I 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5445 

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 

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. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; ETC. 

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

5 ‘‘21st Century IRS Act’’. 

6 (b) AMENDMENT OF 1986 CODE.—Except as other7 wise expressly provided, whenever in this Act an amend8 ment or repeal is expressed in terms of an amendment 


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

2 shall be considered to be made to a section or other provi3 sion of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

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

5 this 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. 

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. 

6 TITLE I—CYBERSECURITY AND 

7 IDENTITY PROTECTION 

8 SEC. 101. PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP TO ADDRESS 

9 IDENTITY THEFT REFUND FRAUD. 

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

11 delegate) shall work collaboratively with the public and 


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1 private sectors to protect taxpayers from identity theft re2 fund fraud. 

3 SEC. 102. RECOMMENDATIONS OF ELECTRONIC TAX AD4 MINISTRATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE RE5 GARDING IDENTITY THEFT REFUND FRAUD. 

6 The Secretary of the Treasury shall ensure that the 

7 advisory group convened by the Secretary pursuant to sec8 tion 2001(b)(2) of the Internal Revenue Service Restruc9 turing and Reform Act of 1998 (commonly known as the 

10 Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee) stud11 ies (including by providing organized public forums) and 

12 makes recommendations to the Secretary regarding meth13 ods to prevent identity theft and refund fraud. 

14 SEC. 103. INFORMATION SHARING AND ANALYSIS CENTER. 

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

16 the Secretary’s delegate) may participate in an informa17 tion sharing and analysis center to centralize, standardize, 

18 and enhance data compilation and analysis to facilitate 

19 sharing actionable data and information with respect to 

20 identity theft tax refund fraud. 

21 (b) DEVELOPMENT OF PERFORMANCE METRICS.— 

22 The Secretary of the Treasury (or the Secretary’s dele23 gate) shall develop metrics for measuring the success of 

24 such center in detecting and preventing identity theft tax 

25 refund fraud. 


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1 (c) DISCLOSURE.— 

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

3 by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

4 ‘‘(13) DISCLOSURE OF RETURN INFORMATION

5 FOR PURPOSES OF CYBERSECURITY AND THE PRE6 VENTION OF IDENTITY THEFT TAX REFUND

7 FRAUD.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Under such proce9 dures and subject to such conditions as the Sec10 retary may prescribe, the Secretary may dis11 close specified return information to specified 

12 ISAC participants to the extent that the Sec13 retary determines such disclosure is in further14 ance of effective Federal tax administration re15 lating to the detection or prevention of identity 

16 theft tax refund fraud, validation of taxpayer 

17 identity, authentication of taxpayer returns, or 

18 detection or prevention of cybersecurity threats. 

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

20 purposes of this paragraph— 

21 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘speci22 fied ISAC participant’ means— 

23 ‘‘(I) any person designated by 

24 the Secretary as having primary re25 sponsibility for a function performed 


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1 with respect to the information shar2 ing and analysis center described in 

3 section 403(a) of the 21st Century 

4 IRS Act, and 

5 ‘‘(II) any person subject to the 

6 requirements of section 7216 and 

7 which is a participant in such infor8 mation sharing and analysis center. 

9 ‘‘(ii) INFORMATION SHARING AGREE10 MENT.—Such term shall not include any 

11 person unless such person has entered into 

12 a written agreement with the Secretary 

13 setting forth the terms and conditions for 

14 the disclosure of information to such per15 son under this paragraph, including re16 quirements regarding the protection and 

17 safeguarding of such information by such 

18 person. 

