115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5444 

AN ACT 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to modernize 

and improve the Internal Revenue Service, to amend 

the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to make permanent 

the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance matching grant 

program, to require the Secretary of the Treasury to 

establish a program for the issuance of identity protection personal identification numbers, to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow officers and employees of the Department of the Treasury to provide to 

taxpayers information regarding low-income taxpayer 

clinics, to provide for a single point of contact at the 

Internal Revenue Service for the taxpayers who are victims of tax-related identity theft, to require notice from 
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the Secretary of the Treasury in the case of any closure 

of a Taxpayer Assistance Center, to amend the Internal 

Revenue Code of 1986 to require electronic filing of 

the annual returns of exempt organizations and provide 

for making such returns available for public inspection, 

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, to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 

1986 to restrict the immediate sale of seized property 

by the Secretary of the Treasury to perishable goods, 

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. ORGANIZATION OF ACT INTO DIVISIONS; TABLE 

4 OF CONTENTS. 

5 (a) DIVISIONS.—This Act is organized into nine divi6 sions as follows: 

7 (1) Division A—Taxpayer First Act. 

8 (2) Division B—Return Preparation programs 

9 for Low-Income Taxpayers. 

10 (3) Division C—Identity Protection Personal 

11 Identification Numbers. 

12 (4) Division D—Provision of Information Re13 garding Low-Income Taxpayer Clinics. 

14 (5) Division E—Single Point of Contact for 

15 Tax-Related Identity Theft Victims. 
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1 (6) Division F—Notice From IRS Regarding 

2 Closure of Taxpayer Assistance Center. 

3 (7) Division G—Mandatory Electronic Filing 

4 for Annual Returns of Exempt Organizations. 

5 (8) Division H—21st Century IRS Act. 

6 (9) Division I—Rules for Seizure and Sale of 

7 Perishable Goods Restricted to Only Perishable 

8 Goods. 

9 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

10 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Organization of Act into divisions; table of contents. 

DIVISION A—TAXPAYER FIRST ACT 

Sec. 10001. Short title; etc. 

TITLE I—INDEPENDENT APPEALS PROCESS 

Sec. 11101. Establishment of Internal Revenue Service Independent Office of 

Appeals. 

TITLE II—IMPROVED SERVICE 

Sec. 11201. Comprehensive customer service strategy. 

Sec. 11202. IRS Free File Program. 

Sec. 11203. Low-income exception for payments otherwise required in connection with a submission of an offer-in-compromise. 

TITLE III—SENSIBLE ENFORCEMENT 

Sec. 11301. Internal Revenue Service seizure requirements with respect to 

structuring transactions. 

Sec. 11302. Exclusion of interest received in action to recover property seized 

by the Internal Revenue Service based on structuring transaction. 

Sec. 11303. Clarification of equitable relief from joint liability. 

Sec. 11304. Modification of procedures for issuance of third-party summons. 

Sec. 11305. Establishment of income threshold for referral to private debt collection. 

Sec. 11306. Reform of notice of contact of third parties. 

Sec. 11307. Modification of authority to issue designated summons. 

Sec. 11308. Limitation on access of non-Internal Revenue Service employees to 

returns and return information. 

TITLE IV—ORGANIZATIONAL MODERNIZATION 
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Sec. 11401. Modification of title of Commissioner of Internal Revenue and related officials. 

Sec. 11402. Office of the National Taxpayer Advocate. 

Sec. 11403. Elimination of IRS Oversight Board. 

Sec. 11404. Modernization of Internal Revenue Service organizational structure. 

TITLE V—TAX COURT 

Sec. 11501. Disqualification of judge or magistrate judge of the Tax Court. 

Sec. 11502. Opinions and judgments. 

Sec. 11503. Title of special trial judge changed to magistrate judge of the Tax 

Court. 

Sec. 11504. Repeal of deadwood related to Board of Tax Appeals. 

DIVISION B—RETURN PREPARATION PROGRAMS FOR LOWINCOME TAXPAYERS 

Sec. 12001. Return preparation programs for low-income taxpayers. 

DIVISION C—IDENTITY PROTECTION PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION 

NUMBERS 

Sec. 13001. Identity protection personal identification numbers. 

DIVISION D—PROVISION OF INFORMATION REGARDING LOWINCOME TAXPAYER CLINICS 

Sec. 14001. Provision of information regarding low-income taxpayer clinics. 

DIVISION E—SINGLE POINT OF CONTACT FOR TAX-RELATED 

IDENTITY THEFT VICTIMS 

Sec. 15001. Single point of contact for tax-related identity theft victims. 

DIVISION F—NOTICE FROM IRS REGARDING CLOSURE OF 

TAXPAYER ASSISTANCE CENTER 

Sec. 16001. Notice from IRS regarding closure of taxpayer assistance centers. 

DIVISION G—MANDATORY ELECTRONIC FILING FOR ANNUAL 

RETURNS OF EXEMPT ORGANIZATIONS 

Sec. 17001. Mandatory electronic filing for annual returns of exempt organizations. 

DIVISION H—21ST CENTURY IRS ACT 

Sec. 18001. Short title; etc. 

TITLE I—CYBERSECURITY AND IDENTITY PROTECTION 

Sec. 18101. Public-private partnership to address identity theft refund fraud. 

Sec. 18102. Recommendations of Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee regarding identity theft refund fraud. 

Sec. 18103. Information sharing and analysis center. 

Sec. 18104. Compliance by contractors with confidentiality safeguards. 

Sec. 18105. Report on electronic payments. 

TITLE II—DEVELOPMENT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 
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Sec. 18201. Management of Internal Revenue Service information technology. 

Sec. 18202. Development of online accounts and portals. 

Sec. 18203. Internet platform for Form 1099 filings. 

TITLE III—MODERNIZATION OF CONSENT-BASED INCOME 

VERIFICATION SYSTEM 

Sec. 18301. Disclosure of taxpayer information for third-party income 

verification. 

Sec. 18302. Limit redisclosures and uses of consent-based disclosures of tax return information. 

TITLE IV—EXPANDED USE OF ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS 

Sec. 18401. Electronic filing of returns. 

Sec. 18402. Uniform standards for the use of electronic signatures for disclosure authorizations to, and other authorizations of, practitioners. 

Sec. 18403. Payment of taxes by debit and credit cards. 

DIVISION I—RULES FOR SEIZURE AND SALE OF PERISHABLE 

GOODS RESTRICTED TO ONLY PERISHABLE GOODS 

Sec. 19001. Rules for seizure and sale of perishable goods restricted to only 

perishable goods. 

1 DIVISION A—TAXPAYER FIRST 

2 ACT 

3 SEC. 10001. SHORT TITLE; ETC. 

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

5 ‘‘Taxpayer First 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 

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

10 shall be considered to be made to a section or other provi11 sion of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

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

13 this division is as follows: 

Sec. 10001. Short title; etc. 

TITLE I—INDEPENDENT APPEALS PROCESS 
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Sec. 11101. Establishment of Internal Revenue Service Independent Office of 

Appeals. 

TITLE II—IMPROVED SERVICE 

Sec. 11201. Comprehensive customer service strategy. 

Sec. 11202. IRS Free File Program. 

Sec. 11203. Low-income exception for payments otherwise required in connection with a submission of an offer-in-compromise. 

TITLE III—SENSIBLE ENFORCEMENT 

Sec. 11301. Internal Revenue Service seizure requirements with respect to 

structuring transactions. 

Sec. 11302. Exclusion of interest received in action to recover property seized 

by the Internal Revenue Service based on structuring transaction. 

Sec. 11303. Clarification of equitable relief from joint liability. 

Sec. 11304. Modification of procedures for issuance of third-party summons. 

Sec. 11305. Establishment of income threshold for referral to private debt collection. 

Sec. 11306. Reform of notice of contact of third parties. 

Sec. 11307. Modification of authority to issue designated summons. 

Sec. 11308. Limitation on access of non-Internal Revenue Service employees to 

returns and return information. 

TITLE IV—ORGANIZATIONAL MODERNIZATION 

Sec. 11401. Modification of title of Commissioner of Internal Revenue and related officials. 

Sec. 11402. Office of the National Taxpayer Advocate. 

Sec. 11403. Elimination of IRS Oversight Board. 

Sec. 11404. Modernization of Internal Revenue Service organizational structure. 

TITLE V—TAX COURT 

Sec. 11501. Disqualification of judge or magistrate judge of the Tax Court. 

Sec. 11502. Opinions and judgments. 

Sec. 11503. Title of special trial judge changed to magistrate judge of the Tax 

Court. 

Sec. 11504. Repeal of deadwood related to Board of Tax Appeals. 

1 TITLE I—INDEPENDENT 

2 APPEALS PROCESS 

3 SEC. 11101. ESTABLISHMENT OF INTERNAL REVENUE SERV4 ICE INDEPENDENT OFFICE OF APPEALS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7803 is amended by add6 ing at the end the following new subsection: 

7 ‘‘(e) INDEPENDENT OFFICE OF APPEALS.— 
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1 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in 

2 the Internal Revenue Service an office to be known 

3 as the ‘Internal Revenue Service Independent Office 

4 of Appeals’. 

5 ‘‘(2) CHIEF OF APPEALS.— 

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

7 Service Independent Office of Appeals shall be 

8 under the supervision and direction of an offi9 cial to be known as the ‘Chief of Appeals’. The 

10 Chief of Appeals shall report directly to the Ad11 ministrator of the Internal Revenue Service and 

12 shall be entitled to compensation at the same 

13 rate as the highest rate of basic pay established 

14 for the Senior Executive Service under section 

15 5382 of title 5, United States Code. 

16 ‘‘(B) APPOINTMENT.—The Chief of Ap17 peals shall be appointed by the Administrator of 

18 the Internal Revenue Service without regard to 

19 the provisions of title 5, United States Code, re20 lating to appointments in the competitive serv21 ice or the Senior Executive Service. 

