IB 

Union Calendar No. 489 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5445 

[Report No. 115–638] 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to improve cybersecurity 

and taxpayer identity protection, and modernize the information technology of the Internal Revenue Service, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 10, 2018 

Mr. BISHOP of Michigan (for himself and Ms. DELBENE) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means 

APRIL 13, 2018 

Additional sponsors: Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. RENACCI, Mr. CURBELO of Florida, 

Mr. MARCHANT, and Mr. LEWIS of Georgia 

APRIL 13, 2018 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

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

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

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on April 10, 2018] 


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A BILL 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to improve 

cybersecurity and taxpayer identity protection, and modernize the information technology of the Internal Revenue Service, and for other purposes. 


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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; ETC. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘21st 

5 Century IRS Act’’. 

6 (b) AMENDMENT OF 1986 CODE.—Except as otherwise 

7 expressly provided, whenever in this Act an amendment or 

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

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

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

13 Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; etc. 

TITLE I—CYBERSECURITY AND IDENTITY PROTECTION 

Sec. 101. Public-private partnership to address identity theft refund fraud. 

Sec. 102. Recommendations of Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee regarding identity theft refund fraud. 

Sec. 103. Information sharing and analysis center. 

Sec. 104. Compliance by contractors with confidentiality safeguards. 

Sec. 105. Report on electronic payments. 

TITLE II—DEVELOPMENT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 

Sec. 201. Management of Internal Revenue Service information technology. 

Sec. 202. Development of online accounts and portals. 

Sec. 203. Internet platform for Form 1099 filings. 

TITLE III—MODERNIZATION OF CONSENT-BASED INCOME 

VERIFICATION SYSTEM 

Sec. 301. Disclosure of taxpayer information for third-party income verification. 

Sec. 302. Limit redisclosures and uses of consent-based disclosures of tax return 

information. 

TITLE IV—EXPANDED USE OF ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS 

Sec. 401. Electronic filing of returns. 


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Sec. 402. Uniform standards for the use of electronic signatures for disclosure authorizations to, and other authorizations of, practitioners. 

Sec. 403. Payment of taxes by debit and credit cards. 

1 TITLE I—CYBERSECURITY AND 

2 IDENTITY PROTECTION 

3 SEC. 101. PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP TO ADDRESS 

4 IDENTITY THEFT REFUND FRAUD. 

5 The Secretary of the Treasury (or the Secretary’s dele6 gate) shall work collaboratively with the public and private 

7 sectors to protect taxpayers from identity theft refund fraud. 

8 SEC. 102. RECOMMENDATIONS OF ELECTRONIC TAX ADMIN9 ISTRATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE REGARD10 ING IDENTITY THEFT REFUND FRAUD. 

11 The Secretary of the Treasury shall ensure that the ad12 visory group convened by the Secretary pursuant to section 

13 2001(b)(2) of the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring 

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

15 Tax Administration Advisory Committee) studies (includ16 ing by providing organized public forums) and makes rec17 ommendations to the Secretary regarding methods to pre18 vent identity theft and refund fraud. 

19 SEC. 103. INFORMATION SHARING AND ANALYSIS CENTER. 

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

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

22 sharing and analysis center to centralize, standardize, and 

23 enhance data compilation and analysis to facilitate sharing 


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1 actionable data and information with respect to identity 

2 theft tax refund fraud. 

3 (b) DEVELOPMENT OF PERFORMANCE METRICS.—The 

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

5 develop metrics for measuring the success of such center in 

6 detecting and preventing identity theft tax refund fraud. 

7 (c) DISCLOSURE.— 

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

9 by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

10 ‘‘(13) DISCLOSURE OF RETURN INFORMATION

11 FOR PURPOSES OF CYBERSECURITY AND THE PREVEN12 TION OF IDENTITY THEFT TAX REFUND FRAUD.— 

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

14 and subject to such conditions as the Secretary 

15 may prescribe, the Secretary may disclose speci16 fied return information to specified ISAC par17 ticipants to the extent that the Secretary deter18 mines such disclosure is in furtherance of effec19 tive Federal tax administration relating to the 

20 detection or prevention of identity theft tax re21 fund fraud, validation of taxpayer identity, au22 thentication of taxpayer returns, or detection or 

23 prevention of cybersecurity threats. 

