116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1957 

AN ACT 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to modernize 

and improve the Internal Revenue Service, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; ETC. 

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

3 ‘‘Taxpayer First Act of 2019’’. 

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

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

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

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

11 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; etc. 

TITLE I—PUTTING TAXPAYERS FIRST 

Subtitle A—Independent Appeals Process 

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

Appeals. 

Subtitle B—Improved Service 

Sec. 1101. Comprehensive customer service strategy. 

Sec. 1102. IRS Free File Program. 

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

with a submission of an offer-in-compromise. 

Subtitle C—Sensible Enforcement 

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

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

the Internal Revenue Service based on structuring transaction. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

returns and return information. 

Subtitle D—Organizational Modernization 

Sec. 1301. Office of the National Taxpayer Advocate. 

Sec. 1302. Modernization of Internal Revenue Service organizational structure. 
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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. Identity protection personal identification numbers. 

Sec. 2006. Single point of contact for tax-related identity theft victims. 

Sec. 2007. Notification of suspected identity theft. 

Sec. 2008. Guidelines for stolen identity refund fraud cases. 

Sec. 2009. Increased penalty for improper disclosure or use of information by 

preparers of returns. 

Subtitle B—Development of Information Technology 

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

Sec. 2102. Internet platform for Form 1099 filings. 

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

Subtitle C—Modernization of Consent-Based Income Verification System 

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

verification. 

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

Subtitle D—Expanded Use of Electronic Systems 

Sec. 2301. Electronic filing of returns. 

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

authorizations to, and other authorizations of, practitioners. 

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

Sec. 2304. Authentication of users of electronic services accounts. 

Subtitle E—Other Provisions 

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

reports. 

Sec. 2402. Comprehensive training strategy. 

TITLE III—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 

Subtitle A—Reform of Laws Governing Internal Revenue Service Employees 
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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. 

TITLE IV—BUDGETARY EFFECTS 

Sec. 4001. Determination of budgetary effects. 

1 TITLE I—PUTTING TAXPAYERS 

2 FIRST 

3 Subtitle A—Independent Appeals 

4 Process 

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

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

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

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

11 the Internal Revenue Service an office to be known 

12 as the ‘Internal Revenue Service Independent Office 

13 of Appeals’. 

14 ‘‘(2) CHIEF OF APPEALS.— 

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

16 Service Independent Office of Appeals shall be 

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

2 Chief of Appeals shall report directly to the 

3 Commissioner of Internal Revenue and shall be 

4 entitled to compensation at the same rate as 

5 the highest rate of basic pay established for the 

6 Senior Executive Service under section 5382 of 

7 title 5, United States Code. 

8 ‘‘(B) APPOINTMENT.—The Chief of Ap9 peals shall be appointed by the Commissioner of 

10 Internal Revenue without regard to the provi11 sions of title 5, United States Code, relating to 

12 appointments in the competitive service or the 

13 Senior Executive Service. 

14 ‘‘(C) QUALIFICATIONS.—An individual ap15 pointed under subparagraph (B) shall have ex16 perience and expertise in— 

17 ‘‘(i) administration of, and compliance 

18 with, Federal tax laws; 

19 ‘‘(ii) a broad range of compliance 

20 cases; and 

21 ‘‘(iii) management of large service or22 ganizations. 

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

24 shall be the function of the Internal Revenue Service 
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1 Independent Office of Appeals to resolve Federal tax 

2 controversies without litigation on a basis which— 

3 ‘‘(A) is fair and impartial to both the Gov4 ernment and the taxpayer; 

5 ‘‘(B) promotes a consistent application and 

6 interpretation of, and voluntary compliance 

7 with, the Federal tax laws; and 

8 ‘‘(C) enhances public confidence in the in9 tegrity and efficiency of the Internal Revenue 

10 Service. 

11 ‘‘(4) RIGHT OF APPEAL.—The resolution proc12 ess described in paragraph (3) shall be generally 

13 available to all taxpayers. 

14 ‘‘(5) LIMITATION ON DESIGNATION OF CASES

15 AS NOT ELIGIBLE FOR REFERRAL TO INDEPENDENT

16 OFFICE OF APPEALS.— 

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

18 is in receipt of a notice of deficiency authorized 

19 under section 6212 requests referral to the In20 ternal Revenue Service Independent Office of 

21 Appeals and such request is denied, the Com22 missioner of Internal Revenue shall provide 

23 such taxpayer a written notice which— 

24 ‘‘(i) provides a detailed description of 

25 the facts involved, the basis for the deci-
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1 sion to deny the request, and a detailed ex2 planation of how the basis of such decision 

3 applies to such facts; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) describes the procedures pre5 scribed under subparagraph (C) for pro6 testing the decision to deny the request. 

7 ‘‘(B) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Com8 missioner of Internal Revenue shall submit a 

9 written report to Congress on an annual basis 

10 which includes the number of requests described 

11 in subparagraph (A) which were denied and the 

12 reasons (described by category) that such re13 quests were denied. 

14 ‘‘(C) PROCEDURES FOR PROTESTING DE15 NIAL OF REQUEST.—The Commissioner of In16 ternal Revenue shall prescribe procedures for 

17 protesting to the Commissioner of Internal Rev18 enue a denial of a request described in subpara19 graph (A). 

20 ‘‘(D) NOT APPLICABLE TO FRIVOLOUS PO21 SITIONS.—This paragraph shall not apply to a 

22 request for referral to the Internal Revenue 

23 Service Independent Office of Appeals which is 

24 denied on the basis that the issue involved is a 
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1 frivolous position (within the meaning of section 

2 6702(c)). 

3 ‘‘(6) STAFF.— 

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

5 Internal Revenue Service Independent Office of 

6 Appeals shall report to the Chief of Appeals. 

7 ‘‘(B) ACCESS TO STAFF OF OFFICE OF

8 THE CHIEF COUNSEL.—The Chief of Appeals 

9 shall have authority to obtain legal assistance 

10 and advice from the staff of the Office of the 

11 Chief Counsel. The Chief Counsel shall ensure, 

12 to the extent practicable, that such assistance 

13 and advice is provided by staff of the Office of 

14 the Chief Counsel who were not involved in the 

15 case with respect to which such assistance and 

16 advice is sought and who are not involved in 

17 preparing such case for litigation. 

18 ‘‘(7) ACCESS TO CASE FILES.— 

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

20 a conference with the Internal Revenue Service 

21 Independent Office of Appeals has been sched22 uled upon request of a specified taxpayer, the 

23 Chief of Appeals shall ensure that such tax24 payer is provided access to the nonprivileged 

25 portions of the case file on record regarding the 
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1 disputed issues (other than documents provided 

2 by the taxpayer to the Internal Revenue Serv3 ice) not later than 10 days before the date of 

4 such conference. 

5 ‘‘(B) TAXPAYER ELECTION TO EXPEDITE

6 CONFERENCE.—If the taxpayer so elects, sub7 paragraph (A) shall be applied by substituting 

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

9 the date of such conference’. 

10 ‘‘(C) SPECIFIED TAXPAYER.—For pur11 poses of this paragraph— 

12 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘speci13 fied taxpayer’ means— 

14 ‘‘(I) in the case of any taxpayer 

15 who is a natural person, a taxpayer 

16 whose adjusted gross income does not 

17 exceed $400,000 for the taxable year 

18 to which the dispute relates; and 

19 ‘‘(II) in the case of any other 

20 taxpayer, a taxpayer whose gross re21 ceipts do not exceed $5,000,000 for 

22 the taxable year to which the dispute 

23 relates. 
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1 ‘‘(ii) AGGREGATION RULE.—Rules 

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

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

4 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

5 (1) The following provisions are each amended 

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

8 Independent Office of Appeals’’: 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

17 (c)(1) of section 7123. 

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

19 of section 7430. 

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

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

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

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

24 place it appears and inserting ‘‘Internal Revenue 

25 Service Independent Office of Appeals’’. 
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1 (3) The heading of section 6330(d)(3) is 

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

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

6 a reference to the Internal Revenue Service Independent 

7 Office of Appeals. 

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

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

10 Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act 

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

12 amendments made by this section). 

13 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

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

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

18 (2) ACCESS TO CASE FILES.—Section 

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

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

21 occurring after the date which is 1 year after the 

22 date of the enactment of this Act. 
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1 Subtitle B—Improved Service 

2 SEC. 1101. COMPREHENSIVE CUSTOMER SERVICE STRAT3 EGY. 

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

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

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

7 shall submit to Congress a written comprehensive cus8 tomer service strategy for the Internal Revenue Service. 

9 Such strategy shall include— 

10 (1) a plan to provide assistance to taxpayers 

11 that is secure, designed to meet reasonable taxpayer 

12 expectations, and adopts appropriate best practices 

13 of customer service provided in the private sector, 

14 including online services, telephone call back serv15 ices, and training of employees providing customer 

16 services; 

17 (2) a thorough assessment of the services that 

18 the Internal Revenue Service can co-locate with 

19 other Federal services or offer as self-service op20 tions; 

21 (3) proposals to improve Internal Revenue Serv22 ice customer service in the short term (the current 

23 and following fiscal year), medium term (approxi24 mately 3 to 5 fiscal years), and long term (approxi25 mately 10 fiscal years); 
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1 (4) a plan to update guidance and training ma2 terials for customer service employees of the Internal 

3 Revenue Service, including the Internal Revenue 

4 Manual, to reflect such strategy; and 

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

7 Revenue Service in implementing such strategy. 

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

11 Secretary’s delegate) shall make available the updated 

12 guidance and training materials described in subsection 

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

16 as to be easily understood by customer service employees 

17 of the Internal Revenue Service and shall provide clear 

18 instructions. 