22 ‘‘(C) QUALIFICATIONS.—An individual ap23 pointed under subparagraph (B) shall have ex24 perience and expertise in— 
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1 ‘‘(i) administration of, and compliance 

2 with, Federal tax laws, 

3 ‘‘(ii) a broad range of compliance 

4 cases, and 

5 ‘‘(iii) management of large service or6 ganizations. 

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

8 shall be the function of the Internal Revenue Service 

9 Independent Office of Appeals to resolve Federal tax 

10 controversies without litigation on a basis which— 

11 ‘‘(A) is fair and impartial to both the Gov12 ernment and the taxpayer, 

13 ‘‘(B) promotes a consistent application and 

14 interpretation of, and voluntary compliance 

15 with, the Federal tax laws, and 

16 ‘‘(C) enhances public confidence in the in17 tegrity and efficiency of the Internal Revenue 

18 Service. 

19 ‘‘(4) RIGHT OF APPEAL.—The resolution proc20 ess described in paragraph (3) shall be generally 

21 available to all taxpayers. 

22 ‘‘(5) LIMITATION ON DESIGNATION OF CASES

23 AS NOT ELIGIBLE FOR REFERRAL TO INDEPENDENT

24 OFFICE OF APPEALS.— 
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If any taxpayer which 

2 is in receipt of notice of deficiency authorized 

3 under section 6212 requests referral to the In4 ternal Revenue Service Independent Office of 

5 Appeals and such request is denied, the Admin6 istrator of the Internal Revenue Service shall 

7 provide such taxpayer a written notice which— 

8 ‘‘(i) provides a detailed description of 

9 the facts involved, the basis for the deci10 sion to deny the request, and a detailed ex11 planation of how the basis of such decision 

12 applies to such facts, and 

13 ‘‘(ii) describes the procedures pro14 scribed under subparagraph (C) for pro15 testing the decision to deny the request. 

16 ‘‘(B) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Admin17 istrator of the Internal Revenue Service shall 

18 submit a written report to Congress on an an19 nual basis which includes the number of re20 quests described in subparagraph (A) which 

21 were denied and the reasons (described by cat22 egory) that such requests were denied. 

23 ‘‘(C) PROCEDURES FOR PROTESTING DE24 NIAL OF REQUEST.—The Administrator of the 

25 Internal Revenue Service shall prescribe proce-
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1 dures for protesting to the Administrator of the 

2 Internal Revenue Service (personally and not 

3 through any delegate) a denial of a request de4 scribed in subparagraph (A). 

5 ‘‘(D) NOT APPLICABLE TO FRIVOLOUS PO6 SITIONS.—This paragraph shall not apply to a 

7 request for referral to the Internal Revenue 

8 Service Independent Office of Appeals which is 

9 denied on the basis that the issue involved is a 

10 frivolous position (within the meaning of section 

11 6702(c)). 

12 ‘‘(6) STAFF.— 

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

14 Internal Revenue Service Independent Office of 

15 Appeals shall report to the Chief of Appeals. 

16 ‘‘(B) ACCESS TO STAFF OF OFFICE OF

17 THE CHIEF COUNSEL.—The Chief of Appeals 

18 shall have authority to obtain legal assistance 

19 and advice from the staff of the Office of the 

20 Chief Counsel. The Chief Counsel shall ensure 

21 that such assistance and advice is provided by 

22 staff of the Office of the Chief Counsel who 

23 were not involved in the case with respect to 

24 which such assistance and advice is sought and 
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1 who are not involved in preparing such case for 

2 litigation. 

3 ‘‘(7) ACCESS TO CASE FILES.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any 

5 specified taxpayer with respect to which a con6 ference with the Internal Revenue Service Inde7 pendent Office of Appeals has been scheduled, 

8 the Chief of Appeals shall ensure that such tax9 payer is provided access to the nonprivileged 

10 portions of the case file on record regarding the 

11 disputed issues (other than documents provided 

12 by the taxpayer to the Internal Revenue Serv13 ice) not later than 10 days before the date of 

14 such conference. 

15 ‘‘(B) TAXPAYER ELECTION TO EXPEDITE

16 CONFERENCE.—If the taxpayer so elects, sub17 paragraph (A) shall be applied by substituting 

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

19 the date of such conference’. 

20 ‘‘(C) SPECIFIED TAXPAYER.—For pur21 poses of this paragraph— 

22 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘speci23 fied taxpayer’ means— 

24 ‘‘(I) in the case of any taxpayer 

25 who is a natural person, a taxpayer 
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1 whose adjusted gross income does not 

2 exceed $400,000, and 

3 ‘‘(II) in the case of any other 

4 taxpayer, a taxpayer whose gross re5 ceipts do not exceed $5,000,000. 

6 ‘‘(ii) AGGREGATION RULE.—Rules 

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

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

9 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

10 (1) The following provisions are each amended 

11 by striking ‘‘Internal Revenue Service Office of Ap12 peals’’ and inserting ‘‘Internal Revenue Service 

13 Independent Office of Appeals’’: 

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

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

16 (C) Subsections (b)(1) and (d)(3) of sec17 tion 6330. 

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

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

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

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

22 (c)(1) of section 7123. 

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

24 of section 7430. 

25 (I) Section 7522(b)(3). 
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1 (J) Section 7612(c)(2)(A). 

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

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

4 place it appears and inserting ‘‘Internal Revenue 

5 Service Independent Office of Appeals’’. 

6 (3) The heading of section 6330(d)(3) is 

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

8 (c) OTHER REFERENCES.—Any reference in any pro9 vision of law, or regulation or other guidance, to the Inter10 nal Revenue Service Office of Appeals shall be treated as 

11 a reference to the Internal Revenue Service Independent 

12 Office of Appeals. 

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

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

15 Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act 

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

17 amendments made by this section). 

18 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro20 vided in this subsection, the amendments made by 

21 this section shall take effect on the date of the en22 actment of this Act. 

23 (2) ACCESS TO CASE FILES.—Section 

24 7803(e)(7) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as 

25 added by subsection (a), shall apply to conferences 
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1 occurring after the date which is 1 year after the 

2 date of the enactment of this Act. 

3 TITLE II—IMPROVED SERVICE 

4 SEC. 11201. COMPREHENSIVE CUSTOMER SERVICE STRAT5 EGY. 

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

7 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

8 Secretary of the Treasury, after consultation with the Na9 tional Taxpayer Advocate, shall submit to Congress a writ10 ten comprehensive customer service strategy for the Inter11 nal Revenue Service. Such strategy shall include— 

12 (1) a plan to provide assistance to taxpayers 

13 that is secure, designed to meet reasonable taxpayer 

14 expectations, and adopts appropriate best practices 

15 of customer service provided in the private sector, 

16 including online services, telephone call back serv17 ices, and training of employees providing customer 

18 services, 

19 (2) a thorough assessment of the services that 

20 the Internal Revenue Service can co-locate with 

21 other Federal services or offer as self-service op22 tions, 

23 (3) proposals to improve Internal Revenue Serv24 ice customer service in the short term (the current 

25 and following fiscal year), medium term (approxi-
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1 mately 3 to 5 fiscal years), and long term (approxi2 mately 10 fiscal years), 

3 (4) a plan to update guidance and training ma4 terials for customer service employees of the Internal 

5 Revenue Service, including the Internal Revenue 

6 Manual, to reflect such strategy, and 

7 (5) identified metrics and benchmarks for quan8 titatively measuring the progress of the Internal 

9 Revenue Service in implementing such strategy. 

10 (b) UPDATED GUIDANCE AND TRAINING MATE11 RIALS.—Not later than 2 years after the date of the enact12 ment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall make 

13 available the updated guidance and training materials de14 scribed in subsection (a)(4) (including the Internal Rev15 enue Manual). Such updated guidance and training mate16 rials (including the Internal Revenue Manual) shall be 

17 written in a manner so as to be easily understood by cus18 tomer service employees of the Internal Revenue Service 

19 and shall provide clear instructions. 

20 SEC. 11202. IRS FREE FILE PROGRAM. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

22 (1) The Secretary of the Treasury, or the Sec23 retary’s delegate, shall continue to operate the IRS 

24 Free File Program as established by the Internal 

25 Revenue Service and published in the Federal Reg-
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1 ister on November 4, 2002 (67 Fed. Reg. 67247), 

2 including any subsequent agreements and governing 

3 rules established pursuant thereto. 

4 (2) The IRS Free File Program shall continue 

5 to provide free commercial-type online individual in6 come tax preparation and electronic filing services to 

7 the lowest 70 percent of taxpayers by adjusted gross 

8 income. The number of taxpayers eligible to receive 

9 such services each year shall be calculated by the In10 ternal Revenue Service annually based on prior year 

11 aggregate taxpayer adjusted gross income data. 

12 (3) In addition to the services described in 

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

14 Free File Program shall continue to make available 

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

16 online electronic fillable forms utility. 

17 (4) The IRS Free File Program shall continue 

18 to work cooperatively with the private sector to pro19 vide the free individual income tax preparation and 

20 the electronic filing services described in paragraphs 

21 (2) and (3). 

22 (5) The IRS Free File Program shall work co23 operatively with State government agencies to en24 hance and expand the use of the program to provide 
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1 needed benefits to the taxpayer while reducing the 

2 cost of processing returns. 

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

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

5 sector through the IRS Free File Program to identify and 

6 implement, consistent with applicable law, innovative new 

7 program features to improve and simplify the taxpayer’s 

8 experience with completing and filing individual income 

9 tax returns through voluntary compliance. 

