their tax refunds, the 

15 impact on individuals who do not have access to financial 

16 accounts or institutions, and ensuring payments are made 

17 to accounts at a financial institution that complies with 

18 section 21 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, chapter 

19 2 of title I of Public Law 91–508, and subchapter II of 

20 chapter 53 of title 31, United States Code (commonly re21 ferred to collectively as the ‘‘Bank Secrecy Act’’) and the 

22 USA PATRIOT Act. Such report shall include any legisla23 tive recommendations necessary to accomplish these goals. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
65 

HR 7227 RDS

1 SEC. 2006. IDENTITY PROTECTION PERSONAL IDENTIFICA2 TION NUMBERS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), the Sec4 retary of the Treasury or the Secretary’s delegate (here5 after referred to in this section as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall 

6 establish a program to issue, upon the request of any indi7 vidual, a number which may be used in connection with 

8 such individual’s social security number (or other identi9 fying information with respect to such individual as deter10 mined by the Secretary) to assist the Secretary in 

11 verifying such individual’s identity. 

12 (b) REQUIREMENTS.— 

13 (1) ANNUAL EXPANSION.—For each calendar 

14 year beginning after the date of the enactment of 

15 this Act, the Secretary shall provide numbers 

16 through the program described in subsection (a) to 

17 individuals residing in such States as the Secretary 

18 deems appropriate, provided that the total number 

19 of States served by such program during such year 

20 is greater than the total number of States served by 

21 such program during the preceding year. 

22 (2) NATIONWIDE AVAILABILITY.—Not later 

23 than 5 years after the date of the enactment of this 

24 Act, the Secretary shall ensure that the program de25 scribed in subsection (a) is made available to any in26 dividual residing in the United States. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
66 

HR 7227 RDS

1 SEC. 2007. SINGLE POINT OF CONTACT FOR TAX-RELATED 

2 IDENTITY THEFT VICTIMS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treasury (or 

4 the Secretary’s delegate) shall establish and implement 

5 procedures to ensure that any taxpayer whose return has 

6 been delayed or otherwise adversely affected due to tax7 related identity theft has a single point of contact at the 

8 Internal Revenue Service throughout the processing of the 

9 taxpayer’s case. The single point of contact shall track the 

10 taxpayer’s case to completion and coordinate with other 

11 Internal Revenue Service employees to resolve case issues 

12 as quickly as possible. 

13 (b) SINGLE POINT OF CONTACT.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of subsection 

15 (a), the single point of contact shall consist of a 

16 team or subset of specially trained employees who— 

17 (A) have the ability to work across func18 tions to resolve the issues involved in the tax19 payer’s case; and 

20 (B) shall be accountable for handling the 

21 case until its resolution. 

22 (2) TEAM OR SUBSET.—The employees included 

23 within the team or subset described in paragraph (1) 

24 may change as required to meet the needs of the In25 ternal Revenue Service, provided that procedures 

26 have been established to— 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
67 

HR 7227 RDS

1 (A) ensure continuity of records and case 

2 history; and 

3 (B) notify the taxpayer when appropriate. 

4 SEC. 2008. NOTIFICATION OF SUSPECTED IDENTITY THEFT. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 77 is amended by adding 

6 at the end the following new section: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 7529. NOTIFICATION OF SUSPECTED IDENTITY 

8 THEFT. 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary determines that 

10 there has been or may have been an unauthorized use of 

11 the identity of any individual, the Secretary shall, without 

12 jeopardizing an investigation relating to tax administra13 tion— 

14 ‘‘(1) as soon as practicable, notify the indi15 vidual of such determination and provide— 

16 ‘‘(A) instructions on how to file a report 

17 with law enforcement regarding the unauthor18 ized use of the identity of the individual, 

19 ‘‘(B) the identification of any forms nec20 essary for the individual to complete and submit 

21 to law enforcement to permit access to personal 

22 information of the individual during the inves23 tigation, 

24 ‘‘(C) information regarding actions the in25 dividual may take in order to protect the indiVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:50 Dec 27, 2018 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00067 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7227.RDS H7227

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
68 

HR 7227 RDS

1 vidual from harm relating to such unauthorized 

2 use, and 

3 ‘‘(D) an offer of identity protection meas4 ures to be provided to the individual by the In5 ternal Revenue Service, such as the use of an 

6 identity protection personal identification num7 ber, and 

8 ‘‘(2) at the time the information described in 

9 paragraph (1) is provided (or, if not available at 

10 such time, as soon as practicable thereafter), issue 

11 additional notifications to such individual (or such 

12 individual’s designee) regarding— 

13 ‘‘(A) whether an investigation has been ini14 tiated in regards to such unauthorized use, 

15 ‘‘(B) whether the investigation substan16 tiated an unauthorized use of the identity of the 

17 individual, and 

18 ‘‘(C) whether— 

19 ‘‘(i) any action has been taken against 

20 a person relating to such unauthorized use, 

21 or 

22 ‘‘(ii) any referral has been made for 

23 criminal prosecution of such person and, to 

24 the extent such information is available, 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
69 

HR 7227 RDS

1 whether such person has been criminally 

2 charged by indictment or information. 

3 ‘‘(b) EMPLOYMENT-RELATED IDENTITY THEFT.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this sec5 tion, the unauthorized use of the identity of an indi6 vidual includes the unauthorized use of the identity 

7 of the individual to obtain employment. 

8 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT-RE9 LATED IDENTITY THEFT.—For purposes of this sec10 tion, in making a determination as to whether there 

11 has been or may have been an unauthorized use of 

12 the identity of an individual to obtain employment, 

13 the Secretary shall review any information— 

14 ‘‘(A) obtained from a statement described 

15 in section 6051 or an information return relat16 ing to compensation for services rendered other 

17 than as an employee, or 

18 ‘‘(B) provided to the Internal Revenue 

19 Service by the Social Security Administration 

20 regarding any statement described in section 

21 6051, 

22 which indicates that the social security account num23 ber provided on such statement or information re24 turn does not correspond with the name provided on 

25 such statement or information return or the name 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
70 

HR 7227 RDS

1 on the tax return reporting the income which is in2 cluded on such statement or information return.’’. 