19 SEC. 1102. IRS FREE FILE PROGRAM. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

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

23 Free File Program as established by the Internal 

24 Revenue Service and published in the Federal Reg25 ister on November 4, 2002 (67 Fed. Reg. 67247), 
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1 including any subsequent agreements and governing 

2 rules established pursuant thereto. 

3 (2) The IRS Free File Program shall continue 

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

6 the lowest 70 percent of taxpayers by adjusted gross 

7 income. The number of taxpayers eligible to receive 

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

10 aggregate taxpayer adjusted gross income data. 

11 (3) In addition to the services described in 

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

13 Free File Program shall continue to make available 

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

15 online electronic fillable forms utility. 

16 (4) The IRS Free File Program shall continue 

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

19 the electronic filing services described in paragraphs 

20 (2) and (3). 

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

24 needed benefits to the taxpayer while reducing the 

25 cost of processing returns. 
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1 (b) INNOVATIONS.—The Secretary of the Treasury, 

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

3 sector through the IRS Free File Program to identify and 

4 implement, consistent with applicable law, innovative new 

5 program features to improve and simplify the taxpayer’s 

6 experience with completing and filing individual income 

7 tax returns through voluntary compliance. 

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

10 SUBMISSION OF AN OFFER-IN-COMPROMISE. 

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

12 adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

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

15 required in connection with the submission of an 

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

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

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

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

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

25 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
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1 Subtitle C—Sensible Enforcement 

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

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

6 is amended— 

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

8 the following: 

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

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

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

13 STRUCTURING TRANSACTIONS.— 

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

16 seized by the Internal Revenue Service 

17 pursuant to subparagraph (A) by reason of 

18 a claimed violation of section 5324 if the 

19 property to be seized was derived from an 

20 illegal source or the funds were structured 

21 for the purpose of concealing the violation 

22 of a criminal law or regulation other than 

23 section 5324. 

24 ‘‘(ii) NOTICE.—Not later than 30 

25 days after property is seized by the Inter-
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1 nal Revenue Service pursuant to subpara2 graph (A), the Internal Revenue Service 

3 shall— 

4 ‘‘(I) make a good faith effort to 

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

7 ‘‘(II) provide each such person so 

8 found with a notice of the seizure and 

9 of the person’s rights under clause 

10 (iv). 

11 ‘‘(iii) EXTENSION OF NOTICE UNDER

12 CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES.—The Internal 

13 Revenue Service may apply to a court of 

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

16 clause (ii) if the Internal Revenue Service 

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

19 safety necessitating such extension. 

20 ‘‘(iv) POST-SEIZURE HEARING.—If a 

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

23 by the Internal Revenue Service requests a 

24 hearing by a court of competent jurisdic25 tion within 30 days after the date on which 
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1 notice is provided under subclause (ii), 

2 such property shall be returned unless the 

3 court holds an adversarial hearing and 

4 finds within 30 days of such request (or 

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

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

9 5324 involving such property and probable 

10 cause to believe that the property to be 

11 seized was derived from an illegal source or 

12 the funds were structured for the purpose 

13 of concealing the violation of a criminal 

14 law or regulation other than section 

15 5324.’’. 

16 SEC. 1202. EXCLUSION OF INTEREST RECEIVED IN ACTION 

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

19 STRUCTURING TRANSACTION. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part III of subchapter B of chap21 ter 1 is amended by inserting before section 140 the fol22 lowing new section: 
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1 ‘‘SEC. 139H. INTEREST RECEIVED IN ACTION TO RECOVER 

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

4 TRANSACTION. 

5 ‘‘Gross income shall not include any interest received 

6 from the Federal Government in connection with an action 

7 to recover property seized by the Internal Revenue Service 

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

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

10 such title.’’. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

17 date of the enactment of this Act. 

18 SEC. 1203. CLARIFICATION OF EQUITABLE RELIEF FROM 

19 JOINT LIABILITY. 

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

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

22 following new paragraph: 

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

24 review of a determination made under this section 
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1 shall be reviewed de novo by the Tax Court and shall 

2 be based upon— 

3 ‘‘(A) the administrative record established 

4 at the time of the determination; and 

5 ‘‘(B) any additional newly discovered or 

6 previously unavailable evidence.’’; and 

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

9 ‘‘(f) EQUITABLE RELIEF.— 

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

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

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

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

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

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

22 to any portion of any liability that— 

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

24 request is made before the expiration of the ap-
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1 plicable period of limitation under section 6502; 

2 or 

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

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

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

8 this section shall apply to petitions or requests filed or 

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

10 SEC. 1204. MODIFICATION OF PROCEDURES FOR ISSUANCE 

11 OF THIRD-PARTY SUMMONS. 

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

13 adding at the end the following flush sentence: 

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

15 the preceding sentence unless the information sought to 

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

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

19 comply with one or more provisions of the internal revenue 

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

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

23 this section shall apply to summonses served after the date 

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

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

3 (a) CERTAIN TAX RECEIVABLES NOT ELIGIBLE FOR

4 COLLECTION UNDER TAX COLLECTION CONTRACTS.— 

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

6 of subparagraph (C) and by inserting after subparagraph 

7 (D) the following new subparagraphs: 

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

9 income consists of disability insurance benefits 

10 under section 223 of the Social Security Act or 

11 supplemental security income benefits under 

12 title XVI of the Social Security Act (including 

13 supplemental security income benefits of the 

14 type described in section 1616 of such Act or 

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

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

17 adjusted gross income, as determined for the 

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

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

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

by striking ‘‘more than 1 25 ⁄3 of the period of the applicable 
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1 statute of limitation has lapsed’’ and inserting ‘‘more than 

2 2 years has passed since assessment’’. 

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

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

7 (d) CLARIFICATION THAT SPECIAL COMPLIANCE

8 PERSONNEL PROGRAM ACCOUNT MAY BE USED FOR

9 PROGRAM COSTS.— 

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

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

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

14 period; and 

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

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

17 ‘‘for other than program costs.’’. 

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

22 software, technology’’. 

23 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

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

25 of subparagraph (A), by striking the period at the 
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1 end of subparagraph (B) and inserting ‘‘, and’’, and 

2 by inserting after subparagraph (B) the following 

3 new subparagraph: 

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

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

8 (e) EFFECTIVE DATES.— 

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

11 this section shall apply to tax receivables identified 

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

13 December 31, 2020. 

14 (2) MAXIMUM LENGTH OF INSTALLMENT

15 AGREEMENTS.—The amendment made by subsection 

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

17 date of the enactment of this Act. 

18 (3) USE OF SPECIAL COMPLIANCE PERSONNEL

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

21 the special compliance personnel program account 

22 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
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1 SEC. 1206. REFORM OF NOTICE OF CONTACT OF THIRD 

2 PARTIES. 

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

4 read as follows: 

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

8 to the determination or collection of the tax liability 

9 of such taxpayer unless such contact occurs during 

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

11 in a notice which— 

12 ‘‘(A) informs the taxpayer that contacts 

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

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

16 Secretary, is provided to the taxpayer not later 

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

19 Nothing in the preceding sentence shall prevent the 

20 issuance of notices to the same taxpayer with respect 

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

23 shall not be issued under this paragraph unless 

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

25 to contact persons other than the taxpayer during 

26 the period specified in such notice. The preceding 
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1 sentence shall not prevent the issuance of a notice 

2 if the requirement of such sentence is met on the 

3 basis of the assumption that the information sought 

4 to be obtained by such contact will not be obtained 

5 by other means before such contact.’’. 

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

7 this section shall apply to notices provided, and contacts 

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

9 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

19 preceded by a review and written approval 

20 of such issuance by the Commissioner of 

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

23 which— 

24 ‘‘(I) states facts clearly estab25 lishing that the Secretary has made 
27 

•HR 1957 EH

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

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

6 (c) ESTABLISHMENT THAT REASONABLE REQUESTS

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

9 new paragraph: 

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

12 court proceeding described in paragraph (3), the 

13 Secretary shall establish that reasonable requests 

14 were made for the information that is the subject of 

15 the summons.’’. 

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

17 this section shall apply to summonses issued after the date 

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

19 Act. 

20 SEC. 1208. LIMITATION ON ACCESS OF NON-INTERNAL REV21 ENUE SERVICE EMPLOYEES TO RETURNS 

22 AND RETURN INFORMATION. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7602 is amended by add24 ing at the end the following new subsection: 
28 

•HR 1957 EH

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

2 THAN INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE OFFICERS AND EM3 PLOYEES.—The Secretary shall not, under the authority 

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

5 other data obtained pursuant to this section to any person 

6 authorized under section 6103(n), except when such per7 son requires such information for the sole purpose of pro8 viding expert evaluation and assistance to the Internal 

9 Revenue Service. No person other than an officer or em10 ployee of the Internal Revenue Service or the Office of 

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

12 a witness under oath whose testimony was obtained pursu13 ant to this section.’’. 

