I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1957 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to modernize and improve 

the Internal Revenue Service, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 28, 2019 

Mr. LEWIS (for himself, Mr. KELLY of Pennsylvania, Mr. NEAL, Mr. BRADY, 

Ms. DELBENE, Mrs. WALORSKI, Ms. SA ́NCHEZ, Mr. LAHOOD, Mr. 

SUOZZI, Mr. WENSTRUP, Ms. JUDY CHU of California, Ms. MOORE, and 

Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 

provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; ETC. 

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

5 ‘‘Taxpayer First Act of 2019’’. 

6 (b) AMENDMENT OF 1986 CODE.—Except as other7 wise expressly provided, whenever in this Act an amendVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Apr 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1957.IH H1957

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1 ment or repeal is expressed in terms of an amendment 

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

3 shall be considered to be made to a section or other provi4 sion of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

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

6 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. 

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. 


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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. 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. 

TITLE III—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 

Subtitle A—Reform of Laws Governing Internal Revenue Service Employees 

Sec. 3001. Prohibition on rehiring any employee of the Internal Revenue Service who was involuntarily separated from service for misconduct. 

Sec. 3002. 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. 


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

file return. 

Subtitle C—Revenue Provision 

Sec. 3201. Increase in penalty for failure to file. 

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.— 

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

16 Service Independent Office of Appeals shall be 

17 under the supervision and direction of an offi18 cial to be known as the ‘Chief of Appeals’. The 

19 Chief of Appeals shall report directly to the 

20 Commissioner of Internal Revenue and shall be 

21 entitled to compensation at the same rate as 

22 the highest rate of basic pay established for the 


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1 Senior Executive Service under section 5382 of 

2 title 5, United States Code. 

3 ‘‘(B) APPOINTMENT.—The Chief of Ap4 peals shall be appointed by the Commissioner of 

5 Internal Revenue without regard to the provi6 sions of title 5, United States Code, relating to 

7 appointments in the competitive service or the 

8 Senior Executive Service. 

9 ‘‘(C) QUALIFICATIONS.—An individual ap10 pointed under subparagraph (B) shall have ex11 perience and expertise in— 

12 ‘‘(i) administration of, and compliance 

13 with, Federal tax laws, 

14 ‘‘(ii) a broad range of compliance 

15 cases, and 

16 ‘‘(iii) management of large service or17 ganizations. 

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

19 shall be the function of the Internal Revenue Service 

20 Independent Office of Appeals to resolve Federal tax 

21 controversies without litigation on a basis which— 

22 ‘‘(A) is fair and impartial to both the Gov23 ernment and the taxpayer, 


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1 ‘‘(B) promotes a consistent application and 

2 interpretation of, and voluntary compliance 

3 with, the Federal tax laws, and 

4 ‘‘(C) enhances public confidence in the in5 tegrity and efficiency of the Internal Revenue 

6 Service. 

7 ‘‘(4) RIGHT OF APPEAL.—The resolution proc8 ess described in paragraph (3) shall be generally 

9 available to all taxpayers. 

10 ‘‘(5) LIMITATION ON DESIGNATION OF CASES

11 AS NOT ELIGIBLE FOR REFERRAL TO INDEPENDENT

12 OFFICE OF APPEALS.— 

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

14 is in receipt of a notice of deficiency authorized 

15 under section 6212 requests referral to the In16 ternal Revenue Service Independent Office of 

17 Appeals and such request is denied, the Com18 missioner of Internal Revenue shall provide 

19 such taxpayer a written notice which— 

20 ‘‘(i) provides a detailed description of 

21 the facts involved, the basis for the deci22 sion to deny the request, and a detailed ex23 planation of how the basis of such decision 

24 applies to such facts, and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) describes the procedures pre2 scribed under subparagraph (C) for pro3 testing the decision to deny the request. 

4 ‘‘(B) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Com5 missioner of Internal Revenue shall submit a 

6 written report to Congress on an annual basis 

7 which includes the number of requests described 

8 in subparagraph (A) which were denied and the 

9 reasons (described by category) that such re10 quests were denied. 

11 ‘‘(C) PROCEDURES FOR PROTESTING DE12 NIAL OF REQUEST.—The Commissioner of In13 ternal Revenue shall prescribe procedures for 

14 protesting to the Commissioner of Internal Rev15 enue a denial of a request described in subpara16 graph (A). 

17 ‘‘(D) NOT APPLICABLE TO FRIVOLOUS PO18 SITIONS.—This paragraph shall not apply to a 

19 request for referral to the Internal Revenue 

20 Service Independent Office of Appeals which is 

21 denied on the basis that the issue involved is a 

22 frivolous position (within the meaning of section 

23 6702(c)). 

24 ‘‘(6) STAFF.— 


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

2 Internal Revenue Service Independent Office of 

3 Appeals shall report to the Chief of Appeals. 

4 ‘‘(B) ACCESS TO STAFF OF OFFICE OF

5 THE CHIEF COUNSEL.—The Chief of Appeals 

6 shall have authority to obtain legal assistance 

7 and advice from the staff of the Office of the 

8 Chief Counsel. The Chief Counsel shall ensure, 

9 to the extent practicable, that such assistance 

10 and advice is provided by staff of the Office of 

11 the Chief Counsel who were not involved in the 

12 case with respect to which such assistance and 

13 advice is sought and who are not involved in 

14 preparing such case for litigation. 

15 ‘‘(7) ACCESS TO CASE FILES.— 

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

17 a conference with the Internal Revenue Service 

18 Independent Office of Appeals has been sched19 uled upon request of a specified taxpayer, the 

20 Chief of Appeals shall ensure that such tax21 payer is provided access to the nonprivileged 

22 portions of the case file on record regarding the 

23 disputed issues (other than documents provided 

24 by the taxpayer to the Internal Revenue ServVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Apr 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1957.IH H1957

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1 ice) not later than 10 days before the date of 

2 such conference. 

3 ‘‘(B) TAXPAYER ELECTION TO EXPEDITE

4 CONFERENCE.—If the taxpayer so elects, sub5 paragraph (A) shall be applied by substituting 

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

7 the date of such conference’. 

8 ‘‘(C) SPECIFIED TAXPAYER.—For pur9 poses of this paragraph— 

10 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘speci11 fied taxpayer’ means— 

12 ‘‘(I) in the case of any taxpayer 

13 who is a natural person, a taxpayer 

14 whose adjusted gross income does not 

15 exceed $400,000 for the taxable year 

16 to which the dispute relates, and 

17 ‘‘(II) in the case of any other 

18 taxpayer, a taxpayer whose gross re19 ceipts do not exceed $5,000,000 for 

20 the taxable year to which the dispute 

21 relates. 

22 ‘‘(ii) AGGREGATION RULE.—Rules 

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

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

25 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 


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1 (1) The following provisions are each amended 

2 by striking ‘‘Internal Revenue Service Office of Ap3 peals’’ and inserting ‘‘Internal Revenue Service 

4 Independent Office of Appeals’’: 

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

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

7 (C) Subsections (b)(1) and (d)(3) of sec8 tion 6330. 

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

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

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

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

13 (c)(1) of section 7123. 

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

15 of section 7430. 

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

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

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

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

20 place it appears and inserting ‘‘Internal Revenue 

21 Service Independent Office of Appeals’’. 

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

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

24 (c) OTHER REFERENCES.—Any reference in any pro25 vision of law, or regulation or other guidance, to the InterVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Apr 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1957.IH H1957

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1 nal Revenue Service Office of Appeals shall be treated as 

2 a reference to the Internal Revenue Service Independent 

3 Office of Appeals. 

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

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

6 Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act 

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

8 amendments made by this section). 

9 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro11 vided in this subsection, the amendments made by 

12 this section shall take effect on the date of the en13 actment of this Act. 

14 (2) ACCESS TO CASE FILES.—Section 

15 7803(e)(7) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as 

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

17 occurring after the date which is 1 year after the 

18 date of the enactment of this Act. 

19 Subtitle B—Improved Service 

20 SEC. 1101. COMPREHENSIVE CUSTOMER SERVICE STRAT21 EGY. 

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

23 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

24 Secretary of the Treasury (or the Secretary’s delegate) 

25 shall submit to Congress a written comprehensive cusVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Apr 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1957.IH H1957

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1 tomer service strategy for the Internal Revenue Service. 

2 Such strategy shall include— 

3 (1) a plan to provide assistance to taxpayers 

4 that is secure, designed to meet reasonable taxpayer 

5 expectations, and adopts appropriate best practices 

6 of customer service provided in the private sector, 

7 including online services, telephone call back serv8 ices, and training of employees providing customer 

9 services; 

10 (2) a thorough assessment of the services that 

11 the Internal Revenue Service can co-locate with 

12 other Federal services or offer as self-service op13 tions; 

14 (3) proposals to improve Internal Revenue Serv15 ice customer service in the short term (the current 

16 and following fiscal year), medium term (approxi17 mately 3 to 5 fiscal years), and long term (approxi18 mately 10 fiscal years); 

19 (4) a plan to update guidance and training ma20 terials for customer service employees of the Internal 

21 Revenue Service, including the Internal Revenue 

22 Manual, to reflect such strategy; and 

23 (5) identified metrics and benchmarks for quan24 titatively measuring the progress of the Internal 

25 Revenue Service in implementing such strategy. 


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1 (b) UPDATED GUIDANCE AND TRAINING MATE2 RIALS.—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) shall make available the updated 

5 guidance and training materials described in subsection 

6 (a)(4) (including the Internal Revenue Manual). Such up7 dated guidance and training materials (including the In8 ternal Revenue Manual) shall be written in a manner so 

9 as to be easily understood by customer service employees 

10 of the Internal Revenue Service and shall provide clear 

11 instructions. 

12 SEC. 1102. IRS FREE FILE PROGRAM. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

14 (1) The Secretary of the Treasury, or the Sec15 retary’s delegate, shall continue to operate the IRS 

16 Free File Program as established by the Internal 

17 Revenue Service and published in the Federal Reg18 ister on November 4, 2002 (67 Fed. Reg. 67247), 

19 including any subsequent agreements and governing 

20 rules established pursuant thereto. 

21 (2) The IRS Free File Program shall continue 

22 to provide free commercial-type online individual in23 come tax preparation and electronic filing services to 

24 the lowest 70 percent of taxpayers by adjusted gross 

25 income. The number of taxpayers eligible to receive 


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1 such services each year shall be calculated by the In2 ternal Revenue Service annually based on prior year 

3 aggregate taxpayer adjusted gross income data. 

4 (3) In addition to the services described in 

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

6 Free File Program shall continue to make available 

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

8 online electronic fillable forms utility. 

9 (4) The IRS Free File Program shall continue 

10 to work cooperatively with the private sector to pro11 vide the free individual income tax preparation and 

12 the electronic filing services described in paragraphs 

13 (2) and (3). 

14 (5) The IRS Free File Program shall work co15 operatively with State government agencies to en16 hance and expand the use of the program to provide 

17 needed benefits to the taxpayer while reducing the 

18 cost of processing returns. 