3 (b) ADDITIONAL MEASURES.— 

4 (1) EXAMINATION OF BOTH PAPER AND ELEC5 TRONIC STATEMENTS AND RETURNS.—The Sec6 retary of the Treasury (or the Secretary’s delegate) 

7 shall examine the statements, information returns, 

8 and tax returns described in section 7529(b)(2) of 

9 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (as added by 

10 subsection (a)) for any evidence of employment-re11 lated identity theft, regardless of whether such state12 ments or returns are submitted electronically or on 

13 paper. 

14 (2) IMPROVEMENT OF EFFECTIVE RETURN

15 PROCESSING PROGRAM WITH SOCIAL SECURITY AD16 MINISTRATION.—Section 232 of the Social Security 

17 Act (42 U.S.C. 432) is amended by inserting after 

18 the third sentence the following: ‘‘For purposes of 

19 carrying out the return processing program de20 scribed in the preceding sentence, the Commissioner 

21 of Social Security shall request, not less than annu22 ally, such information described in section 

23 7529(b)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 as 

24 may be necessary to ensure the accuracy of the 

25 records maintained by the Commissioner of Social 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
71 

HR 7227 RDS

1 Security related to the amounts of wages paid to, 

2 and the amounts of self-employment income derived 

3 by, individuals.’’. 

4 (3) UNDERREPORTING OF INCOME.—The Sec5 retary (or the Secretary’s delegate) shall establish 

6 procedures to ensure that income reported in con7 nection with the unauthorized use of a taxpayer’s 

8 identity is not taken into account in determining any 

9 penalty for underreporting of income by the victim 

10 of identity theft. 

11 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

12 for chapter 77 is amended by adding at the end the fol13 lowing new item: 

‘‘Sec. 7529. Notification of suspected identity theft.’’. 

14 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

15 this section shall apply to determinations made after the 

16 date that is 6 months after the date of the enactment of 

17 this Act. 

18 SEC. 2009. GUIDELINES FOR STOLEN IDENTITY REFUND 

19 FRAUD CASES. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

21 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary (or the 

22 Secretary’s delegate), in consultation with the National 

23 Taxpayer Advocate, shall develop and implement publicly 

24 available guidelines for management of cases involving sto25 len identity refund fraud in a manner that reduces the 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
72 

HR 7227 RDS

1 administrative burden on taxpayers who are victims of 

2 such fraud. 

3 (b) STANDARDS AND PROCEDURES TO BE CONSID4 ERED.—The guidelines described in subsection (a) may in5 clude— 

6 (1) standards for— 

7 (A) the average length of time in which a 

8 case involving stolen identity refund fraud 

9 should be resolved; 

10 (B) the maximum length of time, on aver11 age, a taxpayer who is a victim of stolen iden12 tity refund fraud and is entitled to a tax refund 

13 which has been stolen should have to wait to re14 ceive such refund; and 

15 (C) the maximum number of offices and 

16 employees within the Internal Revenue Service 

17 with whom a taxpayer who is a victim of stolen 

18 identity refund fraud should be required to 

19 interact in order to resolve a case; 

20 (2) standards for opening, assigning, reas21 signing, or closing a case involving stolen identity re22 fund fraud; and 

23 (3) procedures for implementing and accom24 plishing the standards described in paragraphs (1) 

25 and (2), and measures for evaluating such proceVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:50 Dec 27, 2018 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00072 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7227.RDS H7227

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
73 

HR 7227 RDS

1 dures and determining whether such standards have 

2 been successfully implemented. 

3 SEC. 2010. INCREASED PENALTY FOR IMPROPER DISCLO4 SURE OR USE OF INFORMATION BY PRE5 PARERS OF RETURNS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 6713 is amended— 

7 (1) by redesignating subsections (b) and (c) as 

8 subsections (c) and (d), respectively; and 

9 (2) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol10 lowing new subsection: 

11 ‘‘(b) ENHANCED PENALTY FOR IMPROPER USE OR

12 DISCLOSURE RELATING TO IDENTITY THEFT.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a disclosure 

14 or use described in subsection (a) that is made in 

15 connection with a crime relating to the misappro16 priation of another person’s taxpayer identity (as de17 fined in section 6103(b)(6)), whether or not such 

18 crime involves any tax filing, subsection (a) shall be 

19 applied— 

20 ‘‘(A) by substituting ‘$1,000’ for ‘$250’, 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(B) by substituting ‘$50,000’ for 

23 ‘$10,000’. 

24 ‘‘(2) SEPARATE APPLICATION OF TOTAL PEN25 ALTY LIMITATION.—The limitation on the total 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
74 

HR 7227 RDS

1 amount of the penalty under subsection (a) shall be 

2 applied separately with respect to disclosures or uses 

3 to which this subsection applies and to which it does 

4 not apply.’’. 

5 (b) CRIMINAL PENALTY.—Section 7216(a) is amend6 ed by striking ‘‘$1,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$1,000 ($100,000 

7 in the case of a disclosure or use to which section 6713(b) 

8 applies)’’. 

9 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

10 this section shall apply to disclosures or uses on or after 

11 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

12 Subtitle B—Development of 

13 Information Technology 

14 SEC. 2101. MANAGEMENT OF INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE 

15 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY. 

16 (a) DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF INTERNAL

17 REVENUE SERVICE CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER.—Sec18 tion 7803, as amended by section 1001, is amended by 

19 adding at the end the following new subsection: 

20 ‘‘(f) INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE CHIEF INFORMA21 TION OFFICER.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There shall be in the Inter23 nal Revenue Service an Internal Revenue Service 

24 Chief Information Officer (hereafter referred to in 

25 this subsection as the ‘IRS CIO’) who shall be apVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:50 Dec 27, 2018 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00074 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7227.RDS H7227

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
75 

HR 7227 RDS

1 pointed by the Commissioner of the Internal Rev2 enue Service. 

3 ‘‘(2) CENTRALIZED RESPONSIBILITY FOR IN4 TERNAL REVENUE SERVICE INFORMATION TECH5 NOLOGY.—The Commissioner of the Internal Rev6 enue Service (and the Secretary) shall act through 

7 the IRS CIO with respect to all development, imple8 mentation, and maintenance of information tech9 nology for the Internal Revenue Service. Any ref10 erence in this subsection to the IRS CIO which di11 rects the IRS CIO to take any action, or to assume 

12 any responsibility, shall be treated as a reference to 

13 the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service 

14 acting through the IRS CIO. 