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

15 this section— 

16 (1) shall take effect on the date of the enact17 ment of this Act; and 

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

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

20 of 1986 merely because such contract was in effect 

21 before the date of the enactment of this Act. 
29 

•HR 1957 EH

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 

9 the case of any Taxpayer Advocate Directive issued 

10 by the National Taxpayer Advocate pursuant to a 

11 delegation of authority from the Commissioner of In12 ternal 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 
30 

•HR 1957 EH

1 Taxpayer Advocate with the reasons for any 

2 modification or rescission made or upheld by 

3 the 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) 

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

9 subclause (VII) the following new subclause: 

10 ‘‘(VIII) identify any Taxpayer 

11 Advocate Directive which was not 

12 honored by the Internal Revenue 

13 Service in a timely manner, as speci14 fied under 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 

19 amended by striking ‘‘at least 20 of the’’ and insert20 ing ‘‘the 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: 
31 

•HR 1957 EH

1 ‘‘(E) COORDINATION WITH TREASURY IN2 SPECTOR GENERAL FOR TAX ADMINISTRA3 TION.—Before beginning any research or study, 

4 the National Taxpayer Advocate shall coordi5 nate with the Treasury Inspector General for 

6 Tax Administration to ensure that the National 

7 Taxpayer Advocate does not duplicate any ac8 tion that the Treasury Inspector General for 

9 Tax Administration has already undertaken or 

10 has a plan to undertake.’’. 

11 (3) STATISTICAL SUPPORT.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 6108 is amend13 ed by adding at the end the following new sub14 section: 

15 ‘‘(d) STATISTICAL SUPPORT FOR NATIONAL TAX16 PAYER ADVOCATE.—Upon request of the National Tax17 payer Advocate, the Secretary shall, to the extent prac18 ticable, provide the National Taxpayer Advocate with sta19 tistical support in connection with the preparation by the 

20 National Taxpayer Advocate of the annual report de21 scribed in section 7803(c)(2)(B)(ii). Such statistical sup22 port shall include statistical studies, compilations, and the 

23 review of information provided by the National Taxpayer 

24 Advocate for statistical validity and sound statistical 

25 methodology.’’. 
32 

•HR 1957 EH

1 (B) DISCLOSURE OF REVIEW.—Section 

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

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

4 subclause (XI), by redesignating subclause 

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

6 after subclause (XI) the following new sub7 clause: 

8 ‘‘(XII) with respect to any statis9 tical information included in such re10 port, include a statement of whether 

11 such statistical information was re12 viewed or provided by the Secretary 

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

14 whether the Secretary determined 

15 such information to be statistically 

16 valid and based on sound statistical 

17 methodology; and’’. 

18 (C) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

19 7803(c)(2)(B)(iii) is amended by adding at the 

20 end the following: ‘‘The preceding sentence 

21 shall not apply with respect to statistical infor22 mation provided to the Secretary for review, or 

23 received from the Secretary, under section 

24 6108(d).’’. 
33 

•HR 1957 EH

1 (c) SALARY OF NATIONAL TAXPAYER ADVOCATE.— 

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

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

4 fixed under section 9503 of such title’’. 

5 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro7 vided in this subsection, the amendments made by 

8 this section shall take effect on the date of the en9 actment of this Act. 

10 (2) SALARY OF NATIONAL TAXPAYER ADVO11 CATE.—The amendment made by subsection (c) 

12 shall apply to compensation paid to individuals ap13 pointed as the National Taxpayer Advocate after 

14 March 31, 2019. 

15 SEC. 1302. MODERNIZATION OF INTERNAL REVENUE SERV16 ICE ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE. 

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

18 2020, the Secretary of the Treasury (or the Secretary’s 

19 delegate) shall submit to Congress a comprehensive writ20 ten plan to redesign the organization of the Internal Rev21 enue Service. Such plan shall— 

22 (1) ensure the successful implementation of the 

23 priorities specified by Congress in this Act; 
34 

•HR 1957 EH

1 (2) prioritize taxpayer services to ensure that 

2 all taxpayers easily and readily receive the assistance 

3 that they need; 

4 (3) streamline the structure of the agency in5 cluding minimizing the duplication of services and 

6 responsibilities within the agency; 

7 (4) best position the Internal Revenue Service 

8 to combat cybersecurity and other threats to the In9 ternal Revenue Service; and 

10 (5) address whether the Criminal Investigation 

11 Division of the Internal Revenue Service should re12 port directly to the Commissioner of Internal Rev13 enue. 

14 (b) REPEAL OF RESTRICTION ON ORGANIZATIONAL

15 STRUCTURE OF INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE.—Para16 graph (3) of section 1001(a) of the Internal Revenue Serv17 ice Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 shall cease to 

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

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

20 Subtitle E—Other Provisions 

21 SEC. 1401. RETURN PREPARATION PROGRAMS FOR APPLI22 CABLE TAXPAYERS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 77 is amended by insert24 ing after section 7526 the following new section: 
35 

•HR 1957 EH

1 ‘‘SEC. 7526A. RETURN PREPARATION PROGRAMS FOR AP2 PLICABLE TAXPAYERS. 

3 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF VOLUNTEER INCOME TAX

4 ASSISTANCE MATCHING GRANT PROGRAM.—The Sec5 retary shall establish a Community Volunteer Income Tax 

6 Assistance Matching Grant Program under which the Sec7 retary may, subject to the availability of appropriated 

8 funds, make grants to provide matching funds for the de9 velopment, expansion, or continuation of qualified return 

10 preparation programs assisting applicable taxpayers and 

11 members of underserved populations. 

12 ‘‘(b) USE OF FUNDS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Qualified return prepara14 tion programs may use grants received under this 

15 section for— 

16 ‘‘(A) ordinary and necessary costs associ17 ated with program operation in accordance with 

18 cost principles under the applicable Office of 

19 Management and Budget circular, including— 

20 ‘‘(i) wages or salaries of persons co21 ordinating the activities of the program; 

22 ‘‘(ii) developing training materials, 

23 conducting training, and performing qual24 ity reviews of the returns prepared under 

25 the program; 

26 ‘‘(iii) equipment purchases; and 
36 

•HR 1957 EH

1 ‘‘(iv) vehicle-related expenses associ2 ated with remote or rural tax preparation 

3 services; 

4 ‘‘(B) outreach and educational activities 

5 described in subsection (c)(2)(B); and 

6 ‘‘(C) services related to financial education 

7 and capability, asset development, and the es8 tablishment of savings accounts in connection 

9 with tax return preparation. 

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

11 qualified return preparation program must provide 

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

13 grants provided under this section. Matching funds 

14 may include— 

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

16 of individuals performing services for the pro17 gram; 

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

19 program; and 

20 ‘‘(C) other ordinary and necessary costs 

21 associated with the program. 

22 Indirect expenses, including general overhead of any 

23 entity administering the program, shall not be 

24 counted as matching funds. 

25 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.— 
37 

•HR 1957 EH

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

2 under this section shall submit an application to the 

3 Secretary at such time, in such manner, and con4 taining such information as the Secretary may rea5 sonably require. 

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

7 section, the Secretary shall give priority to applica8 tions which demonstrate— 

9 ‘‘(A) assistance to applicable taxpayers, 

10 with emphasis on outreach to, and services for, 

11 such taxpayers; 

12 ‘‘(B) taxpayer outreach and educational 

13 activities relating to eligibility and availability 

14 of income supports available through this title, 

15 including the earned income tax credit; and 

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

17 more underserved populations. 

18 ‘‘(3) AMOUNTS TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT.—In de19 termining matching grants under this section, the 

20 Secretary shall only take into account amounts pro21 vided by the qualified return preparation program 

22 for expenses described in subsection (b). 

23 ‘‘(d) PROGRAM ADHERENCE.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab25 lish procedures for, and shall conduct not less fre-
38 

•HR 1957 EH

1 quently than once every 5 calendar years during 

2 which a qualified return preparation program is op3 erating under a grant under this section, periodic 

4 site visits— 

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

6 the purposes of this section; and 

7 ‘‘(B) to determine whether the program 

8 meets such program adherence standards as the 

9 Secretary shall by regulation or other guidance 

10 prescribe. 

11 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR GRANT

12 RECIPIENTS NOT MEETING PROGRAM ADHERENCE

13 STANDARDS.—In the case of any qualified return 

14 preparation program which— 

15 ‘‘(A) is awarded a grant under this secti;n, 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(B) is subsequently determined— 

18 ‘‘(i) not to meet the program adher19 ence standards described in paragraph 

20 (1)(B); or 

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

22 the purposes of this section; 

23 such program shall not be eligible for any additional 

24 grants under this section unless such program pro25 vides sufficient documentation of corrective meas-
39 

•HR 1957 EH

1 ures established to address any such deficiencies de2 termined. 

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

4 ‘‘(1) QUALIFIED RETURN PREPARATION PRO5 GRAM.—The term ‘qualified return preparation pro6 gram’ means any program— 

7 ‘‘(A) which provides assistance to individ8 uals, not less than 90 percent of whom are ap9 plicable taxpayers, in preparing and filing Fed10 eral income tax returns; 

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

12 entity; 

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

14 the preparation of Federal income tax returns 

15 meet the training requirements prescribed by 

16 the Secretary; and 

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

18 which reviews 100 percent of all returns. 

19 ‘‘(2) QUALIFIED ENTITY.— 

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

21 entity’ means any entity which— 

22 ‘‘(i) is an eligible organization; 

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

24 filing and payment requirements; 
40 

•HR 1957 EH

1 ‘‘(iii) is not debarred or suspended 

2 from Federal contracts, grants, or coopera3 tive agreements; and 

4 ‘‘(iv) agrees to provide documentation 

5 to substantiate any matching funds pro6 vided pursuant to the grant program under 

7 this section. 