19 ‘‘(C) SPECIFIED RETURN INFORMATION.— 

20 For purposes of this paragraph, the term ‘spec21 ified return information’ means— 

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

23 in connection with a case of potential iden24 tity theft refund fraud— 


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1 ‘‘(I) in the case of such return 

2 filed electronically, the internet pro3 tocol address, device identification, 

4 email domain name, speed of comple5 tion, method of authentication, refund 

6 method, and such other return infor7 mation related to the electronic filing 

8 characteristics of such return as the 

9 Secretary may identify for purposes of 

10 this subclause, and 

11 ‘‘(II) in the case of such return 

12 prepared by a tax return preparer, 

13 identifying information with respect to 

14 such tax return preparer, including 

15 the preparer taxpayer identification 

16 number and electronic filer identifica17 tion number of such preparer, 

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

19 in connection with a case of a identity 

20 theft refund fraud which has been con21 firmed by the Secretary (pursuant to such 

22 procedures as the Secretary may provide), 

23 the information referred to in subclauses 

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

25 taxpayer identification number of the taxVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:10 Apr 11, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5445.IH H5445

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1 payer as it appears on the return, and any 

2 bank account and routing information pro3 vided for making a refund in connection 

4 with such return, and 

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

6 threat to the Internal Revenue Service, in7 formation similar to the information de8 scribed in subclauses (I) and (II) of clause 

9 (i) with respect to such threat. 

10 ‘‘(D) RESTRICTION ON USE OF DISCLOSED

11 INFORMATION.— 

12 ‘‘(i) DESIGNATED THIRD PARTIES.— 

13 Any return information received by a per14 son described in subparagraph (B)(i)(I) 

15 shall be used only for the purposes of and 

16 to the extent necessary in— 

17 ‘‘(I) performing the function such 

18 person is designated to perform under 

19 such subparagraph, 

20 ‘‘(II) facilitating disclosures au21 thorized under subparagraph (A) to 

22 persons described in subparagraph 

23 (B)(i)(II), and 

24 ‘‘(III) facilitating disclosures au25 thorized under subsection (d) to parVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:10 Apr 11, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5445.IH H5445

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1 ticipants in such information sharing 

2 and analysis center. 

3 ‘‘(ii) RETURN PREPARERS.—Any re4 turn information received by a person de5 scribed in subparagraph (B)(i)(II) shall be 

6 treated for purposes of section 7216 as in7 formation furnished to such person for, or 

8 in connection with, the preparation of a re9 turn of the tax imposed under chapter 1. 

10 ‘‘(E) DATA PROTECTION AND SAFE11 GUARDS.—Return information disclosed under 

12 this paragraph shall be subject to such protec13 tions and safeguards as the Secretary may re14 quire in regulations or other guidance or in the 

15 written agreement referred to in subparagraph 

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

17 requirement that any unauthorized access to in18 formation disclosed under this paragraph, and 

19 any breach of any system in which such infor20 mation is held, be reported to the Treasury In21 spector General for Tax Administration.’’. 

22 (2) APPLICATION OF CIVIL AND CRIMINAL PEN23 ALTIES.— 


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1 (A) Section 6103(a)(3) is amended by 

2 striking ‘‘subsection (k)(10)’’ and inserting 

3 ‘‘paragraph (10) or (13) of subsection (k)’’. 

4 (B) Section 7213(a)(2) is amended by in5 serting ‘‘or (13)’’ after ‘‘(k)(10)’’. 

6 SEC. 104. COMPLIANCE BY CONTRACTORS WITH CONFIDEN7 TIALITY SAFEGUARDS. 

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

9 adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

10 ‘‘(9) DISCLOSURE TO CONTRACTORS AND

11 OTHER AGENTS.—Notwithstanding any other provi12 sion of this section, no return or return information 

13 shall be disclosed to any contractor or other agent 

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

15 agency, to the satisfaction of the Secretary— 

16 ‘‘(A) has requirements in effect which re17 quire each such contractor or other agent which 

18 would have access to returns or return informa19 tion to provide safeguards (within the meaning 

20 of paragraph (4)) to protect the confidentiality 

21 of such returns or return information, 

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

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

24 of contracts or agreements of less than 3 years 

25 in duration) of each contractor or other agent 


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1 to determine compliance with such require2 ments, 

3 ‘‘(C) submits the findings of the most re4 cent review conducted under subparagraph (B) 

5 to the Secretary as part of the report required 

6 by paragraph (4)(E), and 

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

8 recent annual period that such contractor or 

9 other agent is in compliance with all such re10 quirements. 