15 ‘‘(3) GENERAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBIL16 ITIES.—The IRS CIO shall— 

17 ‘‘(A) be responsible for the development, 

18 implementation, and maintenance of informa19 tion technology for the Internal Revenue Serv20 ice, 

21 ‘‘(B) ensure that the information tech22 nology of the Internal Revenue Service is secure 

23 and integrated, 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
76 

HR 7227 RDS

1 ‘‘(C) maintain operational control of all in2 formation technology for the Internal Revenue 

3 Service, 

4 ‘‘(D) be the principal advocate for the in5 formation technology needs of the Internal Rev6 enue Service, and 

7 ‘‘(E) consult with the Chief Procurement 

8 Officer of the Internal Revenue Service to en9 sure that the information technology acquired 

10 for the Internal Revenue Service is consistent 

11 with— 

12 ‘‘(i) the goals and requirements speci13 fied in subparagraphs (A) through (D), 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(ii) the strategic plan developed 

16 under paragraph (4). 

17 ‘‘(4) STRATEGIC PLAN.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The IRS CIO shall 

19 develop and implement a multiyear strategic 

20 plan for the information technology needs of the 

21 Internal Revenue Service. Such plan shall— 

22 ‘‘(i) include performance measure23 ments of such technology and of the imple24 mentation of such plan, 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
77 

HR 7227 RDS

1 ‘‘(ii) include a plan for an integrated 

2 enterprise architecture of the information 

3 technology of the Internal Revenue Service, 

4 ‘‘(iii) include and take into account 

5 the resources needed to accomplish such 

6 plan, 

7 ‘‘(iv) take into account planned major 

8 acquisitions of information technology by 

9 the Internal Revenue Service, including 

10 Customer Account Data Engine 2 and the 

11 Enterprise Case Management System, and 

12 ‘‘(v) align with the needs and stra13 tegic plan of the Internal Revenue Service. 

14 ‘‘(B) PLAN UPDATES.—The IRS CIO 

15 shall, not less frequently than annually, review 

16 and update the strategic plan under subpara17 graph (A) (including the plan for an integrated 

18 enterprise architecture described in subpara19 graph (A)(ii)) to take into account the develop20 ment of new information technology and the 

21 needs of the Internal Revenue Service. 

22 ‘‘(5) SCOPE OF AUTHORITY.— 

23 ‘‘(A) INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY.—For 

24 purposes of this subsection, the term ‘informa25 tion technology’ has the meaning given such 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
78 

HR 7227 RDS

1 term by section 11101 of title 40, United States 

2 Code. 

3 ‘‘(B) INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE.—Any 

4 reference in this subsection to the Internal Rev5 enue Service includes a reference to all compo6 nents of the Internal Revenue Service, includ7 ing— 

8 ‘‘(i) the Office of the Taxpayer Advo9 cate, 

10 ‘‘(ii) the Criminal Investigation Divi11 sion of the Internal Revenue Service, and 

12 ‘‘(iii) except as otherwise provided by 

13 the Secretary with respect to information 

14 technology related to matters described in 

15 subsection (b)(3)(B), the Office of the 

16 Chief Counsel.’’. 

17 (b) INDEPENDENT VERIFICATION AND VALIDATION

18 OF THE CUSTOMER ACCOUNT DATA ENGINE 2 AND EN19 TERPRISE CASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commissioner of the In21 ternal Revenue Service shall enter into a contract 

22 with an independent reviewer to verify and validate 

23 the implementation plans (including the performance 

24 milestones and cost estimates included in such 

25 plans) developed for the Customer Account Data 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
79 

HR 7227 RDS

1 Engine 2 and the Enterprise Case Management Sys2 tem. 

3 (2) DEADLINE FOR COMPLETION.—Such con4 tract shall require that such verification and valida5 tion be completed not later than the date which is 

6 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

7 (3) APPLICATION TO PHASES OF CADE 2.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—Paragraphs (1) and (2) 

9 shall not apply to phase 1 of the Customer Ac10 count Data Engine 2 and shall apply separately 

11 to each other phase. 

12 (B) DEADLINE FOR COMPLETING

13 PLANS.—Not later than 1 year after the date of 

14 the enactment of this Act, the Commissioner of 

15 the Internal Revenue Service shall complete the 

16 development of plans for all phases of the Cus17 tomer Account Data Engine 2. 

18 (C) DEADLINE FOR COMPLETION OF

19 VERIFICATION AND VALIDATION OF PLANS.—In 

20 the case of any phase after phase 2 of the Cus21 tomer Account Data Engine 2, paragraph (2) 

22 shall be applied by substituting ‘‘the date on 

23 which the plan for such phase was completed’’ 

24 for ‘‘the date of the enactment of this Act’’. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
80 

HR 7227 RDS

1 (c) COORDINATION OF IRS CIO AND CHIEF PRO2 CUREMENT OFFICER OF THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERV3 ICE.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Chief Procurement Offi5 cer of the Internal Revenue Service shall— 

6 (A) identify all significant IRS information 

7 technology acquisitions and provide written no8 tification to the Internal Revenue Service Chief 

9 Information Officer (hereafter referred to in 

10 this subsection as the ‘‘IRS CIO’’) of each such 

11 acquisition in advance of such acquisition, and 

12 (B) regularly consult with the IRS CIO re13 garding acquisitions of information technology 

14 for the Internal Revenue Service, including 

15 meeting with the IRS CIO regarding such ac16 quisitions upon request. 

17 (2) SIGNIFICANT IRS INFORMATION TECH18 NOLOGY ACQUISITIONS.—For purposes of this sub19 section, the term ‘‘significant IRS information tech20 nology acquisitions’’ means— 

21 (A) any acquisition of information tech22 nology for the Internal Revenue Service in ex23 cess of $1,000,000; and 

24 (B) such other acquisitions of information 

25 technology for the Internal Revenue Service (or 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
81 

HR 7227 RDS

1 categories of such acquisitions) as the IRS CIO, 

2 in consultation with the Chief Procurement Of3 ficer of the Internal Revenue Service, may iden4 tify. 

5 (3) SCOPE.—Terms used in this subsection 

6 which are also used in section 7803(f) of the Inter7 nal Revenue Code of 1986 (as amended by sub8 section (a)) shall have the same meaning as when 

9 used in such section. 