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

9 ‘eligible organization’ means— 

10 ‘‘(i) an institution of higher education 

11 which is described in section 102 (other 

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

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

14 1002), as in effect on the date of the en15 actment of this section, and which has not 

16 been disqualified from participating in a 

17 program under title IV of such Act; 

18 ‘‘(ii) an organization described in sec19 tion 501(c) and exempt from tax under 

20 section 501(a); 

21 ‘‘(iii) a local government agency, in22 cluding— 

23 ‘‘(I) a county or municipal gov24 ernment agency; and 
41 

•HR 1957 EH

1 ‘‘(II) an Indian tribe, as defined 

2 in section 4(13) of the Native Amer3 ican Housing Assistance and Self-De4 termination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 

5 4103(13)), including any tribally des6 ignated housing entity (as defined in 

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

8 4103(22))), tribal subsidiary, subdivi9 sion, or other wholly owned tribal en10 tity; 

11 ‘‘(iv) a local, State, regional, or na12 tional coalition (with one lead organization 

13 which meets the eligibility requirements of 

14 clause (i), (ii), or (iii) acting as the appli15 cant organization); or 

16 ‘‘(v) in the case of applicable tax17 payers and members of underserved popu18 lations with respect to which no organiza19 tions described in the preceding clauses are 

20 available— 

21 ‘‘(I) a State government agency; 

22 or 

23 ‘‘(II) an office providing Cooper24 ative Extension services (as estab25 lished at the land-grant colleges and 
42 

•HR 1957 EH

1 universities under the Smith-Lever 

2 Act of May 8, 1914). 

3 ‘‘(3) APPLICABLE TAXPAYERS.—The term ‘ap4 plicable taxpayer’ means a taxpayer whose income 

5 for the taxable year does not exceed an amount 

6 equal to the completed phaseout amount under sec7 tion 32(b) for a married couple filing a joint return 

8 with three or more qualifying children, as deter9 mined in a revenue procedure or other published 

10 guidance. 

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

12 ‘underserved population’ includes populations of per13 sons with disabilities, persons with limited English 

14 proficiency, Native Americans, individuals living in 

15 rural areas, members of the Armed Forces and their 

16 spouses, and the elderly. 

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

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

19 of a qualified return preparation program, the Sec20 retary is authorized to award a multi-year grant not 

21 to exceed 3 years. 

22 ‘‘(2) AGGREGATE LIMITATION.—Unless other23 wise provided by specific appropriation, the Sec24 retary shall not allocate more than $30,000,000 per 
43 

•HR 1957 EH

1 fiscal year (exclusive of costs of administering the 

2 program) to grants under this section. 

3 ‘‘(g) PROMOTION OF PROGRAMS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall pro5 mote tax preparation through qualified return prepa6 ration programs through the use of mass commu7 nications and other means. 

8 ‘‘(2) PROVISION OF INFORMATION REGARDING

9 QUALIFIED RETURN PREPARATION PROGRAMS.—The 

10 Secretary may provide taxpayers information regard11 ing qualified return preparation programs receiving 

12 grants under this section. 

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

14 CLINICS.—Qualified return preparation programs re15 ceiving a grant under this section are encouraged, in 

16 appropriate cases, to— 

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

18 and eligibility requirements for receiving, advice 

19 and assistance from qualified low-income tax20 payer clinics receiving funding under section 

21 7526; and 

22 ‘‘(B) provide information regarding the lo23 cation of, and contact information for, such 

24 clinics.’’. 
44 

•HR 1957 EH

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

2 for chapter 77 is amended by inserting after the item re3 lating to section 7526 the following new item: 

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

4 SEC. 1402. PROVISION OF INFORMATION REGARDING LOW5 INCOME TAXPAYER CLINICS. 

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

7 adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

8 ‘‘(6) PROVISION OF INFORMATION REGARDING

9 QUALIFIED LOW-INCOME TAXPAYER CLINICS.—Not10 withstanding any other provision of law, officers and 

11 employees of the Department of the Treasury may— 

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

13 and eligibility requirements for receiving, advice 

14 and assistance from one or more specific quali15 fied low-income taxpayer clinics receiving fund16 ing under this section; and 

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

19 clinics.’’. 

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

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

22 of this Act. 
45 

•HR 1957 EH

1 SEC. 1403. NOTICE FROM IRS REGARDING CLOSURE OF 

2 TAXPAYER ASSISTANCE CENTERS. 

3 Not later than 90 days before the date that a pro4 posed closure of a Taxpayer Assistance Center would take 

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

6 delegate) shall— 

7 (1) make publicly available (including by non8 electronic means) a notice which— 

9 (A) identifies the Taxpayer Assistance 

10 Center proposed for closure and the date of 

11 such proposed closure; and 

12 (B) identifies the relevant alternative 

13 sources of taxpayer assistance which may be 

14 utilized by taxpayers affected by such proposed 

15 closure; and 

16 (2) submit to Congress a written report that in17 cludes— 

18 (A) the information included in the notice 

19 described in paragraph (1); 

20 (B) the reasons for such proposed closure; 

21 and 

22 (C) such other information as the Sec23 retary may determine appropriate. 
46 

•HR 1957 EH

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

2 GOODS RESTRICTED TO ONLY PERISHABLE 

3 GOODS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 6336 is amended by strik5 ing ‘‘or become greatly reduced in price or value by keep6 ing, or that such property cannot be kept without great 

7 expense’’. 

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

9 this section shall apply to property seized after the date 

10 of the enactment of this Act. 

11 SEC. 1405. WHISTLEBLOWER REFORMS. 

12 (a) MODIFICATIONS TO DISCLOSURE RULES FOR

13 WHISTLEBLOWERS.— 

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

15 by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

16 ‘‘(13) DISCLOSURE TO WHISTLEBLOWERS.— 

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

18 disclose, to any individual providing information 

19 relating to any purpose described in paragraph 

20 (1) or (2) of section 7623(a), return informa21 tion related to the investigation of any taxpayer 

22 with respect to whom the individual has pro23 vided such information, but only to the extent 

24 that such disclosure is necessary in obtaining 

25 information, which is not otherwise reasonably 

26 available, with respect to the correct determina-
47 

•HR 1957 EH

1 tion of tax liability for tax, or the amount to be 

2 collected with respect to the enforcement of any 

3 other provision of this title. 

4 ‘‘(B) UPDATES ON WHISTLEBLOWER IN5 VESTIGATIONS.—The Secretary shall disclose to 

6 an individual providing information relating to 

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

8 of section 7623(a) the following: 

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

10 case for which the individual has provided 

11 information has been referred for an audit 

12 or examination, a notice with respect to 

13 such referral. 

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

15 taxpayer with respect to whom the indi16 vidual has provided information has made 

17 a payment of tax with respect to tax liabil18 ity to which such information relates, a no19 tice with respect to such payment. 

20 ‘‘(iii) Subject to such requirements 

21 and conditions as are prescribed by the 

22 Secretary, upon a written request by such 

23 individual— 
48 

•HR 1957 EH

1 ‘‘(I) information on the status 

2 and stage of any investigation or ac3 tion related to such information; and 

4 ‘‘(II) in the case of a determina5 tion of the amount of any award 

6 under section 7623(b), the reasons for 

7 such determination. 

8 Clause (iii) shall not apply to any information 

9 if the Secretary determines that disclosure of 

10 such information would seriously impair Fed11 eral tax administration. Information described 

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

13 a designee of the individual providing such in14 formation in accordance with guidance provided 

15 by the Secretary.’’. 

16 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

17 (A) CONFIDENTIALITY OF INFORMA18 TION.—Section 6103(a)(3) is amended by strik19 ing ‘‘subsection (k)(10)’’ and inserting ‘‘para20 graph (10) or (13) of subsection (k)’’. 

21 (B) PENALTY FOR UNAUTHORIZED DIS22 CLOSURE.—Section 7213(a)(2) is amended by 

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

24 (13)’’. 
49 

•HR 1957 EH

1 (C) COORDINATION WITH AUTHORITY TO

2 DISCLOSE FOR INVESTIGATIVE PURPOSES.— 

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

4 end the following new sentence: ‘‘This para5 graph shall not apply to any disclosure to an in6 dividual providing information relating to any 

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

8 section 7623(a) which is made under paragraph 

9 (13)(A).’’. 

10 (b) PROTECTION AGAINST RETALIATION.—Section 

11 7623 is amended by adding at the end the following new 

12 subsection: 

13 ‘‘(d) CIVIL ACTION TO PROTECT AGAINST RETALIA14 TION CASES.— 

15 ‘‘(1) ANTI-RETALIATION WHISTLEBLOWER PRO16 TECTION FOR EMPLOYEES.—No employer, or any of17 ficer, employee, contractor, subcontractor, or agent 

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

19 threaten, harass, or in any other manner discrimi20 nate against an employee in the terms and condi21 tions of employment (including through an act in the 

22 ordinary course of such employee’s duties) in re23 prisal for any lawful act done by the employee— 

24 ‘‘(A) to provide information, cause infor25 mation to be provided, or otherwise assist in an 
50 

•HR 1957 EH

1 investigation regarding underpayment of tax or 

2 any conduct which the employee reasonably be3 lieves constitutes a violation of the internal rev4 enue laws or any provision of Federal law relat5 ing to tax fraud, when the information or as6 sistance is provided to the Internal Revenue 

7 Service, the Secretary of Treasury, the Treas8 ury Inspector General for Tax Administration, 

9 the Comptroller General of the United States, 

10 the Department of Justice, the United States 

11 Congress, a person with supervisory authority 

12 over the employee, or any other person working 

13 for the employer who has the authority to inves14 tigate, discover, or terminate misconduct; or 

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

16 assist in any administrative or judicial action 

17 taken by the Internal Revenue Service relating 

18 to an alleged underpayment of tax or any viola19 tion of the internal revenue laws or any provi20 sion of Federal law relating to tax fraud. 