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

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

21 sector through the IRS Free File Program to identify and 

22 implement, consistent with applicable law, innovative new 

23 program features to improve and simplify the taxpayer’s 

24 experience with completing and filing individual income 

25 tax returns through voluntary compliance. 


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1 SEC. 1103. LOW-INCOME EXCEPTION FOR PAYMENTS OTH2 ERWISE REQUIRED IN CONNECTION WITH A 

3 SUBMISSION OF AN OFFER-IN-COMPROMISE. 

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

5 adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

6 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTION FOR LOW-INCOME TAX7 PAYERS.—Paragraph (1), and any user fee otherwise 

8 required in connection with the submission of an 

9 offer-in-compromise, shall not apply to any offer-in10 compromise with respect to a taxpayer who is an in11 dividual with adjusted gross income, as determined 

12 for the most recent taxable year for which such in13 formation is available, which does not exceed 250 

14 percent of the applicable poverty level (as deter15 mined by the Secretary).’’. 

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

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

18 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

19 Subtitle C—Sensible Enforcement 

20 SEC. 1201. INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE SEIZURE RE21 QUIREMENTS WITH RESPECT TO STRUC22 TURING TRANSACTIONS. 

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

24 is amended— 

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

26 the following: 


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

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

3 ‘‘(B) INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE SEI4 ZURE REQUIREMENTS WITH RESPECT TO

5 STRUCTURING TRANSACTIONS.— 

6 ‘‘(i) PROPERTY DERIVED FROM AN IL7 LEGAL SOURCE.—Property may only be 

8 seized by the Internal Revenue Service 

9 pursuant to subparagraph (A) by reason of 

10 a claimed violation of section 5324 if the 

11 property to be seized was derived from an 

12 illegal source or the funds were structured 

13 for the purpose of concealing the violation 

14 of a criminal law or regulation other than 

15 section 5324. 

16 ‘‘(ii) NOTICE.—Not later than 30 

17 days after property is seized by the Inter18 nal Revenue Service pursuant to subpara19 graph (A), the Internal Revenue Service 

20 shall— 

21 ‘‘(I) make a good faith effort to 

22 find all persons with an ownership in23 terest in such property; and 

24 ‘‘(II) provide each such person so 

25 found with a notice of the seizure and 


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1 of the person’s rights under clause 

2 (iv). 

3 ‘‘(iii) EXTENSION OF NOTICE UNDER

4 CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES.—The Internal 

5 Revenue Service may apply to a court of 

6 competent jurisdiction for one 30-day ex7 tension of the notice requirement under 

8 clause (ii) if the Internal Revenue Service 

9 can establish probable cause of an immi10 nent threat to national security or personal 

11 safety necessitating such extension. 

12 ‘‘(iv) POST-SEIZURE HEARING.—If a 

13 person with an ownership interest in prop14 erty seized pursuant to subparagraph (A) 

15 by the Internal Revenue Service requests a 

16 hearing by a court of competent jurisdic17 tion within 30 days after the date on which 

18 notice is provided under subclause (ii), 

19 such property shall be returned unless the 

20 court holds an adversarial hearing and 

21 finds within 30 days of such request (or 

22 such longer period as the court may pro23 vide, but only on request of an interested 

24 party) that there is probable cause to be25 lieve that there is a violation of section 


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1 5324 involving such property and probable 

2 cause to believe that the property to be 

3 seized was derived from an illegal source or 

4 the funds were structured for the purpose 

5 of concealing the violation of a criminal 

6 law or regulation other than section 

7 5324.’’. 

8 SEC. 1202. EXCLUSION OF INTEREST RECEIVED IN ACTION 

9 TO RECOVER PROPERTY SEIZED BY THE IN10 TERNAL REVENUE SERVICE BASED ON 

11 STRUCTURING TRANSACTION. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part III of subchapter B of chap13 ter 1 is amended by inserting before section 140 the fol14 lowing new section: 

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

16 PROPERTY SEIZED BY THE INTERNAL REV17 ENUE SERVICE BASED ON STRUCTURING 

18 TRANSACTION. 

19 ‘‘Gross income shall not include any interest received 

20 from the Federal Government in connection with an action 

21 to recover property seized by the Internal Revenue Service 

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

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

24 such title.’’. 


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

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

3 inserting before the item relating to section 140 the fol4 lowing new item: 

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

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

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

7 date of the enactment of this Act. 

8 SEC. 1203. CLARIFICATION OF EQUITABLE RELIEF FROM 

9 JOINT LIABILITY. 

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

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

12 following new paragraph: 

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

14 review of a determination made under this section 

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

16 be based upon— 

17 ‘‘(A) the administrative record established 

18 at the time of the determination, and 

19 ‘‘(B) any additional newly discovered or 

20 previously unavailable evidence.’’; and 

21 (2) by amending subsection (f) to read as fol22 lows: 

23 ‘‘(f) EQUITABLE RELIEF.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Under procedures pre2 scribed by the Secretary, if— 

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

4 circumstances, it is inequitable to hold the indi5 vidual liable for any unpaid tax or any defi6 ciency (or any portion of either), and 

7 ‘‘(B) relief is not available to such indi8 vidual under subsection (b) or (c), 

9 the Secretary may relieve such individual of such li10 ability. 

11 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—A request for equitable re12 lief under this subsection may be made with respect 

13 to any portion of any liability that— 

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

15 request is made before the expiration of the ap16 plicable period of limitation under section 6502, 

17 or 

18 ‘‘(B) has been paid, provided that such re19 quest is made during the period in which the 

20 individual could submit a timely claim for re21 fund or credit of such payment.’’. 

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

23 this section shall apply to petitions or requests filed or 

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


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1 SEC. 1204. MODIFICATION OF PROCEDURES FOR ISSUANCE 

2 OF THIRD-PARTY SUMMONS. 

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

4 adding at the end the following flush sentence: 

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

6 the preceding sentence unless the information sought to 

7 be obtained is narrowly tailored to information that per8 tains to the failure (or potential failure) of the person or 

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

10 comply with one or more provisions of the internal revenue 

11 law which have been identified for purposes of such para12 graph.’’. 

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

14 this section shall apply to summonses served after the date 

15 that is 45 days after the date of the enactment of this 

16 Act. 

17 SEC. 1205. PRIVATE DEBT COLLECTION AND SPECIAL COM18 PLIANCE PERSONNEL PROGRAM. 

19 (a) CERTAIN TAX RECEIVABLES NOT ELIGIBLE FOR

20 COLLECTION UNDER TAX COLLECTION CONTRACTS.— 

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

22 of subparagraph (C) and by inserting after subparagraph 

23 (D) the following new subparagraphs: 

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

25 income consists of disability insurance benefits 

26 under section 223 of the Social Security Act or 


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1 supplemental security income benefits under 

2 title XVI of the Social Security Act (including 

3 supplemental security income benefits of the 

4 type described in section 1616 of such Act or 

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

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

7 adjusted gross income, as determined for the 

8 most recent taxable year for which such infor9 mation is available, which does not exceed 200 

10 percent of the applicable poverty level (as deter11 mined by the Secretary),’’. 

12 (b) DETERMINATION OF INACTIVE TAX RECEIV13 ABLES ELIGIBLE FOR COLLECTION UNDER TAX COLLEC14 TION CONTRACTS.—Section 6306(c)(2)(A)(ii) is amended 

by striking ‘‘more than 1 15 ⁄3 of the period of the applicable 

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

17 2 years has passed since assessment’’. 

18 (c) MAXIMUM LENGTH OF INSTALLMENT AGREE19 MENTS OFFERED UNDER TAX COLLECTION CON20 TRACTS.—Section 6306(b)(1)(B) is amended by striking 

21 ‘‘5 years’’ and inserting ‘‘7 years’’. 

22 (d) CLARIFICATION THAT SPECIAL COMPLIANCE

23 PERSONNEL PROGRAM ACCOUNT MAY BE USED FOR

24 PROGRAM COSTS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 6307(b) is amend2 ed— 

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

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

5 period, and 

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

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

8 ‘‘for other than program costs’’. 

9 (2) COMMUNICATIONS, SOFTWARE, AND TECH10 NOLOGY COSTS TREATED AS PROGRAM COSTS.—Sec11 tion 6307(d)(2)(B) is amended by striking ‘‘tele12 communications’’ and inserting ‘‘communications, 

13 software, technology’’. 

14 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

15 6307(d)(2) is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end 

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

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

18 by inserting after subparagraph (B) the following 

19 new subparagraph: 

20 ‘‘(C) reimbursement of the Internal Rev21 enue Service or other government agencies for 

22 the cost of administering the qualified tax col23 lection program under section 6306.’’. 

24 (e) EFFECTIVE DATES.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro2 vided in this subsection, the amendments made by 

3 this section shall apply to tax receivables identified 

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

5 December 31, 2020. 

6 (2) MAXIMUM LENGTH OF INSTALLMENT

7 AGREEMENTS.—The amendment made by subsection 

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

9 date of the enactment of this Act. 

10 (3) USE OF SPECIAL COMPLIANCE PERSONNEL

11 PROGRAM ACCOUNT.—The amendment made by sub12 section (d) shall apply to amounts expended from 

13 the special compliance personnel program account 

14 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

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

16 PARTIES. 

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

18 read as follows: 

19 ‘‘(1) GENERAL NOTICE.—An officer or em20 ployee of the Internal Revenue Service may not con21 tact any person other than the taxpayer with respect 

22 to the determination or collection of the tax liability 

23 of such taxpayer unless such contact occurs during 

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

25 in a notice which— 


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1 ‘‘(A) informs the taxpayer that contacts 

2 with persons other than the taxpayer are in3 tended to be made during such period, and 

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

5 Secretary, is provided to the taxpayer not later 

6 than 45 days before the beginning of such pe7 riod. 

8 Nothing in the preceding sentence shall prevent the 

9 issuance of notices to the same taxpayer with respect 

10 to the same tax liability with periods specified there11 in that, in the aggregate, exceed 1 year. A notice 

12 shall not be issued under this paragraph unless 

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

14 to contact persons other than the taxpayer during 

15 the period specified in such notice. The preceding 

16 sentence shall not prevent the issuance of a notice 

17 if the requirement of such sentence is met on the 

18 basis of the assumption that the information sought 

19 to be obtained by such contact will not be obtained 

20 by other means before such contact.’’. 

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

22 this section shall apply to notices provided, and contacts 

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

24 the date of the enactment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 1207. MODIFICATION OF AUTHORITY TO ISSUE DES2 IGNATED SUMMONS. 

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

4 is amended by striking ‘‘coordinated examination pro5 gram’’ and inserting ‘‘coordinated industry case pro6 gram’’. 

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

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

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

10 preceded by a review and written approval 

11 of such issuance by the Commissioner of 

12 the relevant operating division of the Inter13 nal Revenue Service and the Chief Counsel 

14 which— 

15 ‘‘(I) states facts clearly estab16 lishing that the Secretary has made 

17 reasonable requests for the informa18 tion that is the subject of the sum19 mons, and 

20 ‘‘(II) is attached to such sum21 mons,’’. 