11 The certification required by subparagraph (D) shall 

12 include the name and address of each contractor and 

13 other agent, a description of the contract or agree14 ment with such contractor or other agent, and the 

15 duration of such contract or agreement. The require16 ments of this paragraph shall not apply to disclo17 sures pursuant to subsection (n) for purposes of 

18 Federal tax administration.’’. 

19 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

20 6103(p)(8)(B) is amended by inserting ‘‘or paragraph 

21 (9)’’ after ‘‘subparagraph (A)’’. 

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

23 this subsection shall apply to disclosures made after De24 cember 31, 2022. 


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1 SEC. 105. REPORT ON ELECTRONIC PAYMENTS. 

2 Not later than 2 years after the date of the enact3 ment of this Act, the Secretary (or the Secretary’s dele4 gate), in coordination with the Bureau of Fiscal Service 

5 and the Internal Revenue Service, and in consultation with 

6 private sector financial institutions, shall submit a written 

7 report to Congress describing how the government can uti8 lize new payment platforms to increase the number of tax 

9 refunds paid by electronic funds transfer. Such report 

10 shall weigh the interests of reducing identity theft tax re11 fund fraud, reducing the Federal Government’s costs in 

12 delivering tax refunds, the costs and any associated fees 

13 charged to taxpayers (including monthly and point-of-serv14 ice fees) to access their tax refunds, the impact on individ15 uals who do not have access to financial accounts or insti16 tutions, and ensuring payments are made to accounts at 

17 a financial institution that complies with section 21 of the 

18 Federal Deposit Insurance Act, chapter 2 of title I of Pub19 lic Law 91–508, and subchapter II of chapter 53 of title 

20 31, United States Code (commonly referred to collectively 

21 as the ‘‘Bank Secrecy Act’’) and the USA PATRIOT Act. 

22 Such report shall include any legislative recommendations 

23 necessary to accomplish these goals. 


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1 TITLE II—DEVELOPMENT OF 

2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 

3 SEC. 201. MANAGEMENT OF INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE 

4 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY. 

5 (a) DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF INTERNAL

6 REVENUE SERVICE CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER.—Sec7 tion 7803 is amended by adding at the end the following 

8 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 Administrator of the Internal Rev16 enue Service. 

17 ‘‘(2) CENTRALIZED RESPONSIBILITY FOR IN18 TERNAL REVENUE SERVICE INFORMATION TECH19 NOLOGY.—The Administrator of the Internal Rev20 enue Service (and the Secretary) shall act through 

21 the IRS CIO with respect to all development, imple22 mentation, and maintenance of information tech23 nology for the Internal Revenue Service. Any ref24 erence in this subsection to the IRS CIO which di25 rects the IRS CIO to take any action, or to assume 


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1 any responsibility, shall be treated as a reference to 

2 the Administrator of the Internal Revenue Service 

3 acting through the IRS CIO. 

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

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

7 implementation, and maintenance of informa8 tion technology for the Internal Revenue Serv9 ice, 

10 ‘‘(B) ensure that the information tech11 nology of the Internal Revenue Service is secure 

12 and integrated, 

13 ‘‘(C) maintain operational control of all in14 formation technology for the Internal Revenue 

15 Service, 

16 ‘‘(D) be the principal advocate for the in17 formation technology needs of the Internal Rev18 enue Service, and 

19 ‘‘(E) consult with the Chief Procurement 

20 Officer of the Internal Revenue Service to en21 sure that the information technology acquired 

22 for the Internal Revenue Service is consistent 

23 with— 


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

3 and 

4 ‘‘(ii) the strategic plan developed 

5 under paragraph (4). 