10 SEC. 11203. LOW-INCOME EXCEPTION FOR PAYMENTS OTH11 ERWISE REQUIRED IN CONNECTION WITH A 

12 SUBMISSION OF AN OFFER-IN-COMPROMISE. 

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

14 adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

15 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTION FOR LOW-INCOME TAX16 PAYERS.—Paragraph (1), and any user fee otherwise 

17 required in connection with the submission of an 

18 offer-in-compromise, shall not apply to any offer-in19 compromise with respect to a taxpayer who is an in20 dividual with adjusted gross income, as determined 

21 for the most recent taxable year for which such in22 formation is available, which does not exceed 250 

23 percent of the applicable poverty level (as deter24 mined by the Secretary).’’. 
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1 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

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

3 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

4 TITLE III—SENSIBLE 

5 ENFORCEMENT 

6 SEC. 11301. INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE SEIZURE RE7 QUIREMENTS WITH RESPECT TO STRUC8 TURING TRANSACTIONS. 

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

10 is amended— 

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

12 the following: 

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

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

15 ‘‘(B) INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE SEI16 ZURE REQUIREMENTS WITH RESPECT TO

17 STRUCTURING TRANSACTIONS.— 

18 ‘‘(i) PROPERTY DERIVED FROM AN IL19 LEGAL SOURCE.—Property may only be 

20 seized by the Internal Revenue Service 

21 pursuant to subparagraph (A) by reason of 

22 a claimed violation of section 5324 if the 

23 property to be seized was derived from an 

24 illegal source or the funds were structured 

25 for the purpose of concealing the violation 
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1 of a criminal law or regulation other than 

2 section 5324. 

3 ‘‘(ii) NOTICE.—Not later than 30 

4 days after property is seized by the Inter5 nal Revenue Service pursuant to subpara6 graph (A), the Internal Revenue Service 

7 shall— 

8 ‘‘(I) make a good faith effort to 

9 find all persons with an ownership in10 terest in such property; and 

11 ‘‘(II) provide each such person 

12 with a notice of the seizure and of the 

13 person’s rights under clause (iv). 

14 ‘‘(iii) EXTENSION OF NOTICE UNDER

15 CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES.—The Internal 

16 Revenue Service may apply to a court of 

17 competent jurisdiction for one 30-day ex18 tension of the notice requirement under 

19 clause (ii) if the Internal Revenue Service 

20 can establish probable cause of an immi21 nent threat to national security or personal 

22 safety necessitating such extension. 

23 ‘‘(iv) POST-SEIZURE HEARING.—If a 

24 person with a property interest in property 

25 seized pursuant to subparagraph (A) by 
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1 the Internal Revenue Service requests a 

2 hearing by a court of competent jurisdic3 tion within 30 days after the date on which 

4 notice is provided under subclause (ii), 

5 such property shall be returned unless the 

6 court holds an adversarial hearing and 

7 finds within 30 days of such request (or 

8 such longer period as the court may pro9 vide, but only on request of an interested 

10 party) that there is probable cause to be11 lieve that there is a violation of section 

12 5324 involving such property and probable 

13 cause to believe that the property to be 

14 seized was derived from an illegal source or 

15 the funds were structured for the purpose 

16 of concealing the violation of a criminal 

17 law or regulation other than section 

18 5324.’’. 

19 SEC. 11302. EXCLUSION OF INTEREST RECEIVED IN ACTION 

20 TO RECOVER PROPERTY SEIZED BY THE IN21 TERNAL REVENUE SERVICE BASED ON 

22 STRUCTURING TRANSACTION. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part III of subchapter B of chap24 ter 1 is amended by inserting before section 140 the fol25 lowing new section: 
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1 ‘‘SEC. 139G. 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. 139G. 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. 11303. 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. 11304. MODIFICATION OF PROCEDURES FOR 

11 ISSUANCE 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 of the enactment of this Act. 
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1 SEC. 11305. ESTABLISHMENT OF INCOME THRESHOLD FOR 

2 REFERRAL TO PRIVATE DEBT COLLECTION. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 6306(d)(3) is amended by 

4 striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subparagraph (C), by adding 

5 ‘‘or’’ at the end of subparagraph (D), and by inserting 

6 after subparagraph (D) the following new subparagraph: 

7 ‘‘(E) in the case of a tax receivable which 

8 is identified by the Secretary (or the Secretary’s 

9 delegate) during the period beginning on the 

10 date which is 180 days after the date of the en11 actment of this Act and ending on December 

12 31, 2019, a taxpayer who is an individual with 

13 adjusted gross income, as determined for the 

14 most recent taxable year for which such infor15 mation is available, which does not exceed 250 

16 percent of the applicable poverty level (as deter17 mined by the Secretary),’’. 

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

19 this section shall apply to tax receivables identified by the 

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

21 which is 180 days after the date of the enactment of this 

22 Act. 

23 SEC. 11306. REFORM OF NOTICE OF CONTACT OF THIRD 

24 PARTIES. 

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

26 read as follows: 
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1 ‘‘(1) GENERAL NOTICE.—An officer or em2 ployee of the Internal Revenue Service may not con3 tact any person other than the taxpayer with respect 

4 to the determination or collection of the tax liability 

5 of such taxpayer unless such contact occurs during 

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

7 in a notice which— 

8 ‘‘(A) informs the taxpayer that contacts 

9 with persons other than the taxpayer are in10 tended to be made during such period, and 

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

12 Secretary, is provided to the taxpayer not later 

13 than 45 days before the beginning of such pe14 riod. 

15 Nothing in the preceding sentence shall prevent the 

16 issuance of notices to the same taxpayer with respect 

17 to the same tax liability with periods specified there18 in that, in the aggregate, exceed 1 year. A notice 

19 shall not be issued under this paragraph unless 

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

21 to contact persons other than the taxpayer during 

22 the period specified in such notice. The preceding 

23 sentence shall not prevent the issuance of a notice 

24 if the requirement of such sentence is met on the 

25 basis of the assumption that the information sought 
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1 to be obtained by such contact will not be obtained 

2 by other means before such contact.’’. 

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

4 this section shall apply to notices provided, and contacts 

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

6 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

7 SEC. 11307. MODIFICATION OF AUTHORITY TO ISSUE DES8 IGNATED SUMMONS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Clause (i) of section 

10 6503(j)(2)(A) is amended to read as follows: 

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

12 preceded by a review and written approval 

13 of such issuance by the Administrator of 

14 the relevant operating division of the Inter15 nal Revenue Service and the Chief Counsel 

16 which— 

17 ‘‘(I) states facts clearly estab18 lishing that the Secretary has made 

19 reasonable requests for the informa20 tion that is the subject of the sum21 mons, and 

22 ‘‘(II) is attached to such sum23 mons,’’. 

24 (b) ESTABLISHMENT THAT REASONABLE REQUESTS

25 FOR INFORMATION WERE MADE.—Subsection (j) of sec-
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1 tion 6503 is amended by adding at the end the following 

2 new paragraph: 

3 ‘‘(4) ESTABLISHMENT THAT REASONABLE RE4 QUESTS FOR INFORMATION WERE MADE.—In any 

5 court proceeding described in paragraph (3), the 

6 Secretary shall establish that reasonable requests 

7 were made for the information that is the subject of 

8 the summons.’’. 

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

10 this section shall apply to summonses issued after the date 

11 of the enactment of this Act. 

12 SEC. 11308. LIMITATION ON ACCESS OF NON-INTERNAL 

13 REVENUE SERVICE EMPLOYEES TO RETURNS 

14 AND RETURN INFORMATION. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7602 is amended by add16 ing at the end the following new subsection: 

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

18 THAN INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE OFFICERS AND EM19 PLOYEES.—The Secretary shall not, under the authority 

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

21 other data obtained pursuant to this section to any person 

22 authorized under section 6103(n), except when such per23 son requires such information for the sole purpose of pro24 viding expert evaluation and assistance to the Internal 

25 Revenue Service. No person other than an officer or em-
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1 ployee of the Internal Revenue Service or the Office of 

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

3 a witness under oath whose testimony was obtained pursu4 ant to this section.’’. 

5 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para7 graph (2), the amendment made by this section shall 

8 take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act. 

9 (2) APPLICATION TO CONTRACTS IN EFFECT.— 

10 The amendment made by this section shall apply to 

11 any contract in effect under section 6103(n) of the 

12 Internal Revenue Code of 1986, pursuant to tem13 porary Treasury Regulation section 301.7602–1T 

14 proposed in Internal Revenue Bulletin 2014–28, 

15 Treasury Regulation section 301.7602–1(b)(3), or 

16 any similar or successor regulation, that is in effect 

17 on the date of the enactment of this Act. 

18 TITLE IV—ORGANIZATIONAL 

19 MODERNIZATION 

20 SEC. 11401. MODIFICATION OF TITLE OF COMMISSIONER 

21 OF INTERNAL REVENUE AND RELATED OFFI22 CIALS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7803(a)(1)(A) is amended 

24 by striking ‘‘Commissioner of Internal Revenue’’ and in25 serting ‘‘Administrator of the Internal Revenue Service’’. 
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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS RELATED TO SEC2 TION 7803.— 

3 (1) Subsections (a)(1)(B), (a)(1)(C), (b)(3), 

4 (c)(1)(B)(i), and (c)(1)(B)(ii) of section 7803 are 

5 each amended by striking ‘‘Commissioner of Internal 

6 Revenue’’ and inserting ‘‘Administrator of the Inter7 nal Revenue Service’’. 

8 (2) Section 7803(b)(2)(A) is amended by strik9 ing ‘‘Commissioner’s’’ and inserting ‘‘Administra10 tor’s’’. 

11 (3) Subsections (a)(1)(D), (a)(1)(E), (a)(2), 

12 (a)(3), (a)(4), (b)(2)(A), (b)(2)(D), (b)(3), 

13 (c)(2)(B)(iii), (c)(2)(C)(iv), and (c)(3) of section 

14 7803, as amended by the preceding paragraphs of 

15 this subsection, are amended by striking ‘‘Commis16 sioner’’ each place it appears therein and inserting 

17 ‘‘Administrator’’. 