10 SEC. 2102. INTERNET PLATFORM FOR FORM 1099 FILINGS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than January 1, 2023, 

12 the Secretary of the Treasury or the Secretary’s delegate 

13 (hereafter referred to in this section as the ‘‘Secretary’’) 

14 shall make available an Internet website or other elec15 tronic media, with a user interface and functionality simi16 lar to the Business Services Online Suite of Services pro17 vided by the Social Security Administration, that will pro18 vide access to resources and guidance provided by the In19 ternal Revenue Service and will allow persons to— 

20 (1) prepare and file Forms 1099; 

21 (2) prepare Forms 1099 for distribution to re22 cipients other than the Internal Revenue Service; 

23 and 

24 (3) maintain a record of completed and sub25 mitted Forms 1099. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
82 

HR 7227 RDS

1 (b) ELECTRONIC SERVICES TREATED AS SUPPLE2 MENTAL; APPLICATION OF SECURITY STANDARDS.—The 

3 Secretary shall ensure that the services described in sub4 section (a)— 

5 (1) are a supplement to, and not a replacement 

6 for, other services provided by the Internal Revenue 

7 Service to taxpayers; and 

8 (2) comply with applicable security standards 

9 and guidelines. 

10 SEC. 2103. STREAMLINED CRITICAL PAY AUTHORITY FOR 

11 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY POSITIONS. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter A of chapter 80 is 

13 amended by adding at the end the following new section: 

14 ‘‘SEC. 7812. STREAMLINED CRITICAL PAY AUTHORITY FOR 

15 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY POSITIONS. 

16 ‘‘In the case of any position which is critical to the 

17 functionality of the information technology operations of 

18 the Internal Revenue Service— 

19 ‘‘(1) section 9503 of title 5, United States 

20 Code, shall be applied— 

21 ‘‘(A) by substituting ‘during the period be22 ginning on the date of the enactment of section 

23 7812 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 

24 and ending on September 30, 2023’ for ‘Before 

25 September 30, 2013 in subsection (a)’, 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
83 

HR 7227 RDS

1 ‘‘(B) without regard to subparagraph (B) 

2 of subsection (a)(1), and 

3 ‘‘(C) by substituting ‘the date of the enact4 ment of the Taxpayer First Act of 2018’ for 

5 ‘June 1, 1998’ in subsection (a)(6), 

6 ‘‘(2) section 9504 of such title 5 shall be ap7 plied by substituting ‘During the period beginning 

8 on the date of the enactment of section 7812 of the 

9 Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and ending on Sep10 tember 30, 2023’ for ‘Before September 30, 2013’ 

11 each place it appears in subsections (a) and (b), and 

12 ‘‘(3) section 9505 of such title shall be ap13 plied— 

14 ‘‘(A) by substituting ‘During the period be15 ginning on the date of the enactment of section 

16 7812 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 

17 and ending on September 30, 2023’ for ‘Before 

18 September 30, 2013’ in subsection (a), and 

19 ‘‘(B) by substituting ‘the information tech20 nology operations’ for ‘significant functions’ in 

21 subsection (a).’’. 

22 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

23 for subchapter A of chapter 80 is amended by adding at 

24 the end the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 7812. Streamlined critical pay authority for information technology positions.’’. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
84 

HR 7227 RDS

1 Subtitle C—Modernization of Con2 sent-Based Income Verification 

3 System 

4 SEC. 2201. DISCLOSURE OF TAXPAYER INFORMATION FOR 

5 THIRD-PARTY INCOME VERIFICATION. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

7 close of the 2-year period described in subsection (d)(1), 

8 the Secretary of the Treasury or the Secretary’s delegate 

9 (hereafter referred to in this section as the ‘‘Secretary’’) 

10 shall implement a program to ensure that any qualified 

11 disclosure— 

12 (1) is fully automated and accomplished 

13 through the Internet; and 

14 (2) is accomplished in as close to real-time as 

15 is practicable. 

16 (b) QUALIFIED DISCLOSURE.—For purposes of this 

17 section, the term ‘‘qualified disclosure’’ means a disclosure 

18 under section 6103(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

19 1986 of returns or return information by the Secretary 

20 to a person seeking to verify the income or creditworthi21 ness of a taxpayer who is a borrower in the process of 

22 a loan application. 

23 (c) APPLICATION OF SECURITY STANDARDS.—The 

24 Secretary shall ensure that the program described in subVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:50 Dec 27, 2018 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00084 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7227.RDS H7227

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
85 

HR 7227 RDS

1 section (a) complies with applicable security standards and 

2 guidelines. 

3 (d) USER FEE.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—During the 2-year period be5 ginning on the first day of the 6th calendar month 

6 beginning after the date of the enactment of this 

7 Act, the Secretary shall assess and collect a fee for 

8 qualified disclosures (in addition to any other fee as9 sessed and collected for such disclosures) at such 

10 rates as the Secretary determines are sufficient to 

11 cover the costs related to implementing the program 

12 described in subsection (a), including the costs of 

13 any necessary infrastructure or technology. 

14 (2) DEPOSIT OF COLLECTIONS.—Amounts re15 ceived from fees assessed and collected under para16 graph (1) shall be deposited in, and credited to, an 

17 account solely for the purpose of carrying out the 

18 activities described in subsection (a). Such amounts 

19 shall be available to carry out such activities without 

20 need of further appropriation and without fiscal year 

21 limitation. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
86 

HR 7227 RDS

1 SEC. 2202. LIMIT REDISCLOSURES AND USES OF CONSENT2 BASED DISCLOSURES OF TAX RETURN INFOR3 MATION. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 6103(c) is amended by 

5 adding at the end the following: ‘‘Persons designated by 

6 the taxpayer under this subsection to receive return infor7 mation shall not use the information for any purpose other 

8 than the express purpose for which consent was granted 

9 and shall not disclose return information to any other per10 son without the express permission of, or request by, the 

11 taxpayer.’’. 

12 (b) APPLICATION OF PENALTIES.—Section 

13 6103(a)(3) is amended by inserting ‘‘subsection (c),’’ after 

14 ‘‘return information under’’. 

15 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

16 this section shall apply to disclosures made after the date 

17 of the enactment of this Act. 

18 Subtitle D—Expanded Use of 

19 Electronic Systems 

20 SEC. 2301. ELECTRONIC FILING OF RETURNS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 6011(e)(2)(A) is amended 

22 by striking ‘‘250’’ and inserting ‘‘the applicable number 

23 of’’. 