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

25 purposes of this paragraph— 


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

2 ISAC participant’ means— 

3 ‘‘(I) any person designated by the 

4 Secretary as having primary responsi5 bility for a function performed with re6 spect to the information sharing and 

7 analysis center described in section 

8 403(a) of the 21st Century IRS Act, 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(II) any person subject to the re11 quirements of section 7216 and which 

12 is a participant in such information 

13 sharing and analysis center. 

14 ‘‘(ii) INFORMATION SHARING AGREE15 MENT.—Such term shall not include any 

16 person unless such person has entered into 

17 a written agreement with the Secretary set18 ting forth the terms and conditions for the 

19 disclosure of information to such person 

20 under this paragraph, including require21 ments regarding the protection and safe22 guarding of such information by such per23 son. 


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1 ‘‘(C) SPECIFIED RETURN INFORMATION.— 

2 For purposes of this paragraph, the term ‘speci3 fied return information’ means— 

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

5 connection with a case of potential identity 

6 theft refund fraud— 

7 ‘‘(I) in the case of such return 

8 filed electronically, the internet pro9 tocol address, device identification, 

10 email domain name, speed of comple11 tion, method of authentication, refund 

12 method, and such other return infor13 mation related to the electronic filing 

14 characteristics of such return as the 

15 Secretary may identify for purposes of 

16 this subclause, and 

17 ‘‘(II) in the case of such return 

18 prepared by a tax return preparer, 

19 identifying information with respect to 

20 such tax return preparer, including the 

21 preparer taxpayer identification num22 ber and electronic filer identification 

23 number of such preparer, 

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

25 in connection with a case of a identity theft 


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1 refund fraud which has been confirmed by 

2 the Secretary (pursuant to such procedures 

3 as the Secretary may provide), the informa4 tion referred to in subclauses (I) and (II) of 

5 clause (i), the name and taxpayer identi6 fication number of the taxpayer as it ap7 pears on the return, and any bank account 

8 and routing information provided for mak9 ing a refund in connection with such re10 turn, and 

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

12 threat to the Internal Revenue Service, in13 formation similar to the information de14 scribed in subclauses (I) and (II) of clause 

15 (i) with respect to such threat. 

16 ‘‘(D) RESTRICTION ON USE OF DISCLOSED

17 INFORMATION.— 

18 ‘‘(i) DESIGNATED THIRD PARTIES.— 

19 Any return information received by a per20 son described in subparagraph (B)(i)(I) 

21 shall be used only for the purposes of and 

22 to the extent necessary in— 

23 ‘‘(I) performing the function such 

24 person is designated to perform under 

25 such subparagraph, 


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1 ‘‘(II) facilitating disclosures au2 thorized under subparagraph (A) to 

3 persons described in subparagraph 

4 (B)(i)(II), and 

5 ‘‘(III) facilitating disclosures au6 thorized under subsection (d) to par7 ticipants in such information sharing 

8 and analysis center. 

9 ‘‘(ii) RETURN PREPARERS.—Any re10 turn information received by a person de11 scribed in subparagraph (B)(i)(II) shall be 

12 treated for purposes of section 7216 as in13 formation furnished to such person for, or 

14 in connection with, the preparation of a re15 turn of the tax imposed under chapter 1. 

16 ‘‘(E) DATA PROTECTION AND SAFE17 GUARDS.—Return information disclosed under 

18 this paragraph shall be subject to such protec19 tions and safeguards as the Secretary may re20 quire in regulations or other guidance or in the 

21 written agreement referred to in subparagraph 

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

23 requirement that any unauthorized access to in24 formation disclosed under this paragraph, and 

25 any breach of any system in which such inforVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:40 Apr 13, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5445.RH H5445

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1 mation is held, be reported to the Treasury In2 spector General for Tax Administration.’’. 