18 (4) The heading of section 7803 is amended by 

19 striking ‘‘COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REV20 ENUE’’ and inserting ‘‘ADMINISTRATOR OF THE

21 INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE’’. 

22 (5) The heading of section 7803(a) is amended 

23 by striking ‘‘COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REV24 ENUE’’ and inserting ‘‘ADMINISTRATOR OF THE IN25 TERNAL REVENUE SERVICE’’. 
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1 (6) The heading of section 7803(c)(3) is 

2 amended by striking ‘‘COMMISSIONER’’ and inserting 

3 ‘‘ADMINISTRATOR’’. 

4 (7) The table of sections for subchapter A of 

5 chapter 80 is amended by striking the item relating 

6 to section 7803 and inserting the following new 

7 item: 

‘‘Sec. 7803. Administrator of the Internal Revenue Service; other officials.’’. 

8 (c) OTHER CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO THE IN9 TERNAL REVENUE CODE OF 1986.— 

10 (1) Section 6307(c) is amended by striking 

11 ‘‘Commissioner of Internal Revenue’’ and inserting 

12 ‘‘Administrator of the Internal Revenue Service’’. 

13 (2) Section 6673(a)(2)(B) is amended by strik14 ing ‘‘Commissioner of Internal Revenue’’ and insert15 ing ‘‘Administrator of the Internal Revenue Serv16 ice’’. 

17 (3) Section 6707(c) is amended by striking 

18 ‘‘Commissioner’’ and inserting ‘‘Administrator’’. 

19 (4) Section 6707A(d) is amended— 

20 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘Com21 missioner of Internal Revenue’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘Administrator of the Internal Revenue Serv23 ice’’, and 
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1 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘Com2 missioner’’ each place it appears and inserting 

3 ‘‘Administrator’’. 

4 (5)(A) Subsections (a) and (g) of section 7345 

5 are each amended by striking ‘‘Commissioner of In6 ternal Revenue’’ and inserting ‘‘Administrator of the 

7 Internal Revenue Service’’. 

8 (B) Section 7345(g) is amended— 

9 (i) by striking ‘‘Deputy Commissioner for 

10 Services and Enforcement’’ and inserting ‘‘Dep11 uty Administrator for Services and Enforce12 ment’’, and 

13 (ii) by striking ‘‘Commissioner of an oper14 ating division’’ and inserting ‘‘Administrator of 

15 an operating division’’. 

16 (C) Subsections (c)(1), (d) and (e)(1) of section 

17 7345 are each amended by striking ‘‘Commissioner’’ 

18 each place it appears therein and inserting ‘‘Admin19 istrator’’. 

20 (6) Section 7435(e) is amended by striking 

21 ‘‘Commissioner’’ each place it appears therein and 

22 inserting ‘‘Administrator’’. 

23 (7) Section 7409(a)(2)(B) is amended by strik24 ing ‘‘Commissioner of Internal Revenue’’ and insert-
32 

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1 ing ‘‘Administrator of the Internal Revenue Serv2 ice’’. 

3 (8) Section 7608(c) is amended— 

4 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘the 

5 Commissioner of Internal Revenue (or, if des6 ignated by the Commissioner, the Deputy Com7 missioner or an Assistant Commissioner of In8 ternal Revenue)’’ and inserting ‘‘the Adminis9 trator of the Internal Revenue Service (or, if 

10 designated by the Administrator, the Deputy 

11 Administrator or an Assistant Administrator of 

12 the Internal Revenue Service)’’, and 

13 (B) in paragraph (2) by striking ‘‘Commis14 sioner’’ and inserting ‘‘Administrator’’. 

15 (9) Section 7611(b)(3)(C) is amended by strik16 ing ‘‘regional commissioner’’ and inserting ‘‘regional 

17 administrator’’. 

18 (10) Section 7701(a)(13) is amended to read as 

19 follows: 

20 ‘‘(13) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘Adminis21 trator’, except where the context clearly indicates 

22 otherwise, means the Administrator of the Internal 

23 Revenue Service.’’. 
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1 (11)(A) Section 7804(a) is amended by striking 

2 ‘‘Commissioner of Internal Revenue’’ and inserting 

3 ‘‘Administrator of the Internal Revenue Service’’. 

4 (B) Subsections (a), (b)(1), and (b)(2) of sec5 tion 7804(a), as amended by subparagraph (A), are 

6 each amended by striking ‘‘Commissioner’’ each 

7 place it appears therein and inserting ‘‘Adminis8 trator’’. 

9 (12) Section 7811(c)(1) is amended by striking 

10 ‘‘the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, or the Dep11 uty Commissioner of Internal Revenue’’ and insert12 ing ‘‘the Administrator of the Internal Revenue 

13 Service, or the Deputy Commissioner of the Internal 

14 Revenue Service’’. 

15 (d) AMENDMENTS TO SECTION 8D OF THE INSPEC16 TOR GENERAL ACT OF 1978.— 

17 (1) Subsections (g)(2), (k)(1)(C), (l)(1), and 

18 (l)(2)(A) of section 8D of the Inspector General Act 

19 of 1978 are each amended by striking ‘‘Commis20 sioner of Internal Revenue’’ and inserting ‘‘Adminis21 trator of the Internal Revenue Service’’. 

22 (2) Section 8D(l)(2)(B) of such Act is amended 

23 by striking ‘‘Commissioner’’ each place it appears 

24 therein and inserting ‘‘Administrator’’. 
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1 (e) OTHER REFERENCES.—Any reference in any pro2 vision of law, or regulation or other guidance, to the Com3 missioner of Internal Revenue, or to any Deputy or Assist4 ant Commissioner of Internal Revenue, or to a Commis5 sioner of any division or region of the Internal Revenue 

6 Service, shall be treated as a reference to the Adminis7 trator of the Internal Revenue Service, or to the appro8 priate Deputy or Assistant Administrator of the Internal 

9 Revenue Service, or to the appropriate Administrator of 

10 such division or region, respectively. 

11 (f) CONTINUITY.—In the case of any individual ap12 pointed by the President, by and with the advice and con13 sent of the Senate, as Commissioner of Internal Revenue 

14 under section 7803(a)(1)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code 

15 of 1986, and serving in such position immediately before 

16 the date of the enactment of this Act, the amendments 

17 made by this section shall be construed as changing the 

18 title of such individual and shall not be construed to— 

19 (1) require the reappoint of such individual 

20 under such section, or 

21 (2) alter the remaining term of such person 

22 under section 7803(a)(1)(B). 

23 SEC. 11402. OFFICE OF THE NATIONAL TAXPAYER ADVO24 CATE. 

25 (a) TAXPAYER ADVOCATE DIRECTIVES.— 
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 7803(c) is amended 

2 by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

3 ‘‘(5) TAXPAYER ADVOCATE DIRECTIVES.—In 

4 the case of any Taxpayer Advocate Directive issued 

5 by the National Taxpayer Advocate pursuant to a 

6 delegation of authority from the Administrator of 

7 the Internal Revenue Service— 

8 ‘‘(A) the Administrator or a Deputy Ad9 ministrator shall modify, rescind, or ensure 

10 compliance with such directive not later than 90 

11 days after the issuance of such directive, and 

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

13 modified or rescinded by a Deputy Adminis14 trator, the National Taxpayer Advocate may 

15 (not later than 90 days after such modification 

16 or rescission) appeal to the Administrator and 

17 the Administrator shall (not later than 90 days 

18 after such appeal is made) ensure compliance 

19 with such directive as issued by the National 

20 Taxpayer Advocate or provide the National 

21 Taxpayer Advocate with a detailed description 

22 of the reasons for any modification or rescission 

23 made or upheld by the Administrator pursuant 

24 to such appeal.’’. 
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1 (2) REPORT TO CERTAIN COMMITTEES OF CON2 GRESS REGARDING DIRECTIVES.—Section 

3 7803(c)(2)(B)(ii) is amended by redesignating sub4 clauses (VIII) through (XI) as subclauses (IX) 

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

6 subclause (VII) the following new subclause: 

7 ‘‘(VIII) identify any Taxpayer 

8 Advocate Directive which was not 

9 honored by the Internal Revenue 

10 Service in a timely manner, as speci11 fied under paragraph (5);’’. 

12 (b) NATIONAL TAXPAYER ADVOCATE ANNUAL RE13 PORTS TO CONGRESS.— 

14 (1) INCLUSION OF MOST SERIOUS TAXPAYER

15 PROBLEMS.—Section 7803(c)(2)(B)(ii)(III) is 

16 amended by striking ‘‘at least 20’’ and inserting 

17 ‘‘the 10’’. 

18 (2) COORDINATION WITH TREASURY INSPECTOR

19 GENERAL FOR TAX ADMINISTRATION.—Section 

20 7803(c)(2) is amended by adding at the end the fol21 lowing new subparagraph: 

22 ‘‘(E) COORDINATION WITH TREASURY IN23 SPECTOR GENERAL FOR TAX ADMINISTRA24 TION.—Before beginning any research or study, 

25 the National Taxpayer Advocate shall coordi-
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1 nate with the Treasury Inspector General for 

2 Tax Administration to ensure that the National 

3 Taxpayer Advocate does not duplicate any ac4 tion that the Treasury Inspector General for 

5 Tax Administration has already undertaken or 

6 has a plan to undertake.’’. 

7 (3) STATISTICAL SUPPORT.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 6108 is amend9 ed by adding at the end the following new sub10 section: 

11 ‘‘(d) STATISTICAL SUPPORT FOR NATIONAL TAX12 PAYER ADVOCATE.—The Secretary shall, upon request of 

13 the National Taxpayer Advocate, provide the National 

14 Taxpayer Advocate with statistical support in connection 

15 with the preparation by the National Taxpayer Advocate 

16 of the annual report described in section 

17 7803(c)(2)(B)(ii). Such statistical support shall include 

18 statistical studies, compilations, and the review of infor19 mation provided by the National Taxpayer Advocate for 

20 statistical validity and sound statistical methodology.’’. 