22 (c) ESTABLISHMENT THAT REASONABLE REQUESTS

23 FOR INFORMATION WERE MADE.—Subsection (j) of sec24 tion 6503 is amended by adding at the end the following 

25 new paragraph: 


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1 ‘‘(4) ESTABLISHMENT THAT REASONABLE RE2 QUESTS FOR INFORMATION WERE MADE.—In any 

3 court proceeding described in paragraph (3), the 

4 Secretary shall establish that reasonable requests 

5 were made for the information that is the subject of 

6 the summons.’’. 

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

8 this section shall apply to summonses issued after the date 

9 which is 45 days after the date of the enactment of this 

10 Act. 

11 SEC. 1208. LIMITATION ON ACCESS OF NON-INTERNAL REV12 ENUE SERVICE EMPLOYEES TO RETURNS 

13 AND RETURN INFORMATION. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7602 is amended by add15 ing at the end the following new subsection: 

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

17 THAN INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE OFFICERS AND EM18 PLOYEES.—The Secretary shall not, under the authority 

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

20 other data obtained pursuant to this section to any person 

21 authorized under section 6103(n), except when such per22 son requires such information for the sole purpose of pro23 viding expert evaluation and assistance to the Internal 

24 Revenue Service. No person other than an officer or em25 ployee of the Internal Revenue Service or the Office of 


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

2 a witness under oath whose testimony was obtained pursu3 ant to this section.’’. 

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

5 this section— 

6 (1) shall take effect on the date of the enact7 ment of this Act; and 

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

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

10 of 1986 merely because such contract was in effect 

11 before the date of the enactment of this Act. 

12 Subtitle D—Organizational 

13 Modernization 

14 SEC. 1301. OFFICE OF THE NATIONAL TAXPAYER ADVO15 CATE. 

16 (a) TAXPAYER ADVOCATE DIRECTIVES.— 

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

18 by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

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

20 the case of any Taxpayer Advocate Directive issued 

21 by the National Taxpayer Advocate pursuant to a 

22 delegation of authority from the Commissioner of In23 ternal Revenue— 

24 ‘‘(A) the Commissioner or a Deputy Com25 missioner shall modify, rescind, or ensure comVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Apr 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1957.IH H1957

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1 pliance with such directive not later than 90 

2 days after the issuance of such directive, and 

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

4 modified or rescinded by a Deputy Commis5 sioner, the National Taxpayer Advocate may 

6 (not later than 90 days after such modification 

7 or rescission) appeal to the Commissioner, and 

8 the Commissioner shall (not later than 90 days 

9 after such appeal is made) ensure compliance 

10 with such directive as issued by the National 

11 Taxpayer Advocate or provide the National 

12 Taxpayer Advocate with the reasons for any 

13 modification or rescission made or upheld by 

14 the Commissioner pursuant to such appeal.’’. 

15 (2) REPORT TO CERTAIN COMMITTEES OF CON16 GRESS REGARDING DIRECTIVES.—Section 

17 7803(c)(2)(B)(ii) is amended by redesignating sub18 clauses (VIII) through (XI) as subclauses (IX) 

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

20 subclause (VII) the following new subclause: 

21 ‘‘(VIII) identify any Taxpayer 

22 Advocate Directive which was not 

23 honored by the Internal Revenue 

24 Service in a timely manner, as speci25 fied under paragraph (5);’’. 


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1 (b) NATIONAL TAXPAYER ADVOCATE ANNUAL RE2 PORTS TO CONGRESS.— 

3 (1) INCLUSION OF MOST SERIOUS TAXPAYER

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

5 amended by striking ‘‘at least 20 of the’’ and insert6 ing ‘‘the 10’’. 

7 (2) COORDINATION WITH TREASURY INSPECTOR

8 GENERAL FOR TAX ADMINISTRATION.—Section 

9 7803(c)(2) is amended by adding at the end the fol10 lowing new subparagraph: 

11 ‘‘(E) COORDINATION WITH TREASURY IN12 SPECTOR GENERAL FOR TAX ADMINISTRA13 TION.—Before beginning any research or study, 

14 the National Taxpayer Advocate shall coordi15 nate with the Treasury Inspector General for 

16 Tax Administration to ensure that the National 

17 Taxpayer Advocate does not duplicate any ac18 tion that the Treasury Inspector General for 

19 Tax Administration has already undertaken or 

20 has a plan to undertake.’’. 

21 (3) STATISTICAL SUPPORT.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 6108 is amend23 ed by adding at the end the following new sub24 section: 


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1 ‘‘(d) STATISTICAL SUPPORT FOR NATIONAL TAX2 PAYER ADVOCATE.—Upon request of the National Tax3 payer Advocate, the Secretary shall, to the extent prac4 ticable, provide the National Taxpayer Advocate with sta5 tistical support in connection with the preparation by the 

6 National Taxpayer Advocate of the annual report de7 scribed in section 7803(c)(2)(B)(ii). Such statistical sup8 port shall include statistical studies, compilations, and the 

9 review of information provided by the National Taxpayer 

10 Advocate for statistical validity and sound statistical 

11 methodology.’’. 

12 (B) DISCLOSURE OF REVIEW.—Section 

13 7803(c)(2)(B)(ii), as amended by subsection 

14 (a), is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of 

15 subclause (XI), by redesignating subclause 

16 (XII) as subclause (XIII), and by inserting 

17 after subclause (XI) the following new sub18 clause: 

19 ‘‘(XII) with respect to any statis20 tical information included in such re21 port, include a statement of whether 

22 such statistical information was re23 viewed or provided by the Secretary 

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

25 whether the Secretary determined 


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1 such information to be statistically 

2 valid and based on sound statistical 

3 methodology; and’’. 

4 (C) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

5 7803(c)(2)(B)(iii) is amended by adding at the 

6 end the following: ‘‘The preceding sentence 

7 shall not apply with respect to statistical infor8 mation provided to the Secretary for review, or 

9 received from the Secretary, under section 

10 6108(d).’’. 

11 (c) SALARY OF NATIONAL TAXPAYER ADVOCATE.— 

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

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

14 fixed under section 9503 of such title’’. 

15 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro17 vided in this subsection, the amendments made by 

18 this section shall take effect on the date of the en19 actment of this Act. 

20 (2) SALARY OF NATIONAL TAXPAYER ADVO21 CATE.—The amendment made by subsection (c) 

22 shall apply to compensation paid to individuals ap23 pointed as the National Taxpayer Advocate after 

24 March 31, 2019. 


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1 SEC. 1302. MODERNIZATION OF INTERNAL REVENUE SERV2 ICE ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE. 

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

4 2020, the Secretary of the Treasury (or the Secretary’s 

5 delegate) shall submit to Congress a comprehensive writ6 ten plan to redesign the organization of the Internal Rev7 enue Service. Such plan shall— 

8 (1) ensure the successful implementation of the 

9 priorities specified by Congress in this Act; 

10 (2) prioritize taxpayer services to ensure that 

11 all taxpayers easily and readily receive the assistance 

12 that they need; 

13 (3) streamline the structure of the agency in14 cluding minimizing the duplication of services and 

15 responsibilities within the agency; 

16 (4) best position the Internal Revenue Service 

17 to combat cybersecurity and other threats to the In18 ternal Revenue Service; and 

19 (5) address whether the Criminal Investigation 

20 Division of the Internal Revenue Service should re21 port directly to the Commissioner of Internal Rev22 enue. 

23 (b) REPEAL OF RESTRICTION ON ORGANIZATIONAL

24 STRUCTURE OF INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE.—Para25 graph (3) of section 1001(a) of the Internal Revenue Serv26 ice Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 shall cease to 


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1 apply beginning 1 year after the date on which the plan 

2 described in subsection (a) is submitted to Congress. 

3 Subtitle E—Other Provisions 

4 SEC. 1401. RETURN PREPARATION PROGRAMS FOR APPLI5 CABLE TAXPAYERS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 77 is amended by insert7 ing after section 7526 the following new section: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 7526A. RETURN PREPARATION PROGRAMS FOR AP9 PLICABLE TAXPAYERS. 

10 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF VOLUNTEER INCOME TAX

11 ASSISTANCE MATCHING GRANT PROGRAM.—The Sec12 retary shall establish a Community Volunteer Income Tax 

13 Assistance Matching Grant Program under which the Sec14 retary may, subject to the availability of appropriated 

15 funds, make grants to provide matching funds for the de16 velopment, expansion, or continuation of qualified return 

17 preparation programs assisting applicable taxpayers and 

18 members of underserved populations. 

19 ‘‘(b) USE OF FUNDS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Qualified return prepara21 tion programs may use grants received under this 

22 section for— 

23 ‘‘(A) ordinary and necessary costs associ24 ated with program operation in accordance with 


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1 cost principles under the applicable Office of 

2 Management and Budget circular, including— 

3 ‘‘(i) wages or salaries of persons co4 ordinating the activities of the program, 

5 ‘‘(ii) developing training materials, 

6 conducting training, and performing qual7 ity reviews of the returns prepared under 

8 the program, 

9 ‘‘(iii) equipment purchases, and 

10 ‘‘(iv) vehicle-related expenses associ11 ated with remote or rural tax preparation 

12 services, 

13 ‘‘(B) outreach and educational activities 

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

15 ‘‘(C) services related to financial education 

16 and capability, asset development, and the es17 tablishment of savings accounts in connection 

18 with tax return preparation. 

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

20 qualified return preparation program must provide 

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

22 grants provided under this section. Matching funds 

23 may include— 


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

2 of individuals performing services for the pro3 gram, 

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

5 program, and 

6 ‘‘(C) other ordinary and necessary costs 

7 associated with the program. 

8 Indirect expenses, including general overhead of any 

9 entity administering the program, shall not be 

10 counted as matching funds. 

11 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.— 

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

13 under this section shall submit an application to the 

14 Secretary at such time, in such manner, and con15 taining such information as the Secretary may rea16 sonably require. 

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

18 section, the Secretary shall give priority to applica19 tions which demonstrate— 

20 ‘‘(A) assistance to applicable taxpayers, 

21 with emphasis on outreach to, and services for, 

22 such taxpayers, 

23 ‘‘(B) taxpayer outreach and educational 

24 activities relating to eligibility and availability 


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•HR 1957 IH

1 of income supports available through this title, 

2 including the earned income tax credit, and 

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

4 more underserved populations. 

5 ‘‘(3) AMOUNTS TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT.—In de6 termining matching grants under this section, the 

7 Secretary shall only take into account amounts pro8 vided by the qualified return preparation program 

9 for expenses described in subsection (b). 

10 ‘‘(d) PROGRAM ADHERENCE.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab12 lish procedures for, and shall conduct not less fre13 quently than once every 5 calendar years during 

14 which a qualified return preparation program is op15 erating under a grant under this section, periodic 

16 site visits— 

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

18 the purposes of this section, and 

19 ‘‘(B) to determine whether the program 

20 meets such program adherence standards as the 

21 Secretary shall by regulation or other guidance 

22 prescribe. 

23 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR GRANT

24 RECIPIENTS NOT MEETING PROGRAM ADHERENCE


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1 STANDARDS.—In the case of any qualified return 

2 preparation program which— 

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

4 and 

5 ‘‘(B) is subsequently determined— 

6 ‘‘(i) not to meet the program adher7 ence standards described in paragraph 

8 (1)(B), or 

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

10 the purposes of this section, 

11 such program shall not be eligible for any additional 

12 grants under this section unless such program pro13 vides sufficient documentation of corrective meas14 ures established to address any such deficiencies de15 termined. 