24 (b) APPLICABLE NUMBER.—Section 6011(e) is 

25 amended by striking paragraph (5) and inserting the fol26 lowing new paragraphs: 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
87 

HR 7227 RDS

1 ‘‘(5) APPLICABLE NUMBER.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of para3 graph (2)(A), the applicable number shall be— 

4 ‘‘(i) except as provided in subpara5 graph (B), in the case of calendar years 

6 before 2020, 250, 

7 ‘‘(ii) in the case of calendar year 

8 2020, 100, and 

9 ‘‘(iii) in the case of calendar years 

10 after 2020, 10. 

11 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULE FOR PARTNERSHIPS

12 FOR 2018 AND 2019.—In the case of a partner13 ship, for any calendar year before 2020, the ap14 plicable number shall be— 

15 ‘‘(i) in the case of calendar year 2018, 

16 200, and 

17 ‘‘(ii) in the case of calendar year 

18 2019, 150. 

19 ‘‘(6) PARTNERSHIPS REQUIRED TO FILE ON

20 MAGNETIC MEDIA.—Notwithstanding paragraph 

21 (2)(A), the Secretary shall require partnerships hav22 ing more than 100 partners to file returns on mag23 netic media.’’. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
88 

HR 7227 RDS

1 (c) RETURNS FILED BY A TAX RETURN PRE2 PARER.—Section 6011(e)(3) is amended by adding at the 

3 end the following new subparagraph: 

4 ‘‘(D) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN PRE5 PARERS LOCATED IN AREAS WITHOUT INTER6 NET ACCESS.—The Secretary may waive the re7 quirement of subparagraph (A) if the Secretary 

8 determines, on the basis of an application by 

9 the tax return preparer, that the preparer can10 not meet such requirement by reason of being 

11 located in a geographic area which does not 

12 have access to internet service (other than dial13 up or satellite service).’’. 

14 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

15 this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment 

16 of this Act. 

17 SEC. 2302. UNIFORM STANDARDS FOR THE USE OF ELEC18 TRONIC SIGNATURES FOR DISCLOSURE AU19 THORIZATIONS TO, AND OTHER AUTHORIZA20 TIONS OF, PRACTITIONERS. 

21 Section 6061(b)(3) is amended to read as follows: 

22 ‘‘(3) PUBLISHED GUIDANCE.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

24 publish guidance as appropriate to define and 

25 implement any waiver of the signature requireVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:50 Dec 27, 2018 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00088 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7227.RDS H7227

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
89 

HR 7227 RDS

1 ments or any method adopted under paragraph 

2 (1). 

3 ‘‘(B) ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES FOR DIS4 CLOSURE AUTHORIZATIONS TO, AND OTHER AU5 THORIZATIONS OF, PRACTITIONERS.—Not later 

6 than 6 months after the date of the enactment 

7 of this subparagraph, the Secretary shall pub8 lish guidance to establish uniform standards 

9 and procedures for the acceptance of taxpayers’ 

10 signatures appearing in electronic form with re11 spect to any request for disclosure of a tax12 payer’s return or return information under sec13 tion 6103(c) to a practitioner or any power of 

14 attorney granted by a taxpayer to a practi15 tioner. 

16 ‘‘(C) PRACTITIONER.—For purposes of 

17 subparagraph (B), the term ‘practitioner’ 

18 means any individual in good standing who is 

19 regulated under section 330 of title 31, United 

20 States Code.’’. 

21 SEC. 2303. PAYMENT OF TAXES BY DEBIT AND CREDIT 

22 CARDS. 

23 Section 6311(d)(2) is amended by adding at the end 

24 the following: ‘‘The preceding sentence shall not apply to 

25 the extent that the Secretary ensures that any such fee 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
90 

HR 7227 RDS

1 or other consideration is fully recouped by the Secretary 

2 in the form of fees paid to the Secretary by persons paying 

3 taxes imposed under subtitle A with credit, debit, or 

4 charge cards pursuant to such contract. Notwithstanding 

5 the preceding sentence, the Secretary shall seek to mini6 mize the amount of any fee or other consideration that 

7 the Secretary pays under any such contract.’’. 

8 SEC. 2304. REQUIREMENT THAT ELECTRONICALLY PRE9 PARED PAPER RETURNS INCLUDE SCAN10 NABLE CODE. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (e) of section 6011, as 

12 amended by this Act, is amended by adding at the end 

13 the following new paragraph: 

14 ‘‘(7) SPECIAL RULE FOR RETURNS PREPARED

15 ELECTRONICALLY AND SUBMITTED ON PAPER.—The 

16 Secretary shall require that any return of tax which 

17 is prepared electronically, but is printed and filed on 

18 paper, bear a code which can, when scanned, convert 

19 such return to electronic format.’’. 

20 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Paragraph (1) of 

21 section 6011(e) is amended by striking ‘‘paragraph (3)’’ 

22 and inserting ‘‘paragraphs (3) and (7)’’. 

23 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

24 this section shall apply to returns of tax the due date for 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
91 

HR 7227 RDS

1 which (determined without regard to extensions) is after 

2 December 31, 2020. 

3 SEC. 2305. AUTHENTICATION OF USERS OF ELECTRONIC 

4 SERVICES ACCOUNTS. 

5 Beginning 180 days after the date of the enactment 

6 of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury (or the Sec7 retary’s delegate) shall verify the identity of any individual 

8 opening an e-Services account with the Internal Revenue 

9 Service before such individual is able to use the e-Services 

10 tools. 

11 Subtitle E—Other Provisions 

12 SEC. 2401. REPEAL OF PROVISION REGARDING CERTAIN 

13 TAX COMPLIANCE PROCEDURES AND RE14 PORTS. 

15 Section 2004 of the Internal Revenue Service Re16 structuring and Reform Act of 1998 (26 U.S.C. 6012 

17 note) is repealed. 