21 (B) DISCLOSURE OF REVIEW.—Section 

22 7803(c)(2)(B)(ii), as amended by subsection 

23 (a), is amended by redesignating subclause 

24 (XII) as subclause (XIII) and by inserting after 

25 subclause (XI) the following new subclause: 
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1 ‘‘(XII) with respect to any statis2 tical information included in such re3 port, include a statement of whether 

4 such statistical information was re5 viewed or provided by the Secretary 

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

7 whether the Secretary determined 

8 such information to be statistically 

9 valid and based on sound statistical 

10 methodology.’’. 

11 (C) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

12 7803(c)(2)(B)(iii) is amended by adding at the 

13 end the following: ‘‘The preceding sentence 

14 shall not apply with respect to statistical infor15 mation provided to the Secretary for review, or 

16 received from the Secretary, under section 

17 6108(d).’’. 

18 (c) SALARY OF NATIONAL TAXPAYER ADVOCATE.— 

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

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

21 fixed under section 9503 of such title’’. 

22 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro24 vided in this subsection, the amendments made by 
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1 this section shall take effect on the date of the en2 actment of this Act. 

3 (2) SALARY OF NATIONAL TAXPAYER ADVO4 CATE.—The amendment made by subsection (c) 

5 shall apply to compensation paid to individuals ap6 pointed as the National Taxpayer Advocate after the 

7 date of the enactment of this Act. 

8 SEC. 11403. ELIMINATION OF IRS OVERSIGHT BOARD. 

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

10 amended by striking section 7802 (and by striking the 

11 item relating to such section in the table of sections of 

12 such subchapter). 

13 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

14 (1) Section 4946(c) is amended by adding ‘‘or’’ 

15 at the end of paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘, or’’ at 

16 the end of paragraph (6) and inserting a period, and 

17 by striking paragraph (7). 

18 (2) Section 6103(h) is amended by striking 

19 paragraph (6). 

20 (3) Section 7803(a) is amended by striking 

21 paragraph (4). 

22 (4) Section 7803(c)(1)(B)(ii) is amended by 

23 striking ‘‘and the Oversight Board’’. 

24 (5) Section 7803(c)(2)(B)(iii) is amended by 

25 striking ‘‘the Oversight Board,’’. 
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1 (6) Section 8D of the Inspector General Act of 

2 1978 is amended— 

3 (A) in subsections (g)(2) and (h), by strik4 ing ‘‘the Internal Revenue Service Oversight 

5 Board and’’, 

6 (B) in subsection (l)(1), by striking ‘‘or the 

7 Internal Revenue Service Oversight Board’’, 

8 and 

9 (C) in subsection (l)(2), by striking ‘‘and 

10 the Internal Revenue Service Oversight Board’’. 

11 SEC. 11404. MODERNIZATION OF INTERNAL REVENUE 

12 SERVICE ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE. 

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

14 2020, the Administrator of the Internal Revenue Service 

15 shall submit to Congress a comprehensive written plan to 

16 redesign the organization of the Internal Revenue Service. 

17 Such plan shall— 

18 (1) ensure the successful implementation of the 

19 priorities specified by Congress in this Act, 

20 (2) prioritize taxpayer services to ensure that 

21 all taxpayers easily and readily receive the assistance 

22 that they need, 

23 (3) streamline the structure of the agency in24 cluding minimizing the duplication of services and 

25 responsibilities within the agency, 
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1 (4) best position the Internal Revenue Service 

2 to combat cybersecurity and other threats to the In3 ternal Revenue Service, and 

4 (5) address whether the Criminal Investigation 

5 Division of the Internal Revenue Service should re6 port directly to the Administrator. 

7 (b) REPEAL OF RESTRICTION ON ORGANIZATIONAL

8 STRUCTURE OF INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE.—Para9 graph (3) of section 1001(a) of the Internal Revenue Serv10 ice Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 shall cease to 

11 apply beginning 1 year after the date on which the Admin12 istrator of the Internal Revenue Service submits to Con13 gress the plan described in subsection (a). 

14 TITLE V—TAX COURT 

15 SEC. 11501. DISQUALIFICATION OF JUDGE OR MAGISTRATE 

16 JUDGE OF THE TAX COURT. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part II of subchapter C of chap18 ter 76 is amended by adding at the end the following new 

19 section: 

20 ‘‘SEC. 7467. DISQUALIFICATION OF JUDGE OR MAGISTRATE 

21 JUDGE OF THE TAX COURT. 

22 ‘‘Section 455 of title 28, United States Code, shall 

23 apply to judges and magistrate judges of the Tax Court 

24 and to proceedings of the Tax Court.’’. 
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1 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

2 for such part is amended by adding at the end the fol3 lowing new item: 

‘‘Sec. 7467. Disqualification of judge or magistrate judge of the Tax Court.’’. 

4 SEC. 11502. OPINIONS AND JUDGMENTS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7459 is amended by strik6 ing all the precedes subsection (c) and inserting the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 7459. OPINIONS AND JUDGMENTS. 

9 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT.—An opinion upon any pro10 ceeding instituted before the Tax Court and a judgment 

11 thereon shall be made as quickly as practicable. The judg12 ment shall be made by a judge in accordance with the 

13 opinion of the Tax Court, and such judgment so made 

14 shall, when entered, be the judgment of the Tax Court. 

15 ‘‘(b) INCLUSION OF FINDINGS OF FACT IN OPIN16 ION.—It shall be the duty of the Tax Court and of each 

17 division to include in its opinion or memorandum opinion 

18 upon any proceeding, its findings of fact. The Tax Court 

19 shall issue in writing all of its findings of fact, opinions, 

20 and memorandum opinions. Subject to such conditions as 

21 the Tax Court may by rule provide, the requirements of 

22 this subsection and of section 7460 are met if findings 

23 of fact or opinion are stated orally and recorded in the 

24 transcript of the proceedings.’’. 
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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO SECTION

2 7459.— 

3 (1) Subsections (c), (d), (e), and (f) of section 

4 7459 are each amended by striking ‘‘decision’’ each 

5 place it appears and inserting ‘‘judgment’’. 

6 (2) The headings of subsections (c), (d), and (e) 

7 of section 7459 are each amended by striking ‘‘DE8 CISION’’ and inserting ‘‘JUDGMENT’’. 

9 (3) The item relating to section 7459 in the 

10 table of sections for part II of subchapter C of chap11 ter 76 is amended to read as follows: 

‘‘Sec. 7459. Opinions and judgments.’’. 

12 (c) OTHER CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

13 (1) The following provisions are each amended 

14 by striking ‘‘decision’’ and inserting ‘‘judgment’’: 

15 (A) Section 1313(a)(1). 

16 (B) Section 6213(a). 

17 (C) Section 6214(d). 

18 (D) Section 6225(a)(2). 

19 (E) Section 6226(g). 

20 (F) Section 6228(a)(6). 

21 (G) Subsections (a)(3)(B) and (c)(1)(A)(ii) 

22 of section 6230. 

23 (H) Section 6247(d). 

24 (I) Section 6252(e). 

25 (J) Section 6404(h)(2)(C). 
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1 (K) Section 6503(a)(1). 

2 (L) Section 6673(a)(1)(C). 

3 (M) Subsections (c), (f), and (g) of section 

4 6861. 

5 (N) Section 6863(b)(3)(C). 

6 (O) Section 7428(a). 

7 (P) Section 7428(c)(1)(C)(i). 

8 (Q) Section 7430(f)(3). 

9 (R) Section 7436(c)(2). 

10 (S) Section 7461(b)(2). 

11 (T) Subsections (a)(4), (b), and (d) of sec12 tion 7463. 

13 (U) Subsections (a)(2)(B) and (b)(4) of 

14 section 7476. 

15 (V) Section 7477(a). 

16 (W) Section 7478(a)(2). 

17 (X) Subsections (a)(2) and (c) of section 

18 7479. 

19 (2) The following provisions are each amended 

20 by striking ‘‘decision’’ each place it appears and in21 serting ‘‘judgment’’: 

22 (A) Subsections (a) and (b)(3) of section 

23 6215. 

24 (B) Section 6226(h). 

25 (C) Section 6247(e). 
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1 (D) Subsections (d) and (e) of section 

2 6861. 

3 (E) Section 6863(b)(2). 

4 (F) Section 7422. 

5 (G) Subsections (a) and (b) of section 

6 7460. 

7 (H) Subsections (a), (b), (c), and (d) of 

8 section 7463. 

9 (I) Section 7482. 

10 (J) Section 7483. 

11 (K) Section 7485(b). 

12 (L) Section 7481. 

13 (3) Sections 7422 and 7482 are each amended 

14 by striking ‘‘decisions’’ each place it appears and in15 serting ‘‘judgments’’. 

16 (4) Section 7430(f)(1) is amended by striking 

17 ‘‘decision or’’ both places it appears. 

18 (5) Subsections (a) and (b) of section 7460 are 

19 each amended by striking ‘‘report’’ each place it ap20 pears and inserting ‘‘opinion’’. 

21 (6) Section 7461(a) is amended— 

22 (A) by striking ‘‘reports’’ and inserting 

23 ‘‘opinions’’, and 

24 (B) by striking ‘‘report’’ and inserting 

25 ‘‘opinion’’. 
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1 (7) Section 7462 is amended by striking ‘‘re2 ports’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘opin3 ions’’. 

4 (8) Section 7487(1) is amended by striking 

5 ‘‘decisions’’ and inserting ‘‘judgments’’. 

6 (9) The headings of sections 6214(b), 7463(b), 

7 7481(a), 7481(b), 7481(d), and 7485(b) are each 

8 amended by striking ‘‘DECISIONS’’ and inserting 

9 ‘‘JUDGMENTS’’. 