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

17 ‘‘(1) QUALIFIED RETURN PREPARATION PRO18 GRAM.—The term ‘qualified return preparation pro19 gram’ means any program— 

20 ‘‘(A) which provides assistance to individ21 uals, not less than 90 percent of whom are ap22 plicable taxpayers, in preparing and filing Fed23 eral income tax returns, 

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

25 entity, 


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

2 the preparation of Federal income tax returns 

3 meet the training requirements prescribed by 

4 the Secretary, and 

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

6 which reviews 100 percent of all returns. 

7 ‘‘(2) QUALIFIED ENTITY.— 

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

9 entity’ means any entity which— 

10 ‘‘(i) is an eligible organization, 

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

12 filing and payment requirements, 

13 ‘‘(iii) is not debarred or suspended 

14 from Federal contracts, grants, or coopera15 tive agreements, and 

16 ‘‘(iv) agrees to provide documentation 

17 to substantiate any matching funds pro18 vided pursuant to the grant program under 

19 this section. 

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

21 ‘eligible organization’ means— 

22 ‘‘(i) an institution of higher education 

23 which is described in section 102 (other 

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

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


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1 1002), as in effect on the date of the en2 actment of this section, and which has not 

3 been disqualified from participating in a 

4 program under title IV of such Act, 

5 ‘‘(ii) an organization described in sec6 tion 501(c) and exempt from tax under 

7 section 501(a), 

8 ‘‘(iii) a local government agency, in9 cluding— 

10 ‘‘(I) a county or municipal gov11 ernment agency, and 

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

13 in section 4(13) of the Native Amer14 ican Housing Assistance and Self-De15 termination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 

16 4103(13)), including any tribally des17 ignated housing entity (as defined in 

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

19 4103(22))), tribal subsidiary, subdivi20 sion, or other wholly owned tribal en21 tity, 

22 ‘‘(iv) a local, State, regional, or na23 tional coalition (with one lead organization 

24 which meets the eligibility requirements of 


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•HR 1957 IH

1 clause (i), (ii), or (iii) acting as the appli2 cant organization), or 

3 ‘‘(v) in the case of applicable tax4 payers and members of underserved popu5 lations with respect to which no organiza6 tions described in the preceding clauses are 

7 available— 

8 ‘‘(I) a State government agency, 

9 or 

10 ‘‘(II) an office providing Cooper11 ative Extension services (as estab12 lished at the land-grant colleges and 

13 universities under the Smith-Lever 

14 Act of May 8, 1914). 

15 ‘‘(3) APPLICABLE TAXPAYERS.—The term ‘ap16 plicable taxpayer’ means a taxpayer whose income 

17 for the taxable year does not exceed an amount 

18 equal to the completed phaseout amount under sec19 tion 32(b) for a married couple filing a joint return 

20 with three or more qualifying children, as deter21 mined in a revenue procedure or other published 

22 guidance. 

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

24 ‘underserved population’ includes populations of per25 sons with disabilities, persons with limited English 


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•HR 1957 IH

1 proficiency, Native Americans, individuals living in 

2 rural areas, members of the Armed Forces and their 

3 spouses, and the elderly. 

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

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

6 of a qualified return preparation program, the Sec7 retary is authorized to award a multi-year grant not 

8 to exceed 3 years. 

9 ‘‘(2) AGGREGATE LIMITATION.—Unless other10 wise provided by specific appropriation, the Sec11 retary shall not allocate more than $30,000,000 per 

12 fiscal year (exclusive of costs of administering the 

13 program) to grants under this section. 

14 ‘‘(g) PROMOTION OF PROGRAMS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall pro16 mote tax preparation through qualified return prepa17 ration programs through the use of mass commu18 nications and other means. 

19 ‘‘(2) PROVISION OF INFORMATION REGARDING

20 QUALIFIED RETURN PREPARATION PROGRAMS.—The 

21 Secretary may provide taxpayers information regard22 ing qualified return preparation programs receiving 

23 grants under this section. 

24 ‘‘(3) REFERRALS TO LOW-INCOME TAXPAYER

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1 ceiving a grant under this section are encouraged, in 

2 appropriate cases, to— 

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

4 and eligibility requirements for receiving, advice 

5 and assistance from qualified low-income tax6 payer clinics receiving funding under section 

7 7526, and 

8 ‘‘(B) provide information regarding the lo9 cation of, and contact information for, such 

10 clinics.’’. 

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

12 for chapter 77 is amended by inserting after the item re13 lating to section 7526 the following new item: 

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

14 SEC. 1402. PROVISION OF INFORMATION REGARDING LOW15 INCOME TAXPAYER CLINICS. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7526(c) is amended by 

17 adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

18 ‘‘(6) PROVISION OF INFORMATION REGARDING

19 QUALIFIED LOW-INCOME TAXPAYER CLINICS.—Not20 withstanding any other provision of law, officers and 

21 employees of the Department of the Treasury may— 

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

23 and eligibility requirements for receiving, advice 

24 and assistance from one or more specific qualiVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Apr 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00043 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1957.IH H1957

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1 fied low-income taxpayer clinics receiving fund2 ing under this section, and 

3 ‘‘(B) provide information regarding the lo4 cation of, and contact information for, such 

5 clinics.’’. 

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

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

8 of this Act. 

9 SEC. 1403. NOTICE FROM IRS REGARDING CLOSURE OF 

10 TAXPAYER ASSISTANCE CENTERS. 

11 Not later than 90 days before the date that a pro12 posed closure of a Taxpayer Assistance Center would take 

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

14 delegate) shall— 

15 (1) make publicly available (including by non16 electronic means) a notice which— 

17 (A) identifies the Taxpayer Assistance 

18 Center proposed for closure and the date of 

19 such proposed closure; and 

20 (B) identifies the relevant alternative 

21 sources of taxpayer assistance which may be 

22 utilized by taxpayers affected by such proposed 

23 closure; and 

24 (2) submit to Congress a written report that in25 cludes— 


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1 (A) the information included in the notice 

2 described in paragraph (1); 

3 (B) the reasons for such proposed closure; 

4 and 

5 (C) such other information as the Sec6 retary may determine appropriate. 

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

8 GOODS RESTRICTED TO ONLY PERISHABLE 

9 GOODS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 6336 is amended by strik11 ing ‘‘or become greatly reduced in price or value by keep12 ing, or that such property cannot be kept without great 

13 expense’’. 

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

15 this section shall apply to property seized after the date 

16 of the enactment of this Act. 

17 SEC. 1405. WHISTLEBLOWER REFORMS. 

18 (a) MODIFICATIONS TO DISCLOSURE RULES FOR

19 WHISTLEBLOWERS.— 

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

21 by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

22 ‘‘(13) DISCLOSURE TO WHISTLEBLOWERS.— 

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

24 disclose, to any individual providing information 

25 relating to any purpose described in paragraph 


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•HR 1957 IH

1 (1) or (2) of section 7623(a), return informa2 tion related to the investigation of any taxpayer 

3 with respect to whom the individual has pro4 vided such information, but only to the extent 

5 that such disclosure is necessary in obtaining 

6 information, which is not otherwise reasonably 

7 available, with respect to the correct determina8 tion of tax liability for tax, or the amount to be 

9 collected with respect to the enforcement of any 

10 other provision of this title. 

11 ‘‘(B) UPDATES ON WHISTLEBLOWER IN12 VESTIGATIONS.—The Secretary shall disclose to 

13 an individual providing information relating to 

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

15 of section 7623(a) the following: 

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

17 case for which the individual has provided 

18 information has been referred for an audit 

19 or examination, a notice with respect to 

20 such referral. 

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

22 taxpayer with respect to whom the indi23 vidual has provided information has made 

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1 ity to which such information relates, a no2 tice with respect to such payment. 

3 ‘‘(iii) Subject to such requirements 

4 and conditions as are prescribed by the 

5 Secretary, upon a written request by such 

6 individual— 

7 ‘‘(I) information on the status 

8 and stage of any investigation or ac9 tion related to such information, and 

10 ‘‘(II) in the case of a determina11 tion of the amount of any award 

12 under section 7623(b), the reasons for 

13 such determination. 

14 Clause (iii) shall not apply to any information 

15 if the Secretary determines that disclosure of 

16 such information would seriously impair Fed17 eral tax administration. Information described 

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

19 a designee of the individual providing such in20 formation in accordance with guidance provided 

21 by the Secretary.’’. 

22 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

23 (A) CONFIDENTIALITY OF INFORMA24 TION.—Section 6103(a)(3) is amended by strikVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Apr 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00047 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1957.IH H1957

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1 ing ‘‘subsection (k)(10)’’ and inserting ‘‘para2 graph (10) or (13) of subsection (k)’’. 

3 (B) PENALTY FOR UNAUTHORIZED DIS4 CLOSURE.—Section 7213(a)(2) is amended by 

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

6 (13)’’. 

7 (C) COORDINATION WITH AUTHORITY TO

8 DISCLOSE FOR INVESTIGATIVE PURPOSES.— 

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

10 end the following new sentence: ‘‘This para11 graph shall not apply to any disclosure to an in12 dividual providing information relating to any 

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

14 section 7623(a) which is made under paragraph 

15 (13)(A).’’. 

16 (b) PROTECTION AGAINST RETALIATION.—Section 

17 7623 is amended by adding at the end the following new 

18 subsection: 

19 ‘‘(d) CIVIL ACTION TO PROTECT AGAINST RETALIA20 TION CASES.— 

21 ‘‘(1) ANTI-RETALIATION WHISTLEBLOWER PRO22 TECTION FOR EMPLOYEES.—No employer, or any of23 ficer, employee, contractor, subcontractor, or agent 

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

25 threaten, harass, or in any other manner discrimiVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Apr 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00048 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1957.IH H1957

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1 nate against an employee in the terms and condi2 tions of employment (including through an act in the 

3 ordinary course of such employee’s duties) in re4 prisal for any lawful act done by the employee— 

5 ‘‘(A) to provide information, cause infor6 mation to be provided, or otherwise assist in an 

7 investigation regarding underpayment of tax or 

8 any conduct which the employee reasonably be9 lieves constitutes a violation of the internal rev10 enue laws or any provision of Federal law relat11 ing to tax fraud, when the information or as12 sistance is provided to the Internal Revenue 

13 Service, the Secretary of Treasury, the Treas14 ury Inspector General for Tax Administration, 

15 the Comptroller General of the United States, 

16 the Department of Justice, the United States 

17 Congress, a person with supervisory authority 

18 over the employee, or any other person working 

19 for the employer who has the authority to inves20 tigate, discover, or terminate misconduct, or 

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

22 assist in any administrative or judicial action 

23 taken by the Internal Revenue Service relating 

24 to an alleged underpayment of tax or any violaVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Apr 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00049 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1957.IH H1957

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1 tion of the internal revenue laws or any provi2 sion of Federal law relating to tax fraud. 