6 ‘‘(4) STRATEGIC PLAN.— 

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

8 develop and implement a multiyear strategic 

9 plan for the information technology needs of the 

10 Internal Revenue Service. Such plan shall— 

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

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

15 enterprise architecture of the information 

16 technology of the Internal Revenue Service, 

17 ‘‘(iii) include and take into account 

18 the resources needed to accomplish such 

19 plan, 

20 ‘‘(iv) take into account planned major 

21 acquisitions of information technology by 

22 the Internal Revenue Service, including 

23 Customer Account Data Engine 2 and the 

24 Enterprise Case Management System, and 


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1 ‘‘(v) align with the needs and stra2 tegic plan of the Internal Revenue Service. 

3 ‘‘(B) PLAN UPDATES.—The IRS CIO 

4 shall, not less frequently than annually, review 

5 and update the strategic plan under subpara6 graph (A) (including the plan for an integrated 

7 enterprise architecture described in subpara8 graph (A)(ii)) to take into account the develop9 ment of new information technology and the 

10 needs of the Internal Revenue Service. 

11 ‘‘(5) SCOPE OF AUTHORITY.— 

12 ‘‘(A) INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY.—For 

13 purposes of this subsection, the term ‘informa14 tion technology’ has the meaning given such 

15 term by section 11101 of title 40, United States 

16 Code. 

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

18 reference in this subsection to the Internal Rev19 enue Service includes a reference to all compo20 nents of the Internal Revenue Service, includ21 ing— 

22 ‘‘(i) the Office of the Taxpayer Advo23 cate, 

24 ‘‘(ii) the Criminal Investigation Divi25 sion of the Internal Revenue Service, and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) except as otherwise provided by 

2 the Secretary with respect to information 

3 technology related to matters described in 

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

5 Chief Counsel.’’. 

6 (b) INDEPENDENT VERIFICATION AND VALIDATION

7 OF THE CUSTOMER ACCOUNT DATA ENGINE 2 AND EN8 TERPRISE CASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the In10 ternal Revenue Service shall enter into a contract 

11 with an independent reviewer to verify and validate 

12 the implementation plans (including the performance 

13 milestones and cost estimates included in such 

14 plans) developed for the Customer Account Data 

15 Engine 2 and the Enterprise Case Management Sys16 tem. 

17 (2) DEADLINE FOR COMPLETION.—Such con18 tract shall require that such verification and valida19 tion be completed not later than the date which is 

20 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

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

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

23 shall not apply to phase 1 of the Customer Ac24 count Data Engine 2 and shall apply separately 

25 to each other phase. 


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1 (B) DEADLINE FOR COMPLETING

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

3 the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of 

4 the Internal Revenue Service shall complete the 

5 development of plans for all phases of the Cus6 tomer Account Data Engine 2. 

7 (C) DEADLINE FOR COMPLETION OF

8 VERIFICATION AND VALIDATION OF PLANS.—In 

9 the case of any phase after phase 2 of the Cus10 tomer Account Data Engine 2, paragraph (2) 

11 shall be applied by substituting ‘‘the date on 

12 which the plan for such phase was completed’’ 

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

14 (c) COORDINATION OF IRS CIO AND CHIEF PRO15 CUREMENT OFFICER OF THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERV16 ICE.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Chief Procurement Offi18 cer of the Internal Revenue Service shall— 

19 (A) identify all significant IRS information 

20 technology acquisitions and provide written no21 tification to the Internal Revenue Service Chief 

22 Information Officer (hereafter referred to in 

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

24 acquisition in advance of such acquisition, and 


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1 (B) regularly consult with the IRS CIO re2 garding acquisitions of information technology 

3 for the Internal Revenue Service, including 

4 meeting with the IRS CIO regarding such ac5 quisitions upon request. 

6 (2) SIGNIFICANT IRS INFORMATION TECH7 NOLOGY ACQUISITIONS.—For purposes of this sub8 section, the term ‘‘significant IRS information tech9 nology acquisitions’’ means— 

10 (A) any acquisition of information tech11 nology for the Internal Revenue Service in ex12 cess of $1,000,000, and 

13 (B) such other acquisitions of information 

14 technology for the Internal Revenue Service (or 

15 categories of such acquisitions) as the IRS CIO, 

16 in consultation with the Chief Procurement Of17 ficer of the Internal Revenue Service, may iden18 tify. 