3 (2) APPLICATION OF CIVIL AND CRIMINAL PEN4 ALTIES.— 

5 (A) Section 6103(a)(3) is amended by strik6 ing ‘‘subsection (k)(10)’’ and inserting ‘‘para7 graph (10) or (13) of subsection (k)’’. 

8 (B) Section 7213(a)(2) is amended by in9 serting ‘‘or (13)’’ after ‘‘(k)(10)’’. 

10 SEC. 104. COMPLIANCE BY CONTRACTORS WITH CONFIDEN11 TIALITY SAFEGUARDS. 

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

13 adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

14 ‘‘(9) DISCLOSURE TO CONTRACTORS AND OTHER

15 AGENTS.—Notwithstanding any other provision of 

16 this section, no return or return information shall be 

17 disclosed to any contractor or other agent of a Fed18 eral, State, or local agency unless such agency, to the 

19 satisfaction of the Secretary— 

20 ‘‘(A) has requirements in effect which re21 quire each such contractor or other agent which 

22 would have access to returns or return informa23 tion to provide safeguards (within the meaning 

24 of paragraph (4)) to protect the confidentiality 

25 of such returns or return information, 


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

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

3 of contracts or agreements of less than 3 years in 

4 duration) of each contractor or other agent to de5 termine compliance with such requirements, 

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

7 review conducted under subparagraph (B) to the 

8 Secretary as part of the report required by para9 graph (4)(E), and 

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

11 recent annual period that such contractor or 

12 other agent is in compliance with all such re13 quirements. 

14 The certification required by subparagraph (D) shall 

15 include the name and address of each contractor and 

16 other agent, a description of the contract or agreement 

17 with such contractor or other agent, and the duration 

18 of such contract or agreement. The requirements of 

19 this paragraph shall not apply to disclosures pursu20 ant to subsection (n) for purposes of Federal tax ad21 ministration.’’. 

22 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

23 6103(p)(8)(B) is amended by inserting ‘‘or paragraph (9)’’ 

24 after ‘‘subparagraph (A)’’. 


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

2 section shall apply to disclosures made after December 31, 

3 2022. 

4 SEC. 105. REPORT ON ELECTRONIC PAYMENTS. 

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

6 of this Act, the Secretary (or the Secretary’s delegate), in 

7 coordination with the Bureau of Fiscal Service and the In8 ternal Revenue Service, and in consultation with private 

9 sector financial institutions, shall submit a written report 

10 to Congress describing how the government can utilize new 

11 payment platforms to increase the number of tax refunds 

12 paid by electronic funds transfer. Such report shall weigh 

13 the interests of reducing identity theft tax refund fraud, re14 ducing the Federal Government’s costs in delivering tax re15 funds, the costs and any associated fees charged to tax16 payers (including monthly and point-of-service fees) to ac17 cess their tax refunds, the impact on individuals who do 

18 not have access to financial accounts or institutions, and 

19 ensuring payments are made to accounts at a financial in20 stitution that complies with section 21 of the Federal De21 posit Insurance Act, chapter 2 of title I of Public Law 91- 

22 508, and subchapter II of chapter 53 of title 31, United 

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

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


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1 shall include any legislative recommendations necessary to 

2 accomplish these goals. 

3 TITLE II—DEVELOPMENT OF 

4 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 

5 SEC. 201. MANAGEMENT OF INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE 

6 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY. 

7 (a) DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF INTERNAL

8 REVENUE SERVICE CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER.—Sec9 tion 7803 is amended by adding at the end the following 

10 new subsection: 

11 ‘‘(f) INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE CHIEF INFORMA12 TION OFFICER.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There shall be in the Inter14 nal Revenue Service an Internal Revenue Service 

15 Chief Information Officer (hereafter referred to in this 

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

17 by the Administrator of the Internal Revenue Service. 