3 ‘‘(2) ENFORCEMENT ACTION.— 

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

5 discharge or other reprisal by any person in vio6 lation of paragraph (1) may seek relief under 

7 paragraph (3) by— 

8 ‘‘(i) filing a complaint with the Sec9 retary of Labor, or 

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

11 issued a final decision within 180 days of 

12 the filing of the complaint and there is no 

13 showing that such delay is due to the bad 

14 faith of the claimant, bringing an action at 

15 law or equity for de novo review in the ap16 propriate district court of the United 

17 States, which shall have jurisdiction over 

18 such an action without regard to the 

19 amount in controversy. 

20 ‘‘(B) PROCEDURE.— 

21 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—An action under 

22 subparagraph (A)(i) shall be governed 

23 under the rules and procedures set forth in 

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

25 Code. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—Notification made 

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

3 United States Code, shall be made to the 

4 person named in the complaint and to the 

5 employer. 

6 ‘‘(iii) BURDENS OF PROOF.—An ac7 tion brought under subparagraph (A)(ii) 

8 shall be governed by the legal burdens of 

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

10 49, United States Code, except that in ap11 plying such section— 

12 ‘‘(I) ‘behavior described in para13 graph (1)’ shall be substituted for ‘be14 havior described in paragraphs (1) 

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

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

17 thereof, and 

18 ‘‘(II) ‘a violation of paragraph 

19 (1)’ shall be substituted for ‘a viola20 tion of subsection (a)’ each place it 

21 appears. 

22 ‘‘(iv) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.—A 

23 complaint under subparagraph (A)(i) shall 

24 be filed not later than 180 days after the 

25 date on which the violation occurs. 


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1 ‘‘(v) JURY TRIAL.—A party to an ac2 tion brought under subparagraph (A)(ii) 

3 shall be entitled to trial by jury. 

4 ‘‘(3) REMEDIES.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An employee pre6 vailing in any action under paragraph (2)(A) 

7 shall be entitled to all relief necessary to make 

8 the employee whole. 

9 ‘‘(B) COMPENSATORY DAMAGES.—Relief 

10 for any action under subparagraph (A) shall in11 clude— 

12 ‘‘(i) reinstatement with the same se13 niority status that the employee would 

14 have had, but for the reprisal, 

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

16 amount of back pay and 100 percent of all 

17 lost benefits, with interest, and 

18 ‘‘(iii) compensation for any special 

19 damages sustained as a result of the re20 prisal, including litigation costs, expert wit21 ness fees, and reasonable attorney fees. 

22 ‘‘(4) RIGHTS RETAINED BY EMPLOYEE.—Noth23 ing in this section shall be deemed to diminish the 

24 rights, privileges, or remedies of any employee under 


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1 any Federal or State law, or under any collective 

2 bargaining agreement. 

3 ‘‘(5) NONENFORCEABILITY OF CERTAIN PROVI4 SIONS WAIVING RIGHTS AND REMEDIES OR REQUIR5 ING ARBITRATION OF DISPUTES.— 

6 ‘‘(A) WAIVER OF RIGHTS AND REM7 EDIES.—The rights and remedies provided for 

8 in this subsection may not be waived by any 

9 agreement, policy form, or condition of employ10 ment, including by a predispute arbitration 

11 agreement. 

12 ‘‘(B) PREDISPUTE ARBITRATION AGREE13 MENTS.—No predispute arbitration agreement 

14 shall be valid or enforceable, if the agreement 

15 requires arbitration of a dispute arising under 

16 this subsection.’’. 

17 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

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

19 subsection (a) shall apply to disclosures made after 

20 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

21 (2) CIVIL PROTECTION.—The amendment made 

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

23 enactment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 1406. CUSTOMER SERVICE INFORMATION. 

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

3 delegate) shall provide helpful information to taxpayers 

4 placed on hold during a telephone call to any Internal Rev5 enue Service help line, including the following: 

6 (1) Information about common tax scams. 

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

8 scams. 

9 (3) Additional advice on how taxpayers can pro10 tect themselves from identity theft and tax scams. 

11 SEC. 1407. MISDIRECTED TAX REFUND DEPOSITS. 

12 Section 6402 is amended by adding at the end the 

13 following new subsection: 

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

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

16 the enactment of the Taxpayer First Act of 2019, the Sec17 retary shall prescribe regulations to establish procedures 

18 to allow for— 

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

20 refund made by the Secretary by electronic funds 

21 transfer was not transferred to the account of the 

22 taxpayer; 

23 ‘‘(2) coordination with financial institutions for 

24 the purpose of— 


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1 ‘‘(A) identifying the accounts to which 

2 transfers described in paragraph (1) were 

3 made; and 

4 ‘‘(B) recovery of the amounts so trans5 ferred; and 

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

7 account of the taxpayer.’’. 

8 TITLE II—21ST CENTURY IRS 

9 Subtitle A—Cybersecurity and 

10 Identity Protection 

11 SEC. 2001. PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP TO ADDRESS 

12 IDENTITY THEFT REFUND FRAUD. 

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

14 delegate) shall work collaboratively with the public and 

15 private sectors to protect taxpayers from identity theft re16 fund fraud. 

17 SEC. 2002. RECOMMENDATIONS OF ELECTRONIC TAX AD18 MINISTRATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE RE19 GARDING IDENTITY THEFT REFUND FRAUD. 

20 The Secretary of the Treasury shall ensure that the 

21 advisory group convened by the Secretary pursuant to sec22 tion 2001(b)(2) of the Internal Revenue Service Restruc23 turing and Reform Act of 1998 (commonly known as the 

24 Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee) stud25 ies (including by providing organized public forums) and 


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1 makes recommendations to the Secretary regarding meth2 ods to prevent identity theft and refund fraud. 

3 SEC. 2003. INFORMATION SHARING AND ANALYSIS CENTER. 

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

5 the Secretary’s delegate) may participate in an informa6 tion sharing and analysis center to centralize, standardize, 

7 and enhance data compilation and analysis to facilitate 

8 sharing actionable data and information with respect to 

9 identity theft tax refund fraud. 

10 (b) DEVELOPMENT OF PERFORMANCE METRICS.— 

11 The Secretary of the Treasury (or the Secretary’s dele12 gate) shall develop metrics for measuring the success of 

13 such center in detecting and preventing identity theft tax 

14 refund fraud. 

15 (c) DISCLOSURE.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 6103(k), as amend17 ed by this Act, is amended by adding at the end the 

18 following new paragraph: 

19 ‘‘(14) DISCLOSURE OF RETURN INFORMATION

20 FOR PURPOSES OF CYBERSECURITY AND THE PRE21 VENTION OF IDENTITY THEFT TAX REFUND

22 FRAUD.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Under such proce24 dures and subject to such conditions as the Sec25 retary may prescribe, the Secretary may disVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Apr 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00056 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1957.IH H1957

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1 close specified return information to specified 

2 ISAC participants to the extent that the Sec3 retary determines such disclosure is in further4 ance of effective Federal tax administration re5 lating to the detection or prevention of identity 

6 theft tax refund fraud, validation of taxpayer 

7 identity, authentication of taxpayer returns, or 

8 detection or prevention of cybersecurity threats. 

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

10 purposes of this paragraph— 

11 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘speci12 fied ISAC participant’ means— 

13 ‘‘(I) any person designated by 

14 the Secretary as having primary re15 sponsibility for a function performed 

16 with respect to the information shar17 ing and analysis center described in 

18 section 2003(a) of the Taxpayer First 

19 Act of 2019, and 

20 ‘‘(II) any person subject to the 

21 requirements of section 7216 and 

22 which is a participant in such infor23 mation sharing and analysis center. 

24 ‘‘(ii) INFORMATION SHARING AGREE25 MENT.—Such term shall not include any 


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1 person unless such person has entered into 

2 a written agreement with the Secretary 

3 setting forth the terms and conditions for 

4 the disclosure of information to such per5 son under this paragraph, including re6 quirements regarding the protection and 

7 safeguarding of such information by such 

8 person. 

9 ‘‘(C) SPECIFIED RETURN INFORMATION.— 

10 For purposes of this paragraph, the term ‘spec11 ified return information’ means— 

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

13 in connection with a case of potential iden14 tity theft refund fraud— 

15 ‘‘(I) in the case of such return 

16 filed electronically, the internet pro17 tocol address, device identification, 

18 email domain name, speed of comple19 tion, method of authentication, refund 

20 method, and such other return infor21 mation related to the electronic filing 

22 characteristics of such return as the 

23 Secretary may identify for purposes of 

24 this subclause, and 


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1 ‘‘(II) in the case of such return 

2 prepared by a tax return preparer, 

3 identifying information with respect to 

4 such tax return preparer, including 

5 the preparer taxpayer identification 

6 number and electronic filer identifica7 tion number of such preparer, 

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

9 in connection with a case of a identity 

10 theft refund fraud which has been con11 firmed by the Secretary (pursuant to such 

12 procedures as the Secretary may provide), 

13 the information referred to in subclauses 

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

15 taxpayer identification number of the tax16 payer as it appears on the return, and any 

17 bank account and routing information pro18 vided for making a refund in connection 

19 with such return, and 

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

21 threat to the Internal Revenue Service, in22 formation similar to the information de23 scribed in subclauses (I) and (II) of clause 

24 (i) with respect to such threat. 


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1 ‘‘(D) RESTRICTION ON USE OF DISCLOSED

2 INFORMATION.— 

3 ‘‘(i) DESIGNATED THIRD PARTIES.— 

4 Any return information received by a per5 son described in subparagraph (B)(i)(I) 

6 shall be used only for the purposes of and 

7 to the extent necessary in— 

8 ‘‘(I) performing the function such 

9 person is designated to perform under 

10 such subparagraph, 

11 ‘‘(II) facilitating disclosures au12 thorized under subparagraph (A) to 

13 persons described in subparagraph 

14 (B)(i)(II), and 

15 ‘‘(III) facilitating disclosures au16 thorized under subsection (d) to par17 ticipants in such information sharing 

18 and analysis center. 

19 ‘‘(ii) RETURN PREPARERS.—Any re20 turn information received by a person de21 scribed in subparagraph (B)(i)(II) shall be 

22 treated for purposes of section 7216 as in23 formation furnished to such person for, or 

24 in connection with, the preparation of a re25 turn of the tax imposed under chapter 1. 


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1 ‘‘(E) DATA PROTECTION AND SAFE2 GUARDS.—Return information disclosed under 

3 this paragraph shall be subject to such protec4 tions and safeguards as the Secretary may re5 quire in regulations or other guidance or in the 

6 written agreement referred to in subparagraph 

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

8 requirement that any unauthorized access to in9 formation disclosed under this paragraph, and 

10 any breach of any system in which such infor11 mation is held, be reported to the Treasury In12 spector General for Tax Administration.’’. 

13 (2) APPLICATION OF CIVIL AND CRIMINAL PEN14 ALTIES.— 

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

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

17 inserting ‘‘(13), or (14)’’. 

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

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

20 inserting ‘‘(13), or (14)’’. 