10 (10) The headings of sections 6226(h), 6247(e), 

11 6861(c), 6861(d), 7443A(c), 7481(a)(2), and 

12 7481(a)(3) are each amended by striking ‘‘DECI13 SION’’ and inserting ‘‘JUDGMENT’’. 

14 (11) The headings of sections 6863(b)(2), 

15 6863(b)(3), 7430(f)(3), and 7482(a)(2)(B) are each 

16 amended by striking ‘‘DECISION’’ and inserting 

17 ‘‘JUDGMENT’’. 

18 (12) The heading of section 7436(c)(2) is 

19 amended by striking ‘‘DECISIONS’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘JUDGMENT’’. 

21 (13) The heading of section 7460(a) is amend22 ed by striking ‘‘REPORTS’’ and inserting ‘‘OPIN23 IONS’’. 
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1 (14) The heading of section 7462 is amended 

2 by striking ‘‘REPORTS’’ and inserting ‘‘OPIN3 IONS’’. 

4 (15) The heading of subchapter D of chapter 

5 76 is amended by striking ‘‘Decisions’’ and insert6 ing ‘‘Judgments’’. 

7 (16) The heading of section 7481 is amended 

8 by striking ‘‘DECISION’’ and inserting ‘‘JUDG9 MENT’’. 

10 (17) The item relating to section 7462 in the 

11 table of sections for part II of subchapter C of chap12 ter 76 is amended to read as follows: 

‘‘Sec. 7462. Publication of opinions.’’. 

13 (18) The item relating to subchapter D in the 

14 table of subchapters for chapter 76 is amended to 

15 read as follows: 

‘‘SUBCHAPTER D.—COURT REVIEW OF TAX COURT JUDGMENTS’’. 

16 (19) The item relating to section 7481 in the 

17 table of sections for part III of subchapter D of 

18 chapter 76 is amended to read as follows: 

‘‘Sec. 7481. Date when Tax Court judgment becomes final.’’. 

19 (d) CONTINUING EFFECT OF LEGAL DOCUMENTS.— 

20 All orders, decisions, reports, rules, permits, agreements, 

21 grants, contracts, certificates, licenses, registrations, privi22 leges, and other administrative actions, in connection with 

23 the Tax Court, which are in effect at the time this section 
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1 takes effect, or were final before the effective date of this 

2 section and are to become effective on or after the effective 

3 date of this section, shall continue in effect according to 

4 their terms until modified, terminated, superseded, set 

5 aside, or revoked in accordance with law by the Tax Court. 

6 SEC. 11503. TITLE OF SPECIAL TRIAL JUDGE CHANGED TO 

7 MAGISTRATE JUDGE OF THE TAX COURT. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7443A is amended— 

9 (1) by striking ‘‘special trial judges’’ in sub10 sections (a) and (e) and inserting ‘‘magistrate 

11 judges of the Tax Court’’, 

12 (2) by striking ‘‘special trial judges of the 

13 court’’ in subsection (b) and inserting ‘‘magistrate 

14 judges of the Tax Court’’, and 

15 (3) by striking ‘‘special trial judge’’ in sub16 sections (c) and (d) and inserting ‘‘magistrate judge 

17 of the Tax Court’’. 

18 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

19 (1) The heading of section 7443A is amended 

20 by striking ‘‘SPECIAL TRIAL JUDGES’’ and insert21 ing ‘‘MAGISTRATE JUDGES OF THE TAX

22 COURT’’. 

23 (2) The heading of section 7443A(b) is amend24 ed by striking ‘‘SPECIAL TRIAL JUDGES’’ and insert25 ing ‘‘MAGISTRATE JUDGES OF THE TAX COURT’’. 
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1 (3) The item relating to section 7443A in the 

2 table of sections for part I of subchapter C of chap3 ter 76 is amended to read as follows: 

‘‘Sec. 7443A. Magistrate judges of the Tax Court.’’. 

4 (4) The heading of section 7448 is amended by 

5 striking ‘‘SPECIAL TRIAL JUDGES’’ and inserting 

6 ‘‘MAGISTRATE JUDGES OF THE TAX COURT’’. 

7 (5) Section 7448 is amended— 

8 (A) by striking ‘‘special trial judge’s’’ each 

9 place it appears in subsections (a)(6), (c)(1), 

10 (d), and (m)(1) and inserting ‘‘magistrate judge 

11 of the Tax Court’s’’, and 

12 (B) by striking ‘‘special trial judge’’ each 

13 place it appears other than in subsection (n) 

14 and inserting ‘‘magistrate judge of the Tax 

15 Court’’. 

16 (6) Section 7448(n) is amended— 

17 (A) by striking ‘‘special trial judge which 

18 are allowable’’ and inserting ‘‘magistrate judge 

19 of the Tax Court which are allowable’’, and 

20 (B) by striking ‘‘special trial judge of the 

21 Tax Court’’ both places it appears and inserting 

22 ‘‘magistrate judge of the Tax Court’’. 

23 (7) The heading of section 7448(b)(2) is 

24 amended by striking ‘‘SPECIAL TRIAL JUDGES’’ and 
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1 inserting ‘‘MAGISTRATE JUDGES OF THE TAX

2 COURT’’. 

3 (8) The item relating to section 7448 in the 

4 table of sections for part I of subchapter C of chap5 ter 76 is amended to read as follows: 

‘‘Sec. 7448. Annuities to surviving spouses and dependent children of judges 

and magistrate judges of the Tax Court.’’. 

6 (9) Section 7456(a) is amended— 

7 (A) by striking ‘‘special trial judge’’ each 

8 place it appears and inserting ‘‘magistrate 

9 judge’’, and 

10 (B) by striking ‘‘(or by the clerk’’ and in11 serting ‘‘of the Tax Court (or by the clerk’’. 

12 (10) Section 7466(a) is amended by striking 

13 ‘‘special trial judge’’ and inserting ‘‘magistrate 

14 judge’’. 

15 (11) Section 7470A is amended by striking 

16 ‘‘special trial judges’’ both places it appears in sub17 sections (a) and (b) and inserting ‘‘magistrate 

18 judges’’. 

19 (12) Section 7471(a)(2)(A) is amended by 

20 striking ‘‘special trial judges’’ and inserting ‘‘mag21 istrate judges’’. 

22 (13) Section 7471(c) is amended— 
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1 (A) by striking ‘‘SPECIAL TRIAL JUDGES’’ 

2 in the heading and inserting ‘‘MAGISTRATE

3 JUDGES OF THE TAX COURT’’, and 

4 (B) by striking ‘‘special trial judges’’ and 

5 inserting ‘‘magistrate judges’’. 

6 SEC. 11504. REPEAL OF DEADWOOD RELATED TO BOARD OF 

7 TAX APPEALS. 

8 (a) Section 7459 is amended by striking subsection 

9 (f) and redesignating subsection (g) as subsection (f). 

10 (b) Section 7447(a)(3) is amended to read as follows: 

11 ‘‘(3) In any determination of length of service 

12 as judge or as a judge of the Tax Court of the 

13 United States there shall be included all periods 

14 (whether or not consecutive) during which an indi15 vidual served as judge.’’. 

16 DIVISION B—RETURN PREPARA17 TION PROGRAMS FOR LOW18 INCOME TAXPAYERS 

19 SEC. 12001. RETURN PREPARATION PROGRAMS FOR LOW20 INCOME TAXPAYERS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 77 of the Internal Rev22 enue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting after section 

23 7526 the following new section: 
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1 ‘‘SEC. 7526A. RETURN PREPARATION PROGRAMS FOR LOW2 INCOME 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 low-income 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 
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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.— 
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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 low-income 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-
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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 section, 

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-
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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 low9 income 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, 
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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 
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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 low-income 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 
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1 universities under the Smith-Lever 

2 Act of May 8, 1914). 

3 ‘‘(3) LOW-INCOME TAXPAYERS.—The term ‘low4 income 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 3 or more qualifying children, as determined in 

9 a revenue procedure or other published guidance. 

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

11 ‘underserved population’ includes populations of per12 sons with disabilities, persons with limited English 

13 proficiency, Native Americans, individuals living in 

14 rural areas, members of the Armed Forces and their 

15 spouses, and the elderly. 

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

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

18 of a qualified return preparation program, the Sec19 retary is authorized to award a multi-year grant not 

20 to exceed 3 years. 

21 ‘‘(2) AGGREGATE LIMITATION.—Unless other22 wise provided by specific appropriation, the Sec23 retary shall not allocate more than $30,000,000 per 

24 fiscal year (exclusive of costs of administering the 

25 program) to grants under this section. 
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1 ‘‘(g) PROMOTION OF PROGRAMS.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall pro3 mote tax preparation through qualified return prepa4 ration programs through the use of mass commu5 nications and other means. 

6 ‘‘(2) PROVISION OF INFORMATION REGARDING

7 QUALIFIED RETURN PREPARATION PROGRAMS.—The 

8 Secretary may provide taxpayers information regard9 ing qualified return preparation programs receiving 

10 grants under this section. 

11 ‘‘(3) VITA GRANTEE REFERRAL.—Qualified re12 turn preparation programs receiving a grant under 

13 this section are encouraged, in appropriate cases, 

14 to— 

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

16 and eligibility requirements for receiving, advice 

17 and assistance from qualified low-income tax18 payer clinics receiving funding under section 

19 7526, and 

20 ‘‘(B) provide information regarding the lo21 cation of, and contact information for, such 

22 clinics.’’. 

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

24 for chapter 77 of such Code is amended by inserting after 

25 the item relating to section 7526 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 7526A. Return preparation programs for low-income taxpayers.’’. 
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1 DIVISION C—IDENTITY PROTEC2 TION PERSONAL IDENTIFICA3 TION NUMBERS 

4 SEC. 13001. IDENTITY PROTECTION PERSONAL IDENTIFICA5 TION NUMBERS. 

6 Not later than 5 years after the date of the enact7 ment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury or the 

8 Secretary’s delegate (hereafter referred to in this section 

9 as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall establish a program to issue, 

10 upon the request of any individual, a number which may 

11 be used in connection with such individual’s social security 

12 number (or other identifying information with respect to 

13 such individual as determined by the Secretary) to assist 

14 the Secretary in verifying such individual’s identity. 