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

20 which are also used in section 7803(f) of the Inter21 nal Revenue Code of 1986 (as amended by sub22 section (a)) shall have the same meaning as when 

23 used in such section. 


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1 SEC. 202. DEVELOPMENT OF ONLINE ACCOUNTS AND POR2 TALS. 

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

4 the Secretary’s delegate (hereafter referred to in this sec5 tion as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall— 

6 (1) develop secure individualized online ac7 counts to provide services to taxpayers and their 

8 designated return preparers, including obtaining tax9 payer information, making payment of taxes, shar10 ing documentation, and (to the extent feasible) ad11 dressing and correcting issues, and 

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

13 forms, and supporting documentation, in digital or 

14 other electronic format. 

15 (b) ELECTRONIC SERVICES TREATED AS SUPPLE16 MENTAL; APPLICATION OF SECURITY STANDARDS.—The 

17 Secretary shall ensure that the processes described in sub18 section (a)— 

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

20 for, other services provided by the Internal Revenue 

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

22 assistance and services provided by phone, and 

23 (2) comply with applicable security standards 

24 and guidelines. 

25 (c) PROCESS FOR DEVELOPING ONLINE AC26 COUNTS.— 


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

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

3 Secretary shall submit to Congress a written report 

4 describing the Secretary’s plan for developing the se5 cure individualized online accounts described in sub6 section (a)(1). Such plan shall address the feasibility 

7 of taxpayers addressing and correcting issues 

8 through such accounts and whether access to such 

9 accounts should be restricted and in what manner. 

10 (2) DEADLINE.—The Secretary shall make 

11 every reasonable effort to make the secure individ12 ualized online accounts described in subsection 

13 (a)(1) available to taxpayers by December 31, 2023. 

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

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

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

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

18 shall make available an Internet website or other elec19 tronic media, with a user interface and functionality simi20 lar to the Business Services Online Suite of Services pro21 vided by the Social Security Administration, that will pro22 vide access to resources and guidance provided by the In23 ternal Revenue Service and will allow persons to— 

24 (1) prepare and file Forms 1099, 


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

3 and 

4 (3) maintain a record of completed and sub5 mitted Forms 1099. 

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

8 Secretary shall ensure that the services 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, and 

13 (2) comply with applicable security standards 

14 and guidelines. 

15 TITLE III—MODERNIZATION OF 

16 CONSENT-BASED INCOME 

17 VERIFICATION SYSTEM 

18 SEC. 301. DISCLOSURE OF TAXPAYER INFORMATION FOR 

19 THIRD-PARTY INCOME VERIFICATION. 

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

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

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

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

24 shall implement a program to ensure that any qualified 

25 disclosure— 


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1 (1) is fully automated and accomplished 

2 through the Internet, and 

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

4 is practicable. 

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

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

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

8 1986 of returns or return information by the Secretary 

9 to a person seeking to verify the income or creditworthi10 ness of a taxpayer who is a borrower in the process of 

11 a loan application. 

12 (c) APPLICATION OF SECURITY STANDARDS.—The 

13 Secretary shall ensure that the program described in sub14 section (a) complies with applicable security standards and 

15 guidelines. 

16 (d) USER FEE.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—During the 2-year period be18 ginning on the first day of the 6th calendar month 

19 beginning after the date of the enactment of this 

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

21 qualified disclosures (in addition to any other fee as22 sessed and collected for such disclosures) at such 

23 rates as the Secretary determines are sufficient to 

24 cover the costs related to implementing the program 


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

2 any necessary infrastructure or technology. 

3 (2) DEPOSIT OF COLLECTIONS.—Amounts re4 ceived from fees assessed and collected under para5 graph (1) shall be deposited in, and credited to, an 

6 account solely for the purpose of carrying out the 

7 activities described in subsection (a). Such amounts 

8 shall be available to carry out such activities without 

9 need of further appropriation and without fiscal year 

10 limitation. 

11 SEC. 302. LIMIT REDISCLOSURES AND USES OF CONSENT12 BASED DISCLOSURES OF TAX RETURN INFOR13 MATION. 

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

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

16 the taxpayer under this subsection to receive return infor17 mation shall not use the information for any purpose other 

18 than the express purpose for which consent was granted 

19 and shall not disclose return information to any other per20 son without the express permission of, or request by, the 

21 taxpayer.’’. 

22 (b) APPLICATION OF PENALTIES.—Section 

23 6103(a)(3) is amended by inserting ‘‘subsection (c),’’ after 

24 ‘‘return information under’’. 


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

2 this section shall apply to disclosures made after the date 

3 of the enactment of this Act. 

4 TITLE IV—EXPANDED USE OF 

5 ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS 

6 SEC. 401. ELECTRONIC FILING OF RETURNS. 

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

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

9 of’’. 

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

11 amended by adding at the end the following new para12 graph: 

13 ‘‘(5) APPLICABLE NUMBER.—For purposes of 

14 paragraph (2)(A), the applicable number shall be de15 termined in accordance with the following table: 

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

17 2020, 250, 

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

19 100, and 

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

21 2020, 10.’’. 

22 (c) RETURNS FILED BY A TAX RETURN PRE23 PARER.—Section 6011(e)(3) is amended by adding at the 

24 end the following new subparagraph: 


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1 ‘‘(D) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN PREPARES

2 LOCATED IN AREAS WITHOUT INTERNET AC3 CESS.—The Secretary may waive the require4 ment of subparagraph (A) if the Secretary de5 termines, on the basis of an application by the 

6 tax return preparer, that the preparer cannot 

7 meet such requirement by reason of being lo8 cated in a geographic area which does not have 

9 access to internet service (other than dial-up or 

10 satellite service).’’. 

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

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

13 of this Act. 

14 SEC. 402. UNIFORM STANDARDS FOR THE USE OF ELEC15 TRONIC SIGNATURES FOR DISCLOSURE AU16 THORIZATIONS TO, AND OTHER AUTHORIZA17 TIONS OF, PRACTITIONERS. 

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

19 ‘‘(3) PUBLISHED GUIDANCE.— 

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

21 publish guidance as appropriate to define and 

22 implement any waiver of the signature require23 ments or any method adopted under paragraph 

24 (1). 


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•HR 5445 IH

1 ‘‘(B) ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES FOR DIS2 CLOSURE AUTHORIZATIONS TO, AND OTHER AU3 THORIZATIONS OF, PRACTITIONERS.—Not later 

4 than 6 months after the date of the enactment 

5 of this subparagraph, the Secretary shall pub6 lish guidance to establish uniform standards 

7 and procedures for the acceptance of taxpayers’ 

8 signatures appearing in electronic form with re9 spect to any request for disclosure of a tax10 payer’s return or return information under sec11 tion 6103(c) to a practitioner or any power of 

12 attorney granted by a taxpayer to a practi13 tioner. 

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

15 subparagraph (B), the term ‘practitioner’ 

16 means any individual in good standing who is 

17 regulated under section 330 of title 31, United 

18 States Code.’’. 

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

20 CARDS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 6311(d)(2) is amended by 

22 adding at the end the following: ‘‘The preceding sentence 

23 shall not apply to the extent that the Secretary ensures 

24 that any such fee or other consideration is fully recouped 

25 by the Secretary in the form of fees paid to the Secretary 


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•HR 5445 IH

1 by persons paying taxes imposed under subtitle A with 

2 credit, debit, or charge cards pursuant to such contract. 

3 Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, the Secretary 

4 shall seek to minimize the amount of any fee or other con5 sideration that the Secretary pays under any such con6 tract.’’. 

Æ 


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