I 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4463 

To amend the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to regulate tax 

return preparers and refund anticipation payment arrangements, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 10, 2014 

Ms. BONAMICI introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 

in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 

to regulate tax return preparers and refund anticipation 

payment arrangements, and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Tax Refund Protection 

5 Act of 2014’’. 

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1 SEC. 2. REGULATION OF REFUND ANTICIPATION PAYMENT 

2 INSTRUMENTS AND TAX RETURN PRE3 PARERS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle B of the Consumer Fi5 nancial Protection Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5481 et seq.) 

6 is amended by adding at the end the following new section: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 1029B. REGULATION OF REFUND ANTICIPATION PAY8 MENT ARRANGEMENTS AND TAX RETURN 

9 PREPARERS. 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Bureau shall— 

11 ‘‘(1) regulate refund anticipation payment ar12 rangements; 

13 ‘‘(2) establish a program to license or certify 

14 tax return preparers subject to this section; 

15 ‘‘(3) regulate such tax return preparers; and 

16 ‘‘(4) before licensing or certifying a person as 

17 a tax return preparer subject to this section, require 

18 that the person demonstrate— 

19 ‘‘(A) good character; 

20 ‘‘(B) good reputation; 

21 ‘‘(C) necessary qualifications to enable the 

22 person to provide to persons valuable service as 

23 a tax return preparer; and 

24 ‘‘(D) competency to perform the functions 

25 of a tax return preparer. 

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1 ‘‘(b) AUTHORITY TO IMPOSE A FEE.—The Bureau 

2 shall require tax return preparers subject to this section 

3 to pay a reasonable fee for licensing or certification under 

4 this section. 

5 ‘‘(c) DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS.—The Bureau 

6 shall, by rule, require tax return preparers subject to this 

7 section to provide a disclosure statement to a consumer 

8 that shall contain statements— 

9 ‘‘(1) identifying the amount of fees such tax re10 turn preparer charges for preparing a Federal in11 come tax return, filing a Federal income tax return, 

12 or executing a refund anticipation payment arrange13 ment; 

14 ‘‘(2) identifying the average amount of time in 

15 which an individual who files a Federal income tax 

16 return electronically can expect to receive a refund 

17 by mail, according to information provided by the 

18 Internal Revenue Service; 

19 ‘‘(3) describing, in the case of a refund antici20 pation payment arrangement involving a depository 

21 account not controlled by the consumer, the dif22 ference in days between the average amount of time 

23 by which a consumer receives the tax refund (in 

24 whole or in part) from a refund anticipation pay25 ment arrangement and the average amount of time 

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1 by which a consumer who files a Federal income tax 

2 return electronically receives the tax refund depos3 ited directly to that consumer’s deposit account by 

4 the taxing authority; 

5 ‘‘(4) that a refund anticipation payment ar6 rangement is not necessary to receive a tax refund; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(5) that, if a consumer does not receive a tax 

9 refund or the amount of the tax refund is less than 

10 the amount anticipated under the refund anticipa11 tion payment arrangement, the consumer may be re12 sponsible for paying any fees and interest associated 

13 with a refund anticipation payment arrangement. 

14 ‘‘(d) REQUIREMENTS UNDER TILA.—The Bureau 

15 shall issue regulations that, to the extent practicable, re16 quire tax return preparers that enter into a refund antici17 pation payment arrangement to comply with section 128 

18 of the Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1638) to the same 

19 extent as a creditor making a consumer credit transaction 

20 other than under an open end credit plan. 

21 ‘‘(e) DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURES.—After notice and 

22 opportunity for a hearing, the Bureau may take any en23 forcement action against a tax return preparer subject to 

24 this section who— 

25 ‘‘(1) is incompetent; 

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1 ‘‘(2) is disreputable; 

2 ‘‘(3) violates regulations prescribed under this 

3 section; or 

4 ‘‘(4) with intent to defraud, willfully and know5 ingly misleads or threatens a consumer. 