15 DIVISION D—PROVISION OF IN16 FORMATION REGARDING 

17 LOW-INCOME TAXPAYER 

18 CLINICS 

19 SEC. 14001. PROVISION OF INFORMATION REGARDING LOW20 INCOME TAXPAYER CLINICS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7526(c) of the Internal 

22 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end 

23 the following new paragraph: 

24 ‘‘(6) PROVISION OF INFORMATION REGARDING

25 QUALIFIED LOW-INCOME TAXPAYER CLINICS.—Not-
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1 withstanding any other provision of law, officers and 

2 employees of the Department of the Treasury may— 

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

4 and eligibility requirements for receiving, advice 

5 and assistance from qualified low-income tax6 payer clinics receiving funding under this sec7 tion, and 

8 ‘‘(B) provide information regarding the lo9 cation of, and contact information for, such 

10 clinics.’’. 

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

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

13 of this Act. 

14 DIVISION E—SINGLE POINT OF 

15 CONTACT FOR TAX-RELATED 

16 IDENTITY THEFT VICTIMS 

17 SEC. 15001. SINGLE POINT OF CONTACT FOR TAX-RELATED 

18 IDENTITY THEFT VICTIMS. 

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

20 the Secretary’s delegate) shall establish and implement 

21 procedures to ensure that any taxpayer whose return has 

22 been delayed or otherwise adversely affected due to tax23 related identity theft has a single point of contact at the 

24 Internal Revenue Service throughout the processing of the 

25 taxpayer’s case. The single point of contact shall track the 
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1 taxpayer’s case to completion and coordinate with other 

2 Internal Revenue Service employees to resolve case issues 

3 as quickly as possible. 

4 (b) SINGLE POINT OF CONTACT.— 

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

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

7 team or subset of specially trained employees who— 

8 (A) have the ability to work across func9 tions to resolve the issues involved in the tax10 payer’s case, and 

11 (B) shall be accountable for handling the 

12 case until its resolution. 

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

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

15 may change as required to meet the needs of the In16 ternal Revenue Service, provided that procedures 

17 have been established to— 

18 (A) ensure continuity of records and case 

19 history, and 

20 (B) notify the taxpayer when appropriate. 
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1 DIVISION F—NOTICE FROM IRS 

2 REGARDING CLOSURE OF 

3 TAXPAYER ASSISTANCE CEN4 TER 

5 SEC. 16001. NOTICE FROM IRS REGARDING CLOSURE OF 

6 TAXPAYER ASSISTANCE CENTERS. 

7 Not later than 90 days before the date that a pro8 posed closure of a Taxpayer Assistance Center would take 

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

10 delegate) shall— 

11 (1) make publicly available (including by non12 electronic means) a notice which— 

13 (A) identifies the Taxpayer Assistance 

14 Center proposed for closure and the date of 

15 such proposed closure, and 

16 (B) identifies the relevant alternative 

17 sources of taxpayer assistance which may be 

18 utilized by taxpayers affected by such proposed 

19 closure, and 

20 (2) submit to Congress a written report that in21 cludes— 

22 (A) the information included in the notice 

23 described in paragraph (1), 

24 (B) the reasons for such proposed closure, 

25 and 
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1 (C) such other information as the Sec2 retary may determine appropriate. 

3 DIVISION G—MANDATORY ELEC4 TRONIC FILING FOR ANNUAL 

5 RETURNS OF EXEMPT ORGA6 NIZATIONS 

7 SEC. 17001. MANDATORY ELECTRONIC FILING FOR ANNUAL 

8 RETURNS OF EXEMPT ORGANIZATIONS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 6033 of the Internal Rev10 enue Code of 1986 is amended by redesignating subsection 

11 (n) as subsection (o) and by inserting after subsection (m) 

12 the following new subsection: 

13 ‘‘(n) MANDATORY ELECTRONIC FILING.—Any orga14 nization required to file a return under this section shall 

15 file such return in electronic form.’’. 

16 (b) INSPECTION OF ELECTRONICALLY FILED AN17 NUAL RETURNS.—Section 6104(b) of such Code is 

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

19 return required to be filed electronically under section 

20 6033(n) shall be made available by the Secretary to the 

21 public in machine readable format.’’. 

22 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para24 graph (2), the amendments made by this section 
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1 shall apply to returns filed for taxable years begin2 ning after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

3 (2) TRANSITIONAL RELIEF.— 

4 (A) SMALL ORGANIZATIONS.— 

5 (i) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any 

6 small organizations, or any other organiza7 tions for which the Secretary of the Treas8 ury or the Secretary’s delegate (hereafter 

9 referred to in this paragraph as the ‘‘Sec10 retary’’) determines the application of the 

11 amendments made by subsection (a) would 

12 cause undue burden without a delay, the 

13 Secretary may delay the application of 

14 such amendments, but not later than tax15 able years beginning 2 years after the date 

16 of the enactment of this Act. 

17 (ii) SMALL ORGANIZATION.—For pur18 poses of clause (i), the term ‘‘small organi19 zation’’ means any organization— 

20 (I) the gross receipts of which for 

21 the taxable year are less than 

22 $200,000, and 

23 (II) the aggregate gross assets of 

24 which at the end of the taxable year 

25 are less than $500,000. 
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1 (B) ORGANIZATIONS FILING FORM 990– 

2 T.—In the case of any organization described 

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

4 Code of 1986 which is subject to the tax im5 posed by section 511(a)(1) of such Code on its 

6 unrelated business taxable income, or any orga7 nization required to file a return under section 

8 6033 of such Code and include information 

9 under subsection (e) thereof, the Secretary may 

10 delay the application of the amendments made 

11 by this section, but not later than taxable years 

12 beginning 2 years after the date of the enact13 ment of this Act. 

14 DIVISION H—21ST CENTURY IRS 

15 ACT 

16 SEC. 18001. SHORT TITLE; ETC. 

17 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This division may be cited as the 

18 ‘‘21st Century IRS Act’’. 

19 (b) AMENDMENT OF 1986 CODE.—Except as other20 wise expressly provided, whenever in this Act an amend21 ment or repeal is expressed in terms of an amendment 

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

23 shall be considered to be made to a section or other provi24 sion of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 
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1 (c) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 18001. Short title; etc. 

TITLE I—CYBERSECURITY AND IDENTITY PROTECTION 

Sec. 18101. Public-private partnership to address identity theft refund fraud. 

Sec. 18102. Recommendations of Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee regarding identity theft refund fraud. 

Sec. 18103. Information sharing and analysis center. 

Sec. 18104. Compliance by contractors with confidentiality safeguards. 

Sec. 18105. Report on electronic payments. 

TITLE II—DEVELOPMENT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 

Sec. 18201. Management of Internal Revenue Service information technology. 

Sec. 18202. Development of online accounts and portals. 

Sec. 18203. Internet platform for Form 1099 filings. 

TITLE III—MODERNIZATION OF CONSENT-BASED INCOME 

VERIFICATION SYSTEM 

Sec. 18301. Disclosure of taxpayer information for third-party income 

verification. 

Sec. 18302. Limit redisclosures and uses of consent-based disclosures of tax return information. 

TITLE IV—EXPANDED USE OF ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS 

Sec. 18401. Electronic filing of returns. 

Sec. 18402. Uniform standards for the use of electronic signatures for disclosure authorizations to, and other authorizations of, practitioners. 

Sec. 18403. Payment of taxes by debit and credit cards. 

3 TITLE I—CYBERSECURITY AND 

4 IDENTITY PROTECTION 

5 SEC. 18101. PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP TO ADDRESS 

6 IDENTITY THEFT REFUND FRAUD. 

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

8 delegate) shall work collaboratively with the public and 

9 private sectors to protect taxpayers from identity theft re10 fund fraud. 
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1 SEC. 18102. RECOMMENDATIONS OF ELECTRONIC TAX AD2 MINISTRATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE RE3 GARDING IDENTITY THEFT REFUND FRAUD. 

4 The Secretary of the Treasury shall ensure that the 

5 advisory group convened by the Secretary pursuant to sec6 tion 2001(b)(2) of the Internal Revenue Service Restruc7 turing and Reform Act of 1998 (commonly known as the 

8 Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee) stud9 ies (including by providing organized public forums) and 

10 makes recommendations to the Secretary regarding meth11 ods to prevent identity theft and refund fraud. 

12 SEC. 18103. INFORMATION SHARING AND ANALYSIS CEN13 TER. 

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

15 the Secretary’s delegate) may participate in an informa16 tion sharing and analysis center to centralize, standardize, 

17 and enhance data compilation and analysis to facilitate 

18 sharing actionable data and information with respect to 

19 identity theft tax refund fraud. 

20 (b) DEVELOPMENT OF PERFORMANCE METRICS.— 

21 The Secretary of the Treasury (or the Secretary’s dele22 gate) shall develop metrics for measuring the success of 

23 such center in detecting and preventing identity theft tax 

24 refund fraud. 

25 (c) DISCLOSURE.— 
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 6103(k) is amended 

2 by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

3 ‘‘(13) DISCLOSURE OF RETURN INFORMATION

4 FOR PURPOSES OF CYBERSECURITY AND THE PRE5 VENTION OF IDENTITY THEFT TAX REFUND

6 FRAUD.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Under such proce8 dures and subject to such conditions as the Sec9 retary may prescribe, the Secretary may dis10 close specified return information to specified 

11 ISAC participants to the extent that the Sec12 retary determines such disclosure is in further13 ance of effective Federal tax administration re14 lating to the detection or prevention of identity 

15 theft tax refund fraud, validation of taxpayer 

16 identity, authentication of taxpayer returns, or 

17 detection or prevention of cybersecurity threats. 