21 ‘‘(2) ENFORCEMENT ACTION.— 

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

23 discharge or other reprisal by any person in vio24 lation of paragraph (1) may seek relief under 

25 paragraph (3) by— 
51 

•HR 1957 EH

1 ‘‘(i) filing a complaint with the Sec2 retary of Labor; or 

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

4 issued a final decision within 180 days of 

5 the filing of the complaint and there is no 

6 showing that such delay is due to the bad 

7 faith of the claimant, bringing an action at 

8 law or equity for de novo review in the ap9 propriate district court of the United 

10 States, which shall have jurisdiction over 

11 such an action without regard to the 

12 amount in controversy. 

13 ‘‘(B) PROCEDURE.— 

14 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—An action under 

15 subparagraph (A)(i) shall be governed 

16 under the rules and procedures set forth in 

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

18 Code. 

19 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—Notification made 

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

21 United States Code, shall be made to the 

22 person named in the complaint and to the 

23 employer. 

24 ‘‘(iii) BURDENS OF PROOF.—An ac25 tion brought under subparagraph (A)(ii) 
52 

•HR 1957 EH

1 shall be governed by the legal burdens of 

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

3 49, United States Code, except that in ap4 plying such section— 

5 ‘‘(I) ‘behavior described in para6 graph (1)’ shall be substituted for ‘be7 havior described in paragraphs (1) 

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

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

10 thereof; and 

11 ‘‘(II) ‘a violation of paragraph 

12 (1)’ shall be substituted for ‘a viola13 tion of subsection (a)’ each place it 

14 appears. 

15 ‘‘(iv) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.—A 

16 complaint under subparagraph (A)(i) shall 

17 be filed not later than 180 days after the 

18 date on which the violation occurs. 

19 ‘‘(v) JURY TRIAL.—A party to an ac20 tion brought under subparagraph (A)(ii) 

21 shall be entitled to trial by jury. 

22 ‘‘(3) REMEDIES.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An employee pre24 vailing in any action under paragraph (2)(A) 
53 

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1 shall be entitled to all relief necessary to make 

2 the employee whole. 

3 ‘‘(B) COMPENSATORY DAMAGES.—Relief 

4 for any action under subparagraph (A) shall in5 clude— 

6 ‘‘(i) reinstatement with the same se7 niority status that the employee would 

8 have had, but for the reprisal; 

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

10 amount of back pay and 100 percent of all 

11 lost benefits, with interest; and 

12 ‘‘(iii) compensation for any special 

13 damages sustained as a result of the re14 prisal, including litigation costs, expert wit15 ness fees, and reasonable attorney fees. 

16 ‘‘(4) RIGHTS RETAINED BY EMPLOYEE.—Noth17 ing in this section shall be deemed to diminish the 

18 rights, privileges, or remedies of any employee under 

19 any Federal or State law, or under any collective 

20 bargaining agreement. 

21 ‘‘(5) NONENFORCEABILITY OF CERTAIN PROVI22 SIONS WAIVING RIGHTS AND REMEDIES OR REQUIR23 ING ARBITRATION OF DISPUTES.— 

24 ‘‘(A) WAIVER OF RIGHTS AND REM25 EDIES.—The rights and remedies provided for 
54 

•HR 1957 EH

1 in this subsection may not be waived by any 

2 agreement, policy form, or condition of employ3 ment, including by a predispute arbitration 

4 agreement. 

5 ‘‘(B) PREDISPUTE ARBITRATION AGREE6 MENTS.—No predispute arbitration agreement 

7 shall be valid or enforceable, if the agreement 

8 requires arbitration of a dispute arising under 

9 this subsection.’’. 

10 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

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

12 subsection (a) shall apply to disclosures made after 

13 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

14 (2) CIVIL PROTECTION.—The amendment made 

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

16 enactment of this Act. 

17 SEC. 1406. CUSTOMER SERVICE INFORMATION. 

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

19 delegate) shall provide helpful information to taxpayers 

20 placed on hold during a telephone call to any Internal Rev21 enue Service help line, including the following: 

22 (1) Information about common tax scams. 

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

24 scams. 
55 

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1 (3) Additional advice on how taxpayers can pro2 tect themselves from identity theft and tax scams. 

3 SEC. 1407. MISDIRECTED TAX REFUND DEPOSITS. 

4 Section 6402 is amended by adding at the end the 

5 following new subsection: 

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

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

8 the enactment of the Taxpayer First Act of 2019, the Sec9 retary shall prescribe regulations to establish procedures 

10 to allow for— 

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

12 refund made by the Secretary by electronic funds 

13 transfer was not transferred to the account of the 

14 taxpayer; 

15 ‘‘(2) coordination with financial institutions for 

16 the purpose of— 

17 ‘‘(A) identifying the accounts to which 

18 transfers described in paragraph (1) were 

19 made; and 

20 ‘‘(B) recovery of the amounts so trans21 ferred; and 

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

23 account of the taxpayer.’’. 
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1 TITLE II—21ST CENTURY IRS 

2 Subtitle A—Cybersecurity and 

3 Identity Protection 

4 SEC. 2001. PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP TO ADDRESS 

5 IDENTITY THEFT REFUND FRAUD. 

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

7 delegate) shall work collaboratively with the public and 

8 private sectors to protect taxpayers from identity theft re9 fund fraud. 

10 SEC. 2002. RECOMMENDATIONS OF ELECTRONIC TAX AD11 MINISTRATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE RE12 GARDING IDENTITY THEFT REFUND FRAUD. 

13 The Secretary of the Treasury shall ensure that the 

14 advisory group convened by the Secretary pursuant to sec15 tion 2001(b)(2) of the Internal Revenue Service Restruc16 turing and Reform Act of 1998 (commonly known as the 

17 Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee) stud18 ies (including by providing organized public forums) and 

19 makes recommendations to the Secretary regarding meth20 ods to prevent identity theft and refund fraud. 

21 SEC. 2003. INFORMATION SHARING AND ANALYSIS CENTER. 

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

23 the Secretary’s delegate) may participate in an informa24 tion sharing and analysis center to centralize, standardize, 

25 and enhance data compilation and analysis to facilitate 
57 

•HR 1957 EH

1 sharing actionable data and information with respect to 

2 identity theft tax refund fraud. 

3 (b) DEVELOPMENT OF PERFORMANCE METRICS.— 

4 The Secretary of the Treasury (or the Secretary’s dele5 gate) shall develop metrics for measuring the success of 

6 such center in detecting and preventing identity theft tax 

7 refund fraud. 

8 (c) DISCLOSURE.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 6103(k), as amend10 ed by this Act, is amended by adding at the end the 

11 following new paragraph: 

12 ‘‘(14) DISCLOSURE OF RETURN INFORMATION

13 FOR PURPOSES OF CYBERSECURITY AND THE PRE14 VENTION OF IDENTITY THEFT TAX REFUND

15 FRAUD.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Under such proce17 dures and subject to such conditions as the Sec18 retary may prescribe, the Secretary may dis19 close specified return information to specified 

20 ISAC participants to the extent that the Sec21 retary determines such disclosure is in further22 ance of effective Federal tax administration re23 lating to the detection or prevention of identity 

24 theft tax refund fraud, validation of taxpayer 
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•HR 1957 EH

1 identity, authentication of taxpayer returns, or 

2 detection or prevention of cybersecurity threats. 

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

4 purposes of this paragraph— 

5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘speci6 fied ISAC participant’ means— 

7 ‘‘(I) any person designated by 

8 the Secretary as having primary re9 sponsibility for a function performed 

10 with respect to the information shar11 ing and analysis center described in 

12 section 2003(a) of the Taxpayer First 

13 Act of 2019; and 

14 ‘‘(II) any person subject to the 

15 requirements of section 7216 and 

16 which is a participant in such infor17 mation sharing and analysis center. 

18 ‘‘(ii) INFORMATION SHARING AGREE19 MENT.—Such term shall not include any 

20 person unless such person has entered into 

21 a written agreement with the Secretary 

22 setting forth the terms and conditions for 

23 the disclosure of information to such per24 son under this paragraph, including re25 quirements regarding the protection and 
59 

•HR 1957 EH

1 safeguarding of such information by such 

2 person. 

3 ‘‘(C) SPECIFIED RETURN INFORMATION.— 

4 For purposes of this paragraph, the term ‘spec5 ified return information’ means— 

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

7 in connection with a case of potential iden8 tity theft refund fraud— 

9 ‘‘(I) in the case of such return 

10 filed electronically, the internet pro11 tocol address, device identification, 

12 email domain name, speed of comple13 tion, method of authentication, refund 

14 method, and such other return infor15 mation related to the electronic filing 

16 characteristics of such return as the 

17 Secretary may identify for purposes of 

18 this subclause; and 

19 ‘‘(II) in the case of such return 

20 prepared by a tax return preparer, 

21 identifying information with respect to 

22 such tax return preparer, including 

23 the preparer taxpayer identification 

24 number and electronic filer identifica25 tion number of such preparer; 
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1 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a return which is 

2 in connection with a case of a identity 

3 theft refund fraud which has been con4 firmed by the Secretary (pursuant to such 

5 procedures as the Secretary may provide), 

6 the information referred to in subclauses 

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

8 taxpayer identification number of the tax9 payer as it appears on the return, and any 

10 bank account and routing information pro11 vided for making a refund in connection 

12 with such return; and 

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

14 threat to the Internal Revenue Service, in15 formation similar to the information de16 scribed in subclauses (I) and (II) of clause 

17 (i) with respect to such threat. 

18 ‘‘(D) RESTRICTION ON USE OF DISCLOSED

19 INFORMATION.— 

20 ‘‘(i) DESIGNATED THIRD PARTIES.— 

21 Any return information received by a per22 son described in subparagraph (B)(i)(I) 

23 shall be used only for the purposes of and 

24 to the extent necessary in— 
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1 ‘‘(I) performing the function such 

2 person is designated to perform under 

3 such subparagraph; 

4 ‘‘(II) facilitating disclosures au5 thorized under subparagraph (A) to 

6 persons described in subparagraph 

7 (B)(i)(II); and 

8 ‘‘(III) facilitating disclosures au9 thorized under subsection (d) to par10 ticipants in such information sharing 

11 and analysis center. 

12 ‘‘(ii) RETURN PREPARERS.—Any re13 turn information received by a person de14 scribed in subparagraph (B)(i)(II) shall be 

15 treated for purposes of section 7216 as in16 formation furnished to such person for, or 

17 in connection with, the preparation of a re18 turn of the tax imposed under chapter 1. 

19 ‘‘(E) DATA PROTECTION AND SAFE20 GUARDS.—Return information disclosed under 

21 this paragraph shall be subject to such protec22 tions and safeguards as the Secretary may re23 quire in regulations or other guidance or in the 

24 written agreement referred to in subparagraph 

25 (B)(ii). Such written agreement shall include a 
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1 requirement that any unauthorized access to in2 formation disclosed under this paragraph, and 

3 any breach of any system in which such infor4 mation is held, be reported to the Treasury In5 spector General for Tax Administration.’’. 

6 (2) APPLICATION OF CIVIL AND CRIMINAL PEN7 ALTIES.— 

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

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

10 inserting ‘‘, (13), or (14)’’. 

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

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

13 inserting ‘‘, (13), or (14)’’. 

14 SEC. 2004. COMPLIANCE BY CONTRACTORS WITH CON15 FIDENTIALITY SAFEGUARDS. 

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

17 adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

18 ‘‘(9) DISCLOSURE TO CONTRACTORS AND

19 OTHER AGENTS.—Notwithstanding any other provi20 sion of this section, no return or return information 

21 shall be disclosed to any contractor or other agent 

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

23 agency, to the satisfaction of the Secretary— 

24 ‘‘(A) has requirements in effect which re25 quire each such contractor or other agent which 
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1 would have access to returns or return informa2 tion to provide safeguards (within the meaning 

3 of paragraph (4)) to protect the confidentiality 

4 of such returns or return information; 

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

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

7 of contracts or agreements of less than 3 years 

8 in duration) of each contractor or other agent 

9 to determine compliance with such require10 ments; 

11 ‘‘(C) submits the findings of the most re12 cent review conducted under subparagraph (B) 

13 to the Secretary as part of the report required 

14 by paragraph (4)(E); and 

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

16 recent annual period that such contractor or 

17 other agent is in compliance with all such re18 quirements. 

19 The certification required by subparagraph (D) shall 

20 include the name and address of each contractor or 

21 other agent, a description of the contract or agree22 ment with such contractor or other agent, and the 

23 duration of such contract or agreement. The require24 ments of this paragraph shall not apply to disclo-
64 

•HR 1957 EH

1 sures pursuant to subsection (n) for purposes of 

2 Federal tax administration.’’. 

3 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

4 6103(p)(8)(B) is amended by inserting ‘‘or paragraph 

5 (9)’’ after ‘‘subparagraph (A)’’. 

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

7 this section shall apply to disclosures made after Decem8 ber 31, 2022. 

9 SEC. 2005. IDENTITY PROTECTION PERSONAL IDENTIFICA10 TION NUMBERS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), the Sec12 retary of the Treasury or the Secretary’s delegate (here13 after referred to in this section as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall 

14 establish a program to issue, upon the request of any indi15 vidual, a number which may be used in connection with 

16 such individual’s social security number (or other identi17 fying information with respect to such individual as deter18 mined by the Secretary) to assist the Secretary in 

19 verifying such individual’s identity. 

20 (b) REQUIREMENTS.— 

21 (1) ANNUAL EXPANSION.—For each calendar 

22 year beginning after the date of the enactment of 

23 this Act, the Secretary shall provide numbers 

24 through the program described in subsection (a) to 

25 individuals residing in such States as the Secretary 
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•HR 1957 EH

1 deems appropriate, provided that the total number 

2 of States served by such program during such year 

3 is greater than the total number of States served by 

4 such program during the preceding year. 

5 (2) NATIONWIDE AVAILABILITY.—Not later 

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

7 Act, the Secretary shall ensure that the program de8 scribed in subsection (a) is made available to any in9 dividual residing in the United States. 

10 SEC. 2006. SINGLE POINT OF CONTACT FOR TAX-RELATED 

11 IDENTITY THEFT VICTIMS. 

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

13 the Secretary’s delegate) shall establish and implement 

14 procedures to ensure that any taxpayer whose return has 

15 been delayed or otherwise adversely affected due to tax16 related identity theft has a single point of contact at the 

17 Internal Revenue Service throughout the processing of the 

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

19 taxpayer’s case to completion and coordinate with other 

20 Internal Revenue Service employees to resolve case issues 

21 as quickly as possible. 

22 (b) SINGLE POINT OF CONTACT.— 

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

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

25 team or subset of specially trained employees who— 
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1 (A) have the ability to work across func2 tions to resolve the issues involved in the tax3 payer’s case; and 

4 (B) shall be accountable for handling the 

5 case until its resolution. 

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

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

8 may change as required to meet the needs of the In9 ternal Revenue Service, provided that procedures 

10 have been established to— 

11 (A) ensure continuity of records and case 

12 history; and 

13 (B) notify the taxpayer when appropriate. 

14 SEC. 2007. NOTIFICATION OF SUSPECTED IDENTITY THEFT. 

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

16 at the end the following new section: 

17 ‘‘SEC. 7529. NOTIFICATION OF SUSPECTED IDENTITY 

18 THEFT. 

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

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

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

22 jeopardizing an investigation relating to tax administra23 tion— 

24 ‘‘(1) as soon as practicable— 
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1 ‘‘(A) notify the individual of such deter2 mination; 

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

4 report with law enforcement regarding the un5 authorized use; 

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

7 individual to permit law enforcement to access 

8 personal information of the individual during 

9 the investigation; 

10 ‘‘(D) provide information regarding actions 

11 the individual may take in order to protect the 

12 individual from harm relating to the unauthor13 ized use; and 

14 ‘‘(E) offer identity protection measures to 

15 the individual, such as the use of an identity 

16 protection personal identification number; and 

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

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

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

20 additional notifications to such individual (or such 

21 individual’s designee) regarding— 

22 ‘‘(A) whether an investigation has been ini23 tiated in regards to such unauthorized use; 
68 

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1 ‘‘(B) whether the investigation substan2 tiated an unauthorized use of the identity of the 

3 individual; and 

4 ‘‘(C) whether— 

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

6 a person relating to such unauthorized use; 

7 or 

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

9 criminal prosecution of such person and, to 

10 the extent such information is available, 

11 whether such person has been criminally 

12 charged by indictment or information. 

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

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this sec15 tion, the unauthorized use of the identity of an indi16 vidual includes the unauthorized use of the identity 

17 of the individual to obtain employment. 

18 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT-RE19 LATED IDENTITY THEFT.—For purposes of this sec20 tion, in making a determination as to whether there 

21 has been or may have been an unauthorized use of 

22 the identity of an individual to obtain employment, 

23 the Secretary shall review any information— 

24 ‘‘(A) obtained from a statement described 

25 in section 6051 or an information return relat-
69 

•HR 1957 EH

1 ing to compensation for services rendered other 

2 than as an employee; or 

3 ‘‘(B) provided to the Internal Revenue 

4 Service by the Social Security Administration 

5 regarding any statement described in section 

6 6051; 

7 which indicates that the social security account num8 ber provided on such statement or information re9 turn does not correspond with the name provided on 

10 such statement or information return or the name 

11 on the tax return reporting the income which is in12 cluded on such statement or information return.’’. 

13 (b) ADDITIONAL MEASURES.— 

14 (1) EXAMINATION OF BOTH PAPER AND ELEC15 TRONIC STATEMENTS AND RETURNS.—The Sec16 retary of the Treasury (or the Secretary’s delegate) 

17 shall examine the statements, information returns, 

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

19 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (as added by 

20 subsection (a)) for any evidence of employment-re21 lated identity theft, regardless of whether such state22 ments or returns are submitted electronically or on 

23 paper. 

24 (2) IMPROVEMENT OF EFFECTIVE RETURN

25 PROCESSING PROGRAM WITH SOCIAL SECURITY AD-
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1 MINISTRATION.—Section 232 of the Social Security 

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

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

4 carrying out the return processing program de5 scribed in the preceding sentence, the Commissioner 

6 of Social Security shall request, not less than annu7 ally, such information described in section 

8 7529(b)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 as 

9 may be necessary to ensure the accuracy of the 

10 records maintained by the Commissioner of Social 

11 Security related to the amounts of wages paid to, 

12 and the amounts of self-employment income derived 

13 by, individuals.’’. 

14 (3) UNDERREPORTING OF INCOME.—The Sec15 retary of the Treasury (or the Secretary’s delegate) 

16 shall establish procedures to ensure that income re17 ported in connection with the unauthorized use of a 

18 taxpayer’s identity is not taken into account in de19 termining any penalty for underreporting of income 

20 by the victim of identity theft. 

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

22 for chapter 77 is amended by adding at the end the fol23 lowing new item: 

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

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

25 this section shall apply to determinations made after the 
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1 date that is 6 months after the date of the enactment of 

2 this Act. 

3 SEC. 2008. GUIDELINES FOR STOLEN IDENTITY REFUND 

4 FRAUD CASES. 

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

6 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the 

7 Treasury (or the Secretary’s delegate), in consultation 

8 with the National Taxpayer Advocate, shall develop and 

9 implement publicly available guidelines for management of 

10 cases involving stolen identity refund fraud in a manner 

11 that reduces the administrative burden on taxpayers who 

12 are victims of such fraud. 

13 (b) STANDARDS AND PROCEDURES TO BE CONSID14 ERED.—The guidelines described in subsection (a) may in15 clude— 

16 (1) standards for— 

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

18 case involving stolen identity refund fraud 

19 should be resolved; 

20 (B) the maximum length of time, on aver21 age, a taxpayer who is a victim of stolen iden22 tity refund fraud and is entitled to a tax refund 

23 which has been stolen should have to wait to re24 ceive such refund; and 
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1 (C) the maximum number of offices and 

2 employees within the Internal Revenue Service 

3 with whom a taxpayer who is a victim of stolen 

4 identity refund fraud should be required to 

5 interact in order to resolve a case; 

6 (2) standards for opening, assigning, reas7 signing, or closing a case involving stolen identity re8 fund fraud; and 

9 (3) procedures for implementing and accom10 plishing the standards described in paragraphs (1) 

11 and (2), and measures for evaluating such proce12 dures and determining whether such standards have 

13 been successfully implemented. 

14 SEC. 2009. INCREASED PENALTY FOR IMPROPER DISCLO15 SURE OR USE OF INFORMATION BY PRE16 PARERS OF RETURNS. 

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

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

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

20 (2) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol21 lowing new subsection: 

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

23 DISCLOSURE RELATING TO IDENTITY THEFT.— 

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

25 or use described in subsection (a) that is made in 
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1 connection with a crime relating to the misappro2 priation of another person’s taxpayer identity (as de3 fined in section 6103(b)(6)), whether or not such 

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

5 applied— 

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

7 and 

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

9 ‘$10,000’. 

10 ‘‘(2) SEPARATE APPLICATION OF TOTAL PEN11 ALTY LIMITATION.—The limitation on the total 

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

13 applied separately with respect to disclosures or uses 

14 to which this subsection applies and to which it does 

15 not apply.’’. 

16 (b) CRIMINAL PENALTY.—Section 7216(a) is amend17 ed by striking ‘‘$1,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$1,000 ($100,000 

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

19 applies)’’. 

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

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

22 the 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 

8 adding 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 

14 this subsection as the ‘IRS CIO’) who shall be ap15 pointed by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue. 

16 ‘‘(2) CENTRALIZED RESPONSIBILITY FOR IN17 TERNAL REVENUE SERVICE INFORMATION TECH18 NOLOGY.—The Commissioner of Internal Revenue 

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

20 with respect to all development, implementation, and 

21 maintenance of information technology for the Inter22 nal Revenue Service. Any reference in this sub23 section to the IRS CIO which directs the IRS CIO 

24 to take any action, or to assume any responsibility, 
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1 shall be treated as a reference to the Commissioner 

2 of Internal Revenue acting through the IRS CIO. 

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

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

6 implementation, and maintenance of informa7 tion technology for the Internal Revenue Serv8 ice; 

9 ‘‘(B) ensure that the information tech10 nology of the Internal Revenue Service is secure 

11 and integrated; 

12 ‘‘(C) maintain operational control of all in13 formation technology for the Internal Revenue 

14 Service; 

15 ‘‘(D) be the principal advocate for the in16 formation technology needs of the Internal Rev17 enue Service; and 

18 ‘‘(E) consult with the Chief Procurement 

19 Officer of the Internal Revenue Service to en20 sure that the information technology acquired 

21 for the Internal Revenue Service is consistent 

22 with— 

23 ‘‘(i) the goals and requirements speci24 fied in subparagraphs (A) through (D); 

25 and 
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1 ‘‘(ii) the strategic plan developed 

2 under paragraph (4). 

3 ‘‘(4) STRATEGIC PLAN.— 

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

5 develop and implement a multiyear strategic 

6 plan for the information technology needs of the 

7 Internal Revenue Service. Such plan shall— 

8 ‘‘(i) include performance measure9 ments of such technology and of the imple10 mentation of such plan; 

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

12 enterprise architecture of the information 

13 technology of the Internal Revenue Service; 

14 ‘‘(iii) include and take into account 

15 the resources needed to accomplish such 

16 plan; 

17 ‘‘(iv) take into account planned major 

18 acquisitions of information technology by 

19 the Internal Revenue Service; and 

20 ‘‘(v) align with the needs and stra21 tegic plan of the Internal Revenue Service. 

22 ‘‘(B) PLAN UPDATES.—The IRS CIO 

23 shall, not less frequently than annually, review 

24 and update the strategic plan under subpara25 graph (A) (including the plan for an integrated 
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1 enterprise architecture described in subpara2 graph (A)(ii)) to take into account the develop3 ment of new information technology and the 

4 needs of the Internal Revenue Service. 

5 ‘‘(5) SCOPE OF AUTHORITY.— 

6 ‘‘(A) INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY.—For 

7 purposes of this subsection, the term ‘informa8 tion technology’ has the meaning given such 

9 term by section 11101 of title 40, United States 

10 Code. 

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

12 reference in this subsection to the Internal Rev13 enue Service includes a reference to all compo14 nents of the Internal Revenue Service, includ15 ing— 

16 ‘‘(i) the Office of the Taxpayer Advo17 cate; 

18 ‘‘(ii) the Criminal Investigation Divi19 sion of the Internal Revenue Service; and 

20 ‘‘(iii) except as otherwise provided by 

21 the Secretary with respect to information 

22 technology related to matters described in 

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

24 Chief Counsel.’’. 
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1 (b) INDEPENDENT VERIFICATION AND VALIDATION

2 OF THE CUSTOMER ACCOUNT DATA ENGINE 2 AND EN3 TERPRISE CASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commissioner of Inter5 nal Revenue shall enter into a contract with an inde6 pendent reviewer to verify and validate the imple7 mentation plans (including the performance mile8 stones and cost estimates included in such plans) de9 veloped for the Customer Account Data Engine 2 

10 and the Enterprise Case Management System. 

11 (2) DEADLINE FOR COMPLETION.—Such con12 tract shall require that such verification and valida13 tion be completed not later than the date which is 

14 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

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

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

17 shall not apply to phase 1 of the Customer Ac18 count Data Engine 2 and shall apply separately 

19 to each other phase. 

20 (B) DEADLINE FOR COMPLETING

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

22 the enactment of this Act, the Commissioner of 

23 Internal Revenue shall complete the develop24 ment of plans for all phases of the Customer 

25 Account Data Engine 2. 
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1 (C) DEADLINE FOR COMPLETION OF

2 VERIFICATION AND VALIDATION OF PLANS.—In 

3 the case of any phase after phase 2 of the Cus4 tomer Account Data Engine 2, paragraph (2) 

5 shall be applied by substituting ‘‘the date on 

6 which the plan for such phase was completed’’ 

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

8 (c) COORDINATION OF IRS CIO AND CHIEF PRO9 CUREMENT OFFICER OF THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERV10 ICE.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Chief Procurement Offi12 cer of the Internal Revenue Service shall— 

13 (A) identify all significant IRS information 

14 technology acquisitions and provide written no15 tification to the Internal Revenue Service Chief 

16 Information Officer (hereafter referred to in 

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

18 acquisition in advance of such acquisition; and 

19 (B) regularly consult with the IRS CIO re20 garding acquisitions of information technology 

21 for the Internal Revenue Service, including 

22 meeting with the IRS CIO regarding such ac23 quisitions upon request. 

24 (2) SIGNIFICANT IRS INFORMATION TECH25 NOLOGY ACQUISITIONS.—For purposes of this sub-
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1 section, the term ‘‘significant IRS information tech2 nology acquisitions’’ means— 

3 (A) any acquisition of information tech4 nology for the Internal Revenue Service in ex5 cess of $1,000,000; and 

6 (B) such other acquisitions of information 

7 technology for the Internal Revenue Service (or 

8 categories of such acquisitions) as the IRS CIO, 

9 in consultation with the Chief Procurement Of10 ficer of the Internal Revenue Service, may iden11 tify. 

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

13 which are also used in section 7803(f) of the Inter14 nal Revenue Code of 1986 (as added by subsection 

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

16 such section. 

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

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

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

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

21 shall make available an Internet website or other elec22 tronic media, with a user interface and functionality simi23 lar to the Business Services Online Suite of Services pro24 vided by the Social Security Administration, that provides 
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1 access to resources and guidance provided by the Internal 

2 Revenue Service and allows persons to— 

3 (1) prepare and file Forms 1099; 

4 (2) prepare Forms 1099 for distribution to re5 cipients other than the Internal Revenue Service; 

6 and 

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

8 distributed Forms 1099. 

9 (b) ELECTRONIC SERVICES TREATED AS SUPPLE10 MENTAL; APPLICATION OF SECURITY STANDARDS.—The 

11 Secretary shall ensure that the services described in sub12 section (a)— 

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

14 for, other services provided by the Internal Revenue 

15 Service to taxpayers; and 

16 (2) comply with applicable security standards 

17 and guidelines. 

18 SEC. 2103. STREAMLINED CRITICAL PAY AUTHORITY FOR 

19 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY POSITIONS. 

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

21 amended by adding at the end the following new section: 
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1 ‘‘SEC. 7812. STREAMLINED CRITICAL PAY AUTHORITY FOR 

2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY POSITIONS. 

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

4 functionality of the information technology operations of 

5 the Internal Revenue Service— 

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

7 Code, shall be applied— 

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

10 7812 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 

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

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

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

14 of subsection (a)(1); and 

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

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

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

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

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

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

24 ‘‘(3) section 9505 of such title shall be ap25 plied— 
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1 ‘‘(A) by substituting ‘During the period be2 ginning on the date of the enactment of section 

3 7812 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 

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

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

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

8 subsection (a).’’. 

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

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

11 the end the following new item: 

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

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

14 System 

15 SEC. 2201. DISCLOSURE OF TAXPAYER INFORMATION FOR 

16 THIRD-PARTY INCOME VERIFICATION. 

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

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

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

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

21 shall implement a program to ensure that any qualified 

22 disclosure— 

23 (1) is fully automated and accomplished 

24 through the Internet; and 
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1 (2) is accomplished in as close to real-time as 

2 is practicable. 

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

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

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

6 1986 of returns or return information by the Secretary 

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

9 a loan application. 

10 (c) APPLICATION OF SECURITY STANDARDS.—The 

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

13 guidelines. 

14 (d) USER FEE.— 

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

17 beginning after the date of the enactment of this 

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

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

21 rates as the Secretary determines are sufficient to 

22 cover the costs related to implementing the program 

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

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

4 account solely for the purpose of carrying out the 

5 activities described in subsection (a). Such amounts 

6 shall be available to carry out such activities without 

7 need of further appropriation and without fiscal year 

8 limitation. 

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

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

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

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

16 than the express purpose for which consent was granted 

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

19 taxpayer.’’. 

20 (b) APPLICATION OF PENALTIES.—Section 

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

22 ‘‘return information under’’. 

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

24 this section shall apply to disclosures made after the date 
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1 which is 180 days after the date of the enactment of this 

2 Act. 

3 Subtitle D—Expanded Use of 

4 Electronic Systems 

5 SEC. 2301. ELECTRONIC FILING OF RETURNS. 

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

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

8 of’’. 

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

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

12 ‘‘(5) APPLICABLE NUMBER.— 

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

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

17 before 2021, 250; 

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

19 2021, 100; and 

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

21 after 2021, 10. 

22 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULE FOR PARTNERSHIPS

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

24 a partnership, for any calendar year before 

25 2022, the applicable number shall be— 
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1 ‘‘(i) in the case of calendar year 2018, 

2 200; 

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

4 2019, 150; 

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

6 2020, 100; and 

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

8 2021, 50. 

9 ‘‘(6) PARTNERSHIPS REQUIRED TO FILE ON

10 MAGNETIC MEDIA.—Notwithstanding paragraph 

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

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

16 end the following new subparagraph: 

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

21 determines, on the basis of an application by 

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

24 located in a geographic area which does not 
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1 have access to internet service (other than dial2 up or satellite service).’’. 

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

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

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

9 of information returns’’. 

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

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

12 of this Act. 

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

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

18 ‘‘(3) PUBLISHED GUIDANCE.— 

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

20 publish guidance as appropriate to define and 

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

23 (1). 

24 ‘‘(B) ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES FOR DIS25 CLOSURE AUTHORIZATIONS TO, AND OTHER AU-
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1 THORIZATIONS OF, PRACTITIONERS.—Not later 

2 than 6 months after the date of the enactment 

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

5 and procedures for the acceptance of taxpayers’ 

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

10 attorney granted by a taxpayer to a practi11 tioner. 

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

13 subparagraph (B), the term ‘practitioner’ 

14 means any individual in good standing who is 

15 regulated under section 330 of title 31, United 

16 States Code.’’. 

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

18 CARDS. 

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

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

21 the extent that the Secretary ensures that any such fee 

22 or other consideration is fully recouped by the Secretary 

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

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

25 charge cards pursuant to such contract. Notwithstanding 
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1 the preceding sentence, the Secretary shall seek to mini2 mize the amount of any fee or other consideration that 

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

4 SEC. 2304. AUTHENTICATION OF USERS OF ELECTRONIC 

5 SERVICES ACCOUNTS. 

6 Beginning 180 days after the date of the enactment 

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

9 opening an e-Services account with the Internal Revenue 

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

11 tools. 

12 Subtitle E—Other Provisions 

13 SEC. 2401. REPEAL OF PROVISION REGARDING CERTAIN 

14 TAX COMPLIANCE PROCEDURES AND RE15 PORTS. 

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

18 note) is repealed. 

19 SEC. 2402. COMPREHENSIVE TRAINING STRATEGY. 

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

21 of this Act, the Commissioner of Internal Revenue shall 

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

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

5 (2) a plan to develop annual training regarding 

6 taxpayer rights, including the role of the Office of 

7 the Taxpayer Advocate, for employees that interface 

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

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

11 (4) proposals to— 

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

13 and efficient resolution of taxpayer disputes for 

14 employees that interface with taxpayers and the 

15 direct managers of such employees; and 

16 (B) ensure consistency of skill development 

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

19 (5) a thorough assessment of the funding nec20 essary to implement such strategy. 
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1 TITLE III—MISCELLANEOUS 

2 PROVISIONS 

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

6 SEC. 3001. PROHIBITION ON REHIRING ANY EMPLOYEE OF 

7 THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE WHO WAS 

8 INVOLUNTARILY SEPARATED FROM SERVICE 

9 FOR MISCONDUCT. 

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

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

14 any individual previously employed by the Commissioner 

15 who was removed for misconduct under this subchapter 

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

17 or whose employment was terminated under section 1203 

18 of the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform 

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

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

21 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to the hiring of em22 ployees after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
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1 SEC. 3002. NOTIFICATION OF UNAUTHORIZED INSPECTION 

2 OR DISCLOSURE OF RETURNS AND RETURN 

3 INFORMATION. 

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

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

7 the Internal Revenue Service or a Federal or State agency 

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

9 agency) proposes an administrative determination as to 

10 disciplinary or adverse action against an employee arising 

11 from the employee’s unauthorized inspection or disclosure 

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

13 described in this subsection shall include the date of the 

14 unauthorized inspection or disclosure and the rights of the 

15 taxpayer under such administrative determination.’’. 

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

17 this section shall apply to determinations proposed after 

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

19 of this Act. 

20 Subtitle B—Provisions Relating to 

21 Exempt Organizations 

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

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 6033 is amended by re25 designating subsection (n) as subsection (o) and by insert26 ing after subsection (m) the following new subsection: 
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1 ‘‘(n) MANDATORY ELECTRONIC FILING.—Any orga2 nization required to file a return under this section shall 

3 file such return in electronic form.’’. 

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

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

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

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

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

10 return required to be filed electronically under section 

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

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

14 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

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

17 shall apply to taxable years beginning after the date 

18 of the enactment of this Act. 

19 (2) TRANSITIONAL RELIEF.— 

20 (A) SMALL ORGANIZATIONS.— 

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

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

25 referred to in this paragraph as the ‘‘Sec-
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1 retary’’) determines the application of the 

2 amendments made by this section would 

3 cause undue burden without a delay, the 

4 Secretary may delay the application of 

5 such amendments, but such delay shall not 

6 apply to any taxable year beginning on or 

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

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

12 (I) the gross receipts of which for 

13 the taxable year are less than 

14 $200,000; and 

15 (II) the aggregate gross assets of 

16 which at the end of the taxable year 

17 are less than $500,000. 

18 (B) ORGANIZATIONS FILING FORM 990– 

19 T.—In the case of any organization described 

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

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

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

25 6033 of such Code and include information 
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1 under subsection (e) thereof, the Secretary may 

2 delay the application of the amendments made 

3 by this section, but such delay shall not apply 

4 to any taxable year beginning on or after the 

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

6 SEC. 3102. NOTICE REQUIRED BEFORE REVOCATION OF 

7 TAX-EXEMPT STATUS FOR FAILURE TO FILE 

8 RETURN. 

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

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

11 ‘‘(A) NOTICE.—If an organization de12 scribed in subsection (a)(1) or (i) fails to file 

13 the annual return or notice required under ei14 ther subsection for 2 consecutive years, the Sec15 retary shall notify the organization— 

16 ‘‘(i) that the Internal Revenue Service 

17 has no record of such a return or notice 

18 from such organization for 2 consecutive 

19 years, and 

20 ‘‘(ii) about the revocation that will 

21 occur under subparagraph (B) if the orga22 nization fails to file such a return or notice 

23 by the due date for the next such return 

24 or notice required to be filed. 
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1 The notification under the preceding sentence 

2 shall include information about how to comply 

3 with the filing requirements under subsections 

4 (a)(1) and (i). 

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

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

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

8 for 2 consecutive years if the return or notice for the sec9 ond year is required to be filed after December 31, 2019. 

10 Subtitle C—Revenue Provision 

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

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

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

14 inserting ‘‘$330’’. 

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

16 amended— 

17 (1) by striking ‘‘2014’’ and inserting ‘‘2020’’; 

18 (2) by striking ‘‘$205’’ and inserting ‘‘$330’’; 

19 and 

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

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

22 this section shall apply to returns required to be filed after 

23 December 31, 2019. 
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1 TITLE IV—BUDGETARY EFFECTS 

2 SEC. 4001. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS. 

3 The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 

4 complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, 

5 shall be determined by reference to the latest statement 

6 titled ‘‘Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation’’ for this 

7 Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record 

8 by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, pro9 vided that such statement has been submitted prior to the 

10 vote on passage. 

Passed the House of Representatives April 9, 2019. 

Attest: 

Clerk. 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1957 

AN ACT 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to 

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