18 ‘‘(2) CENTRALIZED RESPONSIBILITY FOR INTER19 NAL REVENUE SERVICE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY.— 

20 The Administrator of the Internal Revenue Service 

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

22 with respect to all development, implementation, and 

23 maintenance of information technology for the Inter24 nal Revenue Service. Any reference in this subsection 

25 to the IRS CIO which directs the IRS CIO to take 


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1 any action, or to assume any responsibility, shall be 

2 treated as a reference to the Administrator of the In3 ternal Revenue Service acting through the IRS CIO. 

4 ‘‘(3) GENERAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBIL5 ITIES.—The IRS CIO shall— 

6 ‘‘(A) be responsible for the development, im7 plementation, and maintenance of information 

8 technology for the Internal Revenue Service, 

9 ‘‘(B) ensure that the information technology 

10 of the Internal Revenue Service is secure and in11 tegrated, 

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

14 Service, 

15 ‘‘(D) be the principal advocate for the infor16 mation technology needs of the Internal Revenue 

17 Service, and 

18 ‘‘(E) consult with the Chief Procurement 

19 Officer of the Internal Revenue Service to ensure 

20 that the information technology acquired for the 

21 Internal Revenue Service is consistent with— 

22 ‘‘(i) the goals and requirements speci23 fied in subparagraphs (A) through (D), and 

24 ‘‘(ii) the strategic plan developed under 

25 paragraph (4). 


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1 ‘‘(4) STRATEGIC PLAN.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The IRS CIO shall de3 velop and implement a multiyear strategic plan 

4 for the information technology needs of the Inter5 nal Revenue Service. Such plan shall— 

6 ‘‘(i) include performance measurements 

7 of such technology and of the implementa8 tion of such plan, 

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

10 enterprise architecture of the information 

11 technology of the Internal Revenue Service, 

12 ‘‘(iii) include and take into account 

13 the resources needed to accomplish such 

14 plan, 

15 ‘‘(iv) take into account planned major 

16 acquisitions of information technology by 

17 the Internal Revenue Service, including 

18 Customer Account Data Engine 2 and the 

19 Enterprise Case Management System, and 

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

21 plan of the Internal Revenue Service. 

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

23 not less frequently than annually, review and 

24 update the strategic plan under subparagraph 

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1 prise architecture described in subparagraph 

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

3 new information technology and the needs of the 

4 Internal Revenue Service. 

5 ‘‘(5) SCOPE OF AUTHORITY.— 

6 ‘‘(A) INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY.—For 

7 purposes of this subsection, the term ‘information 

8 technology’ has the meaning given such term by 

9 section 11101 of title 40, United States Code. 

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

11 reference in this subsection to the Internal Rev12 enue Service includes a reference to all compo13 nents of the Internal Revenue Service, includ14 ing— 

15 ‘‘(i) the Office of the Taxpayer Advo16 cate, 

17 ‘‘(ii) the Criminal Investigation Divi18 sion of the Internal Revenue Service, and 

19 ‘‘(iii) except as otherwise provided by 

20 the Secretary with respect to information 

21 technology related to matters described in 

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

23 Counsel.’’. 


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1 (b) INDEPENDENT VERIFICATION AND VALIDATION OF

2 THE CUSTOMER ACCOUNT DATA ENGINE 2 AND ENTER3 PRISE CASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the In5 ternal Revenue Service shall enter into a contract 

6 with an independent reviewer to verify and validate 

7 the implementation plans (including the performance 

8 milestones and cost estimates included in such plans) 

9 developed for the Customer Account Data Engine 2 

10 and the Enterprise Case Management System. 

11 (2) DEADLINE FOR COMPLETION.—Such contract 

12 shall require that such verification and validation be 

13 completed not later than the date which is 1 year 

14 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 PLANS.— 

21 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enact22 ment of this Act, the Administrator of the Inter23 nal Revenue Service shall complete the develop24 ment of plans for all phases of the Customer Ac25 count 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 PROCURE9 MENT OFFICER OF THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Chief Procurement Offi11 cer of the Internal Revenue Service shall— 

12 (A) identify all significant IRS information 

13 technology acquisitions and provide written noti14 fication to the Internal Revenue Service Chief 

15 Information Officer (hereafter referred to in this 

16 subsection as the ‘‘IRS CIO’’) of each such acqui17 sition in advance of such acquisition, and 

18 (B) regularly consult with the IRS CIO re19 garding acquisitions of information technology 

20 for the Internal Revenue Service, including meet21 ing with the IRS CIO regarding such acquisi22 tions upon request. 

23 (2) SIGNIFICANT IRS INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

24 ACQUISITIONS.—For purposes of this subsection, the 


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1 term ‘‘significant IRS information technology acqui2 sitions’’ means— 

3 (A) any acquisition of information tech4 nology for the Internal Revenue Service in excess 

5 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 Offi10 cer of the Internal Revenue Service, may iden11 tify. 

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

13 are also used in section 7803(f) of the Internal Rev14 enue Code of 1986 (as amended by subsection (a)) 

15 shall have the same meaning as when used in such 

16 section. 

17 SEC. 202. DEVELOPMENT OF ONLINE ACCOUNTS AND POR18 TALS. 

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

20 the Secretary’s delegate (hereafter referred to in this section 

21 as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall— 

22 (1) develop secure individualized online accounts 

23 to provide services to taxpayers and their designated 

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1 mentation, and (to the extent feasible) addressing and 

2 correcting issues, and 

3 (2) develop a process for the acceptance of tax 

4 forms, and supporting documentation, in digital or 

5 other electronic format. 

6 (b) ELECTRONIC SERVICES TREATED AS SUPPLE7 MENTAL; APPLICATION OF SECURITY STANDARDS.—The 

8 Secretary shall ensure that the processes described in sub9 section (a)— 

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

11 for, other services provided by the Internal Revenue 

12 Service to taxpayers, including face-to-face taxpayer 

13 assistance and services provided by phone, and 

14 (2) comply with applicable security standards 

15 and guidelines. 

16 (c) PROCESS FOR DEVELOPING ONLINE ACCOUNTS.— 

17 (1) DEVELOPMENT OF PLAN.—Not later than 1 

18 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

19 Secretary shall submit to Congress a written report 

20 describing the Secretary’s plan for developing the se21 cure individualized online accounts described in sub22 section (a)(1). Such plan shall address the feasibility 

23 of taxpayers addressing and correcting issues through 

24 such accounts and whether access to such accounts 

25 should be restricted and in what manner. 


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1 (2) DEADLINE.—The Secretary shall make every 

2 reasonable effort to make the secure individualized on3 line accounts described in subsection (a)(1) available 

4 to taxpayers by December 31, 2023. 

5 SEC. 203. INTERNET PLATFORM FOR FORM 1099 FILINGS. 

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

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

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

9 shall make available an Internet website or other electronic 

10 media, with a user interface and functionality similar to 

11 the Business Services Online Suite of Services provided by 

12 the Social Security Administration, that will provide access 

13 to resources and guidance provided by the Internal Revenue 

14 Service and will allow persons to— 

15 (1) prepare and file Forms 1099, 

16 (2) prepare Forms 1099 for distribution to re17 cipients other than the Internal Revenue Service, and 

18 (3) maintain a record of completed and sub19 mitted Forms 1099. 

20 (b) ELECTRONIC SERVICES TREATED AS SUPPLE21 MENTAL; APPLICATION OF SECURITY STANDARDS.—The 

22 Secretary shall ensure that the services described in sub23 section (a)— 


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

2 for, other services provided by the Internal Revenue 

3 Service to taxpayers, and 

4 (2) comply with applicable security standards 

5 and guidelines. 

6 TITLE III—MODERNIZATION OF 

7 CONSENT-BASED INCOME 

8 VERIFICATION SYSTEM 

9 SEC. 301. DISCLOSURE OF TAXPAYER INFORMATION FOR 

10 THIRD-PARTY INCOME VERIFICATION. 

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

12 of the 2-year period described in subsection (d)(1), the Sec13 retary of the Treasury or the Secretary’s delegate (hereafter 

14 referred to in this section as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall imple15 ment a program to ensure that any qualified disclosure— 

16 (1) is fully automated and accomplished through 

17 the Internet, and 

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

19 practicable. 

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

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

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

23 of returns or return information by the Secretary to a per24 son seeking to verify the income or creditworthiness of a 


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1 taxpayer who is a borrower in the process of a loan applica2 tion. 

3 (c) APPLICATION OF SECURITY STANDARDS.—The Sec4 retary shall ensure that the program described in subsection 

5 (a) complies with applicable security standards and guide6 lines. 

7 (d) USER FEE.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—During the 2-year period be9 ginning on the first day of the 6th calendar month be10 ginning after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

11 the Secretary shall assess and collect a fee for quali12 fied disclosures (in addition to any other fee assessed 

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

14 Secretary determines are sufficient to cover the costs 

15 related to implementing the program described in 

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

17 infrastructure or technology. 

18 (2) DEPOSIT OF COLLECTIONS.—Amounts re19 ceived from fees assessed and collected under para20 graph (1) shall be deposited in, and credited to, an 

21 account solely for the purpose of carrying out the ac22 tivities described in subsection (a). Such amounts 

23 shall be available to carry out such activities without 

24 need of further appropriation and without fiscal year 

25 limitation. 


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1 SEC. 302. LIMIT REDISCLOSURES AND USES OF CONSENT2 BASED DISCLOSURES OF TAX RETURN INFOR3 MATION. 

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

7 shall not use the information for any purpose other than 

8 the express purpose for which consent was granted and shall 

9 not disclose return information to any other person without 

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

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

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

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

15 section shall apply to disclosures made after the date of the 

16 enactment of this Act. 

17 TITLE IV—EXPANDED USE OF 

18 ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS 

19 SEC. 401. ELECTRONIC FILING OF RETURNS. 

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

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

22 (b) APPLICABLE NUMBER.—Section 6011(e) is amend23 ed by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

24 ‘‘(6) APPLICABLE NUMBER.—For purposes of 

25 paragraph (2)(A), the applicable number shall be de26 termined in accordance with the following table: 


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1 ‘‘(A) in the case of calendar years before 

2 2020, 250, 

3 ‘‘(B) in the case of calendar year 2020, 100, 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(C) in the case of calendar years after 

6 2020, 10.’’. 

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

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

9 following new subparagraph: 

10 ‘‘(D) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN PREPARERS

11 LOCATED IN AREAS WITHOUT INTERNET AC12 CESS.—The Secretary may waive the require13 ment of subparagraph (A) if the Secretary deter14 mines, on the basis of an application by the tax 

15 return preparer, that the preparer cannot meet 

16 such requirement by reason of being located in a 

17 geographic area which does not have access to 

18 internet service (other than dial-up or satellite 

19 service).’’. 

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

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

22 Act. 


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26 

•HR 5445 RH

1 SEC. 402. UNIFORM STANDARDS FOR THE USE OF ELEC2 TRONIC SIGNATURES FOR DISCLOSURE AU3 THORIZATIONS TO, AND OTHER AUTHORIZA4 TIONS OF, PRACTITIONERS. 

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

6 ‘‘(3) PUBLISHED GUIDANCE.— 

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

8 publish guidance as appropriate to define and 

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

11 (1). 

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

15 than 6 months after the date of the enactment of 

16 this subparagraph, the Secretary shall publish 

17 guidance to establish uniform standards and 

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

21 return or return information under section 

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

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

26 any individual in good standing who is reguVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:40 Apr 13, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5445.RH H5445

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27 

•HR 5445 RH

1 lated under section 330 of title 31, United States 

2 Code.’’. 

3 SEC. 403. PAYMENT OF TAXES BY DEBIT AND CREDIT 

4 CARDS. 

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

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

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

8 other consideration is fully recouped by the Secretary in 

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

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

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

13 amount of any fee or other consideration that the Secretary 

14 pays under any such contract.’’. 


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Union Calendar No. 489 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5445 

[Report No. 115–638] 

A BILL 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to 

other purposes. nology of the Internal Revenue Service, and for tection, and modernize the information techimprove cybersecurity and taxpayer identity proAPRIL 13, 2018 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


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