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

19 purposes of this paragraph— 

20 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘speci21 fied ISAC participant’ means— 

22 ‘‘(I) any person designated by 

23 the Secretary as having primary re24 sponsibility for a function performed 

25 with respect to the information shar-
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1 ing and analysis center described in 

2 section 18103(a) of the 21st Century 

3 IRS Act, and 

4 ‘‘(II) any person subject to the 

5 requirements of section 7216 and 

6 which is a participant in such infor7 mation sharing and analysis center. 

8 ‘‘(ii) INFORMATION SHARING AGREE9 MENT.—Such term shall not include any 

10 person unless such person has entered into 

11 a written agreement with the Secretary 

12 setting forth the terms and conditions for 

13 the disclosure of information to such per14 son under this paragraph, including re15 quirements regarding the protection and 

16 safeguarding of such information by such 

17 person. 

18 ‘‘(C) SPECIFIED RETURN INFORMATION.— 

19 For purposes of this paragraph, the term ‘spec20 ified return information’ means— 

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

22 in connection with a case of potential iden23 tity theft refund fraud— 

24 ‘‘(I) in the case of such return 

25 filed electronically, the internet pro-
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1 tocol address, device identification, 

2 email domain name, speed of comple3 tion, method of authentication, refund 

4 method, and such other return infor5 mation related to the electronic filing 

6 characteristics of such return as the 

7 Secretary may identify for purposes of 

8 this subclause, and 

9 ‘‘(II) in the case of such return 

10 prepared by a tax return preparer, 

11 identifying information with respect to 

12 such tax return preparer, including 

13 the preparer taxpayer identification 

14 number and electronic filer identifica15 tion number of such preparer, 

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

17 in connection with a case of a identity 

18 theft refund fraud which has been con19 firmed by the Secretary (pursuant to such 

20 procedures as the Secretary may provide), 

21 the information referred to in subclauses 

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

23 taxpayer identification number of the tax24 payer as it appears on the return, and any 

25 bank account and routing information pro-
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1 vided for making a refund in connection 

2 with such return, and 

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

4 threat to the Internal Revenue Service, in5 formation similar to the information de6 scribed in subclauses (I) and (II) of clause 

7 (i) with respect to such threat. 

8 ‘‘(D) RESTRICTION ON USE OF DISCLOSED

9 INFORMATION.— 

10 ‘‘(i) DESIGNATED THIRD PARTIES.— 

11 Any return information received by a per12 son described in subparagraph (B)(i)(I) 

13 shall be used only for the purposes of and 

14 to the extent necessary in— 

15 ‘‘(I) performing the function such 

16 person is designated to perform under 

17 such subparagraph, 

18 ‘‘(II) facilitating disclosures au19 thorized under subparagraph (A) to 

20 persons described in subparagraph 

21 (B)(i)(II), and 

22 ‘‘(III) facilitating disclosures au23 thorized under subsection (d) to par24 ticipants in such information sharing 

25 and analysis center. 
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1 ‘‘(ii) RETURN PREPARERS.—Any re2 turn information received by a person de3 scribed in subparagraph (B)(i)(II) shall be 

4 treated for purposes of section 7216 as in5 formation furnished to such person for, or 

6 in connection with, the preparation of a re7 turn of the tax imposed under chapter 1. 

8 ‘‘(E) DATA PROTECTION AND SAFE9 GUARDS.—Return information disclosed under 

10 this paragraph shall be subject to such protec11 tions and safeguards as the Secretary may re12 quire in regulations or other guidance or in the 

13 written agreement referred to in subparagraph 

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

15 requirement that any unauthorized access to in16 formation disclosed under this paragraph, and 

17 any breach of any system in which such infor18 mation is held, be reported to the Treasury In19 spector General for Tax Administration.’’. 

20 (2) APPLICATION OF CIVIL AND CRIMINAL PEN21 ALTIES.— 

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

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

24 ‘‘paragraph (10) or (13) of subsection (k)’’. 
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1 (B) Section 7213(a)(2) is amended by in2 serting ‘‘or (13)’’ after ‘‘(k)(10)’’. 

3 SEC. 18104. COMPLIANCE BY CONTRACTORS WITH CON4 FIDENTIALITY SAFEGUARDS. 

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

6 adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

7 ‘‘(9) DISCLOSURE TO CONTRACTORS AND

8 OTHER AGENTS.—Notwithstanding any other provi9 sion of this section, no return or return information 

10 shall be disclosed to any contractor or other agent 

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

12 agency, to the satisfaction of the Secretary— 

13 ‘‘(A) has requirements in effect which re14 quire each such contractor or other agent which 

15 would have access to returns or return informa16 tion to provide safeguards (within the meaning 

17 of paragraph (4)) to protect the confidentiality 

18 of such returns or return information, 

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

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

21 of contracts or agreements of less than 3 years 

22 in duration) of each contractor or other agent 

23 to determine compliance with such require24 ments, 
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1 ‘‘(C) submits the findings of the most re2 cent review conducted under subparagraph (B) 

3 to the Secretary as part of the report required 

4 by paragraph (4)(E), and 

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

6 recent annual period that such contractor or 

7 other agent is in compliance with all such re8 quirements. 

9 The certification required by subparagraph (D) shall 

10 include the name and address of each contractor and 

11 other agent, a description of the contract or agree12 ment with such contractor or other agent, and the 

13 duration of such contract or agreement. The require14 ments of this paragraph shall not apply to disclo15 sures pursuant to subsection (n) for purposes of 

16 Federal tax administration.’’. 

17 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

18 6103(p)(8)(B) is amended by inserting ‘‘or paragraph 

19 (9)’’ after ‘‘subparagraph (A)’’. 

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

21 this section shall apply to disclosures made after Decem22 ber 31, 2022. 

23 SEC. 18105. REPORT ON ELECTRONIC PAYMENTS. 

24 Not later than 2 years after the date of the enact25 ment of this Act, the Secretary (or the Secretary’s dele-
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1 gate), in coordination with the Bureau of Fiscal Service 

2 and the Internal Revenue Service, and in consultation with 

3 private sector financial institutions, shall submit a written 

4 report to Congress describing how the government can uti5 lize new payment platforms to increase the number of tax 

6 refunds paid by electronic funds transfer. Such report 

7 shall weigh the interests of reducing identity theft tax re8 fund fraud, reducing the Federal Government’s costs in 

9 delivering tax refunds, the costs and any associated fees 

10 charged to taxpayers (including monthly and point-of-serv11 ice fees) to access their tax refunds, the impact on individ12 uals who do not have access to financial accounts or insti13 tutions, and ensuring payments are made to accounts at 

14 a financial institution that complies with section 21 of the 

15 Federal Deposit Insurance Act, chapter 2 of title I of Pub16 lic Law 91–508, and subchapter II of chapter 53 of title 

17 31, United States Code (commonly referred to collectively 

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

19 Such report shall include any legislative recommendations 

20 necessary to accomplish these goals. 
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1 TITLE II—DEVELOPMENT OF 

2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 

3 SEC. 18201. MANAGEMENT OF INTERNAL REVENUE SERV4 ICE 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. 18202. DEVELOPMENT OF ONLINE ACCOUNTS AND 

2 PORTALS. 

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. 18203. 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. 18301. 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. 18302. 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. 18401. 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 ‘‘(6) 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 PRE2 PARERS LOCATED IN AREAS WITHOUT INTER3 NET ACCESS.—The Secretary may waive the re4 quirement of subparagraph (A) if the Secretary 

5 determines, on the basis of an application by 

6 the tax return preparer, that the preparer can7 not meet such requirement by reason of being 

8 located in a geographic area which does not 

9 have access to internet service (other than dial10 up or 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. 18402. 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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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. 18403. PAYMENT OF TAXES BY DEBIT AND CREDIT 

20 CARDS. 

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

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

23 the extent that the Secretary ensures that any such fee 

24 or other consideration is fully recouped by the Secretary 

25 in the form of fees paid to the Secretary by persons paying 
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1 taxes imposed under subtitle A with credit, debit, or 

2 charge cards pursuant to such contract. Notwithstanding 

3 the preceding sentence, the Secretary shall seek to mini4 mize the amount of any fee or other consideration that 

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

6 DIVISION I—RULES FOR SEI7 ZURE AND SALE OF PERISH8 ABLE GOODS RESTRICTED TO 

9 ONLY PERISHABLE GOODS 

10 SEC. 19001. RULES FOR SEIZURE AND SALE OF PERISHABLE 

11 GOODS RESTRICTED TO ONLY PERISHABLE 

12 GOODS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 6336 of the Internal Rev14 enue Code of 1986 is amended by striking ‘‘or become 

15 greatly reduced in price or value by keeping, or that such 

16 property cannot be kept without great expense’’. 

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

18 this section shall apply to property seized after the date 

19 of the enactment of this Act. 

Passed the House of Representatives April 18, 2018. 

Attest: 

Clerk. 
115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5444 

AN ACT 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to 

poses. Treasury to perishable goods, and for other pursale of seized property by the Secretary of the Revenue Code of 1986 to restrict the immediate Internal Revenue Service, to amend the Internal and modernize the information technology of the cybersecurity and taxpayer identity protection, the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to improve turns available for public inspection, to amend organizations and provide for making such reelectronic filing of the annual returns of exempt the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to require sure of a Taxpayer Assistance Center, to amend Secretary of the Treasury in the case of any clorelated identity theft, to require notice from the Service for the taxpayers who are victims of taxsingle point of contact at the Internal Revenue ing low-income taxpayer clinics, to provide for a ury to provide to taxpayers information regardand employees of the Department of the Treasternal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow officers personal identification numbers, to amend the Ina program for the issuance of identity protection quire the Secretary of the Treasury to establish Tax Assistance matching grant program, to re1986 to make permanent the Volunteer Income Service, to amend the Internal Revenue Code of modernize and improve the Internal Revenue