6 ‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the 

7 following definitions shall apply: 

8 ‘‘(1) TAX RETURN PREPARER.—The term ‘tax 

9 return preparer subject to this section’ means a tax 

10 return preparer (as defined in section 7701(a)(36) 

11 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) who is not 

12 subject to regulation under section 330 of title 31, 

13 United States Code. 

14 ‘‘(2) REFUND ANTICIPATION PAYMENT AR15 RANGEMENT.—The term ‘refund anticipation pay16 ment arrangement’ means an arrangement under 

17 which, in exchange for Federal income tax prepara18 tion services, a consumer agrees to pay a fee or in19 terest upon receipt of the consumer’s tax refund to 

20 a tax return preparer, lender, or other affiliated 

21 lender by— 

22 ‘‘(A) requesting the Federal Government 

23 to deposit such tax refund, in whole or in part, 

24 directly into a depository account designated by 

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1 either the consumer or the tax return preparer, 

2 lender, or other affiliated lender; or 

3 ‘‘(B) directly paying the fee or interest to 

4 the tax return preparer, lender, or other affili5 ated lender.’’. 

6 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

7 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer 

8 Protection Act (12 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.) is amended by 

9 inserting after the item related to section 1029A the fol10 lowing new item: 

‘‘Sec. 1029B. Regulation of refund anticipation payment arrangements and tax 

return preparers.’’. 

11 (c) EXCLUSION FOR CERTAIN TAX PREPARERS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1027(d)(1) of such 

13 Act is amended by striking subparagraph (B). 

14 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 

15 1027(d) of such Act is further amended— 

16 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

17 (i) in the heading, by striking ‘‘AND

18 TAX PREPARERS’’; 

19 (ii) by striking subparagraph (B); 

20 (iii) by striking ‘‘authority over’’ and 

21 all that follows through ‘‘any person’’ and 

22 inserting ‘‘authority over any person’’; 

23 (iv) by redesignating clauses (i) and 

24 (ii) as subparagraphs (A) and (B), respecmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 tively, and by moving such subparagraphs 

2 2 ems to the left; 

3 (v) by redesignating subclauses (I) 

4 and (II) as clauses (i) and (ii), respec5 tively, and by moving such clauses 2 ems 

6 to the left; 

7 (vi) in subparagraph (A) (as redesig8 nated), by inserting ‘‘(except as related to 

9 tax return preparers pursuant to section 

10 1029B)’’ after ‘‘tax’’; and 

11 (vii) in clause (ii) (as redesignated), 

12 by striking ‘‘; or’’ and inserting a period; 

13 and 

14 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

15 (i) in subparagraph (A)— 

16 (I) by striking ‘‘paragraph (1)(A) 

17 or (1)(B)’’ and inserting ‘‘such para18 graph’’; and 

19 (II) by striking ‘‘paragraph 

20 (1)(A)’’ each place it appears and in21 serting ‘‘paragraph (1)’’; 

22 (ii) in subparagraph (C)— 

23 (I) by striking ‘‘For purposes of 

24 subparagraphs (A) and (B), a person 

25 described in paragraph (1)(A)’’ and 

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1 inserting ‘‘A person described in para2 graph (1)’’; and 

3 (II) by striking ‘‘clause (i) or (ii) 

4 of paragraph (1)(A)’’ and inserting 

5 ‘‘subparagraph (A) or (B) of para6 graph (1)’’; and 

7 (iii) in subparagraph (D), by striking 

8 ‘‘described in paragraph (1)(A) or (1)(B)’’. 

9 SEC. 3. SPLIT REFUNDS MAY INCLUDE TAX RETURN PRE10 PARER. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 6402 of the Internal Rev12 enue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the 

13 following: 

14 ‘‘(m) SPLIT REFUNDS.—An income tax refund re15 quested on a return of Federal income tax prepared by 

16 an income tax preparer may be split between the preparer 

17 and the taxpayer in accordance with the split requested 

18 by the taxpayer on the return. A split of an individual 

19 income tax return under this subsection shall not be treat20 ed as disreputable conduct merely because the taxpayer 

21 requested such split.’’. 

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

23 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to returns for taxmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 able years ending after the date of the enactment of this 

2 Act. 

Æ 

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