21 SEC. 2004. COMPLIANCE BY CONTRACTORS WITH CON22 FIDENTIALITY SAFEGUARDS. 

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

24 adding at the end the following new paragraph: 


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1 ‘‘(9) DISCLOSURE TO CONTRACTORS AND

2 OTHER AGENTS.—Notwithstanding any other provi3 sion of this section, no return or return information 

4 shall be disclosed to any contractor or other agent 

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

6 agency, to the satisfaction of the Secretary— 

7 ‘‘(A) has requirements in effect which re8 quire each such contractor or other agent which 

9 would have access to returns or return informa10 tion to provide safeguards (within the meaning 

11 of paragraph (4)) to protect the confidentiality 

12 of such returns or return information, 

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

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

15 of contracts or agreements of less than 3 years 

16 in duration) of each contractor or other agent 

17 to determine compliance with such require18 ments, 

19 ‘‘(C) submits the findings of the most re20 cent review conducted under subparagraph (B) 

21 to the Secretary as part of the report required 

22 by paragraph (4)(E), and 

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

24 recent annual period that such contractor or 


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1 other agent is in compliance with all such re2 quirements. 

3 The certification required by subparagraph (D) shall 

4 include the name and address of each contractor or 

5 other agent, a description of the contract or agree6 ment with such contractor or other agent, and the 

7 duration of such contract or agreement. The require8 ments of this paragraph shall not apply to disclo9 sures pursuant to subsection (n) for purposes of 

10 Federal tax administration.’’. 

11 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

12 6103(p)(8)(B) is amended by inserting ‘‘or paragraph 

13 (9)’’ after ‘‘subparagraph (A)’’. 

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

15 this section shall apply to disclosures made after Decem16 ber 31, 2022. 

17 SEC. 2005. REPORT ON ELECTRONIC PAYMENTS. 

18 Not later than 2 years after the date of the enact19 ment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury (or the 

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

21 Fiscal Service and the Internal Revenue Service, and in 

22 consultation with private sector financial institutions, shall 

23 submit a written report to Congress describing how the 

24 government can utilize new payment platforms to increase 

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1 fer. Such report shall weigh the interests of reducing iden2 tity theft tax refund fraud, reducing the Federal Govern3 ment’s costs in delivering tax refunds, the costs and any 

4 associated fees charged to taxpayers (including monthly 

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

6 impact on individuals who do not have access to financial 

7 accounts or institutions, and ensuring payments are made 

8 to accounts at a financial institution that complies with 

9 section 21 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, chapter 

10 2 of title I of Public Law 91–508, and subchapter II of 

11 chapter 53 of title 31, United States Code (commonly re12 ferred to collectively as the ‘‘Bank Secrecy Act’’) and the 

13 USA PATRIOT Act. Such report shall include any legisla14 tive recommendations necessary to accomplish these goals. 

15 SEC. 2006. IDENTITY PROTECTION PERSONAL IDENTIFICA16 TION NUMBERS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), the Sec18 retary of the Treasury or the Secretary’s delegate (here19 after referred to in this section as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall 

20 establish a program to issue, upon the request of any indi21 vidual, a number which may be used in connection with 

22 such individual’s social security number (or other identi23 fying information with respect to such individual as deter24 mined by the Secretary) to assist the Secretary in 

25 verifying such individual’s identity. 


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1 (b) REQUIREMENTS.— 

2 (1) ANNUAL EXPANSION.—For each calendar 

3 year beginning after the date of the enactment of 

4 this Act, the Secretary shall provide numbers 

5 through the program described in subsection (a) to 

6 individuals residing in such States as the Secretary 

7 deems appropriate, provided that the total number 

8 of States served by such program during such year 

9 is greater than the total number of States served by 

10 such program during the preceding year. 

11 (2) NATIONWIDE AVAILABILITY.—Not later 

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

13 Act, the Secretary shall ensure that the program de14 scribed in subsection (a) is made available to any in15 dividual residing in the United States. 

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

17 IDENTITY THEFT VICTIMS. 

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

19 the Secretary’s delegate) shall establish and implement 

20 procedures to ensure that any taxpayer whose return has 

21 been delayed or otherwise adversely affected due to tax22 related identity theft has a single point of contact at the 

23 Internal Revenue Service throughout the processing of the 

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

25 taxpayer’s case to completion and coordinate with other 


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1 Internal Revenue Service employees to resolve case issues 

2 as quickly as possible. 

3 (b) SINGLE POINT OF CONTACT.— 

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

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

6 team or subset of specially trained employees who— 

7 (A) have the ability to work across func8 tions to resolve the issues involved in the tax9 payer’s case; and 

10 (B) shall be accountable for handling the 

11 case until its resolution. 

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

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

14 may change as required to meet the needs of the In15 ternal Revenue Service, provided that procedures 

16 have been established to— 

17 (A) ensure continuity of records and case 

18 history; and 

19 (B) notify the taxpayer when appropriate. 

20 SEC. 2008. NOTIFICATION OF SUSPECTED IDENTITY THEFT. 

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

22 at the end the following new section: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 7529. NOTIFICATION OF SUSPECTED IDENTITY 

2 THEFT. 

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

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

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

6 jeopardizing an investigation relating to tax administra7 tion— 

8 ‘‘(1) as soon as practicable— 

9 ‘‘(A) notify the individual of such deter10 mination, 

11 ‘‘(B) provide instructions on how to file a 

12 report with law enforcement regarding the un13 authorized use, 

14 ‘‘(C) identify any steps to be taken by the 

15 individual to permit law enforcement to access 

16 personal information of the individual during 

17 the investigation, 

18 ‘‘(D) provide information regarding actions 

19 the individual may take in order to protect the 

20 individual from harm relating to the unauthor21 ized use, and 

22 ‘‘(E) offer identity protection measures to 

23 the individual, such as the use of an identity 

24 protection personal identification number, and 

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

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


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

2 additional notifications to such individual (or such 

3 individual’s designee) regarding— 

4 ‘‘(A) whether an investigation has been ini5 tiated in regards to such unauthorized use, 

6 ‘‘(B) whether the investigation substan7 tiated an unauthorized use of the identity of the 

8 individual, and 

9 ‘‘(C) whether— 

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

11 a person relating to such unauthorized use, 

12 or 

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

14 criminal prosecution of such person and, to 

15 the extent such information is available, 

16 whether such person has been criminally 

17 charged by indictment or information. 

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

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this sec20 tion, the unauthorized use of the identity of an indi21 vidual includes the unauthorized use of the identity 

22 of the individual to obtain employment. 

23 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT-RE24 LATED IDENTITY THEFT.—For purposes of this sec25 tion, in making a determination as to whether there 


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1 has been or may have been an unauthorized use of 

2 the identity of an individual to obtain employment, 

3 the Secretary shall review any information— 

4 ‘‘(A) obtained from a statement described 

5 in section 6051 or an information return relat6 ing to compensation for services rendered other 

7 than as an employee, or 

8 ‘‘(B) provided to the Internal Revenue 

9 Service by the Social Security Administration 

10 regarding any statement described in section 

11 6051, 

12 which indicates that the social security account num13 ber provided on such statement or information re14 turn does not correspond with the name provided on 

15 such statement or information return or the name 

16 on the tax return reporting the income which is in17 cluded on such statement or information return.’’. 

18 (b) ADDITIONAL MEASURES.— 

19 (1) EXAMINATION OF BOTH PAPER AND ELEC20 TRONIC STATEMENTS AND RETURNS.—The Sec21 retary of the Treasury (or the Secretary’s delegate) 

22 shall examine the statements, information returns, 

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

24 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (as added by 

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1 lated identity theft, regardless of whether such state2 ments or returns are submitted electronically or on 

3 paper. 

4 (2) IMPROVEMENT OF EFFECTIVE RETURN

5 PROCESSING PROGRAM WITH SOCIAL SECURITY AD6 MINISTRATION.—Section 232 of the Social Security 

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

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

9 carrying out the return processing program de10 scribed in the preceding sentence, the Commissioner 

11 of Social Security shall request, not less than annu12 ally, such information described in section 

13 7529(b)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 as 

14 may be necessary to ensure the accuracy of the 

15 records maintained by the Commissioner of Social 

16 Security related to the amounts of wages paid to, 

17 and the amounts of self-employment income derived 

18 by, individuals.’’. 

19 (3) UNDERREPORTING OF INCOME.—The Sec20 retary (or the Secretary’s delegate) shall establish 

21 procedures to ensure that income reported in con22 nection with the unauthorized use of a taxpayer’s 

23 identity is not taken into account in determining any 

24 penalty for underreporting of income by the victim 

25 of identity theft. 


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

2 for chapter 77 is amended by adding at the end the fol3 lowing new item: 

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

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

5 this section shall apply to determinations made after the 

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

7 this Act. 

8 SEC. 2009. GUIDELINES FOR STOLEN IDENTITY REFUND 

9 FRAUD CASES. 

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

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

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

13 Taxpayer Advocate, shall develop and implement publicly 

14 available guidelines for management of cases involving sto15 len identity refund fraud in a manner that reduces the 

16 administrative burden on taxpayers who are victims of 

17 such fraud. 

18 (b) STANDARDS AND PROCEDURES TO BE CONSID19 ERED.—The guidelines described in subsection (a) may in20 clude— 

21 (1) standards for— 

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

23 case involving stolen identity refund fraud 

24 should be resolved; 


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1 (B) the maximum length of time, on aver2 age, a taxpayer who is a victim of stolen iden3 tity refund fraud and is entitled to a tax refund 

4 which has been stolen should have to wait to re5 ceive such refund; and 

6 (C) the maximum number of offices and 

7 employees within the Internal Revenue Service 

8 with whom a taxpayer who is a victim of stolen 

9 identity refund fraud should be required to 

10 interact in order to resolve a case; 

11 (2) standards for opening, assigning, reas12 signing, or closing a case involving stolen identity re13 fund fraud; and 

14 (3) procedures for implementing and accom15 plishing the standards described in paragraphs (1) 

16 and (2), and measures for evaluating such proce17 dures and determining whether such standards have 

18 been successfully implemented. 

19 SEC. 2010. INCREASED PENALTY FOR IMPROPER DISCLO20 SURE OR USE OF INFORMATION BY PRE21 PARERS OF RETURNS. 

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

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

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


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1 (2) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol2 lowing new subsection: 

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

4 DISCLOSURE RELATING TO IDENTITY THEFT.— 

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

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

7 connection with a crime relating to the misappro8 priation of another person’s taxpayer identity (as de9 fined in section 6103(b)(6)), whether or not such 

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

11 applied— 

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

13 and 

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

15 ‘$10,000’. 

16 ‘‘(2) SEPARATE APPLICATION OF TOTAL PEN17 ALTY LIMITATION.—The limitation on the total 

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

19 applied separately with respect to disclosures or uses 

20 to which this subsection applies and to which it does 

21 not apply.’’. 

22 (b) CRIMINAL PENALTY.—Section 7216(a) is amend23 ed by striking ‘‘$1,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$1,000 ($100,000 

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

25 applies)’’. 


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

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

3 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

4 Subtitle B—Development of 

5 Information Technology 

6 SEC. 2101. MANAGEMENT OF INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE 

7 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY. 

8 (a) DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF INTERNAL

9 REVENUE SERVICE CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER.—Sec10 tion 7803, as amended by section 1001, is amended by 

11 adding at the end the following new subsection: 

12 ‘‘(f) INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE CHIEF INFORMA13 TION OFFICER.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There shall be in the Inter15 nal Revenue Service an Internal Revenue Service 

16 Chief Information Officer (hereafter referred to in 

17 this subsection as the ‘IRS CIO’) who shall be ap18 pointed by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue. 

19 ‘‘(2) CENTRALIZED RESPONSIBILITY FOR IN20 TERNAL REVENUE SERVICE INFORMATION TECH21 NOLOGY.—The Commissioner of Internal Revenue 

22 (and the Secretary) shall act through the IRS CIO 

23 with respect to all development, implementation, and 

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1 section to the IRS CIO which directs the IRS CIO 

2 to take any action, or to assume any responsibility, 

3 shall be treated as a reference to the Commissioner 

4 of Internal Revenue acting through the IRS CIO. 

5 ‘‘(3) GENERAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBIL6 ITIES.—The IRS CIO shall— 

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

8 implementation, and maintenance of informa9 tion technology for the Internal Revenue Serv10 ice, 

11 ‘‘(B) ensure that the information tech12 nology of the Internal Revenue Service is secure 

13 and integrated, 

14 ‘‘(C) maintain operational control of all in15 formation technology for the Internal Revenue 

16 Service, 

17 ‘‘(D) be the principal advocate for the in18 formation technology needs of the Internal Rev19 enue Service, and 

20 ‘‘(E) consult with the Chief Procurement 

21 Officer of the Internal Revenue Service to en22 sure that the information technology acquired 

23 for the Internal Revenue Service is consistent 

24 with— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the goals and requirements speci2 fied in subparagraphs (A) through (D), 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(ii) the strategic plan developed 

5 under paragraph (4). 

6 ‘‘(4) STRATEGIC PLAN.— 

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

8 develop and implement a multiyear strategic 

9 plan for the information technology needs of the 

10 Internal Revenue Service. Such plan shall— 

11 ‘‘(i) include performance measure12 ments of such technology and of the imple13 mentation of such plan, 

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

15 enterprise architecture of the information 

16 technology of the Internal Revenue Service, 

17 ‘‘(iii) include and take into account 

18 the resources needed to accomplish such 

19 plan, 

20 ‘‘(iv) take into account planned major 

21 acquisitions of information technology by 

22 the Internal Revenue Service, and 

23 ‘‘(v) align with the needs and stra24 tegic plan of the Internal Revenue Service. 


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1 ‘‘(B) PLAN UPDATES.—The IRS CIO 

2 shall, not less frequently than annually, review 

3 and update the strategic plan under subpara4 graph (A) (including the plan for an integrated 

5 enterprise architecture described in subpara6 graph (A)(ii)) to take into account the develop7 ment of new information technology and the 

8 needs of the Internal Revenue Service. 

9 ‘‘(5) SCOPE OF AUTHORITY.— 

10 ‘‘(A) INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY.—For 

11 purposes of this subsection, the term ‘informa12 tion technology’ has the meaning given such 

13 term by section 11101 of title 40, United States 

14 Code. 

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

16 reference in this subsection to the Internal Rev17 enue Service includes a reference to all compo18 nents of the Internal Revenue Service, includ19 ing— 

20 ‘‘(i) the Office of the Taxpayer Advo21 cate, 

22 ‘‘(ii) the Criminal Investigation Divi23 sion of the Internal Revenue Service, and 

24 ‘‘(iii) except as otherwise provided by 

25 the Secretary with respect to information 


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1 technology related to matters described in 

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

3 Chief Counsel.’’. 

4 (b) INDEPENDENT VERIFICATION AND VALIDATION

5 OF THE CUSTOMER ACCOUNT DATA ENGINE 2 AND EN6 TERPRISE CASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commissioner of Inter8 nal Revenue shall enter into a contract with an inde9 pendent reviewer to verify and validate the imple10 mentation plans (including the performance mile11 stones and cost estimates included in such plans) de12 veloped for the Customer Account Data Engine 2 

13 and the Enterprise Case Management System. 

14 (2) DEADLINE FOR COMPLETION.—Such con15 tract shall require that such verification and valida16 tion be completed not later than the date which is 

17 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

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

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

20 shall not apply to phase 1 of the Customer Ac21 count Data Engine 2 and shall apply separately 

22 to each other phase. 

23 (B) DEADLINE FOR COMPLETING

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

25 the enactment of this Act, the Commissioner of 


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1 Internal Revenue shall complete the develop2 ment of plans for all phases of the Customer 

3 Account Data Engine 2. 

4 (C) DEADLINE FOR COMPLETION OF

5 VERIFICATION AND VALIDATION OF PLANS.—In 

6 the case of any phase after phase 2 of the Cus7 tomer Account Data Engine 2, paragraph (2) 

8 shall be applied by substituting ‘‘the date on 

9 which the plan for such phase was completed’’ 

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

11 (c) COORDINATION OF IRS CIO AND CHIEF PRO12 CUREMENT OFFICER OF THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERV13 ICE.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Chief Procurement Offi15 cer of the Internal Revenue Service shall— 

16 (A) identify all significant IRS information 

17 technology acquisitions and provide written no18 tification to the Internal Revenue Service Chief 

19 Information Officer (hereafter referred to in 

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

21 acquisition in advance of such acquisition, and 

22 (B) regularly consult with the IRS CIO re23 garding acquisitions of information technology 

24 for the Internal Revenue Service, including 


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1 meeting with the IRS CIO regarding such ac2 quisitions upon request. 

3 (2) SIGNIFICANT IRS INFORMATION TECH4 NOLOGY ACQUISITIONS.—For purposes of this sub5 section, the term ‘‘significant IRS information tech6 nology acquisitions’’ means— 

7 (A) any acquisition of information tech8 nology for the Internal Revenue Service in ex9 cess of $1,000,000; and 

10 (B) such other acquisitions of information 

11 technology for the Internal Revenue Service (or 

12 categories of such acquisitions) as the IRS CIO, 

13 in consultation with the Chief Procurement Of14 ficer of the Internal Revenue Service, may iden15 tify. 

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

17 which are also used in section 7803(f) of the Inter18 nal Revenue Code of 1986 (as added by subsection 

19 (a)) shall have the same meaning as when used in 

20 such section. 

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

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

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

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

25 shall make available an internet website or other electronic 


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1 media, with a user interface and functionality similar to 

2 the Business Services Online Suite of Services provided 

3 by the Social Security Administration, that provides access 

4 to resources and guidance provided by the Internal Rev5 enue Service and allows persons to— 

6 (1) prepare and file Forms 1099; 

7 (2) prepare Forms 1099 for distribution to re8 cipients other than the Internal Revenue Service; 

9 and 

10 (3) maintain a record of completed, filed, and 

11 distributed Forms 1099. 

12 (b) ELECTRONIC SERVICES TREATED AS SUPPLE13 MENTAL; APPLICATION OF SECURITY STANDARDS.—The 

14 Secretary shall ensure that the services described in sub15 section (a)— 

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

17 for, other services provided by the Internal Revenue 

18 Service to taxpayers; and 

19 (2) comply with applicable security standards 

20 and guidelines. 

21 SEC. 2103. STREAMLINED CRITICAL PAY AUTHORITY FOR 

22 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY POSITIONS. 

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

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


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

2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY POSITIONS. 

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

4 functionality of the information technology operations of 

5 the Internal Revenue Service— 

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

7 Code, shall be applied— 

8 ‘‘(A) by substituting ‘during the period be9 ginning on the date of the enactment of section 

10 7812 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 

11 and ending on September 30, 2025’ for ‘Before 

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

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

14 of subsection (a)(1), and 

15 ‘‘(C) by substituting ‘the date of the enact16 ment of the Taxpayer First Act of 2019’ for 

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

18 ‘‘(2) section 9504 of such title 5 shall be ap19 plied by substituting ‘During the period beginning 

20 on the date of the enactment of section 7812 of the 

21 Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and ending on Sep22 tember 30, 2025’ for ‘Before September 30, 2013’ 

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

24 ‘‘(3) section 9505 of such title shall be ap25 plied— 


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1 ‘‘(A) by substituting ‘During the period be2 ginning on the date of the enactment of section 

3 7812 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 

4 and ending on September 30, 2025’ for ‘Before 

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

6 ‘‘(B) by substituting ‘the information tech7 nology operations’ for ‘significant functions’ in 

8 subsection (a).’’. 

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

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

11 the end the following new item: 

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

12 Subtitle C—Modernization of Con13 sent-Based Income Verification 

14 System 

15 SEC. 2201. DISCLOSURE OF TAXPAYER INFORMATION FOR 

16 THIRD-PARTY INCOME VERIFICATION. 

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

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

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

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

21 shall implement a program to ensure that any qualified 

22 disclosure— 

23 (1) is fully automated and accomplished 

24 through the internet; and 


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

2 is practicable. 

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

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

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

6 1986 of returns or return information by the Secretary 

7 to a person seeking to verify the income or creditworthi8 ness of a taxpayer who is a borrower in the process of 

9 a loan application. 

10 (c) APPLICATION OF SECURITY STANDARDS.—The 

11 Secretary shall ensure that the program described in sub12 section (a) complies with applicable security standards and 

13 guidelines. 

14 (d) USER FEE.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—During the 2-year period be16 ginning on the first day of the 6th calendar month 

17 beginning after the date of the enactment of this 

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

19 qualified disclosures (in addition to any other fee as20 sessed and collected for such disclosures) at such 

21 rates as the Secretary determines are sufficient to 

22 cover the costs related to implementing the program 

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

24 any necessary infrastructure or technology. 


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1 (2) DEPOSIT OF COLLECTIONS.—Amounts re2 ceived from fees assessed and collected under para3 graph (1) shall be deposited in, and credited to, an 

4 account solely for the purpose of carrying out the 

5 activities described in subsection (a). Such amounts 

6 shall be available to carry out such activities without 

7 need of further appropriation and without fiscal year 

8 limitation. 

9 SEC. 2202. LIMIT REDISCLOSURES AND USES OF CONSENT10 BASED DISCLOSURES OF TAX RETURN INFOR11 MATION. 

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

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

14 the taxpayer under this subsection to receive return infor15 mation shall not use the information for any purpose other 

16 than the express purpose for which consent was granted 

17 and shall not disclose return information to any other per18 son without the express permission of, or request by, the 

19 taxpayer.’’. 

20 (b) APPLICATION OF PENALTIES.—Section 

21 6103(a)(3) is amended by inserting ‘‘subsection (c),’’ after 

22 ‘‘return information under’’. 

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

24 this section shall apply to disclosures made after the date 


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1 which is 180 days after the date of the enactment of this 

2 Act. 

3 Subtitle D—Expanded Use of 

4 Electronic Systems 

5 SEC. 2301. ELECTRONIC FILING OF RETURNS. 

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

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

8 of’’. 

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

10 amended by striking paragraph (5) and inserting the fol11 lowing new paragraphs: 

12 ‘‘(5) APPLICABLE NUMBER.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of para14 graph (2)(A), the applicable number shall be— 

15 ‘‘(i) except as provided in subpara16 graph (B), in the case of calendar years 

17 before 2021, 250, 

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

19 2021, 100, and 

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

21 after 2021, 10. 

22 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULE FOR PARTNERSHIPS

23 FOR 2018, 2019, 2020, AND 2021.—In the case of 

24 a partnership, for any calendar year before 

25 2022, the applicable number shall be— 


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

2 200, 

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

4 2019, 150, 

5 ‘‘(iii) in the case of calendar year 

6 2020, 100, and 

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

8 2021, 50. 

9 ‘‘(6) PARTNERSHIPS REQUIRED TO FILE ON

10 MAGNETIC MEDIA.—Notwithstanding paragraph 

11 (2)(A), the Secretary shall require partnerships hav12 ing more than 100 partners to file returns on mag13 netic media.’’. 

14 (c) RETURNS FILED BY A TAX RETURN PRE15 PARER.—Section 6011(e)(3) is amended by adding at the 

16 end the following new subparagraph: 

17 ‘‘(D) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN PRE18 PARERS LOCATED IN AREAS WITHOUT INTER19 NET ACCESS.—The Secretary may waive the re20 quirement of subparagraph (A) if the Secretary 

21 determines, on the basis of an application by 

22 the tax return preparer, that the preparer can23 not meet such requirement by reason of being 

24 located in a geographic area which does not 


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1 have access to internet service (other than dial2 up or satellite service).’’. 

3 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 6724(c) is 

4 amended by striking ‘‘250 information returns (more than 

5 100 information returns in the case of a partnership hav6 ing more than 100 partners)’’ and inserting ‘‘the applica7 ble number (determined under section 6011(e)(5) with re8 spect to the calendar year to which such returns relate) 

9 of information returns’’. 

10 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

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

12 of this Act. 

13 SEC. 2302. UNIFORM STANDARDS FOR THE USE OF ELEC14 TRONIC SIGNATURES FOR DISCLOSURE AU15 THORIZATIONS TO, AND OTHER AUTHORIZA16 TIONS OF, PRACTITIONERS. 

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

18 ‘‘(3) PUBLISHED GUIDANCE.— 

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

20 publish guidance as appropriate to define and 

21 implement any waiver of the signature require22 ments or any method adopted under paragraph 

23 (1). 

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1 THORIZATIONS OF, PRACTITIONERS.—Not later 

2 than 6 months after the date of the enactment 

3 of this subparagraph, the Secretary shall pub4 lish guidance to establish uniform standards 

5 and procedures for the acceptance of taxpayers’ 

6 signatures appearing in electronic form with re7 spect to any request for disclosure of a tax8 payer’s return or return information under sec9 tion 6103(c) to a practitioner or any power of 

10 attorney granted by a taxpayer to a practi11 tioner. 

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

13 subparagraph (B), the term ‘practitioner’ 

14 means any individual in good standing who is 

15 regulated under section 330 of title 31, United 

16 States Code.’’. 

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

18 CARDS. 

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

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

21 the extent that the Secretary ensures that any such fee 

22 or other consideration is fully recouped by the Secretary 

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

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

25 charge cards pursuant to such contract. Notwithstanding 


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1 the preceding sentence, the Secretary shall seek to mini2 mize the amount of any fee or other consideration that 

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

4 SEC. 2304. AUTHENTICATION OF USERS OF ELECTRONIC 

5 SERVICES ACCOUNTS. 

6 Beginning 180 days after the date of the enactment 

7 of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury (or the Sec8 retary’s delegate) shall verify the identity of any individual 

9 opening an e-Services account with the Internal Revenue 

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

11 tools. 

12 Subtitle E—Other Provisions 

13 SEC. 2401. REPEAL OF PROVISION REGARDING CERTAIN 

14 TAX COMPLIANCE PROCEDURES AND RE15 PORTS. 

16 Section 2004 of the Internal Revenue Service Re17 structuring and Reform Act of 1998 (26 U.S.C. 6012 

18 note) is repealed. 

19 SEC. 2402. COMPREHENSIVE TRAINING STRATEGY. 

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

21 of this Act, the Commissioner of Internal Revenue shall 

22 submit to Congress a written report providing a com23 prehensive training strategy for employees of the Internal 

24 Revenue Service, including— 


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1 (1) a plan to streamline current training proc2 esses, including an assessment of the utility of fur3 ther consolidating internal training programs, tech4 nology, and funding; 

5 (2) a plan to develop annual training regarding 

6 taxpayer rights, including the role of the Office of 

7 the Taxpayer Advocate, for employees that interface 

8 with taxpayers and the direct managers of such em9 ployees; 

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

11 (4) proposals to— 

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

13 and efficient resolution of taxpayer disputes for 

14 employees that interface with taxpayers and the 

15 direct managers of such employees; and 

16 (B) ensure consistency of skill development 

17 and employee evaluation throughout the Inter18 nal Revenue Service; and 

19 (5) a thorough assessment of the funding nec20 essary to implement such strategy. 


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1 TITLE III—MISCELLANEOUS 

2 PROVISIONS 

3 Subtitle A—Reform of Laws Gov4 erning Internal Revenue Serv5 ice Employees 

6 SEC. 3001. PROHIBITION ON REHIRING ANY EMPLOYEE OF 

7 THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE WHO WAS 

8 INVOLUNTARILY SEPARATED FROM SERVICE 

9 FOR MISCONDUCT. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7804 is amended by add11 ing at the end the following new subsection: 

12 ‘‘(d) PROHIBITION ON REHIRING EMPLOYEES INVOL13 UNTARILY SEPARATED.—The Commissioner may not hire 

14 any individual previously employed by the Commissioner 

15 who was removed for misconduct under this subchapter 

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

17 or whose employment was terminated under section 1203 

18 of the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform 

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

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

21 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to the hiring of em22 ployees after the date of the enactment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 3002. NOTIFICATION OF UNAUTHORIZED INSPECTION 

2 OR DISCLOSURE OF RETURNS AND RETURN 

3 INFORMATION. 

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

5 amended by adding at the end the following new sen6 tences: ‘‘The Secretary shall also notify such taxpayer if 

7 the Internal Revenue Service or a Federal or State agency 

8 (upon notice to the Secretary by such Federal or State 

9 agency) proposes an administrative determination as to 

10 disciplinary or adverse action against an employee arising 

11 from the employee’s unauthorized inspection or disclosure 

12 of the taxpayer’s return or return information. The notice 

13 described in this subsection shall include the date of the 

14 unauthorized inspection or disclosure and the rights of the 

15 taxpayer under such administrative determination.’’. 

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

17 this section shall apply to determinations proposed after 

18 the date which is 180 days after the date of the enactment 

19 of this Act. 

20 Subtitle B—Provisions Relating to 

21 Exempt Organizations 

22 SEC. 3101. MANDATORY E-FILING BY EXEMPT ORGANIZA23 TIONS. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 6033 is amended by re25 designating subsection (n) as subsection (o) and by insert26 ing after subsection (m) the following new subsection: 


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1 ‘‘(n) MANDATORY ELECTRONIC FILING.—Any orga2 nization required to file a return under this section shall 

3 file such return in electronic form.’’. 

4 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Paragraph (7) of 

5 section 527(j) is amended by striking ‘‘if the organization 

6 has’’ and all that follows through ‘‘such calendar year’’. 

7 (c) INSPECTION OF ELECTRONICALLY FILED AN8 NUAL RETURNS.—Subsection (b) of section 6104 is 

9 amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘Any annual 

10 return required to be filed electronically under section 

11 6033(n) shall be made available by the Secretary to the 

12 public as soon as practicable in a machine readable for13 mat.’’. 

14 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para16 graph (2), the amendments made by this section 

17 shall apply to taxable years beginning after the date 

18 of the enactment of this Act. 

19 (2) TRANSITIONAL RELIEF.— 

20 (A) SMALL ORGANIZATIONS.— 

21 (i) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any 

22 small organizations, or any other organiza23 tions for which the Secretary of the Treas24 ury or the Secretary’s delegate (hereafter 

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1 retary’’) determines the application of the 

2 amendments made by this section would 

3 cause undue burden without a delay, the 

4 Secretary may delay the application of 

5 such amendments, but such delay shall not 

6 apply to any taxable year beginning on or 

7 after the date 2 years after of the enact8 ment of this Act. 

9 (ii) SMALL ORGANIZATION.—For pur10 poses of clause (i), the term ‘‘small organi11 zation’’ means any organization— 

12 (I) the gross receipts of which for 

13 the taxable year are less than 

14 $200,000; and 

15 (II) the aggregate gross assets of 

16 which at the end of the taxable year 

17 are less than $500,000. 

18 (B) ORGANIZATIONS FILING FORM 990– 

19 T.—In the case of any organization described 

20 in section 511(a)(2) of the Internal Revenue 

21 Code of 1986 which is subject to the tax im22 posed by section 511(a)(1) of such Code on its 

23 unrelated business taxable income, or any orga24 nization required to file a return under section 

25 6033 of such Code and include information 


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1 under subsection (e) thereof, the Secretary may 

2 delay the application of the amendments made 

3 by this section, but such delay shall not apply 

4 to any taxable year beginning on or after the 

5 date 2 years after of the enactment of this Act. 

6 SEC. 3102. NOTICE REQUIRED BEFORE REVOCATION OF 

7 TAX-EXEMPT STATUS FOR FAILURE TO FILE 

8 RETURN. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 6033(j)(1) is amended by 

10 striking ‘‘If an organization’’ and inserting the following: 

11 ‘‘(A) NOTICE.— 

12 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If an organization 

13 described in subsection (a)(1) or (i) fails to 

14 file the annual return or notice required 

15 under either subsection for 2 consecutive 

16 years, the Secretary shall notify the orga17 nization— 

18 ‘‘(I) that the Internal Revenue 

19 Service has no record of such a return 

20 or notice from such organization for 2 

21 consecutive years, and 

22 ‘‘(II) about the revocation that 

23 will occur under subparagraph (B) if 

24 the organization fails to file such a re25 turn or notice by the due date for the 


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1 next such return or notice required to 

2 be filed. 

3 The notification under the preceding sen4 tence shall include information about how 

5 to comply with the filing requirements 

6 under subsection (a)(1) and (i). 

7 ‘‘(B) REVOCATION.—If an organization’’. 

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

9 this section shall apply to failures to file returns or notices 

10 for 2 consecutive years if the return or notice for the sec11 ond year is required to be filed after December 31, 2019. 

12 Subtitle C—Revenue Provision 

13 SEC. 3201. INCREASE IN PENALTY FOR FAILURE TO FILE. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The second sentence of subsection 

15 (a) of section 6651 is amended by striking ‘‘$205’’ and 

16 inserting ‘‘$330’’. 

17 (b) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.—Section 6651(j)(1) is 

18 amended— 

19 (1) by striking ‘‘2014’’ and inserting ‘‘2020’’, 

20 (2) by striking ‘‘$205’’ and inserting ‘‘$330’’, 

21 and 

22 (3) by striking ‘‘2013’’ and inserting ‘‘2019’’. 


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

2 this subsection shall apply to returns required to be filed 

3 after December 31, 2019. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS