IB 

Union Calendar No. 19 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1957 

[Report No. 116–39, Part I] 

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 

APRIL 9, 2019 

Additional sponsors: Mr. SCHNEIDER, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. WATKINS, Ms. 

NORTON, Mr. BUCHANAN, Ms. SEWELL of Alabama, Mr. DANNY K. 

DAVIS of Illinois, Mrs. MURPHY, Mr. HIGGINS of New York, Mr. HOLDING, Mr. GOMEZ, Mr. HORSFORD, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Mr. 

EVANS, Mr. TAYLOR, and Mr. CISNEROS

APRIL 9, 2019 

Reported from the Committee on Ways and Means with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

APRIL 9, 2019 

Committee on Financial Services discharged; committed to the Committee of 

the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on March 28, 2019] 


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A BILL 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to modernize 

and improve the Internal Revenue Service, and for other 

purposes. 


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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 otherwise 

7 expressly provided, whenever in this Act an amendment or 

8 repeal is expressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal 

9 of, a section or other provision, the reference shall be consid10 ered to be made to a section or other provision of the Inter11 nal Revenue Code of 1986. 

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

13 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. 


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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. 

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. 


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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. 

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 adding 

8 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 as 

12 the ‘Internal Revenue Service Independent Office of 

13 Appeals’. 

14 ‘‘(2) CHIEF OF APPEALS.— 


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

2 Service Independent Office of Appeals shall be 

3 under the supervision and direction of an official 

4 to be known as the ‘Chief of Appeals’. The Chief 

5 of Appeals shall report directly to the Commis6 sioner of Internal Revenue and shall be entitled 

7 to compensation at the same rate as the highest 

8 rate of basic pay established for the Senior Exec9 utive Service under section 5382 of title 5, 

10 United States Code. 

11 ‘‘(B) APPOINTMENT.—The Chief of Appeals 

12 shall be appointed by the Commissioner of Inter13 nal Revenue without regard to the provisions of 

14 title 5, United States Code, relating to appoint15 ments in the competitive service or the Senior 

16 Executive Service. 

17 ‘‘(C) QUALIFICATIONS.—An individual ap18 pointed under subparagraph (B) shall have expe19 rience and expertise in— 

20 ‘‘(i) administration of, and compliance 

21 with, Federal tax laws, 

22 ‘‘(ii) a broad range of compliance 

23 cases, and 

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


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

2 shall be the function of the Internal Revenue Service 

3 Independent Office of Appeals to resolve Federal tax 

4 controversies without litigation on a basis which— 

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

7 ‘‘(B) promotes a consistent application and 

8 interpretation of, and voluntary compliance 

9 with, the Federal tax laws, and 

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

12 Service. 

13 ‘‘(4) RIGHT OF APPEAL.—The resolution process 

14 described in paragraph (3) shall be generally avail15 able to all taxpayers. 

16 ‘‘(5) LIMITATION ON DESIGNATION OF CASES AS

17 NOT ELIGIBLE FOR REFERRAL TO INDEPENDENT OF18 FICE OF APPEALS.— 

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

20 is in receipt of a notice of deficiency authorized 

21 under section 6212 requests referral to the Inter22 nal Revenue Service Independent Office of Ap23 peals and such request is denied, the Commis24 sioner of Internal Revenue shall provide such 

25 taxpayer a written notice which— 


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1 ‘‘(i) provides a detailed description of 

2 the facts involved, the basis for the decision 

3 to deny the request, and a detailed expla4 nation of how the basis of such decision ap5 plies to such facts, and 

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

9 ‘‘(B) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Commis10 sioner of Internal Revenue shall submit a writ11 ten report to Congress on an annual basis which 

12 includes the number of requests described in sub13 paragraph (A) which were denied and the rea14 sons (described by category) that such requests 

15 were denied. 

16 ‘‘(C) PROCEDURES FOR PROTESTING DE17 NIAL OF REQUEST.—The Commissioner of Inter18 nal Revenue shall prescribe procedures for pro19 testing to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue 

20 a denial of a request described in subparagraph 

21 (A). 

22 ‘‘(D) NOT APPLICABLE TO FRIVOLOUS POSI23 TIONS.—This paragraph shall not apply to a re24 quest for referral to the Internal Revenue Service 

25 Independent Office of Appeals which is denied on 


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1 the basis that the issue involved is a frivolous po2 sition (within the meaning of section 6702(c)). 

3 ‘‘(6) STAFF.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—All personnel in the In5 ternal Revenue Service Independent Office of Ap6 peals shall report to the Chief of Appeals. 

7 ‘‘(B) ACCESS TO STAFF OF OFFICE OF THE

8 CHIEF COUNSEL.—The Chief of Appeals shall 

9 have authority to obtain legal assistance and ad10 vice from the staff of the Office of the Chief 

11 Counsel. The Chief Counsel shall ensure, to the 

12 extent practicable, that such assistance and ad13 vice is provided by staff of the Office of the Chief 

14 Counsel who were not involved in the case with 

15 respect to which such assistance and advice is 

16 sought and who are not involved in preparing 

17 such case for litigation. 

18 ‘‘(7) ACCESS TO CASE FILES.— 

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

20 conference with the Internal Revenue Service 

21 Independent Office of Appeals has been scheduled 

22 upon request of a specified taxpayer, the Chief of 

23 Appeals shall ensure that such taxpayer is pro24 vided access to the nonprivileged portions of the 

25 case file on record regarding the disputed issues 


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1 (other than documents provided by the taxpayer 

2 to the Internal Revenue Service) not later than 

3 10 days before the date of such conference. 

4 ‘‘(B) TAXPAYER ELECTION TO EXPEDITE

5 CONFERENCE.—If the taxpayer so elects, sub6 paragraph (A) shall be applied by substituting 

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

8 the date of such conference’. 

9 ‘‘(C) SPECIFIED TAXPAYER.—For purposes 

10 of this paragraph— 

11 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘specified 

12 taxpayer’ means— 

13 ‘‘(I) in the case of any taxpayer 

14 who is a natural person, a taxpayer 

15 whose adjusted gross income does not 

16 exceed $400,000 for the taxable year to 

17 which the dispute relates, and 

18 ‘‘(II) in the case of any other tax19 payer, a taxpayer whose gross receipts 

20 do not exceed $5,000,000 for the tax21 able year to which the dispute 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 Inde4 pendent 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 section 

8 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 amended 

23 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 21:14 Apr 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1957.RH 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 Of3 fice of Appeals. 

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

5 of paragraphs (2) through (6) of section 1001(b) of the In6 ternal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 

7 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 provided 

11 in this subsection, the amendments made by this sec12 tion shall take effect on the date of the enactment of 

13 this Act. 

14 (2) ACCESS TO CASE FILES.—Section 7803(e)(7) 

15 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as added by 

16 subsection (a), shall apply to conferences occurring 

17 after the date which is 1 year after the date of the en18 actment 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 Sec24 retary of the Treasury (or the Secretary’s delegate) shall 

25 submit to Congress a written comprehensive customer servVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:14 Apr 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1957.RH H1957

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1 ice strategy for the Internal Revenue Service. Such strategy 

2 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 of 

6 customer service provided in the private sector, in7 cluding online services, telephone call back services, 

8 and training of employees providing customer serv9 ices; 

10 (2) a thorough assessment of the services that the 

11 Internal Revenue Service can co-locate with other 

12 Federal services or offer as self-service options; 

13 (3) proposals to improve Internal Revenue Serv14 ice customer service in the short term (the current 

15 and following fiscal year), medium term (approxi16 mately 3 to 5 fiscal years), and long term (approxi17 mately 10 fiscal years); 

18 (4) a plan to update guidance and training ma19 terials for customer service employees of the Internal 

20 Revenue Service, including the Internal Revenue 

21 Manual, to reflect such strategy; and 

22 (5) identified metrics and benchmarks for quan23 titatively measuring the progress of the Internal Rev24 enue 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 Sec4 retary’s delegate) shall make available the updated guidance 

5 and training materials described in subsection (a)(4) (in6 cluding the Internal Revenue Manual). Such updated guid7 ance and training materials (including the Internal Rev8 enue Manual) shall be written in a manner so as to be eas9 ily understood by customer service employees of the Internal 

10 Revenue Service and shall provide clear instructions. 

11 SEC. 1102. IRS FREE FILE PROGRAM. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

13 (1) The Secretary of the Treasury, or the Sec14 retary’s delegate, shall continue to operate the IRS 

15 Free File Program as established by the Internal Rev16 enue Service and published in the Federal Register on 

17 November 4, 2002 (67 Fed. Reg. 67247), including 

18 any subsequent agreements and governing rules estab19 lished pursuant thereto. 

20 (2) The IRS Free File Program shall continue to 

21 provide free commercial-type online individual in22 come tax preparation and electronic filing services to 

23 the lowest 70 percent of taxpayers by adjusted gross 

24 income. The number of taxpayers eligible to receive 

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1 ternal Revenue Service annually based on prior year 

2 aggregate taxpayer adjusted gross income data. 

3 (3) In addition to the services described in para4 graph (2), and in the same manner, the IRS Free 

5 File Program shall continue to make available to all 

6 taxpayers (without regard to income) a basic, online 

7 electronic fillable forms utility. 

8 (4) The IRS Free File Program shall continue to 

9 work cooperatively with the private sector to provide 

10 the free individual income tax preparation and the 

11 electronic filing services described in paragraphs (2) 

12 and (3). 

13 (5) The IRS Free File Program shall work coop14 eratively with State government agencies to enhance 

15 and expand the use of the program to provide needed 

16 benefits to the taxpayer while reducing the cost of 

17 processing returns. 

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

19 the Secretary’s delegate, shall work with the private sector 

20 through the IRS Free File Program to identify and imple21 ment, consistent with applicable law, innovative new pro22 gram features to improve and simplify the taxpayer’s expe23 rience with completing and filing individual income tax re24 turns 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 add5 ing 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 infor13 mation is available, which does not exceed 250 per14 cent of the applicable poverty level (as determined by 

15 the Secretary).’’. 

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

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

18 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, is 

24 amended— 

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

26 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 SEIZURE

4 REQUIREMENTS WITH RESPECT TO STRUCTURING

5 TRANSACTIONS.— 

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

8 seized by the Internal Revenue Service pur9 suant to subparagraph (A) by reason of a 

10 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 of 

14 a criminal law or regulation other than sec15 tion 5324. 

16 ‘‘(ii) NOTICE.—Not later than 30 days 

17 after property is seized by the Internal Rev18 enue Service pursuant to subparagraph (A), 

19 the Internal Revenue Service shall— 

20 ‘‘(I) make a good faith effort to 

21 find all persons with an ownership in22 terest in such property; and 

23 ‘‘(II) provide each such person so 

24 found with a notice of the seizure and 

25 of the person’s rights under clause (iv). 


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1 ‘‘(iii) EXTENSION OF NOTICE UNDER

2 CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES.—The Internal 

3 Revenue Service may apply to a court of 

4 competent jurisdiction for one 30-day exten5 sion of the notice requirement under clause 

6 (ii) if the Internal Revenue Service can es7 tablish probable cause of an imminent 

8 threat to national security or personal safe9 ty necessitating such extension. 

10 ‘‘(iv) POST-SEIZURE HEARING.—If a 

11 person with an ownership interest in prop12 erty seized pursuant to subparagraph (A) 

13 by the Internal Revenue Service requests a 

14 hearing by a court of competent jurisdiction 

15 within 30 days after the date on which no16 tice is provided under subclause (ii), such 

17 property shall be returned unless the court 

18 holds an adversarial hearing and finds 

19 within 30 days of such request (or such 

20 longer period as the court may provide, but 

21 only on request of an interested party) that 

22 there is probable cause to believe that there 

23 is a violation of section 5324 involving such 

24 property and probable cause to believe that 

25 the property to be seized was derived from 


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1 an illegal source or the funds were struc2 tured for the purpose of concealing the vio3 lation of a criminal law or regulation other 

4 than section 5324.’’. 

5 SEC. 1202. EXCLUSION OF INTEREST RECEIVED IN ACTION 

6 TO RECOVER PROPERTY SEIZED BY THE IN7 TERNAL REVENUE SERVICE BASED ON 

8 STRUCTURING TRANSACTION. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part III of subchapter B of chapter 

10 1 is amended by inserting before section 140 the following 

11 new section: 

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

13 PROPERTY SEIZED BY THE INTERNAL REV14 ENUE SERVICE BASED ON STRUCTURING 

15 TRANSACTION. 

16 ‘‘Gross income shall not include any interest received 

17 from the Federal Government in connection with an action 

18 to recover property seized by the Internal Revenue Service 

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

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

21 such title.’’. 

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

23 part III of subchapter B of chapter 1 is amended by insert24 ing before the item relating to section 140 the following new 

25 item: 


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‘‘Sec. 139H. Interest received in action to recover property seized by the Internal 

Revenue Service based on structuring transaction.’’. 

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

2 section shall apply to interest received on or after the date 

3 of the enactment of this Act. 

4 SEC. 1203. CLARIFICATION OF EQUITABLE RELIEF FROM 

5 JOINT LIABILITY. 

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

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

8 following new paragraph: 

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

10 review of a determination made under this section 

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

12 be based upon— 

13 ‘‘(A) the administrative record established 

14 at the time of the determination, and 

15 ‘‘(B) any additional newly discovered or 

16 previously unavailable evidence.’’; and 

17 (2) by amending subsection (f) to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘(f) EQUITABLE RELIEF.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Under procedures prescribed 

20 by the Secretary, if— 

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

22 circumstances, it is inequitable to hold the indi23 vidual liable for any unpaid tax or any defi24 ciency (or any portion of either), and 


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1 ‘‘(B) relief is not available to such indi2 vidual under subsection (b) or (c), 

3 the Secretary may relieve such individual of such li4 ability. 

5 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—A request for equitable relief 

6 under this subsection may be made with respect to 

7 any portion of any liability that— 

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

9 request is made before the expiration of the ap10 plicable period of limitation under section 6502, 

11 or 

12 ‘‘(B) has been paid, provided that such re13 quest is made during the period in which the in14 dividual could submit a timely claim for refund 

15 or credit of such payment.’’. 

16 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this 

17 section shall apply to petitions or requests filed or pending 

18 on or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

19 SEC. 1204. MODIFICATION OF PROCEDURES FOR ISSUANCE 

20 OF THIRD-PARTY SUMMONS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7609(f) is amended by add22 ing at the end the following flush sentence: 

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

24 the preceding sentence unless the information sought to be 

25 obtained is narrowly tailored to information that pertains 


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1 to the failure (or potential failure) of the person or group 

2 or class of persons referred to in paragraph (2) to comply 

3 with one or more provisions of the internal revenue law 

4 which have been identified for purposes of such para5 graph.’’. 

6 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this 

7 section shall apply to summonses served after the date that 

8 is 45 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

9 SEC. 1205. PRIVATE DEBT COLLECTION AND SPECIAL COM10 PLIANCE PERSONNEL PROGRAM. 

11 (a) CERTAIN TAX RECEIVABLES NOT ELIGIBLE FOR

12 COLLECTION UNDER TAX COLLECTION CONTRACTS.—Sec13 tion 6306(d)(3) is amended by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of 

14 subparagraph (C) and by inserting after subparagraph (D) 

15 the following new subparagraphs: 

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

17 income consists of disability insurance benefits 

18 under section 223 of the Social Security Act or 

19 supplemental security income benefits under title 

20 XVI of the Social Security Act (including sup21 plemental security income benefits of the type de22 scribed in section 1616 of such Act or section 212 

23 of Public Law 93–66), or 

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

25 adjusted gross income, as determined for the 


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1 most recent taxable year for which such informa2 tion is available, which does not exceed 200 per3 cent of the applicable poverty level (as deter4 mined by the Secretary),’’. 

5 (b) DETERMINATION OF INACTIVE TAX RECEIVABLES

6 ELIGIBLE FOR COLLECTION UNDER TAX COLLECTION CON7 TRACTS.—Section 6306(c)(2)(A)(ii) is amended by striking 

‘‘more than 1 8 ⁄3 of the period of the applicable statute of limi9 tation has lapsed’’ and inserting ‘‘more than 2 years has 

10 passed since assessment’’. 

11 (c) MAXIMUM LENGTH OF INSTALLMENT AGREEMENTS

12 OFFERED UNDER TAX COLLECTION CONTRACTS.—Section 

13 6306(b)(1)(B) is amended by striking ‘‘5 years’’ and insert14 ing ‘‘7 years’’. 

15 (d) CLARIFICATION THAT SPECIAL COMPLIANCE PER16 SONNEL PROGRAM ACCOUNT MAY BE USED FOR PROGRAM

17 COSTS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 6307(b) is amended— 

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

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

21 period, and 

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

23 follows ‘‘out of such account’’ and inserting ‘‘for 

24 other than program costs.’’. 


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1 (2) COMMUNICATIONS, SOFTWARE, AND TECH2 NOLOGY COSTS TREATED AS PROGRAM COSTS.—Sec3 tion 6307(d)(2)(B) is amended by striking ‘‘tele4 communications’’ and inserting ‘‘communications, 

5 software, technology’’. 

6 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

7 6307(d)(2) is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end 

8 of subparagraph (A), by striking the period at the end 

9 of subparagraph (B) and inserting ‘‘, and’’, and by 

10 inserting after subparagraph (B) the following new 

11 subparagraph: 

12 ‘‘(C) reimbursement of the Internal Revenue 

13 Service or other government agencies for the cost 

14 of administering the qualified tax collection pro15 gram under section 6306.’’. 

16 (e) EFFECTIVE DATES.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided 

18 in this subsection, the amendments made by this sec19 tion shall apply to tax receivables identified by the 

20 Secretary (or the Secretary’s delegate) after December 

21 31, 2020. 

22 (2) MAXIMUM LENGTH OF INSTALLMENT AGREE23 MENTS.—The amendment made by subsection (c) 

24 shall apply to contracts entered into after the date of 

25 the enactment of this Act. 


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1 (3) USE OF SPECIAL COMPLIANCE PERSONNEL

2 PROGRAM ACCOUNT.—The amendment made by sub3 section (d) shall apply to amounts expended from the 

4 special compliance personnel program account after 

5 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

6 SEC. 1206. REFORM OF NOTICE OF CONTACT OF THIRD PAR7 TIES. 

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

9 read as follows: 

10 ‘‘(1) GENERAL NOTICE.—An officer or employee 

11 of the Internal Revenue Service may not contact any 

12 person other than the taxpayer with respect to the de13 termination or collection of the tax liability of such 

14 taxpayer unless such contact occurs during a period 

15 (not greater than 1 year) which is specified in a no16 tice which— 

17 ‘‘(A) informs the taxpayer that contacts 

18 with persons other than the taxpayer are in19 tended to be made during such period, and 

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

21 Secretary, is provided to the taxpayer not later 

22 than 45 days before the beginning of such period. 

23 Nothing in the preceding sentence shall prevent the 

24 issuance of notices to the same taxpayer with respect 

25 to the same tax liability with periods specified therein 


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1 that, in the aggregate, exceed 1 year. A notice shall 

2 not be issued under this paragraph unless there is an 

3 intent at the time such notice is issued to contact per4 sons other than the taxpayer during the period speci5 fied in such notice. The preceding sentence shall not 

6 prevent the issuance of a notice if the requirement of 

7 such sentence is met on the basis of the assumption 

8 that the information sought to be obtained by such 

9 contact will not be obtained by other means before 

10 such contact.’’. 

11 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by this 

12 section shall apply to notices provided, and contacts of per13 sons made, after the date which is 45 days after the date 

14 of the enactment of this Act. 

15 SEC. 1207. MODIFICATION OF AUTHORITY TO ISSUE DES16 IGNATED SUMMONS. 

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

18 amended by striking ‘‘coordinated examination program’’ 

19 and inserting ‘‘coordinated industry case program’’. 

20 (b) REQUIREMENTS FOR SUMMONS.—Clause (i) of sec21 tion 6503(j)(2)(A) is amended to read as follows: 

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

23 preceded by a review and written approval 

24 of such issuance by the Commissioner of the 

25 relevant operating division of the Internal 


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1 Revenue Service and the Chief Counsel 

2 which— 

3 ‘‘(I) states facts clearly estab4 lishing that the Secretary has made 

5 reasonable requests for the information 

6 that is the subject of the summons, and 

7 ‘‘(II) is attached to such sum8 mons,’’. 

9 (c) ESTABLISHMENT THAT REASONABLE REQUESTS

10 FOR INFORMATION WERE MADE.—Subsection (j) of section 

11 6503 is amended by adding at the end the following new 

12 paragraph: 

13 ‘‘(4) ESTABLISHMENT THAT REASONABLE RE14 QUESTS FOR INFORMATION WERE MADE.—In any 

15 court proceeding described in paragraph (3), the Sec16 retary shall establish that reasonable requests were 

17 made for the information that is the subject of the 

18 summons.’’. 

19 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this 

20 section shall apply to summonses issued after the date which 

21 is 45 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 1208. LIMITATION ON ACCESS OF NON-INTERNAL REV2 ENUE SERVICE EMPLOYEES TO RETURNS AND 

3 RETURN INFORMATION. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7602 is amended by adding 

5 at the end the following new subsection: 

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

7 THAN INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE OFFICERS AND EM8 PLOYEES.—The Secretary shall not, under the authority of 

9 section 6103(n), provide any books, papers, records, or other 

10 data obtained pursuant to this section to any person au11 thorized under section 6103(n), except when such person re12 quires such information for the sole purpose of providing 

13 expert evaluation and assistance to the Internal Revenue 

14 Service. No person other than an officer or employee of the 

15 Internal Revenue Service or the Office of Chief Counsel 

16 may, on behalf of the Secretary, question a witness under 

17 oath whose testimony was obtained pursuant to this sec18 tion.’’. 

19 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by this 

20 section— 

21 (1) shall take effect on the date of the enactment 

22 of this Act; and 

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

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

25 of 1986 merely because such contract was in effect be26 fore the date of the enactment of this Act. 


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1 Subtitle D—Organizational 

2 Modernization 

3 SEC. 1301. OFFICE OF THE NATIONAL TAXPAYER ADVO4 CATE. 

5 (a) TAXPAYER ADVOCATE DIRECTIVES.— 

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

7 by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

8 ‘‘(5) TAXPAYER ADVOCATE DIRECTIVES.—In the 

9 case of any Taxpayer Advocate Directive issued by 

10 the National Taxpayer Advocate pursuant to a dele11 gation of authority from the Commissioner of Inter12 nal Revenue— 

13 ‘‘(A) the Commissioner or a Deputy Com14 missioner shall modify, rescind, or ensure com15 pliance with such directive not later than 90 

16 days after the issuance of such directive, and 

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

18 modified or rescinded by a Deputy Commis19 sioner, the National Taxpayer Advocate may 

20 (not later than 90 days after such modification 

21 or rescission) appeal to the Commissioner, and 

22 the Commissioner shall (not later than 90 days 

23 after such appeal is made) ensure compliance 

24 with such directive as issued by the National 

25 Taxpayer Advocate or provide the National TaxVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:14 Apr 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1957.RH H1957

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1 payer Advocate with the reasons for any modi2 fication or rescission made or upheld by the 

3 Commissioner pursuant to such appeal.’’. 

4 (2) REPORT TO CERTAIN COMMITTEES OF CON5 GRESS REGARDING DIRECTIVES.—Section 

6 7803(c)(2)(B)(ii) is amended by redesignating sub7 clauses (VIII) through (XI) as subclauses (IX) through 

8 (XII), respectively, and by inserting after subclause 

9 (VII) the following new subclause: 

10 ‘‘(VIII) identify any Taxpayer 

11 Advocate Directive which was not hon12 ored by the Internal Revenue Service 

13 in a timely manner, as specified under 

14 paragraph (5);’’. 

15 (b) NATIONAL TAXPAYER ADVOCATE ANNUAL RE16 PORTS TO CONGRESS.— 

17 (1) INCLUSION OF MOST SERIOUS TAXPAYER

18 PROBLEMS.—Section 7803(c)(2)(B)(ii)(III) is amend19 ed by striking ‘‘at least 20 of the’’ and inserting ‘‘the 

20 10’’. 

21 (2) COORDINATION WITH TREASURY INSPECTOR

22 GENERAL FOR TAX ADMINISTRATION.—Section 

23 7803(c)(2) is amended by adding at the end the fol24 lowing new subparagraph: 


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1 ‘‘(E) COORDINATION WITH TREASURY IN2 SPECTOR GENERAL FOR TAX ADMINISTRATION.— 

3 Before beginning any research or study, the Na4 tional Taxpayer Advocate shall coordinate with 

5 the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Admin6 istration to ensure that the National Taxpayer 

7 Advocate does not duplicate any action that the 

8 Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administra9 tion has already undertaken or has a plan to un10 dertake.’’. 

11 (3) STATISTICAL SUPPORT.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 6108 is amended 

13 by adding at the end the following new sub14 section: 

15 ‘‘(d) STATISTICAL SUPPORT FOR NATIONAL TAXPAYER

16 ADVOCATE.—Upon request of the National Taxpayer Advo17 cate, the Secretary shall, to the extent practicable, provide 

18 the National Taxpayer Advocate with statistical support in 

19 connection with the preparation by the National Taxpayer 

20 Advocate of the annual report described in section 

21 7803(c)(2)(B)(ii). Such statistical support shall include sta22 tistical studies, compilations, and the review of information 

23 provided by the National Taxpayer Advocate for statistical 

24 validity and sound statistical methodology.’’. 


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1 (B) DISCLOSURE OF REVIEW.—Section 

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

3 is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub4 clause (XI), by redesignating subclause (XII) as 

5 subclause (XIII), and by inserting after sub6 clause (XI) the following new subclause: 

7 ‘‘(XII) with respect to any statis8 tical information included in such re9 port, include a statement of whether 

10 such statistical information was re11 viewed or provided by the Secretary 

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

13 whether the Secretary determined such 

14 information to be statistically valid 

15 and based on sound statistical method16 ology; and’’. 

17 (C) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

18 7803(c)(2)(B)(iii) is amended by adding at the 

19 end the following: ‘‘The preceding sentence shall 

20 not apply with respect to statistical information 

21 provided to the Secretary for review, or received 

22 from the Secretary, under section 6108(d).’’. 

23 (c) SALARY OF NATIONAL TAXPAYER ADVOCATE.—Sec24 tion 7803(c)(1)(B)(i) is amended by striking ‘‘, or, if the 


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1 Secretary of the Treasury so determines, at a rate fixed 

2 under section 9503 of such title’’. 

3 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided 

5 in this subsection, the amendments made by this sec6 tion shall take effect on the date of the enactment of 

7 this Act. 

8 (2) SALARY OF NATIONAL TAXPAYER ADVO9 CATE.—The amendment made by subsection (c) shall 

10 apply to compensation paid to individuals appointed 

11 as the National Taxpayer Advocate after March 31, 

12 2019. 

13 SEC. 1302. MODERNIZATION OF INTERNAL REVENUE SERV14 ICE ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than September 30, 2020, 

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

17 shall submit to Congress a comprehensive written plan to 

18 redesign the organization of the Internal Revenue Service. 

19 Such plan shall— 

20 (1) ensure the successful implementation of the 

21 priorities specified by Congress in this Act; 

22 (2) prioritize taxpayer services to ensure that all 

23 taxpayers easily and readily receive the assistance 

24 that they need; 


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1 (3) streamline the structure of the agency includ2 ing minimizing the duplication of services and re3 sponsibilities within the agency; 

4 (4) best position the Internal Revenue Service to 

5 combat cybersecurity and other threats to the Internal 

6 Revenue Service; and 

7 (5) address whether the Criminal Investigation 

8 Division of the Internal Revenue Service should re9 port directly to the Commissioner of Internal Rev10 enue. 

11 (b) REPEAL OF RESTRICTION ON ORGANIZATIONAL

12 STRUCTURE OF INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE.—Para13 graph (3) of section 1001(a) of the Internal Revenue Service 

14 Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 shall cease to apply 

15 beginning 1 year after the date on which the plan described 

16 in subsection (a) is submitted to Congress. 

17 Subtitle E—Other Provisions 

18 SEC. 1401. RETURN PREPARATION PROGRAMS FOR APPLI19 CABLE TAXPAYERS. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 77 is amended by insert21 ing after section 7526 the following new section: 

22 ‘‘SEC. 7526A. RETURN PREPARATION PROGRAMS FOR APPLI23 CABLE TAXPAYERS. 

24 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF VOLUNTEER INCOME TAX

25 ASSISTANCE MATCHING GRANT PROGRAM.—The Secretary 


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1 shall establish a Community Volunteer Income Tax Assist2 ance Matching Grant Program under which the Secretary 

3 may, subject to the availability of appropriated funds, make 

4 grants to provide matching funds for the development, ex5 pansion, or continuation of qualified return preparation 

6 programs assisting applicable taxpayers and members of 

7 underserved populations. 

8 ‘‘(b) USE OF FUNDS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Qualified return preparation 

10 programs may use grants received under this section 

11 for— 

12 ‘‘(A) ordinary and necessary costs associ13 ated with program operation in accordance with 

14 cost principles under the applicable Office of 

15 Management and Budget circular, including— 

16 ‘‘(i) wages or salaries of persons co17 ordinating the activities of the program, 

18 ‘‘(ii) developing training materials, 

19 conducting training, and performing qual20 ity reviews of the returns prepared under 

21 the program, 

22 ‘‘(iii) equipment purchases, and 

23 ‘‘(iv) vehicle-related expenses associated 

24 with remote or rural tax preparation serv25 ices, 


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1 ‘‘(B) outreach and educational activities de2 scribed in subsection (c)(2)(B), and 

3 ‘‘(C) services related to financial education 

4 and capability, asset development, and the estab5 lishment of savings accounts in connection with 

6 tax return preparation. 

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

8 qualified return preparation program must provide 

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

10 grants provided under this section. Matching funds 

11 may include— 

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

13 of individuals performing services for the pro14 gram, 

15 ‘‘(B) the cost of equipment used in the pro16 gram, and 

17 ‘‘(C) other ordinary and necessary costs as18 sociated with the program. 

19 Indirect expenses, including general overhead of any 

20 entity administering the program, shall not be count21 ed as matching funds. 

22 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.— 

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

24 under this section shall submit an application to the 

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1 taining such information as the Secretary may rea2 sonably require. 

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

4 section, the Secretary shall give priority to applica5 tions which demonstrate— 

6 ‘‘(A) assistance to applicable taxpayers, 

7 with emphasis on outreach to, and services for, 

8 such taxpayers, 

9 ‘‘(B) taxpayer outreach and educational ac10 tivities relating to eligibility and availability of 

11 income supports available through this title, in12 cluding the earned income tax credit, and 

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

14 more underserved populations. 

15 ‘‘(3) AMOUNTS TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT.—In deter16 mining matching grants under this section, the Sec17 retary shall only take into account amounts provided 

18 by the qualified return preparation program for ex19 penses described in subsection (b). 

20 ‘‘(d) PROGRAM ADHERENCE.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 

22 procedures for, and shall conduct not less frequently 

23 than once every 5 calendar years during which a 

24 qualified return preparation program is operating 


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1 under a grant under this section, periodic site vis2 its— 

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

4 the purposes of this section, and 

5 ‘‘(B) to determine whether the program 

6 meets such program adherence standards as the 

7 Secretary shall by regulation or other guidance 

8 prescribe. 

9 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR GRANT

10 RECIPIENTS NOT MEETING PROGRAM ADHERENCE

11 STANDARDS.—In the case of any qualified return 

12 preparation program which— 

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

14 and 

15 ‘‘(B) is subsequently determined— 

16 ‘‘(i) not to meet the program adherence 

17 standards described in paragraph (1)(B), or 

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

19 the purposes of this section, 

20 such program shall not be eligible for any additional 

21 grants under this section unless such program pro22 vides sufficient documentation of corrective measures 

23 established to address any such deficiencies deter24 mined. 

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


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

4 ‘‘(A) which provides assistance to individ5 uals, not less than 90 percent of whom are appli6 cable taxpayers, in preparing and filing Federal 

7 income tax returns, 

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

9 entity, 

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

11 the preparation of Federal income tax returns 

12 meet the training requirements prescribed by the 

13 Secretary, and 

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

15 which reviews 100 percent of all returns. 

16 ‘‘(2) QUALIFIED ENTITY.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified en18 tity’ means any entity which— 

19 ‘‘(i) is an eligible organization, 

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

21 filing and payment requirements, 

22 ‘‘(iii) is not debarred or suspended 

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


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1 ‘‘(iv) agrees to provide documentation 

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

4 this section. 

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

6 ‘eligible organization’ means— 

7 ‘‘(i) an institution of higher education 

8 which is described in section 102 (other 

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

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

11 1002), as in effect on the date of the enact12 ment of this section, and which has not been 

13 disqualified from participating in a pro14 gram under title IV of such Act, 

15 ‘‘(ii) an organization described in sec16 tion 501(c) and exempt from tax under sec17 tion 501(a), 

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

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

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

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


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

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

4 4103(22))), tribal subsidiary, subdivi5 sion, or other wholly owned tribal enti6 ty, 

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

9 which meets the eligibility requirements of 

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

12 ‘‘(v) in the case of applicable taxpayers 

13 and members of underserved populations 

14 with respect to which no organizations de15 scribed in the preceding clauses are avail16 able— 

17 ‘‘(I) a State government agency, 

18 or 

19 ‘‘(II) an office providing Coopera20 tive Extension services (as established 

21 at the land-grant colleges and univer22 sities under the Smith-Lever Act of 

23 May 8, 1914). 

24 ‘‘(3) APPLICABLE TAXPAYERS.—The term ‘appli25 cable taxpayer’ means a taxpayer whose income for 


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1 the taxable year does not exceed an amount equal to 

2 the completed phaseout amount under section 32(b) 

3 for a married couple filing a joint return with three 

4 or more qualifying children, as determined in a rev5 enue procedure or other published guidance. 

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

7 ‘underserved population’ includes populations of per8 sons with disabilities, persons with limited English 

9 proficiency, Native Americans, individuals living in 

10 rural areas, members of the Armed Forces and their 

11 spouses, and the elderly. 

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

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

14 of a qualified return preparation program, the Sec15 retary is authorized to award a multi-year grant not 

16 to exceed 3 years. 

17 ‘‘(2) AGGREGATE LIMITATION.—Unless otherwise 

18 provided by specific appropriation, the Secretary 

19 shall not allocate more than $30,000,000 per fiscal 

20 year (exclusive of costs of administering the program) 

21 to grants under this section. 

22 ‘‘(g) PROMOTION OF PROGRAMS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall promote 

24 tax preparation through qualified return preparation 


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1 programs through the use of mass communications 

2 and other means. 

3 ‘‘(2) PROVISION OF INFORMATION REGARDING

4 QUALIFIED RETURN PREPARATION PROGRAMS.—The 

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

7 grants under this section. 

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

9 CLINICS.—Qualified return preparation programs re10 ceiving a grant under this section are encouraged, in 

11 appropriate cases, to— 

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

13 and eligibility requirements for receiving, advice 

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

16 7526, and 

17 ‘‘(B) provide information regarding the lo18 cation of, and contact information for, such clin19 ics.’’. 

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

21 chapter 77 is amended by inserting after the item relating 

22 to section 7526 the following new item: 

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


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

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7526(c) is amended by add4 ing at the end the following new paragraph: 

5 ‘‘(6) PROVISION OF INFORMATION REGARDING

6 QUALIFIED LOW-INCOME TAXPAYER CLINICS.—Not7 withstanding any other provision of law, officers and 

8 employees of the Department of the Treasury may— 

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

10 and eligibility requirements for receiving, advice 

11 and assistance from one or more specific quali12 fied low-income taxpayer clinics receiving fund13 ing under this section, and 

14 ‘‘(B) provide information regarding the lo15 cation of, and contact information for, such clin16 ics.’’. 

17 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by this 

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

19 Act. 

20 SEC. 1403. NOTICE FROM IRS REGARDING CLOSURE OF TAX21 PAYER ASSISTANCE CENTERS. 

22 Not later than 90 days before the date that a proposed 

23 closure of a Taxpayer Assistance Center would take effect, 

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

25 shall— 


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

3 (A) identifies the Taxpayer Assistance Cen4 ter proposed for closure and the date of such pro5 posed closure; and 

6 (B) identifies the relevant alternative 

7 sources of taxpayer assistance which may be uti8 lized by taxpayers affected by such proposed clo9 sure; and 

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

12 (A) the information included in the notice 

13 described in paragraph (1); 

14 (B) the reasons for such proposed closure; 

15 and 

16 (C) such other information as the Secretary 

17 may determine appropriate. 

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

19 GOODS RESTRICTED TO ONLY PERISHABLE 

20 GOODS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 6336 is amended by strik22 ing ‘‘or become greatly reduced in price or value by keeping, 

23 or that such property cannot be kept without great ex24 pense’’. 


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

2 section shall apply to property seized after the date of the 

3 enactment of this Act. 

4 SEC. 1405. WHISTLEBLOWER REFORMS. 

5 (a) MODIFICATIONS TO DISCLOSURE RULES FOR

6 WHISTLEBLOWERS.— 

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

8 by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

9 ‘‘(13) DISCLOSURE TO WHISTLEBLOWERS.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may dis11 close, to any individual providing information 

12 relating to any purpose described in paragraph 

13 (1) or (2) of section 7623(a), return information 

14 related to the investigation of any taxpayer with 

15 respect to whom the individual has provided 

16 such information, but only to the extent that 

17 such disclosure is necessary in obtaining infor18 mation, which is not otherwise reasonably avail19 able, with respect to the correct determination of 

20 tax liability for tax, or the amount to be collected 

21 with respect to the enforcement of any other pro22 vision of this title. 

23 ‘‘(B) UPDATES ON WHISTLEBLOWER INVES24 TIGATIONS.—The Secretary shall disclose to an 

25 individual providing information relating to 


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

2 of section 7623(a) the following: 

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

4 for which the individual has provided infor5 mation has been referred for an audit or ex6 amination, a notice with respect to such re7 ferral. 

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

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

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

14 ‘‘(iii) Subject to such requirements and 

15 conditions as are prescribed by the Sec16 retary, upon a written request by such indi17 vidual— 

18 ‘‘(I) information on the status 

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

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

23 section 7623(b), the reasons for such 

24 determination. 


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1 Clause (iii) shall not apply to any information 

2 if the Secretary determines that disclosure of 

3 such information would seriously impair Federal 

4 tax administration. Information described in 

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

6 designee of the individual providing such infor7 mation in accordance with guidance provided by 

8 the Secretary.’’. 

9 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

10 (A) CONFIDENTIALITY OF INFORMATION.— 

11 Section 6103(a)(3) is amended by striking ‘‘sub12 section (k)(10)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (10) 

13 or (13) of subsection (k)’’. 

14 (B) PENALTY FOR UNAUTHORIZED DISCLO15 SURE.—Section 7213(a)(2) is amended by strik16 ing ‘‘(k)(10)’’ and inserting ‘‘(k)(10) or (13)’’. 

17 (C) COORDINATION WITH AUTHORITY TO

18 DISCLOSE FOR INVESTIGATIVE PURPOSES.—Sec19 tion 6103(k)(6) is amended by adding at the end 

20 the following new sentence: ‘‘This paragraph 

21 shall not apply to any disclosure to an indi22 vidual providing information relating to any 

23 purpose described in paragraph (1) or (2) of sec24 tion 7623(a) which is made under paragraph 

25 (13)(A).’’. 


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1 (b) PROTECTION AGAINST RETALIATION.—Section 

2 7623 is amended by adding at the end the following new 

3 subsection: 

4 ‘‘(d) CIVIL ACTION TO PROTECT AGAINST RETALIA5 TION CASES.— 

6 ‘‘(1) ANTI-RETALIATION WHISTLEBLOWER PRO7 TECTION FOR EMPLOYEES.—No employer, or any offi8 cer, employee, contractor, subcontractor, or agent of 

9 such employer, may discharge, demote, suspend, 

10 threaten, harass, or in any other manner discrimi11 nate against an employee in the terms and conditions 

12 of employment (including through an act in the ordi13 nary course of such employee’s duties) in reprisal for 

14 any lawful act done by the employee— 

15 ‘‘(A) to provide information, cause informa16 tion to be provided, or otherwise assist in an in17 vestigation regarding underpayment of tax or 

18 any conduct which the employee reasonably be19 lieves constitutes a violation of the internal rev20 enue laws or any provision of Federal law relat21 ing to tax fraud, when the information or assist22 ance is provided to the Internal Revenue Service, 

23 the Secretary of Treasury, the Treasury Inspec24 tor General for Tax Administration, the Comp25 troller General of the United States, the DepartVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:14 Apr 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00049 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1957.RH H1957

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1 ment of Justice, the United States Congress, a 

2 person with supervisory authority over the em3 ployee, or any other person working for the em4 ployer who has the authority to investigate, dis5 cover, or terminate misconduct, or 

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

7 assist in any administrative or judicial action 

8 taken by the Internal Revenue Service relating to 

9 an alleged underpayment of tax or any violation 

10 of the internal revenue laws or any provision of 

11 Federal law relating to tax fraud. 

12 ‘‘(2) ENFORCEMENT ACTION.— 

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

14 discharge or other reprisal by any person in vio15 lation of paragraph (1) may seek relief under 

16 paragraph (3) by— 

17 ‘‘(i) filing a complaint with the Sec18 retary of Labor, or 

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

20 issued a final decision within 180 days of 

21 the filing of the complaint and there is no 

22 showing that such delay is due to the bad 

23 faith of the claimant, bringing an action at 

24 law or equity for de novo review in the ap25 propriate district court of the United 


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1 States, which shall have jurisdiction over 

2 such an action without regard to the 

3 amount in controversy. 

4 ‘‘(B) PROCEDURE.— 

5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—An action under 

6 subparagraph (A)(i) shall be governed 

7 under the rules and procedures set forth in 

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

9 Code. 

10 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—Notification made 

11 under section 42121(b)(1) of title 49, United 

12 States Code, shall be made to the person 

13 named in the complaint and to the em14 ployer. 

15 ‘‘(iii) BURDENS OF PROOF.—An action 

16 brought under subparagraph (A)(ii) shall be 

17 governed by the legal burdens of proof set 

18 forth in section 42121(b) of title 49, United 

19 States Code, except that in applying such 

20 section— 

21 ‘‘(I) ‘behavior described in para22 graph (1)’ shall be substituted for ‘be23 havior described in paragraphs (1) 

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


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

2 thereof, and 

3 ‘‘(II) ‘a violation of paragraph 

4 (1)’ shall be substituted for ‘a violation 

5 of subsection (a)’ each place it appears. 

6 ‘‘(iv) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.—A 

7 complaint under subparagraph (A)(i) shall 

8 be filed not later than 180 days after the 

9 date on which the violation occurs. 

10 ‘‘(v) JURY TRIAL.—A party to an ac11 tion brought under subparagraph (A)(ii) 

12 shall be entitled to trial by jury. 

13 ‘‘(3) REMEDIES.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An employee prevailing 

15 in any action under paragraph (2)(A) shall be 

16 entitled to all relief necessary to make the em17 ployee whole. 

18 ‘‘(B) COMPENSATORY DAMAGES.—Relief for 

19 any action under subparagraph (A) shall in20 clude— 

21 ‘‘(i) reinstatement with the same se22 niority status that the employee would have 

23 had, but for the reprisal, 


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

2 amount of back pay and 100 percent of all 

3 lost benefits, with interest, and 

4 ‘‘(iii) compensation for any special 

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

8 ‘‘(4) RIGHTS RETAINED BY EMPLOYEE.—Nothing 

9 in this section shall be deemed to diminish the rights, 

10 privileges, or remedies of any employee under any 

11 Federal or State law, or under any collective bar12 gaining agreement. 

13 ‘‘(5) NONENFORCEABILITY OF CERTAIN PROVI14 SIONS WAIVING RIGHTS AND REMEDIES OR REQUIRING

15 ARBITRATION OF DISPUTES.— 

16 ‘‘(A) WAIVER OF RIGHTS AND REMEDIES.— 

17 The rights and remedies provided for in this sub18 section may not be waived by any agreement, 

19 policy form, or condition of employment, includ20 ing by a predispute arbitration agreement. 

21 ‘‘(B) PREDISPUTE ARBITRATION AGREE22 MENTS.—No predispute arbitration agreement 

23 shall be valid or enforceable, if the agreement re24 quires arbitration of a dispute arising under this 

25 subsection.’’. 


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1 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

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

3 subsection (a) shall apply to disclosures made after 

4 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

5 (2) CIVIL PROTECTION.—The amendment made 

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

7 enactment of this Act. 

8 SEC. 1406. CUSTOMER SERVICE INFORMATION. 

9 The Secretary of the Treasury (or the Secretary’s dele10 gate) shall provide helpful information to taxpayers placed 

11 on hold during a telephone call to any Internal Revenue 

12 Service help line, including the following: 

13 (1) Information about common tax scams. 

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

15 scams. 

16 (3) Additional advice on how taxpayers can pro17 tect themselves from identity theft and tax scams. 

18 SEC. 1407. MISDIRECTED TAX REFUND DEPOSITS. 

19 Section 6402 is amended by adding at the end the fol20 lowing new subsection: 

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

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

23 enactment of the Taxpayer First Act of 2019, the Secretary 

24 shall prescribe regulations to establish procedures to allow 

25 for— 


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1 ‘‘(1) taxpayers to report instances in which a re2 fund made by the Secretary by electronic funds trans3 fer was not transferred to the account of the taxpayer; 

4 ‘‘(2) coordination with financial institutions for 

5 the purpose of— 

6 ‘‘(A) identifying the accounts to which 

7 transfers described in paragraph (1) were made; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(B) recovery of the amounts so transferred; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(3) the refund to be delivered to the correct ac12 count of the taxpayer.’’. 

13 TITLE II—21ST CENTURY IRS 

14 Subtitle A—Cybersecurity and 

15 Identity Protection 

16 SEC. 2001. PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP TO ADDRESS 

17 IDENTITY THEFT REFUND FRAUD. 

18 The Secretary of the Treasury (or the Secretary’s dele19 gate) shall work collaboratively with the public and private 

20 sectors to protect taxpayers from identity theft refund fraud. 

21 SEC. 2002. RECOMMENDATIONS OF ELECTRONIC TAX AD22 MINISTRATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE RE23 GARDING IDENTITY THEFT REFUND FRAUD. 

24 The Secretary of the Treasury shall ensure that the ad25 visory group convened by the Secretary pursuant to section 


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1 2001(b)(2) of the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring 

2 and Reform Act of 1998 (commonly known as the Electronic 

3 Tax Administration Advisory Committee) studies (includ4 ing by providing organized public forums) and makes rec5 ommendations to the Secretary regarding methods to pre6 vent identity theft and refund fraud. 

7 SEC. 2003. INFORMATION SHARING AND ANALYSIS CENTER. 

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

9 the Secretary’s delegate) may participate in an information 

10 sharing and analysis center to centralize, standardize, and 

11 enhance data compilation and analysis to facilitate sharing 

12 actionable data and information with respect to identity 

13 theft tax refund fraud. 

14 (b) DEVELOPMENT OF PERFORMANCE METRICS.—The 

15 Secretary of the Treasury (or the Secretary’s delegate) shall 

16 develop metrics for measuring the success of such center in 

17 detecting and preventing identity theft tax refund fraud. 

18 (c) DISCLOSURE.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 6103(k), as amended 

20 by this Act, is amended by adding at the end the fol21 lowing new paragraph: 

22 ‘‘(14) DISCLOSURE OF RETURN INFORMATION

23 FOR PURPOSES OF CYBERSECURITY AND THE PREVEN24 TION OF IDENTITY THEFT TAX REFUND FRAUD.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Under such procedures 

2 and subject to such conditions as the Secretary 

3 may prescribe, the Secretary may disclose speci4 fied return information to specified ISAC par5 ticipants to the extent that the Secretary deter6 mines such disclosure is in furtherance of effec7 tive Federal tax administration relating to the 

8 detection or prevention of identity theft tax re9 fund fraud, validation of taxpayer identity, au10 thentication of taxpayer returns, or detection or 

11 prevention of cybersecurity threats. 

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

13 purposes of this paragraph— 

14 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘specified 

15 ISAC participant’ means— 

16 ‘‘(I) any person designated by the 

17 Secretary as having primary responsi18 bility for a function performed with re19 spect to the information sharing and 

20 analysis center described in section 

21 2003(a) of the Taxpayer First Act of 

22 2019, and 

23 ‘‘(II) any person subject to the re24 quirements of section 7216 and which 


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1 is a participant in such information 

2 sharing and analysis center. 

3 ‘‘(ii) INFORMATION SHARING AGREE4 MENT.—Such term shall not include any 

5 person unless such person has entered into 

6 a written agreement with the Secretary set7 ting forth the terms and conditions for the 

8 disclosure of information to such person 

9 under this paragraph, including require10 ments regarding the protection and safe11 guarding of such information by such per12 son. 

13 ‘‘(C) SPECIFIED RETURN INFORMATION.— 

14 For purposes of this paragraph, the term ‘speci15 fied return information’ means— 

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

17 connection with a case of potential identity 

18 theft refund fraud— 

19 ‘‘(I) in the case of such return 

20 filed electronically, the internet pro21 tocol address, device identification, 

22 email domain name, speed of comple23 tion, method of authentication, refund 

24 method, and such other return infor25 mation related to the electronic filing 


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1 characteristics of such return as the 

2 Secretary may identify for purposes of 

3 this subclause, and 

4 ‘‘(II) in the case of such return 

5 prepared by a tax return preparer, 

6 identifying information with respect to 

7 such tax return preparer, including the 

8 preparer taxpayer identification num9 ber and electronic filer identification 

10 number of such preparer, 

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

12 in connection with a case of a identity theft 

13 refund fraud which has been confirmed by 

14 the Secretary (pursuant to such procedures 

15 as the Secretary may provide), the informa16 tion referred to in subclauses (I) and (II) of 

17 clause (i), the name and taxpayer identi18 fication number of the taxpayer as it ap19 pears on the return, and any bank account 

20 and routing information provided for mak21 ing a refund in connection with such re22 turn, and 

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

24 threat to the Internal Revenue Service, in25 formation similar to the information deVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:14 Apr 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00059 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1957.RH H1957

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1 scribed in subclauses (I) and (II) of clause 

2 (i) with respect to such threat. 

3 ‘‘(D) RESTRICTION ON USE OF DISCLOSED

4 INFORMATION.— 

5 ‘‘(i) DESIGNATED THIRD PARTIES.— 

6 Any return information received by a per7 son described in subparagraph (B)(i)(I) 

8 shall be used only for the purposes of and 

9 to the extent necessary in— 

10 ‘‘(I) performing the function such 

11 person is designated to perform under 

12 such subparagraph, 

13 ‘‘(II) facilitating disclosures au14 thorized under subparagraph (A) to 

15 persons described in subparagraph 

16 (B)(i)(II), and 

17 ‘‘(III) facilitating disclosures au18 thorized under subsection (d) to par19 ticipants in such information sharing 

20 and analysis center. 

21 ‘‘(ii) RETURN PREPARERS.—Any re22 turn information received by a person de23 scribed in subparagraph (B)(i)(II) shall be 

24 treated for purposes of section 7216 as in25 formation furnished to such person for, or 


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1 in connection with, the preparation of a re2 turn of the tax imposed under chapter 1. 

3 ‘‘(E) DATA PROTECTION AND SAFE4 GUARDS.—Return information disclosed under 

5 this paragraph shall be subject to such protec6 tions and safeguards as the Secretary may re7 quire in regulations or other guidance or in the 

8 written agreement referred to in subparagraph 

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

10 requirement that any unauthorized access to in11 formation disclosed under this paragraph, and 

12 any breach of any system in which such infor13 mation is held, be reported to the Treasury In14 spector General for Tax Administration.’’. 

15 (2) APPLICATION OF CIVIL AND CRIMINAL PEN16 ALTIES.— 

17 (A) Section 6103(a)(3), as amended by this 

18 Act, is amended by striking ‘‘or (13)’’ and in19 serting ‘‘, (13), or (14)’’. 

20 (B) Section 7213(a)(2), as amended by this 

21 Act, is amended by striking ‘‘or (13)’’ and in22 serting ‘‘, (13), or (14)’’. 


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1 SEC. 2004. COMPLIANCE BY CONTRACTORS WITH CON2 FIDENTIALITY SAFEGUARDS. 

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

4 adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

5 ‘‘(9) DISCLOSURE TO CONTRACTORS AND OTHER

6 AGENTS.—Notwithstanding any other provision of 

7 this section, no return or return information shall be 

8 disclosed to any contractor or other agent of a Fed9 eral, State, or local agency unless such agency, to the 

10 satisfaction of the Secretary— 

11 ‘‘(A) has requirements in effect which re12 quire each such contractor or other agent which 

13 would have access to returns or return informa14 tion to provide safeguards (within the meaning 

15 of paragraph (4)) to protect the confidentiality 

16 of such returns or return information, 

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

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

19 of contracts or agreements of less than 3 years in 

20 duration) of each contractor or other agent to de21 termine compliance with such requirements, 

22 ‘‘(C) submits the findings of the most recent 

23 review conducted under subparagraph (B) to the 

24 Secretary as part of the report required by para25 graph (4)(E), and 


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

2 recent annual period that such contractor or 

3 other agent is in compliance with all such re4 quirements. 

5 The certification required by subparagraph (D) shall 

6 include the name and address of each contractor or 

7 other agent, a description of the contract or agreement 

8 with such contractor or other agent, and the duration 

9 of such contract or agreement. The requirements of 

10 this paragraph shall not apply to disclosures pursu11 ant to subsection (n) for purposes of Federal tax ad12 ministration.’’. 

13 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

14 6103(p)(8)(B) is amended by inserting ‘‘or paragraph (9)’’ 

15 after ‘‘subparagraph (A)’’. 

16 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this 

17 section shall apply to disclosures made after December 31, 

18 2022. 

19 SEC. 2005. REPORT ON ELECTRONIC PAYMENTS. 

20 Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment 

21 of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury (or the Secretary’s 

22 delegate), in coordination with the Bureau of Fiscal Service 

23 and the Internal Revenue Service, and in consultation with 

24 private sector financial institutions, shall submit a written 

25 report to Congress describing how the government can utiVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:14 Apr 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00063 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1957.RH H1957

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1 lize new payment platforms to increase the number of tax 

2 refunds paid by electronic funds transfer. Such report shall 

3 weigh the interests of reducing identity theft tax refund 

4 fraud, reducing the Federal Government’s costs in deliv5 ering tax refunds, the costs and any associated fees charged 

6 to taxpayers (including monthly and point-of-service fees) 

7 to access their tax refunds, the impact on individuals who 

8 do not have access to financial accounts or institutions, and 

9 ensuring payments are made to accounts at a financial in10 stitution that complies with section 21 of the Federal De11 posit Insurance Act, chapter 2 of title I of Public Law 91– 

12 508, and subchapter II of chapter 53 of title 31, United 

13 States Code (commonly referred to collectively as the ‘‘Bank 

14 Secrecy Act’’) and the USA PATRIOT Act. Such report 

15 shall include any legislative recommendations necessary to 

16 accomplish these goals. 

17 SEC. 2006. IDENTITY PROTECTION PERSONAL IDENTIFICA18 TION NUMBERS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), the Sec20 retary of the Treasury or the Secretary’s delegate (hereafter 

21 referred to in this section as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall establish 

22 a program to issue, upon the request of any individual, a 

23 number which may be used in connection with such indi24 vidual’s social security number (or other identifying infor25 mation with respect to such individual as determined by 


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1 the Secretary) to assist the Secretary in verifying such indi2 vidual’s identity. 

3 (b) REQUIREMENTS.— 

4 (1) ANNUAL EXPANSION.—For each calendar 

5 year beginning after the date of the enactment of this 

6 Act, the Secretary shall provide numbers through the 

7 program described in subsection (a) to individuals re8 siding in such States as the Secretary deems appro9 priate, provided that the total number of States served 

10 by such program during such year is greater than the 

11 total number of States served by such program during 

12 the preceding year. 

13 (2) NATIONWIDE AVAILABILITY.—Not later than 

14 5 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

15 Secretary shall ensure that the program described in 

16 subsection (a) is made available to any individual re17 siding in the United States. 

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

19 IDENTITY THEFT VICTIMS. 

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

21 the Secretary’s delegate) shall establish and implement pro22 cedures to ensure that any taxpayer whose return has been 

23 delayed or otherwise adversely affected due to tax-related 

24 identity theft has a single point of contact at the Internal 

25 Revenue Service throughout the processing of the taxpayer’s 


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

2 case to completion and coordinate with other Internal Rev3 enue Service employees to resolve case issues as quickly as 

4 possible. 

5 (b) SINGLE POINT OF CONTACT.— 

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

7 (a), the single point of contact shall consist of a team 

8 or subset of specially trained employees who— 

9 (A) have the ability to work across func10 tions to resolve the issues involved in the tax11 payer’s case; and 

12 (B) shall be accountable for handling the 

13 case until its resolution. 

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

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

16 may change as required to meet the needs of the Inter17 nal Revenue Service, provided that procedures have 

18 been established to— 

19 (A) ensure continuity of records and case 

20 history; and 

21 (B) notify the taxpayer when appropriate. 

22 SEC. 2008. NOTIFICATION OF SUSPECTED IDENTITY THEFT. 

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

24 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 unau13 thorized 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 such 


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1 time, as soon as practicable thereafter), issue addi2 tional notifications to such individual (or such indi3 vidual’s designee) regarding— 

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

6 ‘‘(B) whether the investigation substantiated 

7 an unauthorized use of the identity of the indi8 vidual, 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 section, 

20 the unauthorized use of the identity of an individual 

21 includes the unauthorized use of the identity of the in22 dividual to obtain employment. 

23 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT-RELATED

24 IDENTITY THEFT.—For purposes of this section, in 

25 making a determination as to whether there has been 


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1 or may have been an unauthorized use of the identity 

2 of an individual to obtain employment, the Secretary 

3 shall review any information— 

4 ‘‘(A) obtained from a statement described in 

5 section 6051 or an information return relating 

6 to compensation for services rendered other than 

7 as an employee, or 

8 ‘‘(B) provided to the Internal Revenue Serv9 ice by the Social Security Administration re10 garding any statement described in section 6051, 

11 which indicates that the social security account num12 ber provided on such statement or information return 

13 does not correspond with the name provided on such 

14 statement or information return or the name on the 

15 tax return reporting the income which is included on 

16 such statement or information return.’’. 

17 (b) ADDITIONAL MEASURES.— 

18 (1) EXAMINATION OF BOTH PAPER AND ELEC19 TRONIC STATEMENTS AND RETURNS.—The Secretary 

20 of the Treasury (or the Secretary’s delegate) shall ex21 amine the statements, information returns, and tax 

22 returns described in section 7529(b)(2) of the Internal 

23 Revenue Code of 1986 (as added by subsection (a)) for 

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1 gardless of whether such statements or returns are 

2 submitted electronically or on paper. 

3 (2) IMPROVEMENT OF EFFECTIVE RETURN PROC4 ESSING PROGRAM WITH SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINIS5 TRATION.—Section 232 of the Social Security Act (42 

6 U.S.C. 432) is amended by inserting after the third 

7 sentence the following: ‘‘For purposes of carrying out 

8 the return processing program described in the pre9 ceding sentence, the Commissioner of Social Security 

10 shall request, not less than annually, such informa11 tion described in section 7529(b)(2) of the Internal 

12 Revenue Code of 1986 as may be necessary to ensure 

13 the accuracy of the records maintained by the Com14 missioner of Social Security related to the amounts of 

15 wages paid to, and the amounts of self-employment 

16 income derived by, individuals.’’. 

17 (3) UNDERREPORTING OF INCOME.—The Sec18 retary of the Treasury (or the Secretary’s delegate) 

19 shall establish procedures to ensure that income re20 ported in connection with the unauthorized use of a 

21 taxpayer’s identity is not taken into account in deter22 mining any penalty for underreporting of income by 

23 the victim of identity theft. 


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

2 chapter 77 is amended by adding at the end the following 

3 new item: 

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

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

5 section shall apply to determinations made after the date 

6 that is 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

7 SEC. 2009. GUIDELINES FOR STOLEN IDENTITY REFUND 

8 FRAUD CASES. 

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

10 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury 

11 (or the Secretary’s delegate), in consultation with the Na12 tional Taxpayer Advocate, shall develop and implement 

13 publicly available guidelines for management of cases in14 volving stolen identity refund fraud in a manner that re15 duces the administrative burden on taxpayers who are vic16 tims of such fraud. 

17 (b) STANDARDS AND PROCEDURES TO BE CONSID18 ERED.—The guidelines described in subsection (a) may in19 clude— 

20 (1) standards for— 

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

22 case involving stolen identity refund fraud 

23 should be resolved; 

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1 tity refund fraud and is entitled to a tax refund 

2 which has been stolen should have to wait to re3 ceive such refund; and 

4 (C) the maximum number of offices and em5 ployees within the Internal Revenue Service with 

6 whom a taxpayer who is a victim of stolen iden7 tity refund fraud should be required to interact 

8 in order to resolve a case; 

9 (2) standards for opening, assigning, reas10 signing, or closing a case involving stolen identity re11 fund fraud; and 

12 (3) procedures for implementing and accom13 plishing the standards described in paragraphs (1) 

14 and (2), and measures for evaluating such procedures 

15 and determining whether such standards have been 

16 successfully implemented. 

17 SEC. 2010. INCREASED PENALTY FOR IMPROPER DISCLO18 SURE OR USE OF INFORMATION BY PRE19 PARERS OF RETURNS. 

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

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

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

23 (2) by inserting after subsection (a) the following 

24 new subsection: 


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

2 DISCLOSURE RELATING TO IDENTITY THEFT.— 

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

4 use described in subsection (a) that is made in con5 nection with a crime relating to the misappropriation 

6 of another person’s taxpayer identity (as defined in 

7 section 6103(b)(6)), whether or not such crime in8 volves any tax filing, subsection (a) shall be ap9 plied— 

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

11 ‘‘(B) by substituting ‘$50,000’ for ‘$10,000’. 

12 ‘‘(2) SEPARATE APPLICATION OF TOTAL PENALTY

13 LIMITATION.—The limitation on the total amount of 

14 the penalty under subsection (a) shall be applied sep15 arately with respect to disclosures or uses to which 

16 this subsection applies and to which it does not 

17 apply.’’. 

18 (b) CRIMINAL PENALTY.—Section 7216(a) is amended 

19 by striking ‘‘$1,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$1,000 ($100,000 in 

20 the case of a disclosure or use to which section 6713(b) ap21 plies)’’. 

22 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this 

23 section shall apply to disclosures or uses on or after the 

24 date of the enactment of this Act. 


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1 Subtitle B—Development of 

2 Information Technology 

3 SEC. 2101. MANAGEMENT OF INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE 

4 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY. 

5 (a) DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF INTERNAL

6 REVENUE SERVICE CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER.—Sec7 tion 7803, as amended by section 1001, is amended by add8 ing at the end the following new subsection: 

9 ‘‘(f) INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE CHIEF INFORMA10 TION OFFICER.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There shall be in the Inter12 nal Revenue Service an Internal Revenue Service 

13 Chief Information Officer (hereafter referred to in this 

14 subsection as the ‘IRS CIO’) who shall be appointed 

15 by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue. 

16 ‘‘(2) CENTRALIZED RESPONSIBILITY FOR INTER17 NAL REVENUE SERVICE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY.— 

18 The Commissioner of Internal Revenue (and the Sec19 retary) shall act through the IRS CIO with respect to 

20 all development, implementation, and maintenance of 

21 information technology for the Internal Revenue Serv22 ice. Any reference in this subsection to the IRS CIO 

23 which directs the IRS CIO to take any action, or to 

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1 erence to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue act2 ing through the IRS CIO. 

3 ‘‘(3) GENERAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBIL4 ITIES.—The IRS CIO shall— 

5 ‘‘(A) be responsible for the development, im6 plementation, and maintenance of information 

7 technology for the Internal Revenue Service, 

8 ‘‘(B) ensure that the information technology 

9 of the Internal Revenue Service is secure and in10 tegrated, 

11 ‘‘(C) maintain operational control of all in12 formation technology for the Internal Revenue 

13 Service, 

14 ‘‘(D) be the principal advocate for the infor15 mation technology needs of the Internal Revenue 

16 Service, and 

17 ‘‘(E) consult with the Chief Procurement 

18 Officer of the Internal Revenue Service to ensure 

19 that the information technology acquired for the 

20 Internal Revenue Service is consistent with— 

21 ‘‘(i) the goals and requirements speci22 fied in subparagraphs (A) through (D), and 

23 ‘‘(ii) the strategic plan developed under 

24 paragraph (4). 

25 ‘‘(4) STRATEGIC PLAN.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The IRS CIO shall de2 velop and implement a multiyear strategic plan 

3 for the information technology needs of the Inter4 nal Revenue Service. Such plan shall— 

5 ‘‘(i) include performance measurements 

6 of such technology and of the implementa7 tion of such plan, 

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

9 enterprise architecture of the information 

10 technology of the Internal Revenue Service, 

11 ‘‘(iii) include and take into account 

12 the resources needed to accomplish such 

13 plan, 

14 ‘‘(iv) take into account planned major 

15 acquisitions of information technology by 

16 the Internal Revenue Service, and 

17 ‘‘(v) align with the needs and strategic 

18 plan of the Internal Revenue Service. 

19 ‘‘(B) PLAN UPDATES.—The IRS CIO shall, 

20 not less frequently than annually, review and 

21 update the strategic plan under subparagraph 

22 (A) (including the plan for an integrated enter23 prise architecture described in subparagraph 

24 (A)(ii)) to take into account the development of 


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1 new information technology and the needs of the 

2 Internal Revenue Service. 

3 ‘‘(5) SCOPE OF AUTHORITY.— 

4 ‘‘(A) INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY.—For 

5 purposes of this subsection, the term ‘information 

6 technology’ has the meaning given such term by 

7 section 11101 of title 40, United States Code. 

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

9 reference in this subsection to the Internal Rev10 enue Service includes a reference to all compo11 nents of the Internal Revenue Service, includ12 ing— 

13 ‘‘(i) the Office of the Taxpayer Advo14 cate, 

15 ‘‘(ii) the Criminal Investigation Divi16 sion of the Internal Revenue Service, and 

17 ‘‘(iii) except as otherwise provided by 

18 the Secretary with respect to information 

19 technology related to matters described in 

20 subsection (b)(3)(B), the Office of the Chief 

21 Counsel.’’. 

22 (b) INDEPENDENT VERIFICATION AND VALIDATION OF

23 THE CUSTOMER ACCOUNT DATA ENGINE 2 AND ENTER24 PRISE CASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commissioner of Internal 

2 Revenue shall enter into a contract with an inde3 pendent reviewer to verify and validate the implemen4 tation plans (including the performance milestones 

5 and cost estimates included in such plans) developed 

6 for the Customer Account Data Engine 2 and the En7 terprise Case Management System. 

8 (2) DEADLINE FOR COMPLETION.—Such contract 

9 shall require that such verification and validation be 

10 completed not later than the date which is 1 year 

11 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

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

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

14 shall not apply to phase 1 of the Customer Ac15 count Data Engine 2 and shall apply separately 

16 to each other phase. 

17 (B) DEADLINE FOR COMPLETING PLANS.— 

18 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enact19 ment of this Act, the Commissioner of Internal 

20 Revenue shall complete the development of plans 

21 for all phases of the Customer Account Data En22 gine 2. 

23 (C) DEADLINE FOR COMPLETION OF

24 VERIFICATION AND VALIDATION OF PLANS.—In 

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1 tomer Account Data Engine 2, paragraph (2) 

2 shall be applied by substituting ‘‘the date on 

3 which the plan for such phase was completed’’ 

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

5 (c) COORDINATION OF IRS CIO AND CHIEF PROCURE6 MENT OFFICER OF THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Chief Procurement Offi8 cer of the Internal Revenue Service shall— 

9 (A) identify all significant IRS information 

10 technology acquisitions and provide written noti11 fication to the Internal Revenue Service Chief 

12 Information Officer (hereafter referred to in this 

13 subsection as the ‘‘IRS CIO’’) of each such acqui14 sition in advance of such acquisition, and 

15 (B) regularly consult with the IRS CIO re16 garding acquisitions of information technology 

17 for the Internal Revenue Service, including meet18 ing with the IRS CIO regarding such acquisi19 tions upon request. 

20 (2) SIGNIFICANT IRS INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

21 ACQUISITIONS.—For purposes of this subsection, the 

22 term ‘‘significant IRS information technology acqui23 sitions’’ means— 


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1 (A) any acquisition of information tech2 nology for the Internal Revenue Service in excess 

3 of $1,000,000; and 

4 (B) such other acquisitions of information 

5 technology for the Internal Revenue Service (or 

6 categories of such acquisitions) as the IRS CIO, 

7 in consultation with the Chief Procurement Offi8 cer of the Internal Revenue Service, may iden9 tify. 

10 (3) SCOPE.—Terms used in this subsection which 

11 are also used in section 7803(f) of the Internal Rev12 enue Code of 1986 (as added by subsection (a)) shall 

13 have the same meaning as when used in such section. 

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

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

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

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

18 shall make available an Internet website or other electronic 

19 media, with a user interface and functionality similar to 

20 the Business Services Online Suite of Services provided by 

21 the Social Security Administration, that provides access to 

22 resources and guidance provided by the Internal Revenue 

23 Service and allows persons to— 

24 (1) prepare and file Forms 1099; 


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1 (2) prepare Forms 1099 for distribution to re2 cipients other than the Internal Revenue Service; and 

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

4 distributed Forms 1099. 

5 (b) ELECTRONIC SERVICES TREATED AS SUPPLE6 MENTAL; APPLICATION OF SECURITY STANDARDS.—The 

7 Secretary shall ensure that the services described in sub8 section (a)— 

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

10 for, other services provided by the Internal Revenue 

11 Service to taxpayers; and 

12 (2) comply with applicable security standards 

13 and guidelines. 

14 SEC. 2103. STREAMLINED CRITICAL PAY AUTHORITY FOR 

15 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY POSITIONS. 

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

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

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

19 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY POSITIONS. 

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

21 functionality of the information technology operations of 

22 the Internal Revenue Service— 

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

24 shall be applied— 


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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, and 

4 ending on September 30, 2025’ for ‘Before Sep5 tember 30, 2013 in subsection (a)’, 

6 ‘‘(B) without regard to subparagraph (B) of 

7 subsection (a)(1), and 

8 ‘‘(C) by substituting ‘the date of the enact9 ment of the Taxpayer First Act of 2019’ for 

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

11 ‘‘(2) section 9504 of such title 5 shall be applied 

12 by substituting ‘During the period beginning on the 

13 date of the enactment of section 7812 of the Internal 

14 Revenue Code of 1986, and ending on September 30, 

15 2025’ for ‘Before September 30, 2013’ each place it 

16 appears in subsections (a) and (b), and 

17 ‘‘(3) section 9505 of such title shall be applied— 

18 ‘‘(A) by substituting ‘During the period be19 ginning on the date of the enactment of section 

20 7812 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and 

21 ending on September 30, 2025’ for ‘Before Sep22 tember 30, 2013’ in subsection (a), and 

23 ‘‘(B) by substituting ‘the information tech24 nology operations’ for ‘significant functions’ in 

25 subsection (a).’’. 


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

2 subchapter A of chapter 80 is amended by adding at the 

3 end the following new item: 

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

4 Subtitle C—Modernization of Con5 sent-Based Income Verification 

6 System 

7 SEC. 2201. DISCLOSURE OF TAXPAYER INFORMATION FOR 

8 THIRD-PARTY INCOME VERIFICATION. 

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

10 of the 2-year period described in subsection (d)(1), the Sec11 retary of the Treasury or the Secretary’s delegate (hereafter 

12 referred to in this section as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall imple13 ment a program to ensure that any qualified disclosure— 

14 (1) is fully automated and accomplished through 

15 the Internet; and 

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

17 practicable. 

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

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

20 under section 6103(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 

21 of returns or return information by the Secretary to a per22 son seeking to verify the income or creditworthiness of a 

23 taxpayer who is a borrower in the process of a loan applica24 tion. 


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1 (c) APPLICATION OF SECURITY STANDARDS.—The Sec2 retary shall ensure that the program described in subsection 

3 (a) complies with applicable security standards and guide4 lines. 

5 (d) USER FEE.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—During the 2-year period be7 ginning on the first day of the 6th calendar month be8 ginning after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

9 the Secretary shall assess and collect a fee for quali10 fied disclosures (in addition to any other fee assessed 

11 and collected for such disclosures) at such rates as the 

12 Secretary determines are sufficient to cover the costs 

13 related to implementing the program described in 

14 subsection (a), including the costs of any necessary 

15 infrastructure or technology. 

16 (2) DEPOSIT OF COLLECTIONS.—Amounts re17 ceived from fees assessed and collected under para18 graph (1) shall be deposited in, and credited to, an 

19 account solely for the purpose of carrying out the ac20 tivities described in subsection (a). Such amounts 

21 shall be available to carry out such activities without 

22 need of further appropriation and without fiscal year 

23 limitation. 


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

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 6103(c) is amended by add5 ing at the end the following: ‘‘Persons designated by the tax6 payer under this subsection to receive return information 

7 shall not use the information for any purpose other than 

8 the express purpose for which consent was granted and shall 

9 not disclose return information to any other person without 

10 the express permission of, or request by, the taxpayer.’’. 

11 (b) APPLICATION OF PENALTIES.—Section 6103(a)(3) 

12 is amended by inserting ‘‘subsection (c),’’ after ‘‘return in13 formation under’’. 

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

15 section shall apply to disclosures made after the date which 

16 is 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

17 Subtitle D—Expanded Use of 

18 Electronic Systems 

19 SEC. 2301. ELECTRONIC FILING OF RETURNS. 

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

21 by striking ‘‘250’’ and inserting ‘‘the applicable number of’’. 

22 (b) APPLICABLE NUMBER.—Section 6011(e) is amend23 ed by striking paragraph (5) and inserting the following 

24 new paragraphs: 

25 ‘‘(5) APPLICABLE NUMBER.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of para2 graph (2)(A), the applicable number shall be— 

3 ‘‘(i) except as provided in subpara4 graph (B), in the case of calendar years be5 fore 2021, 250, 

6 ‘‘(ii) in the case of calendar year 2021, 

7 100, and 

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

9 after 2021, 10. 

10 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULE FOR PARTNERSHIPS

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

12 partnership, for any calendar year before 2022, 

13 the applicable number shall be— 

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

15 200, 

16 ‘‘(ii) in the case of calendar year 2019, 

17 150, 

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

19 2020, 100, and 

20 ‘‘(iv) in the case of calendar year 2021, 

21 50. 

22 ‘‘(6) PARTNERSHIPS REQUIRED TO FILE ON MAG23 NETIC MEDIA.—Notwithstanding paragraph (2)(A), 

24 the Secretary shall require partnerships having more 


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1 than 100 partners to file returns on magnetic 

2 media.’’. 

3 (c) RETURNS FILED BY A TAX RETURN PREPARER.— 

4 Section 6011(e)(3) is amended by adding at the end the 

5 following new subparagraph: 

6 ‘‘(D) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN PREPARERS

7 LOCATED IN AREAS WITHOUT INTERNET AC8 CESS.—The Secretary may waive the require9 ment of subparagraph (A) if the Secretary deter10 mines, on the basis of an application by the tax 

11 return preparer, that the preparer cannot meet 

12 such requirement by reason of being located in a 

13 geographic area which does not have access to 

14 internet service (other than dial-up or satellite 

15 service).’’. 

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

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

18 100 information returns in the case of a partnership having 

19 more than 100 partners)’’ and inserting ‘‘the applicable 

20 number (determined under section 6011(e)(5) with respect 

21 to the calendar year to which such returns relate) of infor22 mation returns’’. 

23 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this 

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

25 Act. 


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1 SEC. 2302. UNIFORM STANDARDS FOR THE USE OF ELEC2 TRONIC SIGNATURES FOR DISCLOSURE AU3 THORIZATIONS TO, AND OTHER AUTHORIZA4 TIONS OF, PRACTITIONERS. 

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

6 ‘‘(3) PUBLISHED GUIDANCE.— 

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

8 publish guidance as appropriate to define and 

9 implement any waiver of the signature require10 ments or any method adopted under paragraph 

11 (1). 

12 ‘‘(B) ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES FOR DIS13 CLOSURE AUTHORIZATIONS TO, AND OTHER AU14 THORIZATIONS OF, PRACTITIONERS.—Not later 

15 than 6 months after the date of the enactment of 

16 this subparagraph, the Secretary shall publish 

17 guidance to establish uniform standards and 

18 procedures for the acceptance of taxpayers’ sig19 natures appearing in electronic form with re20 spect to any request for disclosure of a taxpayer’s 

21 return or return information under section 

22 6103(c) to a practitioner or any power of attor23 ney granted by a taxpayer to a practitioner. 

24 ‘‘(C) PRACTITIONER.—For purposes of sub25 paragraph (B), the term ‘practitioner’ means 

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1 lated under section 330 of title 31, United States 

2 Code.’’. 

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

4 CARDS. 

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

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

7 the extent that the Secretary ensures that any such fee or 

8 other consideration is fully recouped by the Secretary in 

9 the form of fees paid to the Secretary by persons paying 

10 taxes imposed under subtitle A with credit, debit, or charge 

11 cards pursuant to such contract. Notwithstanding the pre12 ceding sentence, the Secretary shall seek to minimize the 

13 amount of any fee or other consideration that the Secretary 

14 pays under any such contract.’’. 

15 SEC. 2304. AUTHENTICATION OF USERS OF ELECTRONIC 

16 SERVICES ACCOUNTS. 

17 Beginning 180 days after the date of the enactment 

18 of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury (or the Secretary’s 

19 delegate) shall verify the identity of any individual opening 

20 an e-Services account with the Internal Revenue Service be21 fore such individual is able to use the e-Services tools. 


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1 Subtitle E—Other Provisions 

2 SEC. 2401. REPEAL OF PROVISION REGARDING CERTAIN 

3 TAX COMPLIANCE PROCEDURES AND RE4 PORTS. 

5 Section 2004 of the Internal Revenue Service Restruc6 turing and Reform Act of 1998 (26 U.S.C. 6012 note) is 

7 repealed. 

8 SEC. 2402. COMPREHENSIVE TRAINING STRATEGY. 

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

10 of this Act, the Commissioner of Internal Revenue shall sub11 mit to Congress a written report providing a comprehensive 

12 training strategy for employees of the Internal Revenue 

13 Service, including— 

14 (1) a plan to streamline current training proc15 esses, including an assessment of the utility of further 

16 consolidating internal training programs, technology, 

17 and funding; 

18 (2) a plan to develop annual training regarding 

19 taxpayer rights, including the role of the Office of the 

20 Taxpayer Advocate, for employees that interface with 

21 taxpayers and the direct managers of such employees; 

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

23 (4) proposals to— 

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

25 and efficient resolution of taxpayer disputes for 


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1 employees that interface with taxpayers and the 

2 direct managers of such employees; and 

3 (B) ensure consistency of skill development 

4 and employee evaluation throughout the Internal 

5 Revenue Service; and 

6 (5) a thorough assessment of the funding nec7 essary to implement such strategy. 

8 TITLE III—MISCELLANEOUS 

9 PROVISIONS 

10 Subtitle A—Reform of Laws Gov11 erning Internal Revenue Service 

12 Employees 

13 SEC. 3001. PROHIBITION ON REHIRING ANY EMPLOYEE OF 

14 THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE WHO WAS 

15 INVOLUNTARILY SEPARATED FROM SERVICE 

16 FOR MISCONDUCT. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7804 is amended by adding 

18 at the end the following new subsection: 

19 ‘‘(d) PROHIBITION ON REHIRING EMPLOYEES INVOL20 UNTARILY SEPARATED.—The Commissioner may not hire 

21 any individual previously employed by the Commissioner 

22 who was removed for misconduct under this subchapter or 

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

24 whose employment was terminated under section 1203 of 


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1 the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act 

2 of 1998 (26 U.S.C. 7804 note).’’. 

3 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by sub4 section (a) shall apply with respect to the hiring of employ5 ees after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

6 SEC. 3002. NOTIFICATION OF UNAUTHORIZED INSPECTION 

7 OR DISCLOSURE OF RETURNS AND RETURN 

8 INFORMATION. 

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

10 amended by adding at the end the following new sentences: 

11 ‘‘The Secretary shall also notify such taxpayer if the Inter12 nal Revenue Service or a Federal or State agency (upon 

13 notice to the Secretary by such Federal or State agency) 

14 proposes an administrative determination as to discipli15 nary or adverse action against an employee arising from 

16 the employee’s unauthorized inspection or disclosure of the 

17 taxpayer’s return or return information. The notice de18 scribed in this subsection shall include the date of the unau19 thorized inspection or disclosure and the rights of the tax20 payer under such administrative determination.’’. 

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

22 section shall apply to determinations proposed after the 

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

24 this Act. 


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1 Subtitle B—Provisions Relating to 

2 Exempt Organizations 

3 SEC. 3101. MANDATORY E-FILING BY EXEMPT ORGANIZA4 TIONS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 6033 is amended by redes6 ignating subsection (n) as subsection (o) and by inserting 

7 after subsection (m) the following new subsection: 

8 ‘‘(n) MANDATORY ELECTRONIC FILING.—Any organi9 zation required to file a return under this section shall file 

10 such return in electronic form.’’. 

11 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Paragraph (7) of sec12 tion 527(j) is amended by striking ‘‘if the organization has’’ 

13 and all that follows through ‘‘such calendar year’’. 

14 (c) INSPECTION OF ELECTRONICALLY FILED ANNUAL

15 RETURNS.—Subsection (b) of section 6104 is amended by 

16 adding at the end the following: ‘‘Any annual return re17 quired to be filed electronically under section 6033(n) shall 

18 be made available by the Secretary to the public as soon 

19 as practicable in a machine readable format.’’. 

20 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para22 graph (2), the amendments made by this section shall 

23 apply to taxable years beginning after the date of the 

24 enactment of this Act. 

25 (2) TRANSITIONAL RELIEF.— 


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1 (A) SMALL ORGANIZATIONS.— 

2 (i) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any 

3 small organizations, or any other organiza4 tions for which the Secretary of the Treas5 ury or the Secretary’s delegate (hereafter re6 ferred to in this paragraph as the ‘‘Sec7 retary’’) determines the application of the 

8 amendments made by this section would 

9 cause undue burden without a delay, the 

10 Secretary may delay the application of such 

11 amendments, but such delay shall not apply 

12 to any taxable year beginning on or after 

13 the date 2 years after of the enactment of 

14 this Act. 

15 (ii) SMALL ORGANIZATION.—For pur16 poses of clause (i), the term ‘‘small organi17 zation’’ means any organization— 

18 (I) the gross receipts of which for 

19 the taxable year are less than 

20 $200,000; and 

21 (II) the aggregate gross assets of 

22 which at the end of the taxable year 

23 are less than $500,000. 

24 (B) ORGANIZATIONS FILING FORM 990–T.— 

25 In the case of any organization described in secVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:14 Apr 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00094 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1957.RH H1957

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1 tion 511(a)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

2 1986 which is subject to the tax imposed by sec3 tion 511(a)(1) of such Code on its unrelated 

4 business taxable income, or any organization re5 quired to file a return under section 6033 of such 

6 Code and include information under subsection 

7 (e) thereof, the Secretary may delay the applica8 tion of the amendments made by this section, but 

9 such delay shall not apply to any taxable year 

10 beginning on or after the date 2 years after of 

11 the enactment of this Act. 

12 SEC. 3102. NOTICE REQUIRED BEFORE REVOCATION OF 

13 TAX-EXEMPT STATUS FOR FAILURE TO FILE 

14 RETURN. 

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

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

17 ‘‘(A) NOTICE.—If an organization described 

18 in subsection (a)(1) or (i) fails to file the annual 

19 return or notice required under either subsection 

20 for 2 consecutive years, the Secretary shall notify 

21 the organization— 

22 ‘‘(i) that the Internal Revenue Service 

23 has no record of such a return or notice 

24 from such organization for 2 consecutive 

25 years, and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) about the revocation that will 

2 occur under subparagraph (B) if the orga3 nization fails to file such a return or notice 

4 by the due date for the next such return or 

5 notice required to be filed. 

6 The notification under the preceding sentence 

7 shall include information about how to comply 

8 with the filing requirements under subsections 

9 (a)(1) and (i). 

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

11 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by this 

12 section shall apply to failures to file returns or notices for 

13 2 consecutive years if the return or notice for the second 

14 year is required to be filed after December 31, 2019. 

15 Subtitle C—Revenue Provision 

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

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

18 (a) of section 6651 is amended by striking ‘‘$205’’ and in19 serting ‘‘$330’’. 

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

21 amended— 

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

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

24 and 

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


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

2 section shall apply to returns required to be filed after De3 cember 31, 2019. 


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Union Calendar No. 19 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1957 

[Report No. 116–39, Part I] 

A BILL 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to 

Service, and for other purposes. modernize and improve the Internal Revenue 

APRIL 9, 2019 

Reported from the Committee on Ways and Means with 

A

an amendment 

PRIL 9, 2019 

Committee on Financial Services discharged; committed 

the Union and ordered to be printed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of 


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