18 SEC. 2402. COMPREHENSIVE TRAINING STRATEGY. 

19 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 

20 of this Act, the Commissioner of Internal Revenue shall 

21 submit to Congress a written report providing a com22 prehensive training strategy for employees of the Internal 

23 Revenue Service, including— 

24 (1) a plan to streamline current training proc25 esses, including an assessment of the utility of furVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:50 Dec 27, 2018 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00091 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7227.RDS H7227

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
92 

HR 7227 RDS

1 ther consolidating internal training programs, tech2 nology, and funding; 

3 (2) a plan to develop annual training regarding 

4 taxpayer rights, including the role of the Office of 

5 the Taxpayer Advocate, for employees that interface 

6 with taxpayers and their managers; 

7 (3) a plan to improve technology-based training; 

8 (4) proposals to— 

9 (A) focus employee training on early, fair, 

10 and efficient resolution of taxpayer disputes for 

11 employees that interface with taxpayers and 

12 their managers; and 

13 (B) ensure consistency of skill development 

14 and employee evaluation throughout the Inter15 nal Revenue Service; and 

16 (5) a thorough assessment of the funding nec17 essary to implement such strategy. 

18 TITLE III—MISCELLANEOUS 

19 PROVISIONS 

20 Subtitle A—Reform of Laws Gov21 erning Internal Revenue Serv22 ice Employees 

23 SEC. 3001. ELECTRONIC RECORD RETENTION. 

24 (a) RETENTION OF RECORDS.— 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
93 

HR 7227 RDS

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Email records of the Inter2 nal Revenue Service shall be retained in an appro3 priate electronic system that supports records man4 agement and litigation requirements, including the 

5 capability to identify, retrieve, and retain the 

6 records, in accordance with the requirements de7 scribed in paragraph (2). 

8 (2) REQUIREMENTS.— 

9 (A) PRIOR TO CERTIFICATION.—The Com10 missioner of Internal Revenue and the Chief 

11 Counsel for the Internal Revenue Service shall 

12 retain all email records generated on or after 

13 the date of the enactment of this Act and be14 fore the date on which the Treasury Inspector 

15 General for Tax Administration makes the cer16 tification under subsection (c)(1). 

17 (B) PRINCIPAL OFFICERS AND SPECIFIED

18 EMPLOYEES.—Not later than December 31, 

19 2019, the Commissioner of Internal Revenue 

20 and the Chief Counsel for the Internal Revenue 

21 Service shall maintain email records of all prin22 cipal officers and specified employees of the In23 ternal Revenue Service for a period of not less 

24 than 15 years beginning on the date such 

25 record was generated. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
94 

HR 7227 RDS

1 (b) TRANSMISSION OF RECORDS TO THE NATIONAL

2 ARCHIVES.—Not later than 15 years after the date on 

3 which an email record of a principal officer or specified 

4 employee of the Internal Revenue Service is generated, the 

5 Commissioner of Internal Revenue and the Chief Counsel 

6 for the Internal Revenue Service shall transfer such email 

7 record to the Archivist of the United States. 

8 (c) COMPLIANCE.— 

9 (1) CERTIFICATION.—On the date that the 

10 Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration 

11 determines that the Internal Revenue Service has a 

12 program in place that complies with the require13 ments of subsections (a)(2)(B) and (b), the Treas14 ury Inspector General for Tax Administration shall 

15 certify to the Committee on Ways and Means of the 

16 House of Representatives and the Committee on Fi17 nance of the Senate that the Internal Revenue Serv18 ice is in compliance with such requirements. 

19 (2) REPORTS.— 

20 (A) INTERIM REPORT.—Not later than De21 cember 31, 2019, the Treasury Inspector Gen22 eral for Tax Administration shall submit a re23 port to the Committee on Ways and Means of 

24 the House of Representatives and the Com25 mittee on Finance of the Senate on the steps 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
95 

HR 7227 RDS

1 being taken by the Commissioner of Internal 

2 Revenue and the Chief Counsel for the Internal 

3 Revenue Service to comply with the require4 ments of subsections (a)(2)(B) and (b). 

5 (B) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than April 

6 1, 2020, the Treasury Inspector General for 

7 Tax Administration shall submit a report to the 

8 Committee on Ways and Means of the House of 

9 Representatives and the Committee on Finance 

10 of the Senate describing whether the Internal 

11 Revenue Service is in compliance with the re12 quirements of subsections (a)(2)(B) and (b). 

13 (d) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section— 

14 (1) PRINCIPAL OFFICER.—The term ‘‘principal 

15 officer’’ means, with respect to the Internal Revenue 

16 Service— 

17 (A) any employee whose position is listed 

18 under the Internal Revenue Service in the most 

19 recent version of the United States Government 

20 Manual published by the Office of the Federal 

21 Register; 

22 (B) any employee who is a senior staff 

23 member reporting directly to the Commissioner 

24 of Internal Revenue or the Chief Counsel for 

25 the Internal Revenue Service; and 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
96 

HR 7227 RDS

1 (C) any associate counsel, deputy counsel, 

2 or division head in the Office of the Chief 

3 Counsel for the Internal Revenue Service. 

4 (2) SPECIFIED EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘speci5 fied employee’’ means, with respect to the Internal 

6 Revenue Service, any employee who— 

7 (A) holds a Senior Executive Service posi8 tion (as defined in section 3132 of title 5, 

9 United States Code) in the Internal Revenue 

10 Service or the Office of Chief Counsel for the 

11 Internal Revenue Service; and 

12 (B) is not a principal officer of the Inter13 nal Revenue Service. 

14 SEC. 3002. PROHIBITION ON REHIRING ANY EMPLOYEE OF 

15 THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE WHO WAS 

16 INVOLUNTARILY SEPARATED FROM SERVICE 

17 FOR MISCONDUCT. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7804 is amended by add19 ing at the end the following new subsection: 

20 ‘‘(d) PROHIBITION ON REHIRING EMPLOYEES INVOL21 UNTARILY SEPARATED.—The Commissioner may not hire 

22 any individual previously employed by the Commissioner 

23 who was removed for misconduct under this subchapter 

24 or chapter 43 or chapter 75 of title 5, United States Code, 

25 or whose employment was terminated under section 1203 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
97 

HR 7227 RDS

1 of the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform 

2 Act of 1998 (26 U.S.C. 7804 note).’’. 

3 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

4 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to the hiring of em5 ployees after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

6 SEC. 3003. NOTIFICATION OF UNAUTHORIZED INSPECTION 

7 OR DISCLOSURE OF RETURNS AND RETURN 

8 INFORMATION. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (e) of section 7431 is 

10 amended by adding at the end the following new sen11 tences: ‘‘The Secretary shall also notify such taxpayer if 

12 the Internal Revenue Service or a Federal or State agency 

13 (upon notice to the Secretary by such Federal or State 

14 agency) proposes an administrative determination as to 

15 disciplinary or adverse action against an employee arising 

16 from the employee’s unauthorized inspection or disclosure 

17 of the taxpayer’s return or return information. The notice 

18 described in this subsection shall include the date of the 

19 unauthorized inspection or disclosure and the rights of the 

20 taxpayer under such administrative determination.’’. 

21 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

22 this section shall apply to determinations proposed after 

23 the date which is 180 days after the date of the enactment 

24 of this Act. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
98 

HR 7227 RDS

1 Subtitle B—Provisions Relating to 

2 Exempt Organizations 

3 SEC. 3101. MANDATORY E-FILING BY EXEMPT ORGANIZA4 TIONS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 6033 is amended by re6 designating subsection (n) as subsection (o) and by insert7 ing after subsection (m) the following new subsection: 

8 ‘‘(n) MANDATORY ELECTRONIC FILING.—Any orga9 nization required to file a return under this section shall 

10 file such return in electronic form.’’. 

11 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Paragraph (7) of 

12 section 527(j) is amended by striking ‘‘if the organization 

13 has’’ and all that follows through ‘‘such calendar year’’. 

14 (c) INSPECTION OF ELECTRONICALLY FILED AN15 NUAL RETURNS.—Subsection (b) of section 6104 is 

16 amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘Any annual 

17 return required to be filed electronically under section 

18 6033(n) shall be made available by the Secretary to the 

19 public as soon as practicable in a machine readable for20 mat.’’. 

21 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para23 graph (2), the amendments made by this section 

24 shall apply to taxable years beginning after the date 

25 of the enactment of this Act. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
99 

HR 7227 RDS

1 (2) TRANSITIONAL RELIEF.— 

2 (A) SMALL ORGANIZATIONS.— 

3 (i) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any 

4 small organizations, or any other organiza5 tions for which the Secretary of the Treas6 ury or the Secretary’s delegate (hereafter 

7 referred to in this paragraph as the ‘‘Sec8 retary’’) determines the application of the 

9 amendments made by this section would 

10 cause undue burden without a delay, the 

11 Secretary may delay the application of 

12 such amendments, but such delay shall not 

13 apply to any taxable year beginning on or 

14 after the date 2 years after of the enact15 ment of this Act. 

16 (ii) SMALL ORGANIZATION.—For pur17 poses of clause (i), the term ‘‘small organi18 zation’’ means any organization— 

19 (I) the gross receipts of which for 

20 the taxable year are less than 

21 $200,000; and 

22 (II) the aggregate gross assets of 

23 which at the end of the taxable year 

24 are less than $500,000. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
100 

HR 7227 RDS

1 (B) ORGANIZATIONS FILING FORM 990– 

2 T.—In the case of any organization described 

3 in section 511(a)(2) of the Internal Revenue 

4 Code of 1986 which is subject to the tax im5 posed by section 511(a)(1) of such Code on its 

6 unrelated business taxable income, or any orga7 nization required to file a return under section 

8 6033 of such Code and include information 

9 under subsection (e) thereof, the Secretary may 

10 delay the application of the amendments made 

11 by this section, but such delay shall not apply 

12 to any taxable year beginning on or after the 

13 date 2 years after of the enactment of this Act. 

14 SEC. 3102. NOTICE REQUIRED BEFORE REVOCATION OF 

15 TAX EXEMPT STATUS FOR FAILURE TO FILE 

16 RETURN. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 6033(j)(1) is amended by 

18 striking ‘‘If an organization’’ and inserting the following: 

19 ‘‘(A) NOTICE.— 

20 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—After an organiza21 tion described in subsection (a)(1) or (i) 

22 fails to file the annual return or notice re23 quired under either subsection for 2 con24 secutive years, the Secretary shall notify 

25 the organization— 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
101 

HR 7227 RDS

1 ‘‘(I) that the Internal Revenue 

2 Service has no record of such a return 

3 or notice from such organization for 2 

4 consecutive years, and 

5 ‘‘(II) about the revocation that 

6 will occur under subparagraph (B) if 

7 the organization fails to file such a re8 turn or notice by the due date for the 

9 next such return or notice required to 

10 be filed. 

11 The notification under the preceding sen12 tence shall include information about how 

13 to comply with the filing requirements 

14 under subsection (a)(1) and (i). 

15 ‘‘(B) REVOCATION.—If an organization’’. 

16 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

17 this section shall apply to failures to file returns or notices 

18 for 2 consecutive years if the return or notice for the sec19 ond year is required to be filed after December 31, 2018. 

20 Subtitle C—Tax Court 

21 SEC. 3301. DISQUALIFICATION OF JUDGE OR MAGISTRATE 

22 JUDGE OF THE TAX COURT. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part II of subchapter C of chap24 ter 76 is amended by adding at the end the following new 

25 section: 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
102 

HR 7227 RDS

1 ‘‘SEC. 7467. DISQUALIFICATION OF JUDGE OR MAGISTRATE 

2 JUDGE OF THE TAX COURT. 

3 ‘‘Section 455 of title 28, United States Code, shall 

4 apply to judges and magistrate judges of the Tax Court 

5 and to proceedings of the Tax Court.’’. 

6 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

7 for such part is amended by adding at the end the fol8 lowing new item: 

‘‘Sec. 7467. Disqualification of judge or magistrate judge of the Tax Court.’’. 

9 SEC. 3302. OPINIONS AND JUDGMENTS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7459 is amended by strik11 ing all that precedes subsection (c) and inserting the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 7459. OPINIONS AND JUDGMENTS. 

14 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT.—An opinion upon any pro15 ceeding instituted before the Tax Court and a judgment 

16 thereon shall be made as quickly as practicable. The judg17 ment shall be made by a judge in accordance with the 

18 opinion of the Tax Court, and such judgment so made 

19 shall, when entered, be the judgment of the Tax Court. 

20 ‘‘(b) INCLUSION OF FINDINGS OF FACT IN OPIN21 ION.—It shall be the duty of the Tax Court and of each 

22 division to include in its opinion or memorandum opinion 

23 upon any proceeding, its findings of fact. The Tax Court 

24 shall issue in writing all of its findings of fact, opinions, 

25 and memorandum opinions. Subject to such conditions as 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
103 

HR 7227 RDS

1 the Tax Court may by rule provide, the requirements of 

2 this subsection and of section 7460 are met if findings 

3 of fact or opinion are stated orally and recorded in the 

4 transcript of the proceedings.’’. 

5 (b) REFERENCES.—Section 7459 is amended by re6 designating subsection (g) as subsection (h) and by insert7 ing after subsection (f) the following new subsection: 

8 ‘‘(g) REFERENCES.—Any reference in this title to a 

9 decision or report of the Tax Court shall be treated as 

10 a reference to a judgment or opinion of the Tax Court, 

11 respectively.’’. 

12 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The item relating 

13 to section 7459 in the table of sections for part II of sub14 chapter C of chapter 76 is amended to read as follows: 

‘‘Sec. 7459. Opinions and judgments.’’. 

15 (d) CONTINUING EFFECT OF LEGAL DOCUMENTS.— 

16 All orders, decisions, reports, rules, permits, agreements, 

17 grants, contracts, certificates, licenses, registrations, privi18 leges, and other administrative actions, in connection with 

19 the Tax Court, which are in effect at the time this section 

20 takes effect, or were final before the effective date of this 

21 section and are to become effective on or after the effective 

22 date of this section, shall continue in effect according to 

23 their terms until modified, terminated, superseded, set 

24 aside, or revoked in accordance with law by the Tax Court. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
104 

HR 7227 RDS

1 SEC. 3303. TITLE OF SPECIAL TRIAL JUDGE CHANGED TO 

2 MAGISTRATE JUDGE OF THE TAX COURT. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7443A is amended— 

4 (1) by striking ‘‘special trial judges’’ in sub5 sections (a) and (e) and inserting ‘‘magistrate 

6 judges of the Tax Court’’; 

7 (2) by striking ‘‘special trial judges of the 

8 court’’ in subsection (b) and inserting ‘‘magistrate 

9 judges of the Tax Court’’; and 

10 (3) by striking ‘‘special trial judge’’ in sub11 sections (c) and (d) and inserting ‘‘magistrate judge 

12 of the Tax Court’’. 

13 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

14 (1) The heading of section 7443A is amended 

15 by striking ‘‘SPECIAL TRIAL JUDGES’’ and insert16 ing ‘‘MAGISTRATE JUDGES OF THE TAX

17 COURT’’. 

18 (2) The heading of section 7443A(b) is amend19 ed by striking ‘‘SPECIAL TRIAL JUDGES’’ and insert20 ing ‘‘MAGISTRATE JUDGES OF THE TAX COURT’’. 

21 (3) The item relating to section 7443A in the 

22 table of sections for part I of subchapter C of chap23 ter 76 is amended to read as follows: 

‘‘Sec. 7443A. Magistrate judges of the Tax Court.’’. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
105 

HR 7227 RDS

1 (4) The heading of section 7448 is amended by 

2 striking ‘‘SPECIAL TRIAL JUDGES’’ and inserting 

3 ‘‘MAGISTRATE JUDGES OF THE TAX COURT’’. 

4 (5) Section 7448 is amended— 

5 (A) by striking ‘‘special trial judge’s’’ each 

6 place it appears in subsections (a)(6), (c)(1), 

7 (d), and (m)(1) and inserting ‘‘magistrate judge 

8 of the Tax Court’s’’; and 

9 (B) by striking ‘‘special trial judge’’ each 

10 place it appears other than in subsection (n) 

11 and inserting ‘‘magistrate judge of the Tax 

12 Court’’. 

13 (6) Section 7448(n) is amended— 

14 (A) by striking ‘‘special trial judge which 

15 are allowable’’ and inserting ‘‘magistrate judge 

16 of the Tax Court which are allowable’’; and 

17 (B) by striking ‘‘special trial judge of the 

18 Tax Court’’ both places it appears and inserting 

19 ‘‘magistrate judge of the Tax Court’’. 

20 (7) The heading of section 7448(b)(2) is 

21 amended by striking ‘‘SPECIAL TRIAL JUDGES’’ and 

22 inserting ‘‘MAGISTRATE JUDGES OF THE TAX

23 COURT’’. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
106 

HR 7227 RDS

1 (8) The item relating to section 7448 in the 

2 table of sections for part I of subchapter C of chap3 ter 76 is amended to read as follows: 

‘‘Sec. 7448. Annuities to surviving spouses and dependent children of judges 

and magistrate judges of the Tax Court.’’. 

4 (9) Section 7456(a) is amended— 

5 (A) by striking ‘‘special trial judge’’ each 

6 place it appears and inserting ‘‘magistrate 

7 judge’’; and 

8 (B) by striking ‘‘(or by the clerk’’ and in9 serting ‘‘of the Tax Court (or by the clerk’’. 

10 (10) Section 7466(a) is amended by striking 

11 ‘‘special trial judge’’ and inserting ‘‘magistrate 

12 judge’’. 

13 (11) Section 7470A is amended by striking 

14 ‘‘special trial judges’’ both places it appears in sub15 sections (a) and (b) and inserting ‘‘magistrate 

16 judges’’. 

17 (12) Section 7471(a)(2)(A) is amended by 

18 striking ‘‘special trial judges’’ and inserting ‘‘mag19 istrate judges’’. 

20 (13) Section 7471(c) is amended— 

21 (A) by striking ‘‘SPECIAL TRIAL JUDGES’’ 

22 in the heading and inserting ‘‘MAGISTRATE

23 JUDGES OF THE TAX COURT’’; and 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
107 

HR 7227 RDS

1 (B) by striking ‘‘special trial judges’’ and 

2 inserting ‘‘magistrate judges’’. 

3 SEC. 3304. REPEAL OF DEADWOOD RELATED TO BOARD OF 

4 TAX APPEALS. 

5 (a) Section 7459, as amended by this Act, is amended 

6 by striking subsection (f) and by redesignating subsections 

7 (g) and (h) as subsections (f) and (g), respectively. 

8 (b) Section 7447(a)(3) is amended to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘(3) In any determination of length of service 

10 as judge or as a judge of the Tax Court of the 

11 United States there shall be included all periods 

12 (whether or not consecutive) during which an indi13 vidual served as judge.’’. 

Passed the House of Representatives December 20, 

2018. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS